HIUS 512 American Revolution

The course covers American history during the War for Independence, focusing on factors that prompted separation of the colonies from Great Britain, on the role of Christianity in the resistance and independence movements, and on the nature and genius of the American constitutional system of government.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Course Guide

View this course’s outcomes, policies, schedule, and more.*

*The information contained in our Course Guides is provided as a sample. Specific course curriculum and requirements for each course are provided by individual instructors each semester. Students should not use Course Guides to find and complete assignments, class prerequisites, or order books.


The course covers the founding period of American history, including the War for Independence, the formation of American government (and the U.S. Constitution), the lives of early national leaders, and the role of religion in American history. The course is particularly valuable for teachers of American history.


Textbook readings and lecture presentations/notes

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Video Discussion Assignments (4)

There will be four video discussions throughout this course. The student is required to create a video showing them responding to a discussion prompt utilizing research they have done. Each video is to be 3.5 – 5 minutes long. Students post an abstract, a list of three academic sources, and the video link.  In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 3 other classmates’ threads in writing. Each reply must be a minimum of 100 words.

Research Topic Assignment

The student will write a brief 2-page paper on a subject of proposed research.  The submission will have a title page, a two page narrative and a separate bibliography.  The  paper student must have footnotes to five different academic sources (in Turabian citation format) and a bibliography with seven primary or scholarly sources (in Turabian citation format).

Research Prospectus Assignment

The research prospectus describes the research paper/project. The assignment must be 2 pages, requiring the student to describe the proposed project, explain a research methodology, describe key academic sources and how they will be used in project research, and include an operating thesis. The assignment requires a bibliography with a minimum of 10 academic sources.

Annotated Bibliography Assignment

The student will submit a bibliography of 10 sources: primary sources, scholarly sources, and web-based sources. Sources must be listed in appropriate Turabian format. Each annotation must be a minimum of 200 words. For each entry, the student will give a description of the value of the source and how it will be used in research.   The Bibliography must open with a paragraph providing an overview of the research, methodology and an anticipated thesis or hypothesis.

Research Project Assignment

The student will write a 10-15 page research paper in current Turabian format that focuses on an approved topic in the Revolutionary Era (1763–1789). The paper must include  a bibliography of at least 15 scholarly references and primary sources.  The student may submit a research project in another format, such as a PowerPoint with a transcription, a multimedia presentation, or an on-site video. All projects must demonstrate graduate standards of research methodology, historical analysis, and documentary citation.

Professional Proposal Assignment

This assignment requires the creation a formal academic C.V. (1 page) and a written letter of proposal (1 page) for history services, paid or voluntary, for a history organization or public history site.

Quizzes (7)

Each quiz will be 26 questions, twenty-five are multiple choice and one is an essay question. Students have 90 minutes to complete the quiz. Quizzes will cover course reading, presentations, articles/websites, and textbooks. 


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