Deepen your appreciation of the formative era before the birth of America with Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies. In 36 lectures, Professor Robert J. Allison tells the epic story of the events that led from the first permanent settlement at Jamestown to the eve of the Revolutionary War. Along the way, you examine in-depth topics such as the Mayflower Compact, the Pennsylvania Quaker colony, and the French and Indian War; encounter individuals including Captain John Smith, Mary Rowlandson, and Olaudah Equiano; and explore new ideas about society, religion, agriculture, and economics that emerged from this tempestuous, eventful, and formative period in our nation's dramatic history.
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Dive into the life and times of 18th century America with this illuminating two-course set. Start by getting to know one of the most fascinating of American’s founding fathers with The Age of Benjamin Franklin. Then, look at the events, ideas, and traditions that shaped the US from the earliest days with Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies.
The American Revolution was a vast insurgency movement requiring mass communication, mass mobilization, and a single-mindedness of purpose on the part of a huge number of colonists acting together, joined by a common cause. Who were these people? In Ordinary Americans of the Revolution, you’ll discover the American Revolution from a startlingly different perspective.: Professor Richard Bell of the University of Maryland introduces you to the soldiers, midwives, artisans, shopkeepers, farmers, enslaved people, and the other men and women—European American, Native American, and African American—with whom the success or failure of the revolution depended. The experience of these unfamiliar Americans offers a deeper understanding of the causes, meanings, and consequences of the American Revolution.
Witness the dawn of the United States of America from the perspective of both everyday Americans and Founding Fathers with this set that pairs Ordinary Americans in the Revolution with America’s Founding Fathers. First, delve into the perspectives and experiences of the common people who made the American Revolution happen, from political activists, soldiers, and shopkeepers to Native Americans, enslaved people, and British loyalists. Then, use the Founding Fathers as a lens through which to see powerful truths about the early political history of the United States.
The revolution that created the U.S. was one of many "American revolutions." From 1776 to 1825, wars for independence created 19 new nations in the Western Hemisphere. This course examines revolutionary movements and their leaders in the American colonies and in those that became the nations of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Haiti, and Mexico, among others. Why did independence succeed or fail in different locations?
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