Ithaca College

Trautman-Mosher’s thesis, “Various and Sundrys for the Indians: The Creation of an Anglo-Abenaki Middle Ground at Fort Richmond, Maine, 1720-1755,” built upon archaeological work (sponsored primarily by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission), he has done for the past several summers.  His defense took place in front of thesis adviser Vivian Bruce Conger and committee members Michael Trotti and Jonathan Ablard.

To earn a B.A. degree with "honors in history," a student must complete a significant year-long independent research project that illustrates an understanding of relevant historiography and demonstrates original analysis based on extensive research of secondary and primary sources.

Through extensive analyses of treaties, court documents, and fort records, Trautman-Mosher challenged long-accepted notions of an English-dictated frontier settlement of Maine.  He explored how the native population interacted with British colonizers, ultimately demonstrating that the Abenaki, through strong voices and well-negotiated displays of power, had agency in their cooperation with the Europeans and were not simply tools in a well-planned conquest of the northeast interior.