George and Ann RichardsCivil War Era Center

Biography:

I am a historian of early America and Native America, with a particular interest in political and legal history. My book manuscript, tentatively entitled “Captains and Community: Politics, Kinship, and Power in the Choctaw Nation 1720-1860” follows the political development of the Choctaw Nation and contends that local decision making fundamentally shaped the contours of the domestic and diplomatic arenas. My work has been appeared in Native South and has been generously supported by the American Philosophical Society, the Newberry Library, and the George Washington Library at Mt. Vernon amongst others.

Education:

• M.A. University of Missouri-Columbia
• B.A. University of Oxford