Lecture #1 (Sept. 1): "Introduction to Classical America" and
                                            Dr. Joseph Warren: A Classicist and A Patriot"
 
 

Dr. Joseph Warren

Dr. Joseph Warren (1741-1775), A Classically Trained American Orator  and Patriot

Death of Dr. Warren  at Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775 by John Trumbull

•     Explanation of course content and objectives
•     Course requirements
•     Introduction to the Classical Patriot, Dr. Joseph Warren
•    Thomas Jefferson and the Classics

 Lecture #2 (September 6): "Dr. Joseph Warren: A Classicist and A Patriot"
 

Boston Massacre

Broadside of Boston Massacre (1770)

Old State House (1748), Boston, MA

 

Washington and  Classical Motifs

George Washington "Cincinnatus" by Houdon VA Capitol Building

George Washington Horatio Greenough (1841); Smithsonian Museum,  Washington, DC

Required Readings:

• Meyer Reinhold, Classica Americana, "The Cult of Antiquity in America," pp. 23-49.
• Dr. Joseph Warren’s First Boston Massacre Oration
• Henry Steele Commanger, "The American Enlightenment and the Ancient World," Proceedings of the Mass. Historical Society (1971), pp. 3-15.
• Carl Richard, The Founders and the Classics, "Introduction," pp.2-11.

•  N. McMillen and C. Bolton,  A Synopsis of American History, pp. 1-17.
•  Ronald Reagan’s Inaugural Address and reference to Dr. Joseph Warren
•  Story of Lucretia, Livy  Book I, Chapters 57-60

Lecture #3 (September 8): "Early American Latin Grammar Schools"
 

Early American Classical Education

18th Century Schoolhouse

Wm. Lily's 16th Century  Latin Grammar Book

Illustrated Latin Text Book

Title Page - 18th Cent.  American Publication

Required Readings:

• Nathaniel William’s 1712 Description of the Curriculum of the Boston Latin Grammar School
• Univ. of Pennsylvania Grammar School Curriculum (1795)
• Aesop’s Fables - Selections from Croxall Edition

Popular Classical Authors in  18th Century  America

William Pitt's 1763 Virgil

Aesop's Fables Chinaware - Peabody Museum Salem, MA

Aesop's Fables: "Old Lady and the Hen" -  17th Century Woodcut

• Vergil’s Aeneid, Bk. 1
• Carl Richard, The Founders and the Classics, "The Classical Conditionning of the Founders," pp.12-38.

• McMillen and Bolton, Synopsis of American History, pp. 18-28.
• See W. Ziobro, "Classical Education in Colonial America," in M. Meckler (ed.) Classical Antiquity and the Politics of America (2006), pp. 13-28, and W. Ziobro: Grammar School Education in Early America
• See also, Vergil, Eclogue #4
• Aesop's Fables
• Aesop at Kenmore

Lecture #4 (September 13) - "Quintilian and Erasmus: Background and Foreground of Early American Education"
 
 
 
 
 

The Roots of Early American Education

Quintilian - Roman Writer                    on the Art of Rhetoric

Desiderius Erasmus  (1466-1536)

Erasmus' Colloquies 1804 Worcester (MA) edition

Required Readings:

•  Michael Grant,Cicero: "On Moral Duties - Bk III" in Selected Works, pp. 157-209
•  Cicero's First Verrine Oration
•  Erasmus -De Ratione Studii:
•  Quintilian–Institutes, Bk 4 and BK 10
•  Vergil's Aeneid in the 18th century
•  Virgil, Aeneid, Bks. 2 and  3.

•  McMillen and Bolton, Synopsis of American History, pp. 29-42

Lecture #5 (September 15) - "The American Grammar School of the 17th and 18th Centuries"
 
 

18th Century  Latin Grammar Schoolhouses

Nathan Hale's Latin Grammar School East Haddam, Connecticut 1773

Nathan Hale's Schoolhouse New London, Connecticut 1774

18th Cent. One Room Schoolhouse York, Maine

Required Readings:

• Cotton Mather (1663-1728)
• Cotton Mather’s Eulogy of Ezekiel Cheever (1708)
•   William Lily's  Carmen de Moribus
•   Horace
•   Ovid's Metamorphoses and the story of "The Transformation of Actaeon into a Stag"
•   Grant, Cicero: Selected Works, pp. 7-82.

•    McMillen and Bolton, Synopsis of American History, pp. 43-54.
•   See also Ovid mythology in Thomas Bulfinch's 1855 The Age of Fable,  Titian's 1559 Painting of Diana and Actaeon
•   George Sandys 1640 Ovid Edition,

Harvard College - ca. 1767

Nassau Hall Princeton University (College of New Jersey) 1754

Wren Building College of William and Mary - ca. 1695

Required Readings:

•   Livy: Life and Ab Urbe Condita: Preface andBk. II.1-10 Early Years of the Republic

Images  of  Ancient History

Jacques-Louis David  Painting: "The Oath of the Horatii,"as described  by Livy

John Trumbull Painting: "Death of Aemilius Paulus at  Battle of Cannae,"as described  by Livy

•  M. Peterson, The Portable Thomas Jefferson, pp. 380-383.
•  Richard, The Founders and the Classics, Chapter III, "Models,"pp. 53-84.

•    McMillen and Bolton, Synopsis of American History, pp. 68-83.

James Madison: Student  of  Ancient History  and  Politics

James Madison; graduate of College of New Jersey (Princeton)  and student of Ancient History

James Madison's Latin  degree  from Princeton University

Required Readings:

•  Sallust + The Jugurthine War (Chapters 39-56)
•  J. Caesar: Life + Gallic War (Bk. 1, Chapters 1-11).
•  The American Colonial College
•  John Adams and Thomas Jefferson on Sallust
•  Carl J. Richard, The Founders and the Classics, Chapter IV, "Antimodels," pp. 85-122.

Suggested Reading:

•  Rev. John  Witherspoon (1723-1794), President of Princeton (1768f)

Lecture  #8 (Sept. 27) - "The 18th Century College Curriculum and Roman History - II"
 
 

James Madison (1751-1836) 1769-1772 Princeton

Federalist Papers (October 1787-August 1788)

Required Readings:

• Carl J. Richard, The Founders and the Classics, Chapter V, "Mixed Government and Classical Pastoralism" pp. 123-168.
• Federalist Paper #18
• Federalist Paper #38

• Allusions to Ancient History in the Inaugural Address  of President William Henry Harrison
• McMillen and Bolton, Synopsis of American History, pp. 85-96.
• James Madison and The Classical Tradition in the Federalist Papers
• Polybius
• Polybius and the Founding Fathers

Classical Rhetoric in 18th Century  America

Marcus Tullius Cicero  (106-43 BC)

Dr. Joseph Warren  (1741-1775)

• Classical Rhetoric
• Public Speaking in the 18th Century
• Cicero, pro Milone
•  Dr. Joseph Warren - "Second Boston Massacre Oration - March 6, 1775"

•  Patrick Henry: "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death"
•  Life of Patrick Henry
• See Caroline Winterer, "Classical Oratory and Fears of Demagoguery in the Antebellum Era," pp.41-53 in Michael Meckler (ed.) Classical Antiquity from George Washington to George Bush and the Politics of America, (Baylor University Press 2006)

The Classical Tradition in Everyday Life in  Early America

18th Cent. Commemorative Urn  with Latin Inscription

Side Panel of Washington Statue by Horatio Greenough

Roman Soldier Figurehead -  19th Century Sailing Ship - Whaling Museum,  New Bedford, MA

•  Plutarch - "Life of Cato the Younger"
•  Meyer Reinhold, Classica Americana, "Plutarch’s Influence in America from Colonial Times to 1890," pp. 250-264.

Lecture #11 (October 6) - "The Non-Curricular Classics in Early America:
                                             The Cato Theme Again - or Was it Cato?"
 
 

Cato:  Classical Hero in Antiquity and 18th Century America

Dock Street Theater Charleston, South Carolina; Site of first (1735) performance of Joseph Addison's "Cato"  in American Colonies

Joseph Addison (1672-1719)

Required Readings:

• Joseph Addison’s    "Cato"
• Trenchard and Gordon: "Cato's Letters #15 and #33

•  "Plutarch and Cato" - William J. Ziobro
• Carl J. Richard, The Founders and the Classics, Chapter II, "Symbolism," pp. 39-52.

Lecture #12 (October 18) - "The Non-Curricular Classics in Early America:
                                            The Cato Theme Again - or Was it Cato?" - II
 
 

Tacitus (ca-56-ca 117)

Cato's Letters (1720-23) John Trenchard Thomas Gordon

Tacitus and Cato's Letters at the 1735 Trial  of John Peter Zenger

Required Readings:

•  Bernard Bailyn, "Sources and Traditions," Pamphlets of the American Revolution,   20-37.
• Tacitus: The Annals, Bk. VI

 Lecture #13 (October 20)  "Thomas Jefferson - A Classical Scholar - I"
 

Thomas Jefferson: Classical Scholar

Thomas Jefferson  (Portrait by Mather Brown)

ThomasJefferson's Greek  Grammar Book

Required Readings:

• Padover, Jefferson, pp. 1-90.
• M. Peterson, Portable Thomas Jefferson, pp. 1-21 (A Summary View of the Rights of British America - 1774), and  395-398.

     .  McMillen and Bolton, Synopsis of American History, pp. 97-109.

Lecture #15 (October 27) - "Thomas Jefferson - A Classical Scholar - II"
 

Thomas Jefferson's Classical Education

Thomas Jefferson's Teacher  George Wythe (1726-1806)

George Wythe Home Williamsburg, VA ca 1750

Required Readings:

• Padover, Jefferson, pp. 90-186.
• M. Peterson, Portable Thomas Jefferson, pp. 400-412, 490-94, 533-39, 569-74.

    . McMillen and Bolton, Synopsis of American History, pp. 110-124.
 

Lecture #16 (November 1) -  "Introduction to American Classical Architecture"
 

Early American Architecture

Redwood Library (1748) Newport, R.I. Peter Harrison

Monticello (1770s +) Charlottesville, Va Thomas Jefferson

Massachusetts State House  (1795-97) Boston, MA Charles Bulfinch

Required Readings:

•  Pierson, American Buildings and Their Architects, pp.1-21.
•   Vitruvius,de architectura, Bk. I, Chapters 1-4

Lecture #17 (November 3) - "Introduction to Roman Architecture"
 

The Roman Roots of the  American  Architectural Tradition

Piranesi drawing of Roman Forum

Piranesi drawing of Roman Colosseum

Required Readings:

•   Palladio on Vitruvius
•   Vitruvius
•   Vitruvius, de architectura, Bk. I, Chapters 5-7
•   Palladio,Four Books of Architecture

Lecture #18 (November 8): "Palladio"
 

Andrea Palladion: Vitruvius' Disciple

Andrea Palladio (1508-1580)

Villa Rotunda  (1566)

San Giorgio Maggiore (1566)

Required Readings:

•   Palladio: Bk. III and IV

•  Palladio's Life
•  Palladio's Villas: Location, Time Line, Characteristics, Major Works,
• Villa Rotunda

The Non-Classical Beginnings of American Architecture

Plymouth MA. (ca 1635)

Parson Capen House (ca. 1683) Topsfield, MA

Lynnhaven, ca. 1725 Norfolk, Va

Topics:
   A) 17th Century American Folk Style Gothic/Medeival Domestic Architecture
     Plimoth Plantation
     New England Homes (e.g., Stanley-Whitman, Pierce House etc.)
     Parson Capen House, Topsfield, MA (1683)
     Adam Thoroughgood House, Norfolk, VA (c.1680)

    B) 17th Century American Folk Style Gothic/Medeival Public Architecture
           Old Ship Meetinghouse, Hingham, MA (c. 1680)
           Wren Building, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (c.1695-99)

Required Readings:

•  D. Watkin, English Architecture, pp. 1-95.

Lecture #20 (November 15): "Early English Architecture and Colonial Architecture - II"
 
 

The Beginnings  of  Classical  Architecture  in England  and The Colonies

Queen's House - 1616 Greenwich, England

Bruton Parish Church - ca. 1715 Williamsburg, VA

Drayton Hall - ca. 1735 Charleston, S.C.

Topics:

   A) 18th Century American Gothic/Medeival + Early Classical Public Architecture
     The Public Gaol, Williamsburg, Va (ca. 1704)
     Capitol Building, Williamsburg, Va (ca. 1704)
     Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Va (ca. 1715)
     Governor's Palace, Williamsburg, Va (ca. 1720)

   B) 18th Century American gothic/Medeival + Early Classical Domestic Architecture
          Stratford Hall Plantation, Va. (ca. 1735)
          Drayton Hall, Charleston, S.C. (ca. 1738)
          Gunston Hall Plantation, Va. (ca. 1755)
          George Wythe Home, Williamsburg, Va. (ca.1750-55)
          Carter's Grove, Williamsburg, Va. (ca. 1755)
          Mt. Vernon, Va. (ca. 1770+)

   C) Early English Architecture
          Queen's House and Banqueting Hall
          Blenheim Palace

   D) English Architects:
     Inigo Jones (1573-1652)
     Christopher Wren (1632-1723)
          Sir John Vanbrugh (1663/64-1726) and Blenheim Palace
 

    E)  Architectural Handbooks

Required Reading:

•    D. Watkin, English Architecture, pp. 96-123.
•    Pierson, American Buildings, pp. 22-110.

Lecture #21 (November 17) : "Newport’s Classical Architecture and Peter Harrison"
 

Peter Harrison: Newport's Classical Architect

Redwood Library (1748); Peter  Harrison; Newport, Rhode Island

Brick Market Place (1762); Peter Harrison; Newport, Rhode Island

Topics:

     A) Early 18th Century Architecture:
     Trinity Church (1725+) - Richard Munday
     Colony House  (1739-41) - Richard Munday
     B) Redwood Library
     C) Touro Synagogue
     D)  Other Harrison Work
     E)  Lord Burlington and Chiswick House and Gardens

Required Reading:

•  D. Watkin:English Architecture, pp. 124-153.
•  Pierson, American Buildings etc. , pp. 111-156.

Lecture #22 (November 22): "Thomas Jefferson and Domestic Architecture: Early Monticello
                                      (ca.1767-1784)"
 

Jefferson Drawing of  Early Monticello

Artisit's Rendition of Early Monticello

Architectural Model  of Early Monticello

Topics:

   A)  Jefferson on 18th Century Williamsburg Architecture
    B)  Jefferson on mid-18th Century Williamsburg Capitol Bldg.
    C)  Jefferson's Early Monticello
    D)  The Marquis de Chastellux on Early Monticello (1782)

Required Reading:

•   Pierson, American Buildings etc., pp. 205-216, 286-292.

Lecture #23 (November 29): "Thomas Jefferson: His Civic Architecture (VA
                                       Capitol Bldg.) and Late Monticello (ca. 1790-1815)"
 
 

Maison Carree Nismes, France

VA Capitol - 1787 Richmond, VA

VA Capitol - 2009 Richmond, VA

VA Capitol - Dome

Topics:

    A)   Jefferson on Maison Carree and VA Capitol

Required Reading:

•     Pierson, American Buildings etc., 292-298

•   The Political Ideology in Thomas Jefferson's Civic Architecture

Lecture #24 (December 1): "Thomas Jefferson: Late Monticello (ca. 1790-1815) and Poplar Forest
 

Monticello - East Front

Monticello South Facade - Entablature

Monticello - West Front

Monticello - West Front Dome

 

Poplar Forest: Jefferson's Other Classical Home

Poplar Forest - East Facade

Poplar Forest - West Facade

Topics:

     A)   Late Monticello

Required Reading:

    Pierson, American Buildings etc., 298-316

Pavilion #7 - 1817 University of Virginia

Rotunda - 1825 University of Virginia

Pavilion #2 - 1819 University of Virginia

Topics:
         A) The Lawn
           B) The Rotunda

Required Reading:

    Pierson, American Buildings etc., 316-334

            Thomas Jefferson's  Educational Philosophy  in the Lawn and Pavilions at The University of Virginia
 

Charles Bulfinch and Classical Architecture in  New England

Charles Bulfinch (1763-1844) Federal Style Architect

Hamilton Hall, 19th Century Federal Style Bldg.,  Salem, MA.

•     Pierson, American Buildings etc., pp. 335-394.

 "Greek Revival Architecture" + Summary

Greek Inspired Architecture in  19th Century America

Asher Benjamin, American Greek Revival Architect (1773-1845)

Print from "Antiquities of Athens" by Stuart and Revett

Required Reading:

• Pierson, American Buildings etc., pp. 395-460.
• M. Reinhold, "The Silver Age of Classical Studies in America, 1790-1830,"  pp. 174-203.
• Edwin Miles, "The Young American Nation and the Classical World," pp. 259-274.
• Carl Richard, "The Myth of Classical Decline," Ch. VII, pp. 196-231.
• Carl Richard, "Conclusion" pp. 232-=243.

November 21, 2011(revised)