This module examines the social construction of gender and sexuality within the United States during the period 1789-1861. It will trace the emerging gendered discourses of the post-revolutionary period, and address their significance to the formation of an American identity during this period. It will also focus upon the ways in which discourses of gender and sexuality interacted with those of race, class and ethnicity. A particular focus will be placed on the competing and contradictory identities that emerged in the northern and southern states, and the course will explore the possible reasons for, and consequences of these differences.