HIS 302 American & French Revolutions: The Birth of the Modern Era
The American Revolution epitomized the intellectual tradition known as the Enlightenment that combined with vibrant Puritan, Baptist, Anglican, and Episcopalian cultures. Ten years later, the French abandoned the Enlightenment striking out on a new path that would shake the foundations of the western world, redefining society, culture, and politics for the next 200 years. Though the American Revolution succeeded in setting historical precedents by 1800, the French Revolution would pit against it a new set of ideals setting the stage for the cultural wars, the political battles, and the philosophical schools of the 19th & 20th centuries. 3 credits.