Historians of the pre-Civil War United States often view the early republic as more revolutionary than the “American Revolution” itself. In this course, we will explore the political, economic, and cultural tumult of this period, from 1776 through the 1850s. The course will begin with a brief overview of the American Revolution and will focus on the problem of democracy during the following several decades. More specifically, we will focus on the struggles of various groups for freedoms, rights, and privileges within the context of the new republican governments created in the aftermath of the War for Independence.  (See D2L for the syllabus.)

On the first day of class, I will ask all students (who don’t have one) to create a Gmail account to use with Google Docs.  Click here to do so. Please use an address that contains some form of your name, such as John.Doe.UWGB@gmail.com.

I will then ask you to please enter your name and Gmail address on this form.