by Gary Gordon
This is an introductory course on the American Revolution, so it must be said at the outset this course will not cover everything there is to say about the event and those years.
This is not a course about battles.
The attempt here will be to fill in some gaps to allow greater understanding of what took place between the end of “The French and Indian War,” also known as “The Seven Years War,” and the end of the War of 1812, when the United States’ victory over the British secured it as a nation with status to be reckoned with in the modern world.
The American Revolution was more than the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the battles of Lexington and Concord, Valley Forge and Yorktown; the Declaration of Independence; and Constitution. The War of 1812 was more than the Battle of New Orleans.
A more complete story includes what led to the Tea Party, the arguments between the organizers and activists who set in motion the first and second Continental Congresses, the arguments about what the victory in The Cause meant after the British were defeated, arguments over the nature of the union and government, all of which redound to our times. Nothing was preordained, nothing was inevitable.
Over the years, as I read more and more about this period I was astounded by what I didn’t know, didn’t learn in high school or college — all during a time that allegedly preceded the “dumbing down of America.”
I’ve created this course to share what I’ve learned, to fill in the gaps. I don’t have an agenda. I am not planning to state a single one-sentence wrap-it-all-up conclusion; I’m not going to draw conclusions: that’s for you to do.
One conclusion you may draw is you want to learn more about the creation of the nation.
AMERICAN REVOLUTION:1763–1815
This course will not focus on battles, instead this is an introductory course on information usually left aside when discussing the American Revolution.
The post-war period will include the disagreements over the reasons for the war, the Federalist and anti-Federalist papers, a strong or weak central government; the Whiskey Rebellion, the Alien and Sedition Acts, the lead-up to the War of 1812 and its immediate aftermath, after which the United States began to be recognized as a nation among nations.
HIS0039.1F1 | 5 weeks | Tuesdays
Starts: 4/12/2022, 6:30 PM–8:45 PM
Instructor: Gary Gordon
Location: SF – NW CAMPUS S-221
3000 NW 83rd St, Gainesville
Course Fee: $69.00
Register at: sfcollege.edu/cied/communityed/index