Course Syllabus for "HIST303: The Age of Revolutions in the Atlantic World, 1776-1848 (OLD)".

This course will introduce you to the history of the Age of Revolutions in the Atlantic World from 1776 to 1848.  You will learn about the revolutionary upheavals that took place in the Americas and Europe during this period.  Each unit will include representative primary-source documents that illustrate important overarching political, economic, and social themes, such as the secession of the American colonies from the British Empire, the outbreak of the French Revolution, the dissolution of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires in the Americas, and the spread of revolutionary ideals throughout the Atlantic World.  Running alongside and extending beyond these political revolutions is the First Industrial Revolution.  By the end of the course, you will understand how an Atlantic World, dominated by European empires in 1776, was transformed through revolution into a series of independent states by 1848 and something of the profound changes that Europe would experience, and continue to experience, through the development and consolidation of capitalism.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Course Requirements

In order to take this course, you must:

√    Have access to a computer.

√    Have continuous broadband Internet access.

√    Have the ability/permission to install plug-ins or software (e.g. Adobe Reader or Flash).

√    Have the ability to download and save files and documents to a computer.

√    Have the ability to open Microsoft files and documents (.doc, .ppt, .xls, etc.).

√    Have competency in the English language.

√    Have read the Saylor Student Handbook.

√    Have completed all courses listed in “The Core Program” of the History discipline (HIST101, HIST102, HIST103, and HIST104).

Course Information

Welcome to HST 303.  Below, please find general information on this course and its requirements. 
 
Course Designer: Mark Hoolihan
 
Primary Resources: The study material for this course includes a range of free online content. However, the initial part of the course assigns chapters mainly from the following texts and lectures:

Requirements for Completion: In order to successfully complete this course, you will need to work through each unit and its assigned material, in the order they are presented. 
 
Note that you will be officially graded only for the final exam.  In order to "pass" the course, you will have to attain a minimum of 70% on the Final Exam.  Your score on the final exam will be tabulated as soon as you complete it.  You will have the opportunity to retake the exam if you do not pass it.
 
Time Commitment: This course should take you approximately 88.5 hours to complete.  A time advisory is presented under each subunit to guide you on the amount of time that you are expected to spend in going through the lectures.  Please do not rush through the material to adhere to the time advisory.   You can look at the time suggested in order to plan out your week for study and make your schedule accordingly.

Course Overview

  • 1.2.5 Jews and Emancipation  
  • 1.2.6 Equality  
  • Unit 1 Assessment  
  • Unit 2: The American Revolution  

    The American Revolution was the first of the Atlantic Revolutions.  The roots of the American Revolution can be traced back to both the Enlightenment and British concepts of Law and Representation.  The tensions between Britain and her American colonies were exacerbated by the French and Indian War, the subsequent taxes imposed on the colonies, and British mercantile policies.  These tensions led to violence in 1775. Unable to get their grievances addressed, the colonists ultimately declared themselves independent in 1776.
     
    In this unit, we will ask why the revolutionaries went to war and what they hoped to achieve through independence.  We will also consider the impact of the revolution on Europe and the Caribbean. 

    Unit 2 Time Advisory
    This unit will take approximately 17.5 hours to complete.

    ☐    Subunit 2.1: 5.5 hours

    ☐    Subunit 2.1.1: 2 hours

    ☐    Subunit 2.1.2: .5 hours

    ☐    Subunit 2.1.3: 3 hours

    ☐    Subunit 2.2: 2 hours

    ☐    Subunit 2.3: 3 hours

    ☐    Subunit 2.4: 1.5 hours

    ☐    Subunit 2.5: 3.5 hours

    ☐    Subunit 2.6: 2 hours
    Unit2 Learning Outcomes
    Upon successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
    • Identify and describe the causes of the American Revolution.

    • Explain the links between the causes of the American Revolution and broader intellectual trends of the period.

    • Describe the basic sequence of events and outcomes of the American Revolution.
  • 2.1 Origins of the Crisis  
  • 2.1.1 Taxation and Mercantilist Policies  
  • 2.1.2 The French and Indian War  
  • 2.1.3 The Estrangement of the Colonies  
  • 2.1.4 Taxation and Representation  

    Note: This unit is covered by the reading for 2.1.3.

  • 2.2 The Coming of Revolution  
  • 2.2.1 Protest and Solidarity  
  • 2.2.2 Violence and Organization  

    Note: This unit is covered by the lectures for 2.2.1.

  • 2.3 The Revolution  
  • 2.3.1 The Declaration of Independence  
  • 2.3.2 War and Victory  
  • 2.4 Goals of the Revolution  
  • 2.4.1 Independence  
  • 2.4.2 Equal Rights  
  • 2.4.3 Democracy  

    Note: This unit is covered by the reading for 2.4.2.

  • 2.5 Challenges of the Revolution  
  • 2.5.1 What Kind of Government?  
  • 2.5.2 The Articles of Confederation  
  • 2.5.3 Threats to the New Nation  
  • 2.5.4 The Constitution  
  • 2.6 Outcomes  
  • 2.6.1 Revolutionary Change?  
  • 2.6.2 Impact of the American Revolution  
  • Unit 2 Assessment  
  • Unit 3: The French Revolution  

    The French Revolution was the primary catalyst for spreading revolutionary ideas throughout Europe.  The Ancient Regime had divided the society into three estates: the clergy (first estate), the nobility (second estate), and the townspeople and peasantry (third estate).  The Revolution broke out when the third estate rebelled against the king as well as the first two estates and proclaimed themselves the true representative of the “French people.”  The French Revolution overthrew the monarchy as well as the estate system and introduced new radical ideas of government and what “the nation” meant.
     
    In this unit, we will examine the causes of the French Revolution: famine, poverty, the Enlightenment, and the outdated and oppressive nature of the Ancient Regime.  We will also study the different phases of the Revolution and the spread of revolutionary ideas.

    Unit 3 Time Advisory
    This unit will take approximately 17.75 hours to complete.

    ☐    Subunit 3.1: 3.75 hours

    ☐    Subunit 3.2: 7.75 hours

    ☐    Subunit 3.2.1: 2 hours

    ☐    Subunit 3.2.2: 1 hour

    ☐    Subunit 3.2.3: 2 hours

    ☐    Subunit 3.2.4: 0.75 hours

    ☐    Subunit 3.2.5: .5 hours

    ☐    Subunit 3.2.6: .5 hours

    ☐    Subunit 3.2.7: 1 hour

    ☐    Subunit 3.3: 2.75 hours

    ☐    Subunit 3.4: 3.5 hours
    Unit3 Learning Outcomes
    Upon successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
    • Identify and describe the many stages of the French Revolution, including: the end of absolutist monarchy, the implementation of constitutional monarchy, and the rise of the Jacobin Republic.

    • Compare and contrast the Declaration of the Rights of Man and other major statements of the Revolutionary period and Enlightenment thinking.

    • Describe the long-term impact of the French Revolution of European and World History.
  • 3.1 The Old Regime  
  • 3.1.1 Society and Government  
  • 3.1.2 Breakdown of the Old Regime  

    Note: This topic is covered by the reading and the video under subunit 3.1.1.

  • 3.1.3 The Estates General  

    Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 3.1.1.

  • 3.2 The Revolution  
  • 3.2.1 The National Assembly  

    Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 3.1.1.

  • 3.2.2 The Storming of the Bastille  

    Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 3.1.1.

  • 3.2.3 Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen  

    Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 3.1.1.

  • 3.2.4 The Flight to Varennes  
  • 3.2.5 The Constitution  
  • 3.2.6 Jewish Emancipation  
  • 3.2.7 Declaration of Rights of Women  
  • 3.3 The Jacobin Republic and the Terror  
  • 3.3.1 The Execution of the King and Queen  
  • 3.3.2 The Terror  

    Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 3.3.1.

  • 3.3.3 Thermidorian Reaction  

    Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 3.3.1.

  • 3.3.4 The Directory  

    Note: This unit is covered by the readings for subunits 3.3.2 and 3.3.3.

  • 3.4 Impact  

    Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 3.3.4.

  • 3.4.1 The Radical Phase  
  • 3.4.2 European War and the Levee en Masse  

    Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 3.3.4.

  • 3.4.3 The Rise of Napoleon  

    Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 3.3.4.

  • 3.4.4 The Spread of the Revolution  
  • 3.4.5 France after Napoleon  
  • Unit 3 Assessment  
  • Unit 4: Latin American and Caribbean Revolutions  

    Beginning in the early nineteenth century, a spate of revolutions swept through the European territories in the Americas.  The independence movements that proliferated in Americas in the early nineteenth century were a direct result of the American and French Revolutions, as well as the Peninsular War, a conflict over the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars.  The slave revolt in Haiti was the only truly successful slave revolt, as well as the first of the new Independence movements.  Napoleon Bonaparte dismantled the Spanish Bourbon monarchy, allowing for the establishment of several junta governments in Spanish America that advocated independence from Spain.  And while Napoleon’s forces occupied Portugal, the monarchy fled to Brazil, its South American colony.  However, when the Portuguese king returned to Portugal in 1821, his brother, the prince regent, declared Brazil independent of Portugal.  The wars for independence that ensued in Central and South America during this time resulted in protracted and bloody conflicts, the adoption of free trade policies, the rise of many unstable regimes, and the expansion of representative government. 

    In this unit, we will consider the many causes of the Latin American and Caribbean Revolutions of the early 1800s as well the particular character of each revolution.  We will also study how the revolutionary movements helped better integrate Central and South America into the world economy and forge alliances with America and Great Britain.

    Unit 4 Time Advisory
    This unit will take approximately 15.25 hours to complete.

    ☐    Subunit 4.1: 6 hours

    ☐    Subunit 4.1.1: 2 hours

    ☐    Subunit 4.1.2: 2 hours

    ☐    Subunit 4.1.3: 1.75 hours

    ☐    Subunit 4.1.4: 1 hour

    ☐    Subunit 4.2: 3 hours

    ☐    Subunit 4.3: 4 hours

    ☐    Subunit 4.4: 1.5 hours

    ☐    Subunit 4.5: 1 hour            
    Unit4 Learning Outcomes
    Upon successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
    • Identify and discuss the importance of the American Revolution, French Revolution, and the Napoleonic invasion of Spain and Portugal to the Latin American Independence movements.

    • Describe the role of Simon Bolivar in fomenting independence.

    • Distinguish the histories of various revolutions in Spanish-speaking South America from one another and the Brazilian experience from those of the Spanish-speaking areas.

    • Discuss the complex transitions from colony to independent countries undertaken by Latin American countries during the middle 19th century.

    • Explain the relationship between the French Revolution and the Haitian Slave Revolt.
  • 4.1 The Haitian Revolution  
  • 4.1.1 Slave Society in Haiti  
  • 4.1.2 The Revolt of 1791  

    Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 4.1.1.

  • 4.1.3 The French Response  
  • 4.1.4 Independence  

    Note: This topic is covered by the video under subunit 4.1.3.

  • 4.2 Causes of Independence Movements  
  • 4.2.1 Discontent in Colonial Society  
  • 4.2.2 The American and French Revolutions  
  • 4.2.3 The Napoleonic Wars  
  • 4.3 The Spanish Empire  
  • 4.3.1 Mexico  
  • 4.3.2 Simon Bolivar and South America  
  • 4.4 The Portuguese Empire  
  • 4.4.1 Colonial Brazil  
  • 4.4.2 Impact of European Wars  
  • 4.4.3 Brazilian Independence  
  • 4.5 Impact of American Revolutions  
  • 4.5.1 The New Nations  
  • 4.5.2 Monroe Doctrine and the Americas  
  • Unit 4 Assessment  
  • Unit 5: The Industrial Revolution  

    The Industrial Revolution is not a revolution in the same sense as the previous units, but a series of long-term changes that reshaped first Europe and then the world.  The Industrial Revolution does not have a start or end date, and there is much disagreement on what constitutes a ‘revolution’ when referring to these changes.  The Industrial Revolution involved new technologies and ideas, as well as long-term changes in the social and economic relationships within Britain, Europe, and the wider world.
     
    The Industrial Revolution made countries that adapted to these changes much more powerful economically, both overall and per capita, than countries that did not.  These changes came at a price for many people who saw their way of life and standard of living destroyed by the new modes of production.  The revolutions of 1848 were in a large part brought about by the changes the Industrial Revolution brought to European society.

    Unit 5 Time Advisory
    This unit will take approximately 12.5 hours to complete.

    ☐    Subunit 5.1: 1 hours

    ☐    Subunit 5.2: 2.5 hours

    ☐    Subunit 5.3: 2 hours

    ☐    Subunit 5.4: 2 hours

    ☐    Subunit 5.5: 5 hours
    Unit5 Learning Outcomes
    Upon successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
    • Identify the factors that enabled the emergence of First Industrial Revolution in the English textile industry of the mid-to-late 18th century.

    • Undertake comparative analyses of early capitalism in England, France, and the United States and account for the differences between them.

    • Identify the characteristics of capitalist production and what distinguishes it from earlier forms of craft production.

    • Discuss and identify the sociological categories capitalism, rationality, class, and alienation.

    • Identify the main phases of working-class organization from the late 18th century through 1848.

    • Identify the transformations in political meaning given the French Revolution by the uprisings of 1848.
  • 5.1 What Is the Industrial Revolution?  
  • 5.2 England: The First Industrial Revolution  
  • 5.2.1 Economic Preconditions and Incentives for Technological Development  
  • 5.2.2 The Steam Engine and Technology  
  • 5.2.3 The Factory System  
  • 5.3 Effects of the Industrial Revolution  
  • 5.3.1 The Rise of Industrial Countries  
  • 5.3.2 The Consequences for Workers  
  • 5.4 Theories and Problems of the Industrial Economy  
  • 5.4.1 Adam Smith and Laissez Faire  
  • 5.4.2 Karl Marx and Socialism  
  • 5.5 1848  
  • 5.5.1 Revolutions in France  
  • 5.5.2 Discontent in Cities  
  • 5.5.3 The Revolutions  

    Note: This subunit is covered by the reading for 5.5.2 

  • 5.5.4 Nationalism and Counter-Revolution  
  • Unit 5 Assessment  
  • Unit 6: The Effects of Revolution  

    The Atlantic world of 1776 looked very different from the Atlantic world that emerged in 1848.  France was no longer an absolutist monarchy.  America was no longer a collection of British colonies, but an independent nation whose economy was becoming one of the largest in the world.  Saint-Domingue had been transformed from a French colony in the Caribbean into the free republic of Haiti.  New Spain had been dismantled, and new republics and federations in Central and South America had risen in its place. The Industrial Revolution had transformed Western Europe 1848 had seen an explosion of revolutionary discontent throughout Europe.  But revolutions did not guarantee the implementation of democratic principles and the end of oppressive regimes.  In fact, in many regions, tyranny either returned or persisted; freedom of “the people” was never assured.
           
    In this unit, we will consider the Atlantic world in the wake of the revolutionary age and compare and contrast the revolutions in Europe and the Americas.  We will also consider how revolutionaries ended their respective revolutions as well as how they remembered them.

    Unit 6 Time Advisory
    This unit will take approximately 9.5 hours to complete.

    ☐    Subunit 6.1: 5 hours

    ☐    Subunit 6.2: 4.5 hours
    Unit6 Learning Outcomes
    Upon successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
    • Evaluate the various types of revolutionary and other social movements presented in this course in a comparative framework.

    • Describe and identify the long-term effects of the major changes, resulting from revolution, covered in this course.

    • Define the notion of revolution and describe its varied meanings.
  • 6.1 A New World Order?  
  • 6.1.1 The World Economic System after Industrialization  
  • 6.1.2 The Atlantic World after Independence Movements  
  • 6.2 Comparing Revolutions  
  • 6.2.1 The Americas in 1848  
  • 6.2.2 Europe in 1848  
  • 6.2.3 Revolution and the Modern World  
  • Unit 7: Final Exam