State History

This article originally appeared on the New York State Archives website. 

The Larry J. Hackman Research Residency Program supports advanced work on New York State history, government, or public policy using historical records in the State Archives by academics, graduate students, public historians, and teachers. The program honors the New York State Archivist who led the dramatic development of the State Archives between 1981 and 1995. Special thanks to our Trust donors for making this program possible.  

Brad Edmondson, independent researcher.

“Battle of the Blue Line: The Origin and Early Years of the Adirondack Park Agency.”

Research will investigate the history of early years of the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and predecessor agencies using records and oral histories.

Hongdeng Gao, Ph.D. candidate, Columbia University.

“Migration, Medicine and Power: How Chinese New Yorkers Gained Better Access to Health Care, 1949-1999.”

Research will focus on New York State’s involvement in the development of health care systems for poor residents in New York City’s Chinatown.

Anthony Grasso, Assistant Professor of Political Science, US Military Academy, West Point.

“Privilege and Punishment: Class, Crime, and the Development of the American State.”

Research examines the development of the American criminal justice system and penal policy from late nineteenth century to present, with special focus on the Elmira Reformatory and its superintendent, Zebulon Brockway.

Sally Hadden, Associate Professor of History, Western Michigan University.

“Eighteenth-Century Appellate Courts in New York: Exploring Records of the Governor and Council, the Court of Chancery, and the Supreme Court Judicature.”

A study of New York appellate court jurisdiction and practice, 1690s-1790s, using early New York executive records not used for advanced legal history research since the 1940s. Read more...