The American Revolution

The American Revolution is Joanne Freeman's Spring 2010 course HIST 116, recorded for Open Yale Courses as 25 lectures of about 50 minutes. Rather than a purely military story, it follows how people who thought of themselves as British colonists came to see themselves as revolutionaries and then as Americans. Early lectures cover colonial society and intercolonial rivalry, the Stamp Act crisis and the events in Boston; the middle of the course deals with Common Sense, independence, the loyalists, organising and fighting the war and George Washington's role; the final lectures move through the Confederation, the road to the Constitutional Convention and the creation of a nation.

The syllabus lists the books and articles read on campus and describes the two papers and exams the Yale students wrote, none of which is graded for online viewers. Every lecture is available as streaming or downloadable video, audio and a searchable transcript. Open Yale Courses is free and needs no registration; no certificate or credit is offered.