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.
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The Age of Benjamin Franklin is a thorough—and sometimes surprising—course that presents a full portrait of a man defying easy definition. Over 24 insightful lectures, Professor Robert J. Allison of Suffolk University explores the many facets of Ben Franklin’s life and times. A pioneer in science, politics, diplomacy, and more, Franklin was truly one of the most extraordinary Americans ever to have lived.
Take a sweeping look at the people and ideas that built the United States of America. First, with America’s Founding Fathers, meet the people that helped establish a new nation. Then, in What America’s Founders Learned from Antiquity, see how the leaders of this new republic reshaped the ideas of the past to lay the foundations for the future.
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.
The U.S. Constitution was forged in a furnace of ideas about what shape the newly independent colonies should take. Join the debate for yourself with this two-course set that pairs Books That Matter: The Federalist Papers with Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the American Constitution. In the first course, dive into the 85 essays that argued for the ratification of the Constitution and learn what they can tell us about the American government both at its founding and today. And in the second, explore which of America’s founders opposed the new U.S. Constitution, which founders led the battle for it, and how both sides helped shape the document as it exists today.
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