The US in 1783 (MASSOLIT video lecture)

This is a curriculum-linked video lecture titled "The US in 1783", delivered by Prof. Frank Cogliano of Edinburgh University and produced by MASSOLIT. It is part of the course "US Constitution - Background and Constitutional Convention, 1783-87", which offers an in-depth exploration of the historical background to the US Constitution, focusing on the period from 1783 through the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

The lecture examines the United States at the end of the War of Independence, addressing internal and external problems facing the new post-colonial state, the Declaration of Independence as a guiding document, tensions over popular versus elite political authority, and the challenges of governing a vast territory. The full course comprises five lectures that together cover the Declaration, the Articles of Confederation, the weaknesses that prompted constitutional reform, the key compromises of the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, and the Constitution itself.

The materials are aimed at GCSE, A Level and IB students and are designed to be high-quality, curriculum-linked resources for classroom or independent study.