HISTORY

Chapter Writing Assignment #1
Students are expected to select three (3) topics and write college level (introduction, body, and conclusion) essays using the Chicago writing style format. Make sure you cite all sources used and it is acceptable to incorporate textbook and internet information as long as it is an acceptable historical website. Wikipedia is not acceptable as a credible historical website.

Topic I:
Religious freedom and economic opportunity fueled a European influx to the New World that eventually altered the North American landscape and its population. Initially the Separatists came to the New World followed by the Puritans and their religious migration. The Catholics, Quakers and others found refuge in British America also.
A. Discuss how Europeans related to Native American culture, lifestyle and concerns, and what impact did the North American weather conditions, diseases and illnesses have on creating a “new reality for these new settlers?
B. B. How did the colonials govern themselves in religious societies (Puritan, Pilgrim, Catholic, Quaker) that were constantly evolving yet restricted by England and her Parliament’s laws and policies?

Topic II:
According to your textbook, “the most significant development in British America during the late 17th and early 28th century was large scale African slave importation.” This horrific European economic venture destroyed the Africans and their descendants’ culture, language, religious practices and family values. The slave’s daily activities were controlled by others who were, in most cases, non-Black and years younger than the slave. In other words, the Atlantic slave trade systematically defined and exploited people by their skin pigmentation which ultimately created a caste system in colonial American society.
A.    Discuss the “Middle Passage” and the “African to Slave” lifestyle transformation process which occurred in the West Indies and later colonial America. Explain the following: slave codes, seasoning process, African Royal Company, and miscegenation.
B.    Discuss why the English North American colonists adopted slavery and what other groups did they attempt to place in a servitude status before settling using Africans?
C.    Explain how slave practices varied in the colonies, and to what degree did it impact diversity, population increases and statistics, and societal practices and norms. Include slave resistance and rebellion examples that are directly linked to the Enlightenment and Great Awakening “equality theme.”

Topic III:
The Enlightenment changed the political, scientific, and education foundation in colonial America in ways that eventually created a political, economic and military revolution.
A. What type of education did young children receive in the early 18th century? Who was afforded the right to attend colleges and what was the main focus of colleges and universities? Did these opportunities include females, African Americans and Native Americans; why or why not.
B. What contributions did colonials make in science and medicine that are accepted practices in the 21st century?

Topic IV:
Chapter 5 focused on the period of 1764-1783, when the thirteen colonies moved from peaceful resistance to outright war against the British government’s “reform” programs of new taxes and regulations.
A.    Why did the colonists oppose the Sugar, Currency and Stamp acts when they had not rebelled against the Molasses Act?
B.    What role did African Americans play during the American Revolution?
C.    Describe how the patriots achieved the unity needed to wage the War for Independence?
D.    What was the impact of the Revolution on Native Americans?