Part 3 Essay Questions:
1 – “North America at mid-eighteenth century was home to a remarkable diversity of people and different kinds of social organization.” In a thoughtful essay, defend this statement, touching on each of the colonies, the various groups of people living in those colonies, and the freedoms and liberties extended to them.
2 – By the 1750s, North American colonists possessed a dual identity: they were both British in their attempts at Anglicization and also distinctly American. What factors contributed to this dual identity? What reinforced British identity? What reinforced the American identity? Be sure to discuss the political, cultural, social, and economic aspects of society.
3 – Explain how and why tobacco planters in the Chesapeake region came to rely on African slaves rather than European indentured servants over the course of the seventeenth century. At what point did the Chesapeake become a “slave society” rather than merely a “society with slaves”?
4 – The line between slavery and freedom was more permeable in the seventeenth century than it would become later. Explain how slavery was treated in the seventeenth century by discussing the law, customs, and liberties extended to slaves. What contributed to the hardening of the line between slavery and freedom?
5 – The slave experience was diverse in British America. Describe how slavery evolved in the various regions of British America. What role did African religions play? What liberties, if any, were extended to slaves in the northern colonies, the Chesapeake region, and the rice kingdom of South Carolina and Georgia? What was the impact of the Stono Rebellion?
6 – Compare and contrast the impact of the Enlightenment with the Great Awakening. How do both contribute to the thinking behind the American Revolution?
7 – Explain the impact of the Seven Years’ War on colonial society. Pay particular attention to how the war and its outcome shaped colonial identities as well as to the relationship between colonists and Indians.
8 – As Europeans continued to settle the North American continent during the 1700s, Indians constantly struggled to maintain their independence and identities. Illustrate the common obstacles the Indian communities faced and the ways they tried to unite to overcome their hardships during the eighteenth century. Consider the Indians in California during the Spanish missionary period, the Creeks during the early settlement of Carolina, the Indians in Pennsylvania, and the Indians during and after the French and Indian War (including Pontiac’s Rebellion).
