THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



vancement of Science; Geo. P. Garrison, Texas State Historical 

 Association; D. C. Gilman, Johns Hopkins University; Charles 

 S. Gleed, Kansas State Historical Society; Stansbury Hagar, 

 Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences; Henry W. Haynes, 

 American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Massachusetts His- 

 torical Society; F. W. Hodge, Smithsonian Institution; Levi 

 Holbrook, American Geographical Society; W. J. Holland, Car- 

 negie Museum; W. H. Holmes, U. S. National Museum; A. L. 

 Kroeber, University of California; Otis T. Mason, Columbian 

 University; W J McGee, National Geographic Society; Clar- 

 ence B. Moore, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; 

 Edward S. Morse, National Academy of Sciences; W. W. Newell, 

 American Folk-Lore Society ; A. S. Packard, Brown University ; 

 G. H. Perkins, University of Vermont; J. W. Powell, Bureau of 

 American Ethnology; F. W. Putnam, Harvard University; Wil- 

 liam B. Scott, Princeton University; Frederick Starr, University 

 of Chicago; J. J. Stevenson, New York University; R. G. 

 Thwaites, State Historical Society of Wisconsin; John Williams 

 White, Archaeological Institute of America; Jas. Grant Wilson, 

 American Ethnological Society; Thomas Wilson, Anthropo- 

 logical Society of Washington ; Talcott Williams, American His- 

 torical Association. 



Since the Congress of Americanists has never before met in 

 this country, a brief statement relating to its history and its ob- 

 jects will be of interest in this connection. For several years 

 prior to 1857 there were several gentlemen living in France who 

 were especially interested in the pre-Columbian history of North 

 and South America, particularly in relation to the ancient civi- 

 lizations of Mexico and Peru and the theories regarding the 

 peopling of the New World. In order further to encourage re- 

 search on these and kindred subjects pertaining to America, a 

 society was organized in that year under the name, " La Societe 

 Americaine de France." 



This association flourished to such a degree that its members 

 conceived the idea of assembling an International Congress of 

 Americanists to meet in Nancy, France, in 1875. The meeting 

 at Nancy was attended by representatives of various countries, 



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