Colonial America: 1492-1763

Students of American history cannot understand modern conflicts without a firm grasp of American colonial history. Our debates over centralization of power, executive government, sectionalism, culture, and economics reflect longstanding disputes in the American experience. And most Americans have a juvenile understanding of the decades leading to the American War for Independence.

Instead of "no taxation without representation" or other short platitudes, Americans should understand the colonial experience as one of a constitutional crisis that began decades before 1776. This class will fill in the gaps. You'll understand how American sectionalism was not created by slavery, how colonial Americans viewed government and society, and the complexity of American colonial history.