Launching the American Republic, 1787-1826 series

Join Dr. Joan Gittens, emerita professor of history at Southwest Minnesota State University, for a weekly exploration of the early years of America. Launching the American Republic, 1787-1826 will look at the crafting of the Constitution and Americans’ ensuing struggles and anxieties as the founders strove to make the document into a working reality. There was nothing smooth or collaborative about the early days of the great experiment. They faced intensely serious issues of state against a background of world conflict. These early years saw some important issues settled, while others—the role of the federal government versus the states, for example— are with us to the present day.

The sessions in this lecture series are sequential, but you do not need to attend them all.

Sept. 16—Drafting the Constitution and Persuading the Country

Sept. 23—The Washington Years—Party Alignments Begin to Emerge

Sept. 30—The Adams Administration—Conflict at Home and Abroad

Oct. 7—The Jefferson Years—The Opposition takes Charge

Oct. 14—From The War of 1812 to the 50th Anniversary of the Republic

Oct. 21—What about Slavery?