Cromwell Fellowships

The William Nelson Cromwell Foundation was established in 1930 to promote and encourage scholarship in legal history, particularly in the colonial and early national periods of the United States. The Foundation has supported the publication of legal records as well as historical monographs.

In 2015, the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation will make available of a number of fellowship awards intended to support research and writing in American legal history. The number of awards to be made, and their amounts, is at the discretion of the Foundation. In the past several years, the trustees of the Foundation have made from three to eight awards, in amounts up to $5,000. Preference is given to scholars at the early stages of their careers. The Committee for Research Fellowships and Awards of the American Society for Legal History (ASLH) reviews the applications and makes recommendations to the Foundation.

Application Process for 2015

Cornelia H. Dayton of the University of Connecticut is the chair of the Society’s Committee on Research Fellowships and Awards, with members: Michael Grossberg (ex officio, ASLH President), Indiana University; Felicia Kornbluh, University of Vermont; Victoria D. List, Washington and Jefferson College; Kunal Parker, University of Miami; Yvonne Pitts, Purdue University; and Victoria Saker Woeste, American Bar Foundation.

Applicants should submit a description of their proposed project (double-spaced, maximum 6 pages, with working title), a budget, a timeline, and a short c.v. (no longer than 3 pages). (There is no application form.) Two letters of recommendation from academic referees should be sent directly to the Committee Chair via email attachment. Applications must be submitted electronically (preferably in one .pdf file) no later than May 30, 2015.

Successful applicants will be notified after the annual meeting of the Cromwell Foundation, which normally takes place in the second week of November. An announcement of the awards will also be made at the annual meeting of the American Society of Legal History in Washington, DC.

To apply, please send all materials to the chair of the Committee, Cornelia Hughes Dayton. <email>

Committee on Research Fellowships and Awards

Cornelia Hughes Dayton, (2010), Chair, University of Connecticut <email>
Felicia Kornbluh (2011), University of Vermont <email>
Victoria D. List (2012), Washington and Jefferson College <email>
William E. Nelson (2010), New York University <email>
Kunal Parker (2011), University of Miami <email>
Victoria Saker Woeste (2012), American Bar Foundation <email>

Past Recipients