How does a nation emerge from revolution? This course investigates how people confront political collapse and, in its aftermath, construct new systems of government, law, economy, society, and cultural identity. Focusing on the United States between 1776 and 1850, we examine one of history's most ambitious nation-building experiments. During these decades, a scattered set of rebellious colonies struggled to define their governing principles, expand their territory, negotiate profound social and economic change, and articulate a national character--ultimately transforming into a sprawling, diverse, and deeply divided continental power. Through readings, discussion, and analysis of primary sources, students will explore the tensions, innovations, conflicts, and contradictions that shaped the early American republic and consider what this formative period reveals about the possibilities and challenges of creating something new from the remnants of a broken order.