This History U course examines the “why” and the “how” of American government through in-depth discussion of its history and workings.
Course Instructor: Professor Denver Brunsman, The George Washington University
Eligibility: High school students
Image Source: N. Mendal Shafer, "Diagram of the Federal Government and American Union," 1881 (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, 98503857)
History U
Free for high school students
This History U course examines the “why” and the “how” of American government through in-depth discussion of its history and workings. Professor Brunsman begins with the early trial and error of American government, detailing the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence, the flawed initial attempt at governance in the Articles of Confederation, and the debates over the US Constitution. It continues with a practical examination of the three branches of government, focusing not only on the work that each branch does but the interaction between the branches. Finally, the course focuses on linkage institutions, including interest groups, political parties, and the media, that connect Americans with their government and influence their votes.
The views expressed in this course are those of Dr. Denver Brunsman.
Kevin Cline explains what you will learn in this course.
Denver Brunsman, Professor of History, The George Washington University
Denver Brunsman is an associate professor of history at the George Washington University, where he writes and teaches on the politics and social history of the American Revolution, early American republic, and British Atlantic world. His courses include George Washington and His World, taught annually at Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate. His book The Evil Necessity: British Naval Impressment in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World (2013) received the Walker Cowen Memorial Prize for an outstanding work in eighteenth-century studies in the Americas and Atlantic world. He is also a co-author of the college and AP US History textbook Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People (2015; 2020) and an editor of The American Revolution Reader (2013) and Colonial America: Essays in Politics and Social Development (2011).
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