History 259 Spring 2003

OBERLIN COLLEGE
Department of History

Gary J. Kornblith
Rice 306
x8526
gary.kornblith@oberlin.edu

History 259

Spring 2003

Office hours: Mon., 2:30-4:00 p.m.,
and by appointment

Revolutionary America and the Early Republic

The official, up-to-date version of this syllabus is maintained online at www.oberlin.edu/history/GJK/H259S03/.

This course explores the creation of the United States and the complex dynamics that shaped American society and culture in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. We will begin by examining the British colonies in mainland North America at approximately 1750, and we will proceed to explore in depth the causes and consequences of the American Revolution. Historians have long debated the Revolution's purpose and significance, and we will look at different sides of this enduring controversy. In the process, we will consider what the War for Independence meant to Native Americans and African Americans as well as to Euro-American men and women. We will also analyze the patriots' efforts to establish a republican form of government on a firm foundation. In particular, we will weigh the question of whether the ratification of the federal Constitution represented the fulfillment, repudiation, or modification of the original Spirit of '76. We will also consider whether the new federal system worked the way its framers intended, paying special attention to why political controveries in the early Republic proved so vicious. Our focus after spring break will be on the inter-related processes of democratization, capitalist development, and the expansion of slavery during the first two decades of the nineteenth century. We will conclude with an analysis of how much the American social order and American cultural norms had changed between 1750 and 1820, the nation's formative era.

Over the course of the semester, students will undertake individual projects involving intensive research in primary source materials. Students will make oral presentations of their findings to the class. Research papers will be due at semester's end. The goal of this project is to empower students to do history, not just to read it.

Format: The class will meet three times each week. As indicated below, some class sessions will be devoted to lectures, others to discussions, and yet others to viewing videos. The discussions will focus on the reading assignments, and in preparation for these sessions, students will be expected to post preliminary comments on Blackboard.

Requirements: In addition to doing the assigned reading and regularly posting comments on Blackboard, students will write two or three position papers (3-4 pages each); a prospectus for the research project (2 pages); and the research paper (9-10 pages). They will also make 10-15 minute oral presentations of their research findings. The due dates are given in the schedule of assignments below. Regular class attendance is expected, and students should notify the instructor of the reasons for any absences.

Grades: Final grades will be based on one of the following formulas:

For students who elect to write all three position papers: position papers,15% each; research project (including prospectus, oral presentation, and especially the research paper), 40%; and class participation (including Blackboard postings and in-class discussions), 15%.
For students who elect to write only the first two position papers: position papers, 20% each; research project (including prospectus, oral presentation, and especially the research paper), 40%; and class participation (including Blackboard postings and in-class discussions), 20%.

The professor reserves the right to exercise some discretion in determining final grades.

Honor Code: All course work is governed by Oberlin's Honor Code. If you have a question about how the Honor Code applies to a particular assignment, you should ask the professor in advance of the due date.

Writing Certification: Students who wish to be considered for certification of writing proficiency should notify the instructor at the beginning of the semester.

Purchases: The following books are available at the Oberlin Bookstore and should be purchased.

Gordon S. Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution

Jack P. Greene, ed., Colonies to Nation, 1763-1789

Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution

Ray Raphael, A People's History of the American Revolution

Thomas Jefferson, The Portable Thomas Jefferson, ed. Merrill D. Peterson

Douglas R. Egerton, Gabriel's Rebellion

Schedule of Classes and Assignments:

Mon., Feb. 3	Introduction
Wed., Feb. 5	Lecture: The Making of the British Empire
Fri., Feb. 7 Source: Papers of George Washington	Discussion: Social Order of Colonial America Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution, 3-168 Michael Zuckerman, "Tocqueville, Turner, and Turds: Four Stories of Manners in Early America," Journal of American History, 85 (June 1998): 13-42 [in JSTOR] Alan Taylor, American Colonies, 301-37 [on reserve and on ERes]

Mon., Feb. 10	Lecture: Origins of the Imperial Crisis
Wed., Feb. 12	Discussion: The Debate over the Stamp Act Greene, Colonies to Nation, 45-92
Fri., Feb. 14 Source: National Archives	Discussion: The Role of the Crowd Pauline Maier, "Popular Uprisings and Civil Authority in Eighteenth-Century America," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Ser., 27 (Jan. 1970): 3-35 [in JSTOR] Edmund S. Morgan and Helen M. Morgan, The Stamp Act Crisis, 125-49 [on reserve and on ERes] Gary B. Nash, The Urban Crucible, 292-311 [on reserve and on ERes]

Mon., Feb. 17	Lecture: Escalation of the Imperial Crisis
Wed., Feb. 19	Discussion: Ideological Origins of the Revolution Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, ix-xvi, 1-159, 198-229 Greene, Colonies to Nation, 122-33, 182-88
Fri., Feb. 21	Discussion: Ideological Origins (continued) Lecture: Crises within the Colonies

Mon., Feb. 24	Lecture: Continental Mobilization and War
Wed., Feb. 26 Source: Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities	Discussion: Social Origins of the Revolution T.H. Breen, "'Baubles of Britain': The American and Consumer Revolutions of the Eighteenth Century," Past and Present, no. 119 (May 1988): 73-104 [in JSTOR] Marcus Rediker, "A Motley Crew of Rebels: Sailors, Slaves and the Coming of the American Revolution," in Ronald Hoffman and Peter J. Albert, eds,. The Transforming Hand of Revolution, 155-98 [on reserve and on ERes] Woody Holton, "The Ohio Indians and the Coming of the American Revolution in Virginia," Journal of Southern History 60 (Aug. 1994): 453-478 [in JSTOR]
Fri., Feb. 28	Lecture and Library Tour: Resources for Primary Research Meet in Mudd 443

Mon., Mar. 3	Lecture: The Decision for Independence First position paper due
Wed., Mar. 5 Source: National Archives	Discussion: The Declaration of Independence Greene, Colonies to Nation, 255-301 Jefferson, Portable Thomas Jefferson, ed. Peterson, 235-41 Joseph J. Ellis, American Sphinx, 27-74 [on reserve and on ERes]
Fri., Mar. 7	Video: Liberty!

Mon., Mar. 10	Lecture: Constituting State Governments
Wed., Mar. 12 Source: Valley Forge Historical Society	Discussion: Wartime Experience of Ordinary Euro-Americans Raphael, People's History of the American Revolution, "Introduction" and chaps. 2-4 Barbara Clark Smith, "Food Rioters and the American Revolution," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Ser., 51 (Jan., 1994): 3-38 [in JSTOR] David Waldstreicher, "Rites of Rebellion, Rites of Assent: Celebrations, Print Culture, and the Origins of American Nationalism," Journal of American History 82 (June 1995): 37-61 [in JSTOR]
Fri., Mar. 14	Video: Liberty!

Mon., Mar. 17	Discussion: Research Projects and Mid-Semester Reflections Prospectus for research project due by 11 a.m.
Wed., Mar. 19	Discussion: Wartime Experience of Native Americans and African Americans Raphael, People's History of the American Revolution,chaps. 5-6. "The War for Independence Through Seneca Eyes: Mary Jemison Views the Revolution, 1775–79," History Matters Website <http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5826/> "'Having Tasted the Sweets of Freedom': Cato Petitions the Pennsylvania Legislature to Remain Free," History Matters Website <http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5716/>
Fri., Mar. 21	No class
Spring Break
Mon., Mar. 31	Lecture: The Challenge of Nation-Building
Wed., Apr. 2 Source: Prentice Hall School	Discussion and video: Drafting and Debating the Federal Constitution Greene, Colonies to Nation, 514-47, 557-76 *Note: Class will extend to 3:20p.m. in order to view Empire of Reason.*
Fri., Apr. 4	No class

Mon., Apr. 7	Lecture: The Federalist Establishment and Its Enemies
Wed., Apr. 9	Discussion: Rethinking the Revolution (with guest Barbara Clark Smith) Second position paper due
Fri., Apr. 11 Source: Bill of Rights Institute	Lecture: The Revolution of 1800 Discussion: Making Sense of Thomas Jefferson Jefferson, Portable Thomas Jefferson, ed. Peterson,122-28, 177-99, 214-17, 224-29, 251-58, 261-67, 281-95, 305-21, 395-98, 400-412, 415-18, 444-51, 454-64, 477-79, 533-39, 544-50, 567-69

Mon., Apr. 14	Lecture: Market Revolution in the North
Wed., Apr. 16	Consultations about research projects
Fri., Apr. 18 Source: Old Sturbridge Village	Discussion: New England Society in Transition (with guest Christopher Clark) James A. Henretta, "Families and Farms: Mentalité in Pre-Industrial America," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Ser., 35 (Jan. 1978): 3-32 [in JSTOR] Allan Kulikoff, "The Transition to Capitalism in Rural America," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Ser., 46 (Jan. 1989): 120-44 [in JSTOR] Christopher Clark, The Roots of Rural Capitalism, 59-117 [on reserve and on ERes]

Mon., Apr. 21	Lecture: Cotton Revolution in the South
Wed., Apr. 23	Discussion: Slavery and Slave Resistance in Jeffersonian Virginia Egerton, Gabriel's Rebellion, ix-xiii, 3-178
Fri., Apr. 25	Video: Jefferson's Blood

Mon., Apr. 28 Source: War Movie Theme Songs and Images Index	Lecture: Nationalism and Sectionalism in the "Era of Good Feelings"
Wed., Apr. 30	Discussion: Change and Continuity, 1750-1820 Wood, Radicalism of the American Revolution, 229-369 Edward Countryman, "Indians, the Colonial Order, and the Social Significance of the American Revolution," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Ser., 53 (Apr. 1996): 342-62 [in JSTOR]
Fri., May 2	Oral Presentations of Research Projects Georgia, Tom, Donavan, Adam, Rob, Jo

Mon., May 5	Oral Presentations of Research Projects Simon, Ted, Jonathan, Zachary
Wed., May 7	Oral Presentations of Research Projects Laura, Joshua, Brendan, Mary, Jamie Optional third position paper due
Fri., May 9	Oral Presentations of Research Projects Hannah, Amalia, Steve, Leslie, Colin, Oliver, Kyle, Liz

Thur., May 15	Research paper due by 4 p.m.