Gregory Ablavsky, "Governing Property and Violence in the First U.S. Territories," in conversation with Elizabeth A. Reese

Please join us on January 13 for our winter quarter Faculty Research Fellows Chautauqua. This book salon event will feature 2021-2022 fellow Gregory Ablavsky focusing on his new book, Federal Ground: Governing Property and Violence in the First U.S. Territories. The discussion will be moderated by Professor Elizabeth A. Reese (Law).

Gregory Ablavsky is a Professsor of Law, Helen L. Crocker Faculty Scholar, and Professor of History, by courtesy.

Federal Ground depicts the haphazard and unplanned growth of federal authority in the Northwest and Southwest Territories, the first U.S. territories established under the new territorial system. The nation’s foundational documents, particularly the U.S. Constitution and the Northwest Ordinance, placed these territories under sole federal jurisdiction and established federal officials to govern them. But, for all their paper authority, these officials rarely controlled events or dictated outcomes. In practice, power in these contested borderlands rested with the regions’ preexisting inhabitants—diverse Native peoples, French villagers, and Anglo-American settlers. These residents nonetheless turned to the new federal government to claim ownership, jurisdiction, protection, and federal money, especially in contests over property and struggles over the right to use violence.

We look forward to seeing you there!

NOTE: THIS EVENT WILL NOW BE VIRTUAL.