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Description
Objectives
Requirements
Books
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INFORMATION | HISTORY
41.2GJ
Monday & Wednesday, 2:00-3:30
Room 519 Whitehead Hall
HISTORY 41.2: THE REVOLUTIONARY GENERATION IN
AMERICA
Spring, 2002
Professor
Donald F. M. Gerardi
Office Hours: 503 Whitehead
Monday/Wednesday: 9:30-10:30, 3:30-4:00
Voice Mail ->718-951-5436
E-mail
Verizon mailbox, preferred
College mailbox
Final Exam, Spring, 2002, is
scheduled for May 24, 1:00-3:00 P.M.
Study Guide and Exam Informaiton |
DESCRIPTION:
This course examines the emergence of the United States as a nation. The span runs
from the 1760s to the early nineteenth century, a time of revolutionary change in the western world.
Readings, both secondary and primary sources, explore the themes of Empire,
Liberty, and Ambition in the birth of the nation. The
syllabus is organized, mostly chronologically, by five main topics:
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Contexts: Society and
Culture in 18th-Century Anglo-America
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Development of the
Revolutionary Movement
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War, Allegiance, and Ideology
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Constitutions for a Republic
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Empire of Liberty: The
Founding Generation's
Legacy
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The syllabus provides details on topics, assignments, and links to materials.
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OBJECTIVES: After
completing this course you should be able to
| Understand the British roots of American
political and constitutional institutions |
| Identify the particular colonial conditions
that shaped the Revolution and the American institutions that emerged
from it. |
| Describe the ways the Revolution shaped
American identity |
| Place key ideas that
shaped our political and constitutional systems into historical context |
| Select and explain key events and people for
discussing the revolution and its outcome |
| Discuss the issue whether the American
Revolution was revolutionary |
| Demonstrate skills in the critical use of secondary and
primary sources and in clear, well organized writing |
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| Participation*
------------------------------30%
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| Midterm Essay ----------------------------
25%
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| Term Essay ---------------------------------
20%
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| Final Exam----------------------------------
25%
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*Participation includes attendance,
discussion (including use of the Internet Forum)
, and web assignments. If you
need help to use the Internet, instruction is available in the Library Cafe in
Whitehead and in the Field Library. If you do not have your own computer and Internet provider, you may use one of
the campus computers located in the Library Cafe, the Plaza Atrium, the Learning Center, and
Subo. Every student is given an e-mail account at registration. Many of you may also have
another e-mail account with a private provider like AOL or Hotmail. There are several
providers that provide free e-mail.
TECHNOLOGY NOTE: Information technology
is becoming essential to academic work and for success in today's economy. This course's
website will help you develop some of those skills.
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| Don Cook, The Long Fuse: How England Lost the American Colonies,
1760-1785 (Atlantic Monthly Press) |
| Bernard Bailyn, Faces of Revolution:
Personalities and Themes in the Struggle for American Independence
(Vintage) |
| Sheila Skemp, Benjamin and William Franklin: Father and Son, Patriot and
Loyalist (Vintage) |
| Edward Countryman, ed. What Did the Constitution Mean to
Early Americans? (Bedford Books/St. Martins Press, 1999)
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| Joyce Appleby, Inheriting the Revolution: The First Generation
of Americans (Harvard University Press, 2000) |
Recommended Book
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Mary A.Y. Gallagher,
The American Revolution: A Short History (Krieger/Anvil Books, 2002)
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Description of Readings:
Cook's The Long Fuse is a political journalist's
strong
narrative of British policy and political blunders; Bailyn's
book represents, arguably, the most influential interpretation of the
American Revolution by a leading academic historian. Skemp focuses on inter-generational relations and the issue of
loyalty by providing original sources as well as a comparative narrative
of Benjamin Franklin and his son. Countryman presents a
selection of essays by leading scholars on the Constitution and what it
meant to the founding generation. Appleby explores
the ways the generation after the Founders developed their legacy in the
new nation. Gallagher provides a concise
overview and valuable primary sources.
Online sources, both primary and secondary supplement these books.
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