History 103 Syllabus

Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776 painted by J. Trumbull ; engraved by W.L. Ormsby, N.Y.
Source: Library of Congress

Part Two: Revolution and Republic

Mon., Sept. 21 Americanization, Great Awakening, and Global War
Wed., Sept. 23 Discussion: Race, Slavery, and Culture in 18th-Century Virginia

Required Reading:

Sobel, The World They Made Together, 3-99, 171-203, 214-229

Boyer, Enduring Vision, ch. 4

Questions: To what extent did whites influence black culture in 18th-century Virginia? To what extent did blacks influence white culture? What role did slavery play in the process of cultural interaction? What role did racial consciousness play in this process?

Fri., Sept. 25 Imperial Crisis

Mon., Sept. 28 From Resistance to Independence

First Position Paper Due

Wed., Sept. 30 No class (Yom Kippur)

Fri., Oct.2 Whose Independence? The Revolutionary Experience of Indians, Blacks, and White Women

Paul Revere, The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street (1770)
Source: Early America Review (Winter 1996-97)

Mon., Oct. 5 The Constitution: A Counter-revolution?

Wed., Oct. 7 Discussion: The Founders' Vision

Required Reading:
- Declaration of Independence (on WWW) and in Boyer, Enduring Vision, A1-A3
- James Madison, The Federalist, No. 10 (on WWW)
- Boyer, Enduring Vision, ch. 5-6
Questions: What was the patriots' official justification for rebellion, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence? Were the Declaration of Independence and the Federal Constitution based on the same assumptions about the relationship between society and government? How was the Constitution supposed to solve the problem of factionalism? Did the Constitution fulfill or repudiate the goals of the Declaration?

Fri., Oct. 9 Launching the Federal Government

Mon., Oct. 12 Jeffersonian Paradoxes

Wed., Oct. 14 "Firebell in the Night"

Fri., Oct. 16 No class

Thomas Jefferson
Source: Library of Congress

Fall Break