A New England Tempest - A Talk by Eric J. Chaput

Erik J. Chaput will present a talk that will detail the history of the often forgotten 1842 Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island, one of the most significant political and constitutional events before the Civil War.  Chaput will explain how the politics surrounding Thomas Wilson Dorr's attempt at extralegal reform in Rhode Island led to the active involvement of prominent New England abolitionists, including Abby Kelley, Stephen Foster and Frederick Douglass.

Erik J. Chaput received his doctorate in early American History from Syracuse University in 2011.  His dissertation was the first full-scale history of the 1842 Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island in nearly four decades.  He is currently revising his dissertation for publication with a university press.  Dr. Chaput teaches United States History at Northfield Mount Hermon School in western Massachusetts.  He is also an instructor in the History Graduate Program at Providence College. Dr. Chaput's research has appeared in numerous publications, including Rhode Island History, Common-Place.org, American Nineteenth Century History, the Catholic Historical Review, and the Massachusetts Historical Journal.  His forthcoming article in The New England Quarterly will detail pro-slavery and antislavery rhetoric in the Dorr Rebellion.  Dr. Chaput is also the principal reviewer of books on early America for the Providence Journal. 

This talk is partnership with the Worcester Woman's History Project.