A
symposium to commemorate the bicentennial of the opening of the National (or Cumberland) Road from Cumberland, Maryland, to Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) will be held at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2018. To recognize the National Road's significance and legacy, this symposium will look beyond the National Road to examine the larger role of internal improvements and transportation in United States history. Academic and public historians, graduate and undergraduate students, and independent scholars are invited to submit proposals for presentations or papers focused on the National Road, internal improvements, and United States transportation history. Alternate session formats, including roundtable discussions, film viewings, and hands-on programs, will also be considered.
Proposals should include a 250- to 500-word abstract for the presentation and a CV/résumé. Please send all submissions to
Hilary_Miller@nps.gov by
July 31, 2018.
The keynote presentation will be given by Dr. John Lauritz Larson, author of
Internal Improvement: National Public Works and the Promise of Popular Government in the Early United States and
The Market Revolution in America.
