American Revolutions: 1763-1877

Catalog description

This course focuses on the theme of “revolution” in the context of the United States from 1763-1877. Topics will include: the coming of the American Revolution, the establishment of a national government, the Jeffersonian transition, the “revolution” of antebellum reform and tensions over slavery in the 19th century, Manifest Destiny, the Civil War, and what historian Eric Foner calls the “unfinished revolution”—Reconstruction. The course will feature significant attention to primary sources, notable monographs, and related student research as it parses the emergence and changes in the United States’ self-identity and national development during this era