Where
This is an online event.
It is free and open to the public. Direct link and password to the Zoom meeting will be emailed to all registrants ahead of time.
Mark your calendar!
All events are at 12:30 p.m.
November 9: Mystery Solved at the State Archives! Paying for the Constitutional Convention of 1787
December 7: Researching and Writing About The Life of Disability Rights Activist Lucy Gwin
January 18: Exploring the People and Places that Make New York Great
March 15: Hidden in the Archives: Stories of New York’s Forgotten Female Figures
April 5: New York State as a Leader in Environmental Protection
May 10: December 1813: The Fall of Fort Niagara and the Burning of the Niagara Frontier
June 7: History Education: Bringing History Organizations and Educators Together
Mystery Solved at the State Archives! Paying for the Constitutional Convention of 1787
Tuesday, November 9
12:30 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Alexander Hamilton was one of three delegates sent by New York to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Over two hundred and thirty years later, we are still learning new information about the process states used to send delegates to the convention which led to the creation of the Constitution. Hear more about how records preserved in the New York State Archives shed light on our country’s formative period.
About The speakers
John P. Kaminski received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1972. Since 1970 he has had a research appointment at the University. In 1981 he founded and still directs the Center for the Study of the American Constitution in the History Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he has co-edited thirty-five volumes of The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution and has written, edited, or co-edited thirty other books on the Revolutionary era. He is deeply committed to teacher and judicial education and has regularly participated in seminars for these two groups of professionals throughout the country.
Adam Levinson is a lawyer, lecturer and founder of the free history website: statutesandstories.com. For many years, Adam collected antiquarian legal texts (e.g., the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Tea Act of 1773). He decided that rather than collecting dust on a shelf, these texts would be a great tool to teach history. Hence, statutesandstories.com was born. He uses primary sources, including correspondence between the founding fathers and mothers, newspapers, and old laws to bring American history to life. Chief Justice Holmes referred to the law as a “magic mirror,” reflecting our present and past. While the website was originally built around his collection of antiquarian legal texts, today it casts a wide net to blog about legal "stories” that arise from and reflect American history. The website is now used by teachers and history students of all ages.
Sergio Villavicencio is Vice-President for the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society and Project Coordinator for the New York Council for History Education's New York City Region. Sergio is also Chair of the New York City Semiquincentennial Committee and a content, engagement, and diversity & inclusion consultant to history-related entities, as well as an Advisory Council member of the National Parks Conservation Association - Northeast Region.
Thomas J. Ruller has held the position of New York State Archivist since 2015. He has been an active professional and is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles and reviews on the use of technology in Archives and the preservation of records in electronic form. He has been a consultant for several State governments and other organizations focusing on electronic records management and preservation.
More Event Details
A direct link and password to digital meeting space will be emailed to all registrants ahead of time. Contact aptrust@nysed.gov with questions or in need of assistance.
Additional resources from statuesandstories.com:
- Newly uncovered Hamilton records - Part 1 (June 23, 2021)
- Newly uncovered Hamilton records - Part II (July 18, 2021)
- Significance of Newly Discovered Hamilton Records (July 26, 2021)