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«E Ancipite Unum»? Some ambiguities behind the birth of the United States of America

Par Guillaume Odin : Professeur en CPGE - Lycée du Parc, Lyon
Publié par Reda Boulkhiam le 09/10/2025

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[Conférence] As part of the event “Celebrating US Independence in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes,” organized by the DRAREIC of the Académie de Lyon, Guillaume Odin highlights in this lecture the multiple ambiguities behind the birth of the United States of America, from the Revolutionary War of 1775-1783 to the Civil War of 1861-1865, and the westward expansion of the 19th century.

The other lectures given as part of the event “Celebrating US Independence in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes” are available on la Clé des langues: 

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video_chapitree  
Introduction 00:00
1. A fractured opinion 02:03

2. Some (not so) ambiguous founding words

  • Declaration of Independence (1776)
 07:23
  • Amendment V to the Constitution (1791)
 08:35
  • Constitution of the United States (1787)
 10:41

3. A chicken and egg question: did the several states create the Union?

  • The federalist approach: Hamilton and Adams
 13:26
  • The anti-federalist approach: Jefferson and Madison
 16:37
  • The approach of the Southern Confederacy
 17:07
4. "D" is for a dirty word: Democracy 17:38
5. Sectional frenemies: the North-South rivalry 22:10
6. The West and its myths 25:38
7. The Civil War and its debatable causes 28:47
Conclusion: The unclear nature of the United States 31:44

Download the Power Point of the lecture [PDF]

Pour citer cette ressource :

Guillaume Odin, E Ancipite Unum? Some ambiguities behind the birth of the United States of America, La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), octobre 2025. Consulté le 07/11/2025. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/civilisation/domaine-americain/some-ambiguities-behind-the-birth-of-the-united-states-of-america