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UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY RESEARCH TEAM PRESENTS MODELING THE NEGOTIATIONS OF THE 1889 WYOMING CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

Details: Category: Archives News; Published: Monday, 16 May 2022 09:33

UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY RESEARCH TEAM PRESENTS MODELING THE NEGOTIATIONS OF THE 1889 WYOMING CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

The representatives from National Endowment for the Humanities Quill project at the Center for Constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University will be presenting on, “Modeling the Negotiations Of The 1889 Wyoming Constitutional Convention," on Thursday, May 19, at 4 p.m. in the Wyoming State Museum classroom, located at 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne.

This free public event is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Utah Valley University, and the Wyoming State Archives.

The Quill Project, developed at Oxford's Pembroke College, digitizes records of constitutional conventions into the Project's proprietary software platform. It focuses on what constitutional drafters said and wrote, as well as their political agendas, policy issues, and the arguments that accompanied them. Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, students at Utah Valley University have modeled three western state constitutional conventions: Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington. With the Quill work on Wyoming having been completed, the research team of Scott Paul, Joseph Andersen-Stanley, Cashlyn English, Ethan Bassett, and Daniel Little will discuss how the Quill Project works, the history of the Wyoming convention and how certain passages of the Wyoming constitution came to be. Time will be reserved for a questions and answers session.

Scott Paul is the Director of the Center for Constitutional Studies. He started working at the Center for Constitutional Studies in the summer of 2018, but he has been involved with the Center since its inception more than a decade ago. Previously, Scott directed operations and strategy for UVU’s Division of Development and Alumni Relations. He came to UVU from Brigham Young University where he received a Juris Doctorate. His legal studies centered on domestic and global religious liberty issues. He oversees the partnership with the Quill Project at Pembroke College, Oxford University. Scott is also responsible for CCS fundraising and is the Project Director of the Center's NEH Digital Humanities Advancement Grant to study western state constitutions.

Joseph Andersen-Stanley graduated from Utah Valley University in Spring 2022. He got his Bachelor of Science in Political Science with an emphasis in American Government, with minors in Constitutional Studies and Philosophy. He is one of the team leads over the National Endowment for the Humanities project at the Center for Constitutional Studies, and has been working on the Quill Project since Spring 2019. He plans to attend graduate school and receive a PhD in Political Science. Joseph is also an award-winning musician and enjoys writing music in his free time.

Cashlyn English is a senior at Utah Valley University. She will graduate in Spring of 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Philosophy, with minors in Political Science and Constitutional Studies. She is the other team lead over the National Endowment for the Humanities project at the Center for Constitutional Studies, and has been working on the Quill project since Spring 2021. Alongside her work and studies she is a collegiate athlete on the Utah Valley University Rodeo Team where she competes in Breakaway Roping, Team Roping and Barrel Racing.

Ethan Bassett graduated from Utah Valley University in Fall 2021 majoring in political science with an emphasis in public law and political philosophy and a minor in constitutional studies. He is the Quill Project Lead at Utah Valley University's Center for Constitutional Studies where he is studying the 1970 Illinois Constitutional Convention. Bassett works in Utah state politics where he manages a state senatorial campaign and volunteers in political party leadership where he is a campaign strategist and parliamentarian.

Daniel Little graduated summa cum laude from Utah Valley University in December of 2021. He majored in political science with an emphasis in public law and political philosophy and minored in constitutional studies. Daniel worked on the Quill Project under the NEH grant which funded research into Wyoming and Idaho from Spring 2020 to Fall 2021. He is involved in state politics as a campaign manager for two Utah state representatives and is looking forward to beginning law school in the fall of 2023.

Those unable to attend this event in-person may also participate in the live stream on the Archive’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/WyomingStateArchives). A recording will be available on the WSA YouTube channel the week following the talk.

The Wyoming State Archives collects, manages, and preserves Wyoming state public records that have long-term administrative, legal, and historical value. These records document the history of our state and the activities of Wyoming Government offices. The Archives also collects non-government records that contribute to the understanding of the state’s history.

For further information, contact Sara Davis, State Archivist, at 307-777-8691 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Wyoming State Archives is accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines. If you require special assistance, please contact the Wyoming State Archives at 307-777-7826.