Advanced Seminar: The Founding Fathers' Government in an Electronic Age

3 units

This is a research seminar that examines how Americans sought to translate their notions of government into a realistic set of priorities and a functioning set of public institutions. Extending from 1789 through the 1820s, this course investigates how the federal government came into being, what it did, and who populated the civilian and military rank of American officialdom. This is also a course in digital history. Students will create new knowledge through their own contributions to an ongoing digital project that seeks to reconstitute the early federal workforce. In the process, students will learn a variety of digital techniques, ranging from encoding languages to electronic systems to software packages.