University of Texas at Dallas

College of Arts and Humanities

Fall 2005
HIST 4380.001: Topics in Intellectual History
Ideas and Ideology in the American Revolution

Instructor: Professor Robert Desrochers Office: JO 4.814

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

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

Course Description:

Historian Edmund S. Morgan once wrote that the Revolution made Americans “think as they never had
before, made them see things that they never saw before, made possible what had seemed impossible
before.” Taking its cue from Morgan’s fitting observation, this lecture and discussion course asks
students to think about the American Revolution as an intellectual event of the first order. We will pay
particular attention to the role of ideas and ideology in shaping the origins and outcome of the Revolution,
keeping in mind that the Americans who lived through the Revolution attached different and often
contested meanings to the ideas and events that led, most improbably, to the founding of the United
States. Questions to be considered include: Why did the American Revolution happen when it did?
What difference did it make in the lives of those who shaped and altered its course. How did political
abstractions about liberty, freedom, authority, and constitutionalism translate into action? What was the
American Revolution, and what was revolutionary about it?

Texts:

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

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).

Course Work: Your grade will be determined as follows:

• Attendance and participation (20%): Regular and punctual class attendance is expected of each
student, as is appropriate participation in class discussions and group work. I will take attendance
at the beginning of each class meeting; it is your responsibility to make sure that your name
appears on the sign-in sheet. Excessive absence will adversely affect your final grade.
Outstanding contribution to class discussions will enhance it.

• Weekly Think Pieces (20%): Each week, each student will write a short critical essay, or “Think
Piece,” that engages the week’s reading. Your Think Pieces should be one or two single -spaced,
typed pages in length, and will be due at the beginning of class each Tuesday. Think Pieces will
not be graded in the conventional sense. Everyone who submits all of their weekly Think Pieces
in an acceptable fashion will receive full credit. Within those parameters, excellence will be
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recognized and rewarded, while those whose work is missing, sloppy, or very poor will lose
credit.

• 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 the ideology of rebellion and revolution. With that in mind, each
student will write two 6-8-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 independence. 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.

• Final Exam (20%): Students will be required to write a paper addressing the significance of the
American Revolution, to be completed in class during the final exam period.

Course Policies:

Excused absences: Will be granted only under the following circumstances, all of which require
written verification: serious illness (with doctor’s note); death in the family (note from funeral parlor or
obituary); religious holiday (statement from faith leader); official campus business (note from coach or
professor).

Late papers: Late papers and Think Pieces will be accepted only from students with documented
excused absences, as defined above.

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: Students who violate university policies regarding academic integrity may
incur penalties ranging from course failure to dismissal from the university. I take cheating and
plagiarism seriously, and will refer possible infractions to the Office of the Dean of Students.

E-mail policy: Students should send e-mail to me via their UTD e-mail account. I will send
electronic correspondence only to a student’s UTD e-mail address.

Special Needs: I will do my best to provide appropriate academic accommodations for qualified
students with special needs. Contact the Office of Disabilities if you think you need assistance.

Civility: Rules of common courtesy and classroom etiquette apply, including but not limited to:
turning off cell phones and beepers; refraining from sleeping, web-surfing, or reading the newspaper; and
arriving on time and staying until the end of class (if you really have to leave early, please let me know
ahead of time). Partic ularly obnoxious behavior may result in being asked to leave.
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Notes and Suggestions :

• Keep this syllabus for future reference.

• My job is to help you learn. If you do not understand a course requirement or any of the course
material, please do not hesitate to talk with me.
• To aid your understanding of lectures and enhance your ability to make meaningful contributions
to class discussions, it is vital that you keep up with weekly reading assignments.
• Finally, please note that dates and deadlines are subject to change. Be alert to in-class
announcements.

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES

Week 1 August 18
Introduction and Welcome.

Week 2 August 23 & 25

Wood, Radicalism of the American Revolution, 1-92.

Week 3 August 30 & September 2

Bailyn, Ideological Origins, 1-54.
McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum, 57-96.

Week 4 September 6 & 8

Bailyn, Ideological Origins , 55-93.
McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum, 9-55.

Week 5 September 13
Bailyn, Ideological Origins , 94-159.
****PLEASE NOTE: NO CLASS MEETING ON TH 9/15****

Week 6 September 20 & 22

Bailyn, Ideological Origins , 160-229.

Week 7 September 27 & 29

Wood, Radicalism of the American Revolution, 93-168.

Week 8 October 4 & 6

Wood, Radicalism of the American Revolution, 169-225.
**** First Newspaper Project Due in Class on Oct. 6 ****

Week 9 October 11 & 13

Nash, Race and Revolution, 3-23, 91-131.
Bailyn, Ideological Origins , 230-246.

Week 10 October 18 & 20

Nash, Race and Revolution, 57-87, 167-201.

Week 11 October 25 & 27

McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum, preface, 1-8, 143-224.
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Week 12 November 1 & 3

McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum, 225-293.

Week 13 November 8 & 10

Nash, Race and Revolution, 25-55, 133-165.

Week 14 November 15 & 17

Wood, Radicalism of the American Revolution, 227-286.
Bailyn, Ideological Origins , 272-319.

Week 15 November 22
Wood, Radicalism of the American Revolution, 287-369.
Bailyn, Ideological Origins , 246-272.
**** Second Newspaper Project Due in Class on Nov. 22 ****