Luce Center at New York Historical Society

ETA: I'd like everyone to take a look at the first comment thread and respond to my questions. Thank you to Bianka M. for introducing us to the source and starting an important conversation about authorship in research as we start to think about formal research for the upcoming essays. If you haven't commented on this post yet, please join the conversation!

-Mariel

"No Stamp Act Teapot" from the National Museum of American History. Breen discusses this item in his book The Marketplace of Revolution

In the essay by T. H. Breen we read in class, Breen argues that the consumption of European items by American colonists strengthened their British identities and solidified their bonds to the "mother country."

The "material culture" that colonists consumed can tell us a lot about the lives of colonists that we wouldn't otherwise know. Richard Bushman writes about ways we can understand the development of a distinctly American identity through objects  in his book, The Refinement of America.

The New-York Historical Society (on 77th street and Central Park West, just across the park from Hunter!) has a material culture collection that can tell us a great deal about what life was like in the 18th and 19th centuries. Explore the contents of the Luce Center's collection (it would be great if you can visit the museum and do this in person, but it is not required for this assignment. Looking at the website will suffice), concentrating on objects from within the scope of this course. Choose one object that interests you, and write about it and what it tells you about the period it is from that you could not learn from the textbook. Keep an eye on the comments and avoid repeating an object someone else has posted. 

This post will be open to comments until March 4.

Pick a colony, any colony

Sketch of New York Harbor by Captain Thomas Howdell

So far this semester, we've looked at the colonies of Portugal (briefly), Spain, France, the Netherlands and England. Imagine that you can choose any colony in which to settle and try to make your fortune. Which would you choose? What factors influenced your decision over the other colonies?

This post will be open to comments until Tuesday, February 18.

First contact continued...

Take a look at these portraits of Four Indian Kings. Do these portraits confirm or challenge the points made in the discussion of the New York Public Library's collection from the previous post?

This post will be available for comments until Tuesday, February 11. You may continue to comment on the previous post or start new conversations based on this post. Comments on both posts will be considered for your participation grade.

Also, please remember to sign up for a presentation date. There are still spaces remaining for both sections for February 25. If there are still open spaces at class time tomorrow, I will assign the date randomly.

Happy commenting!

First Contact and Beyond

Matoaka als Rebecka daughter to the mighty Prince Powhatan by Simon van de Pass, 1595?

Visit the New York Public Library's digital collection, "Four-hundred Years of Native American Portraiture." Browse through the portraits and prints, concentrating on the early period. Consider today's class discussion of the first contact between indigenous Americans and European explorers.   What do the portraits suggest about the mutual influence between natives and Europeans?

This post will be open to comments until Tuesday, February 11.

Welcome!

This is the course blog for History 151: Colonial Era to the Civil War for Spring 2014 at Hunter College, with instructor Mariel Isaacson, sections 003 (T/F 8:10 am-9:25 am) and 005 (T/F 9:45 am-11 am).

The required books for the course are :

Eric Foner's Give Me Liberty! An American History, Volume 1 and 

Eric Foner's Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History, Volume 1. 

Both new and used copies of the books will be available at Shakespeare and Company, located at 939 Lexington Avenue. You may also purchase ebooks through the publisher. Please have your books by the first day of class.

I'll look forward to meeting you on the first day of class, Tuesday, January 28. Enjoy your break!

-Mariel Isaacson