20. Confederation

The American Revolution (HIST 116)

This lecture discusses the ongoing political experimentation involved in creating new constitutions for the new American states. Having declared independence from Great Britain, Americans had to determine what kind of government best suited their individual states as well as the nation at large; to many, this was the "whole object" of their revolutionary turmoil. Different people had different ideas about what kind of republican government would work best for their state. Should there be a unicameral or a bicameral legislature? How should political representation be organized and effected? How far should the principle of popular sovereignty be taken?

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction: Confederation
03:13 - Chapter 2. An Atmosphere of Experimentation with Governance
07:47 - Chapter 3. Congressional Encouragement of New State Constitutions
13:38 - Chapter 4. Adams's Thoughts on Government: Support for Bicameral Legislature
20:12 - Chapter 5. Core Tenets and Ideas in the State Constitutions
32:30 - Chapter 6. The Development of the Articles of Confederation
41:31 - Chapter 7. Conclusion

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Spring 2010.