Historian Anthony Sammarco follows the development of downtown Boston from the city's early years to the present day. He focuses on the area called Downtown Crossing, following the Great Boston Fire of 1872, and examines the commercial shopping establishments that replaced pre-fire residences and churches. His presentation includes slides.
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This seminar will proceed from two premises: 1) that the Revolution had many meanings to its diverse participants; and 2) that it has been interpreted—its causes, dynamics, and outcomes—ever since. Therefore, participants will read secondary works of various historians who have disagreed sharply on how to interpret the American Revolution; and will examine a variety of primary documents through which modern Americans can better understand how people at the time understood what they were fighting for and what outcomes they hoped to enjoy.
Professor Gordon Wood investigates George Washington's contributions to the creation of the American republic. The bicentennial of his death in 1999 sparked a reassessment of this extraordinary man and his times. He was commander in chief of the revolutionary army, a leader in the formation of the Constitution of 1787, and the first president of the new United States. Despite these great accomplishments, he remains strangely distant and inaccessible to us in the early 21st century. This brief but intensive course helps explain the sources and meaning of Washington's greatness.
Author David McCullough talks about his book John Adams and the significance of Adams's term in office as the second president of the United States.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the Constitutional Convention delegates' debates over state vs. federal power. Many were eager to avoid a tyranny.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces a major debate during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia which focused on the balance of power between the state and federal governments. Alexander Hamilton proposed to abolish the states.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces the concern many states expressed during the ratification conventions that the new constitution did not contain a Bill of Rights.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the great debate that ensued during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia about how states should be represented equally in Congress, since some states had greater populations than others.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the ratification process for the new Constitution. Once it was written, it needed to be ratified by each of the states. Ratifying conventions were held for delegates to vote on whether or not to adopt the new constitution.
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This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the Stamp Act, a British tax on all printed material, from marriage licenses to playing cards. It infuriated colonists.
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