Fall Quarter 1999
Meets: MTWHF in Haley C 2332 from 0900 to 1000 hrs.
Texts: Harry Ward. The American Revolution: Nationhood Achieved,
1763-1788 (1995) and Richard D. Brown. Major Problems in the Era
of the American Revolution (1992)
Objectives: To study and acquire knowledge and understanding
of the origins, course, and consequences of the American Revolution, giving
particular attention to social, economic, and ideological factors. Due
weight will be given to the various interpretations of the subject, including
its culminating achievement, the U.S.constitution of 1787, in the hope
that students, after opportunities to discuss and compare different, sometimes
conflicting, ideas, will acquire firm convictions about the topics studied.
They will have a chance to express them in writing in two book reviews
(one from a primary and one from a secondary source), at a midterm and
final examination.
Dates and Deadlines: The midterm exam will be on Thursday, 28
and Friday 29 October. [mostly objective questions on the first day and
exclusively essay questions on the second] Students will be expected to
be conversant by those days with the reading assigned for the first five
weeks on the list below. On Wednesday, 12 October, students will hand in
the first of their two book reviews. On Wednesday, 3 November, they will
hand in their second book review. Your final exam will be on Saturday 7
December from 1100 to 1330 hrs.
Key Questions to think about, discuss and, possibly, write about.
Week 1. How well did the British Empire work, and how much did it need
reform in the 1760s? [Ward Chs.1&2 + Brown 1&2]
Week 2. What changes had taken place in colonial society that made it
potentially explosive in the 1760s and early 1770s? [Brown, Ch.3,Ward,
3&4]
Week 3. What were the advantages and disadvantages of declaring independence
in the summer of 1776? [Ward 5&6+Brown 4]
Week 4. What was right and what was wrong about British strategy and
tactics in 1775 through 1777? [Ward 7,8]
Week 5. Did the new nation (with no army, navy or central government)
adopt the best strategy to cope with a strong imperial power? [Ward 13,14,16
+ Brown 5]
Week 6. What effects did the Revolution have on minorities? [Ward,
11, 15, 17 + Brown 7, 8]
Week 7. When a war for American independence turned into a world war
in 1778, what changes resulted? [Ward 12 + Brown 6]
Week 8. How was the southern campaign different from campaigns elsewhere
in North America? [Ward 9,10]
Week 9. What problems for the United States did victory leave unsolved?
What was the best foreign policy after independence? What was the best
policy for restoring financial credibilty of the new republic?[Ward 18,19
+ Brown 10, 11]
Week 10. What were the dangers inherent in giving the central governmental authority (as the 1787 constitution did) and how were they overcome? [Ward 21,22,23,24 + Brown 12, 13]