submitted by devries@augsburg.edu
HIS 389-A
Wed 6-9 pm
Fall 2026
This seminar-style course sees the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence as a special opportunity to reconsider the history and legacies of the American Revolution. In the 1760s and 1770s, English speaking-people fought amongst themselves over Indigenous lands in North America, sparking a civil war that eventually turned into a world war. The conflict not only spawned a new nation—the United States—but also an “age of revolutions” that changed the lives of millions around the globe. Topics covered include: the causes of the Revolution, daily life in a society torn apart by violence, the experiences of African Americans as well as Native peoples and nations, the significance of gender and family, struggles to define democracy, and the history of how the Revolution has been remembered in different ways by different Americans.