HIST 4630 - North American Revolutions, 1754-1815

Credit Hours: (3)

Description: This course introduces the political, economic, and social causes and outcomes of conflicts in North America from 1754-1815, learning what was revolutionary about the age of revolutions. Students will examine what it meant to be an American and a British subject and consider the motivations of a wide range of participants, including Native Americans, enslaved and free African Americans, and the fifth of the population who remained with Britain as Loyalists. The other great movements of the Age of Revolutions, notably the French, Haitian, and Latin American Revolutions will place the American Revolution in larger context.

Throughout this course, students will read relevant primary and secondary sources, think about what these sources tell us about life in the 18th and early 19th centuries, write critical evaluations of the material presented, and discuss their assumptions, conclusions, and concerns about this era of revolution and republicanism as a topic of historical inquiry. As students complete this course, they will develop an awareness of the wide range of experiences and the diversity of viewpoints represented.