Lecture Description
Professor Freeman discusses the differences between society in the American colonies and society in Britain in the eighteenth century. She uses examples from colonists' writings to show that the American colonies differed from British society in three distinct ways: the distinctive character of the people who migrated to the colonies; the distinctive conditions of life in British America; and the nature of British colonial administration.
Reading assignment:
Brown, Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, pp. 27-69
Course Index
- Introduction: Freeman's Top Five Tips for Studying the Revolution
- Being a British Colonist
- Being a British American
- "Ever at Variance and Foolishly Jealous": Intercolonial Relations
- Outraged Colonials: The Stamp Act Crisis
- Resistance or Rebellion? (Or, What the Heck is Happening in Boston?)
- Being a Revolutionary
- The Logic of Resistance
- Who Were the Loyalists?
- Common Sense
- Independence
- Civil War
- Organizing a War
- Heroes and Villains
- Citizens and Choices: Experiencing the Revolution in New Haven
- The Importance of George Washington
- The Logic of a Campaign (or, How in the World Did We Win?)
- Fighting the Revolution: The Big Picture
- War and Society
- Confederation
- A Union Without Power
- The Road to the Constitutional Convention
- Creating a Constitution
- Creating a Nation
- Being an American: The Legacy of the Revolution
Course Description
The American Revolution entailed some remarkable transformations--converting British colonists into American revolutionaries, and a cluster of colonies into a confederation of states with a common cause--but it was far more complex and enduring then the fighting of a war. As John Adams put it, "The Revolution was in the Minds of the people... before a drop of blood was drawn at Lexington"--and it continued long past America's victory at Yorktown. This course will examine the Revolution from this broad perspective, tracing the participants' shifting sense of themselves as British subjects, colonial settlers, revolutionaries, and Americans.
Course Structure:
This Yale College course, taught on campus twice per week for 50 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Spring 2010.