The Rise of American Democracy

(History 254E is an undergraduate course offered for 5 units; History 354E is a graduate course offered for 4-5 units.) Where did American democracy come from? Prior to and during the American Revolution, few who lived in what became the United States claimed to live in a democracy. Half a century later, most took this reality as an article of faith. Accordingly, the period stretching from c. 1750 to c. 1840 is often considered the period when American democracy was ascendant, a time marked by the explosion of new forms of political thinking, practices, and culture, new political institutions and forms of political organization, and new kinds of political struggles. This advanced undergraduate/graduate colloquium will explore how American political life changed during this formative period to understand the character of early American democracy, how different groups gained or suffered as a result of these transformations, and, in light of these investigations, in what ways it is historically appropriate to think of this period as in fact the rise of American democracy.