WEEK 15: FINAL THOUGHTS

Week 14: Commemorations: Connecting with Early America

During our final week we will explore the historical issues around early American commemoration, memorials, and monuments.

Reading: Lepore, Epilogue

Points of Entry:

Colonial Williamsburg

http://www.history.org/

colonial reenactment clothing:

http://www.mason-dixonsewing.com/reenactor-clothing.html

Constitution Commemoration:

http://www.cms-ca.org/constitution_day.htm

King Phillip's War Commemoration:

http://www.unionparkpress.com/king-philips-war-commemoration-on-deer-island/

Questions for Discussion:

What are the differences between history and memory?

How does commemoration shape colonial history?

How are your final projects similar or different from the course readings?

Week 12-13: The American Revolution and the Formation of the U.S.

The next two weeks explore the American Revolution and "birth" of the U.S. in the context of the "age of revolutions." Our readings will cover the "founding fathers" and early national debates over the size and structure of the government.

Readings:

Pauline Mauer

David Waldstreicher

David Walker's Appeal

Points of Entry:

The Federalist Papers -

Federalist Papers

Anti-Federalist Papers -

Anti-Federalist Papers

Haitian Revolution -

The Haitian Revolution

Questions for discussion:

What happens to the American Revolution when it is incorporated into the "age of revolutions?" How is it related to other Atlantic Revolutions?

Why do you think the Haitian Revolution is important? What is its legacy?

What happens to the founding documents when we look at them from the perspective of the Atlantic World? How does that change our view of the transition from colonial to national identity?

What do you think is the most important influence on the transition from colonial to national identity?

Which group do you think has a larger historical legacy--the Federalists or Anti-Federalists? Why?

Week 11: The Seven Years War: the First Global War and the End of Colonial Identity

This week explores the foundational conflicts that would ultimately lead to the formation of the United States of America.

Readings:

Taylor (chaps. 18-)

Pauline Mauer, Sacred Scripture (intro. – chap. 2)

Points of Entry:

Seven Year's War

http://www.militaryheritage.com/7yrswar.htm

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/frin.htm

Benjamin Franklin:

http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/

http://www.english.udel.edu/lemay/franklin/

Founding Documents:

http://www.ushistory.org/DECLARATION/

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/declare.asp

http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/articles.html

Pontiac's War:

http://www.forttours.com/pages/pontiac.asp

Questions for discussion:

Do you think the Seven Years War was the first global war? Why?

How do the early founding documents relate to the Seven Years War?

What do you think are the most important causes and outcomes of the war? Why?

Week 10: Rivers to Oceans: Frontiers and Identities in the Colonial “West”

This week we explore the concept of the "West"--a term we will continue to revisit later in the course. The readings investigate the formation of trading networks outside of the Atlantic World.

Points of Entry:

Pacific Northwest

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/pacific/

Lakota Winter Counts:

http://wintercounts.si.edu/

Lewis and Clark:

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/lewisandclark/lewisandclark.html

"Frontier to Heartland":

http://publications.newberry.org/frontiertoheartland/

Question for discussion:

What are the differences between the "frontier" and the "West?"

How does reorienting our perspective towards the Pacific Rim change our understanding of colonial history?

Week 9: The Construction of Gender in Colonial America

This week we will explore the historical construction of gender and its role in shaping colonial America.

Readings:

Ulrich, introduction through chapter 5

Taylor, chap. 15

Points of Entry:

Martha Ballard's Diary online:

http://dohistory.org/home.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/midwife/

http://dohistory.org/film/index.html

http://dohistory.org/film/process_preprod.html

Great Awakening and Religion in early America:

Religion and the Founding of the American Republic (Library of Congress Exhibition)

Last of the Mohican clip:

http://www.blinkbox.com/Movies/233/Last-of-the-Mohicans?Scene=9600

Questions for discussion:

How did gender shape colonial America?

How did gender shape Martha Ballard's life and profession?

How did gender intersect with race?

Week 8: The Construction of Race in Colonial America

This week explores the evolution of race and racial identities in colonial North America. Taylor's reading highlights the rise and fall of Indian slavery and its relationship with early African American identities.

Readings: Taylor, chaps. 11-12

Points of Entry:

Yamasee War book review:

Yamasee War - University of Nebraska Press

Race in Colonial America:

MAAP | Mapping the African American Past

RACE - History - Colonial Authority

Historical Origin of Race:

RACE - The Power of an Illusion . Background Readings | PBS

Questions for discussion:

What does it mean when we say race is "historically constructed?"

What's the difference between racism and ethnocentrism?

Who defined racial identity in colonial North America? How did this effect new encounters and interactions with later immigrants?

Week 7: Facing East from Indian Country: Native America and Colonial America

This week concludes our discussion of the "Black Atlantic" and begins our exploration of "Facing East."

Readings: Taylor, chaps. 6-7

Cronon, chaps. 3-5

Points of Entry:

The Middle Ground/Native Ground/Facing East Reviews:

http://www.lib.niu.edu/1993/ii930734.html

http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/14229.html

http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-03/reviews/oberg.shtml

Comanches:

http://www.comanchenation.com/

http://www.nps.gov/archive/foda/Fort_Davis_WEB_PAGE/About_the_Fort/Comanches.htm

Questions for discussion:

How does looking at early America through "middle grounds," "native grounds," and "divided grounds," change our view of the past?

How do you divide borderlands?

Week 6: The African Diaspora and the “Black Atlantic”

The African Diaspora and the "Black Atlantic"

This week covers the early impact of African Americans in North America. Despite the brutality of slavery Africa and African-Americans produced enduring legacies that survived the colonial and early national periods.

Readings:

Taylor, chap. 9

Equiano

Points of Entry:

slavery in colonial Williamsburg:

http://www.history.org/almanack/people/african/aaintro.cfm

Equiano Museum:

http://www.equiano.org/about_equiano.html

Questions for discussion:

How did slavery shape colonial racial ideologies?

Movie clips:

Qilombo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAeIXDbz2_Q

Amazing Grace

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Cv5P9H9qU

Week 5: Religion in Early America: Jesuits, Puritans, and Native Americans

Week 5: Religion in Early America: Jesuits, Puritans, and Native Americans

This week we will closely examine Jill Lepore's The Name of War and the foundations of religious ideologies in early America. We will also analyze the ways Native communities experienced religious conversions and/or rejected missionary efforts.

Readings: Taylor, chap. 9

Lepore, In the Name of War, chaps. 2-8

points of entry:

Pueblo Revolt -

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/one/pueblo.htm

review of Lepore's book -

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/02/15/reviews/980215.15countrt.html

Questions for discussion:

Which was a more effective form of colonization: religious conversion of material objects?

Were there any significant differences between Jesuits, Franciscans, and Puritans?

Week 4: Before Jamestown and Plymouth Rock: the First Global Products and the Birth the Atlantic World and Pacific Rim

This week's reading explores the first products of the early modern global economy. Looking at the movement of goods across the Atlantic World and Pacific Rim sheds light on the influence that local communities (including Natives, slaves, and women) had in forging the first truly global economy.

Readings:

Taylor, chap. 8

Lepore, intro. and chap. 1

points of entry:

Beaver trade:

http://people.ucsc.edu/~kfeinste/furtrade.html

silver trade:

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/chinawh/web/s5/s5_4.html

chocolate, tea, and coffee:

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/coff/hd_coff.htm

porcelain:

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ewpor/hd_ewpor.htm

Question:

How did early modern global products shape colonial ideologies?

Week 3: The Columbian Exchange – Or the Native American Discovery of Afro-Eurasians

During this week we will explore both the historical significance of 1492 and the ways it has been commemorated over the past 500 years.

Readings:

Taylor (chaps. 3-5) 63 pp.

Cronon, Changes in the Land (preface; chaps. 1-2) 37 pp.

Points of Entry:

Articles on Columbus Day monuments:

New bid to erect Columbus statue in Puerto Rico « Repeating Islands

http://www.transformcolumbusday.org/

Library of Congress Exhibit:

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/1492/

National Humanities Center "Columbian Exchange" website:

http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/ecolinksce.htm

Questions:

How do you think Alan Taylor and William Cronon view the Columbian Exchange? What do they say about the movement of goods, people, and ideas?

Week 2: Before the Nation: Placing America in the Early Modern World

More than anything else, history is about reading, and reading is what we'll do in this course. We have LOTS of readings to tackle. However students, like historians, have limited time to read. Fortunately, there are some basic reading strategies that all historians employ making their reading more efficient, enjoyable, and useful. Take a look at this website below which highlights some of these strategies.

Active Reading Strategies, Mind Tools Reading Techniques

Readings:

Taylor, American Colonies (Introduction and Chaps. 1-2)

Online sample of American Colonies:

American colonies - Google Books

Points of Entry:

"Exploring the Early Americas" Exhibit

Exploring the Early Americas - Exhibitions - myLOC.gov (Library of Congress)

Pre-contact Meso-America

The Aztec Pantheon and the Art of Empire (Getty Villa Exhibitions)

"Longue Duree" conference paper

http://fbc.binghamton.edu/tomich102508.pdf

Comparative view of the Americas:

World, 500-1000 A.D. | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hopi Oral History:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmmEiYICiBk

Thoughts and Questions for Discussion:

The goal of this week's readings is to introduce you to colonial North America from multiple (and very wide) angles. In particular, Taylor discusses the need to expand our timeline and geographic framework when exploring early America. He also mentions how recent scholars have highlighted the history of race, gender, the environment, and the Atlantic World in order to deepen our understanding of the colonial past.

To kick off the discussion, I'd like to propose a few questions:

What were your perceptions of colonial America on day 1 of this course?

How does adding an "s" to colonial America change the colonial narrative?

How does adding "pre-contact" history change the early American narrative?

Week 1: Introduction to Course

Week 1: Course Introduction

Hello students and fellow travelers on the path(s) through Early America! This blog serves as a crucial companion to our weekly class time. Discussions will include further explorations into the assigned readings, suggested related websites and links, and questions about assignments and/or historical issues related to our course. It is also a tool for you to share questions and thoughts with each other.

A couple of brief ground rules:

This blog is meant for academic discussions directly related to the course only! No private information or inappropriate discussions please.

Discussions should be respectful, cooperative, and articulate. By all means, feel free to use this blog to debate but remember to do so with respect and keep in mind that you're all on the same journey and will be working together in class as well.

History is as much a synthesis of analytical frameworks and scholarly debates as “just the facts.” Thus, throughout this course we will tackle historical topics as historians frequently do—through spirited conversation. As a way to kick off this conversation, I invite you watch this brief video which claims to reveal the history of the world in 7 minutes:

World History for Us All - History of the World in Seven Minutes Video

My question: is this history?

I look forward to your comments, questions, and discussions!