HISTORY 696 Understanding the American Revolution
Course Syllabus 2003
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course, Understanding the American Revolution, is designed for schoolteachers in the Springfield Public Schools to increase their knowledge of early American history. The course will focus on events (the battle at Lexington/Concord, Shay’s Rebellion, the Continental Congress) and the primary documents of revolutionary America (the declaration of independence, state and federal constitutions, the articles of confederation, the federalist papers, and the Bill of Rights). Visiting faculty from the Five Colleges will be brought in for special sessions. Field trips are planned to Lexington/Concord, the John Adams residence in Quincy, Massachusetts, and Historic Deerfield.
COURSE MATERIALS:
Countryman, Edward, What Did the Constitution Mean…
Richards, Leonard, Shays’s Rebellion
Risjord, Norman, Jefferson’s America
Course Packet of Selected Readings
SCHEDULE: WEEK I
July 7: Overview of Empires with Prof. Neal Salisbury, Department of History, Smith College Who were the “American colonists” and who were the imperial masters and agents who governed them? Besides England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands also established colonial empires east of the Mississippi River. To get a sense of this early colonial world and its many uncertainties, we will look today at four documents, one each from New Netherlands, New France, New Mexico, and New England.
July 8: American Revolution and its Aftermath with Prof. Barry O’Connell, American Studies, Amherst College
We will be looking at the colonies and the new republic in an international context. How did the peoples who inhabited these lands come and from where? What did they bring with them in the ways of values, cultural practices, ambitions, and concerns?
July 9: Events Leading to the Revolution with Prof. Kevin Sweeney, Department of History, Amherst College
In this session we will be covering the period between 1760 and 1776. We will start by talking about the concerns of the thirteen British colonies in 1760 and look at the charters and Navigation Acts to determine the differing understandings of Empire. We will also cover the topics of debts and reform, the multiple crises that resulted in the Stamp Act, Townshend Duties, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, and the coercive acts. We will also discuss the First and Second Continental Congress and how it led to the Revolution.
July 10: The Revolution with Prof. Kevin Sweeney, Amherst College
We will begin by debunking myths of warfare during the American Revolution using video clips from recent films including the “Patriot.” Was the war fought in a revolutionary fashion? We will then talk about the Seven Years War and the British strategy during the Revolution. Following the battle routes from New England through to the southern colonies, we will discuss the circumstances and outcomes of this battle on the frontier.
July 11: Field Trip to Lexington and Concord
WEEK II
July 14: State Constitution Making with Prof. Kevin Sweeney, Amherst College
The war for independence continued its resistance into the 1800’s. There were many issues left unresolved and as the nation struggled with its new freedom, state constitutions became an important issue. During this session we will review the early state constitutions of Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. We will discuss how the legacies of these constitutions impacted the concern over power in the drafting of the Constitution of the United States.
July 15: Articles of Confederation with Prof. Leo Richards, Department of History, UMass
We will start by reading the Articles of Confederation to determine the social background of the time. What do we see that surprises us? What are the issues at hand? What kind of government did it establish and why? We will also discuss how the Federal government came to possess western lands and what it did with them.
Video: “A Little Rebellion”
July 16: Constitution with Prof. Leo Richards, UMass
We will begin by discussing Shays’s Rebellion. What was it really about and what was its impact? We will also address the Constitution of 1787 and why it was so controversial at the time. Who gained power under the Constitution and who lost?
July 17: Ratification of the Constitution with Prof. Leo Richards, UMass
We will begin by discussing the Ratification process of the Constitution to determine how the government overcame the Massachusetts majority and how the Virginia Bill of Rights and the Federalist Papers affected the outcome. We will also discuss Hamilton’s ideas of national debt.
July 18: Field Trip to John Quincy Adams House in Quincy, MA.
WEEK III
July 21: Bill of Rights with Professor Judith Holmes, Department of Legal Studies, UMass.
We will examine the Bill of Rights and analyze how it reflects concerns and experiences of colonists. We will also determine how it got into the Constitution by examining colonial legal antecedents and analyze the debate over the inclusion. Finally we will survey legal history of application of Bill of Rights.
July 22: The Early Republic with Prof. Kevin Sweeney, Amherst College
We will begin by discussing the problems facing the new federal government and Hamilton’s solution to the national debt. We will also discuss the Jay Treaty, the formation of political parties and Washington’s farewell address, the Adams administration and his involvement with the Alien and Sedition Acts. We will conclude with the election of 1800 and Jefferson’s inaugural address.
July 23: Equality I with Prof. Barry O’Connell, Amherst College
We will be focusing on questions of citizenship, taking the beginning of the declaration of Independence and the prologue to the constitution as our jumping off points. Who belongs? Who decides? In belonging, who has what kinds of power? Are all who are accepted into the community of the nation truly equal before the law? What, indeed should be our definition of a democracy, our criteria for measuring its achievement?
July 24: Equality II with Prof. Alice Nash, Department of History, UMass.
In this session we will break into small groups to discuss the characters of “Unwelcome Americans.” What would these people have asked for if they had the power to make laws and write the constitution? We will also look at the issue of sovereignty and how the government imposed the Indian Removal Act. We will then look at a series of images that have become unifying symbols. What were these symbols important? What did they convey?
July 25: Field Trip to Deerfield, MA
ASSESSMENT: Final Paper tba
