This course focuses on three topics: political developments in North America and the British empire and the arguments for and against independence, culminating in the Declaration of Independence; the Revolutionary War as a military, social and cultural event in the development of the American nation and state; and the United States under the articles of confederation. In the course of our discussions, we will explore the meaning, implications, and political logic of some of the central ideas of the American Revolution: equality, liberty, government by consent, representation, the rule of law, separation of powers, limited government, natural rights, civil rights, republicanism, federalism, and constitutionalism.