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Course
| Subject: | History |
| Views: | 58,965 |
Instructor
Name
Joanne B. Freeman
Lecture Description
Professor Freeman discusses what it meant to be a British colonist in America in the eighteenth century. She explains how American colonists had deep bonds of tradition and culture with Great Britain. She argues that, as British colonists with a strong sense of their British liberties, settlers in America valued their liberties above all else. She also explains that many Americans had a sense of inferiority when they compared their colonial lifestyles to the sophistication of Europe. Professor Freeman discusses the social order in America during the eighteenth century, and suggests that the lack of an entrenched aristocracy made social rank more fluid in America than in Europe. She ends the lecture by suggesting that the great importance that American colonists placed on British liberties and their link with Britain helped pave the way for the Revolution.
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.
