HIST 5140 The American Revolution and Early Republic

This course covers the period of the American Revolution and early republic, from roughly 1763 to 1830. During this era, among the most significant in U.S. history, Americans won their independence, wrote a Constitution, established a working government, expanded westward, and created a national economy. While the Revolution created the United States, by itself it guaranteed neither the success nor the precise character of that new nation. It was during the early years of the republic that Americans, in their daily lives and in their continuing arguments with each other, forged the real meaning of their Revolution. In so doing, they established the foundation of the modern United States. That process of creation is our subject this semester.