University of Texas at Dallas, College of Arts and Humanities

Fall 2005
HIST 6310.001: The American Revolution

Instructor: Professor Robert Desrochers Office: JO 4.814

(972) 883-2820 (voice mail) e-mail: geronadesrochers@aol.com

Office Hours : Tuesday & Thursday, 9:30-10:30; Thursday 2-3

Course Description:

How did a seemingly minor imperial squabble over taxation lead to the birth of the United States? How
and why, within the space of about 25 years, did thirteen relatively disunited colonies on the edge of the
British Empire come together to fight a bloody war of independence, embark on bold and uncertain new
forms of government, and develop a new science of politics? This graduate-level seminar examines the
origins, outcomes, and ironies of the American Revolution, with a particular emphasis on the Revolution
as an intellectual event that challenged age-old assumptions about politics, government, and society, and
that forced eighteenth-century Americans from all walks of life to think in new ways about themselves
and their relationships with one another. Like them, we will tackle some big questions: What sorts of
ideas about freedom, liberty, power, and authority guided Americans down the path toward
independence? How did ideological frameworks and political abstractions translate into popular
mobilization for the patriot cause? How, in the late 1770s and 1780s, was the language and logic of
rebellion and revolution carried forward, and in some instances radically altered, by ordinary Americans
whose expectations about freedom, liberty, and equality often differed from colonial elites? What social
and political meanings did Americans attach to revolutionary republicanism, and how did republicanism
alter traditional conceptions of personal, political, and constitutional authority? How had ideas about
republicanism changed by the time of the Constitutional Convention of 1787? What was the American
Revolution, and what was revolutionary about it?

Texts : We will all read the following books:

Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1967; enlarged ed., Cambridge,
MA, 1992).

T. H. Breen, The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence
(New York, 2004).

Jack P. Greene, Peripheries and Center: Constitutional Development in the Extended Polities of the
British Empire and the United States, 1607-1788 (New York, 1986).

Pauline Maier, American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence (New York, 1997).

Forrest McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution (Lawrence, KS,
1985).

Gary B. Nash, Race and Revolution (Madison, WI, 1990).

Gordon S. Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution (New York, 1991).
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Course Work & Evaluation Criteria:

This is a graduate-level seminar. The highest standards apply. To succeed in this course, you
will need to keep up with the readings, actively participate in the weekly seminar, and complete all course
requirements on time. Your written work should reveal polish and professionalism. Your grade will be
determined as follows:

• Weekly Think Pieces (20%): Each week, each student will write a short critical essay, or “Think
Piece,” that engages the week’s reading. Think Pieces should be one or two single-spaced, typed
pages in length, and can take a variety of forms. They might consist of probing questions, content
summaries, outlines of themes and patterns, commentaries on how readings resonate with or
contradict each other, etc. I encourage you to experiment – to hone your analytical and critical
thinking skills, to refine and strengthen your own voice. You do not have to agree with
everything you read; you do have to think about it. Above all, Think Pieces should enhance your
understanding of the material covered in this course.

• Research in Early American Newspapers (40%): In the days before telephones, TV and radio,
and the internet, printed newspapers provided one of the most reliable and relied upon means by
which Americans kept abreast of important doings in other towns and colonies, in London, and
around the British Empire and the world. From the 1760s through the 1780s, newspapers also
helped disseminate and mediate ideologies of rebellion and revolution. With that in mind, each
student will write two 8-10 page papers based on individual research in American newspapers of
the revolutionary period. Each paper will count as 20% of your grade. In the first project, to be
completed early in the semester, you will focus on the years leading up to independence. The
second newspaper project, due near the end of the semester, will allow you to focus on the period
after 1776. My expectation is that you will connect your research to the larger themes presented
in the course readings and in the seminar. More broadly, I hope that these projects will not only
give you a flavor for the concerns and rhythms of life in pre-revolutionary America, but will also
help get you thinking about Big Picture questions such as why the Revolution happened when it
did, why it unfolded in the manner that it did, and what changed as a result.

• Book Review (20%): In addition to the common books listed above, each student will present an
oral review of a book related to the American Revolution, subject to my approva l. Your
presentation should last about twenty minutes. I will post a sign-up sheet for book reviews on my
office door, but no more than two students will be allowed to present on any given Thursday, so
you will want to plan ahead and sign up early if you have a specific week or topic in mind. The
only other stipulation involved is that the subject of the book you choose should correspond
roughly to our topic for the week at hand. In most general terms, that means if you present
anytime up to October 13, you will need to choose a title that addresses in some way the origins
of the Revolution. If you present after that date, your book should deal specifically with
developments after independence. Again, I expect each of you to consult with me before settling
on a title; the sooner you do so the better I can help you.

• Seminar Participation (20%): Any successful seminar relies heavily on the active engagement
and participation of its members. To that end, in addition to participating in weekly discussions,
each student will lead one of our seminars. The weekly discussion leader will be responsible for
distributing to the other seminar members a set of questions and/or issues for discussion based on
that week’s readings. Like your Think Pieces, these handouts might take a variety of forms, but
since they will serve as our point of conversational departure for the week, they must critically
engage the week’s reading(s), and they must be distributed at least one full day prior to our
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Thursday gathering. (Note: It is probably not a good idea to sign up to do your book review on
the same day that you lead the group discussion!)

Course Policies:

Submission Guidelines: All coursework must be typed and handed in on paper – no floppy discs,
CDs, or e-mail attachments will be accepted.

Incompletes: As per university policy, incompletes will be given only to students who have
completed 70% of the course work.

Academic Integrity: University policies on academic integrity will be strictly enforced.

Other Notes and Suggestions :

• Keep this syllabus for future reference.

• My job is to help you learn. Please do not hesitate to come see me if you want to talk about the
course, or if you are having any problems I should know about.
• Finally, please note that the syllabus may be subject to minor change. Be alert to in-class
announcements.

SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS

August 18: Welcome and Introduction

August 25: READING: Wood, Radicalism of the American Revolution, 1-92.

Greene, Peripheries and Center, 1-78.
DISCUSSION LEADER: _________________________

September 2: READING: Bailyn, Ideological Origins, 1-159.

DISCUSSION LEADER: _________________________

September 8: READING: McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum, 1-96.

Greene, Peripheries and Center, 79-152.
DISCUSSION LEADER: _________________________

September 15: No Class Meeting

September 22: READING: Breen, Marketplace of Revolution, Introduction and Part One.
DISCUSSION LEADER: _________________________

September 29: READING: Breen, Marketplace of Revolution, Part Two.

DISCUSSION LEADER: _________________________

October 6: **** First Newspaper Project Due ****

Note: No assigned readings this week. Instead, we will have a roundtable discussion of
your research projects.

October 13: READING: Maier, American Scripture.

DISCUSSION LEADER: _________________________
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October 20: READING: Wood, Radicalism of the American Revolution, 93-225.

DISCUSSION LEADER: _________________________

October 27: READING: Bailyn, Ideological Origins, 160-319.

DISCUSSION LEADER: _________________________

November 3: READING: Nash, Race and Revolution.

DISCUSSION LEADER: _________________________

November 10: READING: Greene, Peripheries and Center, 153-218.

McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum, 143-293.
DISCUSSION LEADER: _________________________

November 17: READING: Wood, Radicalism of the American Revolution, 226-369.

DISCUSSION LEADER: _________________________
**** 2 nd Newspaper Project Due by 5PM, Monday, November 28****