Professor Freeman discusses the debate over the Constitution at the Federal Convention of 1787 - a convention that by no means had an inevitable outcome. Indeed, even attending the Convention at all was a subject of debate in the individual states; many people feared that the Convention would produce a pseudo-monarchical form of government that would abandon the true significance of the Revolution. Ostensibly called to revise the Articles of Confederation, the meeting ultimately produced an entirely new form of government, in part, thanks to the influence of James Madison's "Virginia Plan" of government. Professor Freeman focuses on three subjects of debate among the many that occupied the Convention: the debates over representation, slavery, and the nature of the executive branch.

Reading assignment:
Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution, chapters 13-19

Raphael, A People's History of the American Revolution, chapter 7

Brown, Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, pp. 1-25, 306-309, 494-521

1. Introduction: Freeman's Top Five Tips for Studying the Revolution
2. Being a British Colonist
3. Being a British American
4. "Ever at Variance and Foolishly Jealous": Intercolonial Relations
5. Outraged Colonials: The Stamp Act Crisis
6. Resistance or Rebellion? (Or, What the Heck is Happening in Boston?)
7. Being a Revolutionary
8. The Logic of Resistance
9. Who Were the Loyalists?
10. Common Sense
11. Independence
12. Civil War
13. Organizing a War
14. Heroes and Villains
15. Citizens and Choices: Experiencing the Revolution in New Haven
16. The Importance of George Washington
17. The Logic of a Campaign (or, How in the World Did We Win?)
18. Fighting the Revolution: The Big Picture
19. War and Society
20. Confederation
21. A Union Without Power
22. The Road to the Constitutional Convention
23. Creating a Constitution
24. Creating a Nation
25. Being an American: The Legacy of the Revolution

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.