OPUC20201 - Ideas in the Founding of America

Course Description

The United States is a nation founded on ideas. Unlike European nations, our country does not rest on a distinct ethnicity (like Germans or Italians); rather, it comprises a variety of ethnic and national origins whose national unity is based on shared loyalty to fundamental political principles -- primarily those expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Careful study of the ideas of the founding generation -- ideas that influenced those who wrote, ratified, fought for and lived under the Declaration and the Constitution -- provides a rich foundation for understanding the conceptions that are at the heart of American identity. In his book of essays entitled, The Idea of America: Reflections on the Birth of the United States, the distinguished historian Gordon Wood explores some of these ideas in depth. So will we, using his essays as our discussion prompters.

You are invited to read the entire book; in class we will focus on the chapters indicated in the Syllabus.