History of the Early American Republic, 1783-1815

This lecture series, based on an advanced graduate course in American Studies I taught in an inter-university program (Universities of Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent and Louvain) explores the main political, constitutional, diplomatic, social and economic developments that contributed to the formation of the United States from the end of the American Revolution to Protected content . Students will gain an in-depth understanding of how geographic factors, the colonial legacy, political culture, sectional divisions and foreign affairs helped shape the American identity(ies)–both in the national and regional senses and contributed to the formation of the modern United States. Equal stress will be placed on the state of knowledge, the analysis of seminal documents, and key historiographical debates.

Recommended Readings (both available free at Protected content
Reginald Horsman. The New Republic. The United States of America Protected content . (Harlow: Longman Pearson Education, Protected content .
Sean Wilentz (ed.) Major Problems in the Early Republic, Protected content Documents and Essays. (Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, Protected content .

Schedule (ca. 30 sessions. Completed lectures will be deleted once complete).
Starting with
Lecture: The United States at Independence
Lecture: Origins of the Constitution
Lecture: Early American Government and Foreign Entanglements
Lecture: Federalists, Republicans, and the Adams Administration
Sources: (on the Constitution). Scholarly Debate: (on politics, slavery and the Constitution).