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United States, Colonial Era to Civil War, Fall 2025
United States, Colonial Era to Civil War, Fall 2025
The Colonial Period
1. Introduction: American History in Global Perspective
NO HOMEWORK. This the Friday, Sept. 5 class.
During this brief first class we will try to learn each other's names and go over the syllabus. If time we'll dip into the first readings in the Orange course reader ("Supplemental Docs"): excerpt from James C. Scott, Against the Grain: "A Narrative in Tatters"; and a David Brooks column, "The Great Affluence Fallacy."
2. Free "Barbarians" and Freeborn Englishmen
READ: Alan Taylor, American Colonies, x-xiii and 4-5 (this is one of the books you need to buy);
also, READ, in the orange course reader (aka, Docs): Charles Mann, from 1491.
Read documents in the order they are listed above.
Notes: Taylor explores the notion of “American exceptionalism.” What does he mean by the phrase? In your view, is the American story a “fundamentally happy” one? You can view some of John White's renderings of the people he encountered in North America at this website. What seems appealing, odd, or repellant in the societies of the People of the First Light and Englishmen?
3. The Colonial Background: Virginia
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, 117-123, 129-137; AND
Docs: Richard Hakluyt, Discourse of Western Planting; John Smith, Smith Puts the Colonists to Work; and Microbes and the Natives.
Notes: What brought the English colonists to Virginia? Who came? Assess the effects of European contact with the natives of North America. What were the ramifications of widespread tobacco cultivation in the Chesapeake?
4. The Colonial Background: New England
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, 159-172; AND
Docs: John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity”
Notes: How and why did New England patterns of settlement differ from those of Virginia? What were the Puritans seeking? Read the Winthrop selection carefully. What do you think of his model for a community? What are its main features?
5. Slavery in Virginia
Alan Taylor, American Colonies, 142-144, 146-157.
Docs: "Virginia Slave Laws, 1662-1669" (This document isn't listed in the table of contents)
Notes: What factors caused slavery to take root in the Chesapeake colonies? How did the institution evolve and why did Virginians’ racial attitudes develop as they did?
In case you are interested, Taylor’s account of the development of slavery, race, and what we might call white privilege, is taken from Edmund Morgan’s American Slavery, American Freedom, a book that Taylor refers to as “the twentieth century’s best historical work on American origins.” Here is a brief discussion of that book and it’s influence on American historiography (optional reading).
First Exam: an evolving study guide.
6. King Philip’s War
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, 188 (top)-191; Handouts, Excepts from Jill Lepore, “Habitations of Cruelty,” from The Name of War: King Philip’s War and the Origins of American Identity.
Read Taylor first, then Lepore
Notes: What were the main causes of King Philip’s War? How is it the colonists felt entitled to claim Indian land in New England? What is the significance of the English recording the number of houses destroyed before tallying the colonists' killed and wounded? What does Lepore's phrase "the moral vocabulary of war" (88) suggest?
7. Bible Commonwealth
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, 178-186; AND
Docs: Diary of Samuel Sewall
Notes: How did the Puritans account for calamity? What made them so jittery toward the close of the 17th century? How do you explain the persistence of witchcraft in 17th century New England? What does the Sewall diary suggest about how New Englanders viewed the world? What do you take the Puritan legacy to be?
8. Great Awakening
READ: Taylor, American Colonies, 342-351; AND
Docs: Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”; Franklin, “The Way to Wealth”; Marilynne Robinson, “Jonathan Edwards and the Spider."
Notes: What factors touched off the colony-wide outbreak of religious enthusiasm in the 1730s? In what ways do Edwards and Franklin reflect conflicting colonial values? What, if anything, do they have in common? Which viewpoint seems more typical of colonial America? If you have time, WATCH: Exeter History Minute on the Whitefield monument.
G format only: Tuesday, Sept. 23: Do the first assignment (#10) on the next page of the syllabus. On Wednesday, Sept. 24: release time.
9. Thursday, Sept. 25: Blue Book Exam--in Grainger (1st floor, science building). Both F and G formats. You will be sitting in the BLUE seats. Use the study guide to prepare. Make a note of the following rules:
Do not leave the room. Use the bathroom before the test. If you leave the room during the test block, your test is over.
No electronic devices in your possession. Before the test begins give me your phone, smart watch and any other electronic device.
Finish in the allotted time. It's a 50-minute exam. Keep track of the time. I will make sure there is a clock in the room.
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