HIST3360 Colonial and Revolutionary America

This course will focus on the history of the English colonies in North America, and their decision to join together and fight for independence from England in the 1770s. Though it will at times touch on geographically related regions – Spanish America, French America, and the West Indies, most notably – they will not be the main focus of the course.

Throughout the semester we will pay close attention to the ways in which the colonial experience was different for different sectors of society. We will also try to understand how the American Revolution both grew out of, and reshaped, the traditions and legacies of colonial society.

Week 1 (8 September 2020)

• Introduction

Week 2 (15 September 2020)

• John Smith and Pocahontas
  • Morgan, American Slavery, American Freedom (Chapters 4-6)
  • Primary sources
    • Selections from the General History

Week 3 (22 September 2020)

• King Philipp’s War?
  • Taylor, American Colonies (Chapters 8-9)
  • Primary sources
    • John Winthrop, A Modell of Christian Charity (1630)

Week 4 (29 September 2020)

• Bacon’s Rebellion
  • Morgan, American Slavery, American Freedom (Chapters 11-13)
  • Rice, Bacon’s Rebellion in Indian Country
  • Primary sources
    • Bacon’s Declaration in the Name of the People 30 July 1676
    • Governor William Berkely on Bacon’s Rebellion 19 May 1676
    • The declaration and Remonstrance of Sir William Berkeley his most sacred Majesties Governor and Captain Generall of Virginia

Week 5 (6 October 2020)

• Salem Witch Trials
  • Boyer and Nissbaum, Salem Possessed (Prologue)
  • Primary sources
    • Samuel Willard, A briefe account of a strange & unusuall Providence of God befallen to Elizabeth Knap of Groton
    • Cotton Mather, The Wonders of the Invisible World.pp. xxv – xxxi

Week 6 (13 October 2020)

• Stono
  • Thornton, African Dimensions of the Stono Rebellion
  • Mark Smith, Stono (introdution)
  • Primary sources
    • Stono Rebellion
    • http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/becomingamer/peoples/text4/stonorebellion.pdf (both texts)
    • https://digital.scetv.org/teachingAmerhistory/lessons/GovBullLetter.htm

Week 7 (20 October 2020)

• Stamp Act Crisis
  • Maier, From Resistance to Revolution (Chapter 3)
  • Primary sources
    • The Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress October 19 1765
    • Soame Jenyns The Objections to the taxation consider’d 1765

Week 8 (27 October 2020)

• Battles of Concord Lexington
  • Gross, the Minutemen and their World (Chapter 3-9, pp. 109-133)
  • Primary sources
    • Anonymous account of the Boston Massacre March 5 1770
    • Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists
    • Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress October 1774 –
    • A British Officer at Lexington and Concord
    • Second Continental Congress Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms July 6 1775

Week 9 (3 November 2020)

• Dunmore’s Proclamation
  • Taylor, Internal Enemy, pp. 13-54
  • Morgan and O’Shaughnessy, Arming Slaves in the American Revolution
  • Primary sources
    • Dunmore’s Proclamation
    • Virginia’s Response to Dunmore’s Proclamation in the Pennsylvania Gazette, 13 December 1775
    • Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Slavery

Week 10 (10 November 2020)

• Declaring Independence
  • Gordon Wood, The American Revolution, A History, pp. 47-64 (Section III)
  • Primary sources
    • Declaration of Independence
    • Paine, Common Sense – Introduction; Sections III & IV

Week 11 (17 November 2020)

• Fighting the Revolution
  • Gordon Wood, The American Revolution, A History, pp. 65-90 (Section IV)
  • Primary sources
    • Articles of Confederation
    • Treaty of Amity and Commerce Between The United States and France; February 6, 1778

Week 12 (24 November 2020)

• Constitutional Convention
  • Waldstreicher, Slavery’s Constitution, Prologue, Chapter 2
  • Primary sources
    • United States Constitution
    • Bill of Rights
    • Federalist Papers – #s 1,3, 6

Week 13 (1 December 2020)

Teaching Plan for online and for possible in person classes

My goals for fall semester 2020 are: to create possibilities for student participation and interaction; and to put in place an approach that will smooth and transition(s) between on-line and face-to-face teaching.

In order to achieve this, I am hoping to take the following steps:

• There will be a participation element to this course, but that participation will be via an on-line discussion board. In the event that face-to-face teaching resumes, the discussion board will still be a part of the course, though students would then be able to supplement their participation grades by contributing to in-class discussions.
• I am planning on teaching all of the classes in the classroom while using zoom to make them accessible on-line. (Note that I say “planning” because I have never done this, and do not know what exactly this will entail. But, that’s the plan). By teaching in the classroom even when there are no students in attendance, and by making them available on zoom if they are face-to-face, I am hoping that this will make any transitions smoother.

• two groups will be organised if more than 20 students enroll the course after add-drop period
  • 6 Oct, 13 Oct, 20 Oct, 27 Oct
    • Group 1: 14:30 pm-16:15 pm
  • 8 Oct, 15 Oct, 22 Oct, 29 Oct 
    • Group 2: 14:30 pm- 16:15 pm
• the tutorials are composed of individual presentations, written reports and discussions
• each student shall conduct presentations according to his/ her assigned chapters of the book, to which at the end of the tutorial students shall pick an angle they preferred to write a report. 
• for more details, it will be published after add-drop period

All texts will be available on-line for students

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

• In the case of group projects, all members of the group should be asked to sign the declaration, each of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions, irrespective of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the problematic contents.
• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment.

Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.

Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.