The Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES) was founded in 1999 to support advanced research in the history of American economy, including commerce, technological innovation, finance, business, and other fields.  In its first twenty-five years PEAES has supported post-doctoral, dissertation, and short-term fellowships, sponsored conferences, and published scholarly monographs through a book series.

The Library Company of Philadelphia, in partnership with 1838 Black Metropolis and the McNeil Center for Early American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania will be hosting “Black Philadelphia in the 18th and 19th Centuries” on February 20-22, 2025. The conference aims to restore Black people as central historical actors in Philadelphia, paying particular attention to their abolitionist, cultural, economic, social, and political networks. As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2026, Philadelphia will be in the national spotlight for its historic connections to 1776. Too often placed at the margins of these commemorations, Black historical subjects take center stage at this conference, which aims to document their labor, politics and cultural contributions and rethink the periodization that determines national celebrations while compartmentalizing the history of racial minorities as separate timelines.