Course Description

This study abroad course in London provides an opportunity for students to understand the meanings of the American Revolution from British perspectives. While some in England offered strong support and even revolutionary pamphlets to the colonists' rebellion against English domination, others fully supported the strengtheningand extension of British imperial strength. Fortunately, many of the most prominent English writers and politicians weighed in on this important debate. Scholarly analyses of their writings offer fascinating insights into the larger significance of the Revolution.

Credits

This summer course counts for the history major (HST 401/501).

London

(For photos of sites we will visit, see http://www.brockport.edu/history/faculty/parker.html) We will reinforce our readings about British perspectives on the American Revolution by visiting several famous London sites such as the Houses of Parliament where we will attend a session of the House of Commons, which is and was famous for its lively debates. We will also attend a trial in the Royal Courts of Justice to see just how much of English Common Law the Americans retained in their new legal system. As a day trip, we will visit the beautiful and stately colleges of Cambridge University, which was established in the 13th century. Many of the prominent politicians and theorists of the 18th century whose work we will read studied at either Cambridge or Oxford University.

A visit to Westminster Abbey, famous for its stunning Gothic architecture, will allow us to see a symbol of the royal power and ceremony that Britain's rebellious colonists ultimately rejected. We will also tour the Tower of London, one of the oldest, most fascinating of the many sites we will see together in the City of London.

For each week, you will read several articles (all of which are available on Angel). I have listed below a total of 19 readings, but you are responsible for reading only 13. That means that you can subtract two from each week's readings. You will need to turn in ALL typed assignments BEFORE we leave for England. I will comment on all your writings and return them to you on the first day of the course. You will then bring your written assignments (with my comments on them) to each of our discussions on the readings. Read and write one-two page discussions of each of the readings. Try to critically engage the ideas and argument of the author. Do not simply say "I liked this article" or "I disliked this article." Instead, engage with the ideas more criticlly. Llink the readings to each other when possible (note contradictions, agreements, and disagreements between authors). Write 1-3 questions about each reading at the end of each assignment for class discussion and/or to clarify issues that you are confused about. Think (and write) about what each article can tell us about British perspectives on the American Revolution.

Week One

Read and write about the following articles. Come prepared for class discussion.

1. "The Age of George III," in The Age of Aristocracy, 1688 to 1830 by William Wilcox and Walter Arnstein.

2. "Manly Dominions: War and Empire, 1689-1793," in Gender and Power in Britain, 1640-1990, by Susan Kent.

3. "The Making of British Foreign Policy," in British Foreign Policy in the Age of the American Revolution, by H. M. Scott.

4. "The Legacies of the 'American Army.'" in Redcoates: the British Soldier and War in the Americans, 1755-1763, by Steven Brumwell.

5. "Peripheries," in Britons: Forgoing the Nation, 1707-1837, by Linda Colley.

6. "The Nation Abroad: The Atlantic Debate Over Colonial Taxation," in The Persistence of Empire: British Political Culture in the Age of Revolution, by Eliga Gould.

Week Two

Read and write about the following articles. Come prepared for class discussion.

7. "The Crisis of American Independence," in An Empire Divided: The American Revolution and the British Caribbean, by Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy.

8. Parlimentary Debates, in The Debate on the American Revolution, 1761-1783, ed. by Max Beloff.

9. "Patriot's Apogee: Wilkite Radicalism and the Cult of Resistance, 1763-1774," in The Sense of the People: Politics, Culture and Imperialism in England, 1715-1785, by Kathleen Wilson.

10. "The Loss of America," in Wars and Revolutions: Britain 1760-1815, by Ian Christie.

11. "The Friends of America': British Sympathy with the American Revolultion," by H.T. Dickinson, in Radicalism and Revolution in Britain, 1775-1848, ed. by Michael T. Davis.

12. "Civil War," in British Politics and the American Revolution, by Charles Ritcheson.

13. "Loyalty versus Opposition in london, 1775-1778," in Disaffected Patriots: London Supporters of Revolutionary America, by John Sainsbury.

Week Three

Read and write about the following articles. Come prepared for class discussion.

14. "Surrender at Saratoga," in Redcoats and Rebels: The American Revolution Through British Eyes, by Christopher Hibbert.

15. "Military Disaster," in The American Revolution and the British Press, 1775-1783, by Solomon Lutnick.

16. "Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne Opens His Campaign: Summer 1777," in Rebels and Redcoats, by George Scheer and Hugh Rankin.

17. "Except in Parliament: January 1778-June 1778," in Iron Tears: America's Battle for Freedom, Britain's Quagmire: 1775-1783, by Stanley Weintraub.

18. "Religious Reform and Religious Reaction," in The British Isles and the War of American Independence, by Stephen Conway.

19. "The Impact of the War on the British Isles," in The War of American Independence, 1775-1783, by Stephen Conway.