For part 2 of the Unit 1 Exam, choose ONLY 1 essay question from the list below, which covers chapters 1 and 2 in the textbook. Grades will be based on the content of the answer and must be more than 300 words in length. Direct quotes do not count toward the required word count.
Part 2 Essay Questions:
1 – Compare Indian society with that of the Europeans. What differences were there? Similarities? Be sure to include in your analysis ideas about religion, land, and gender roles as well as notions of freedom.
2 – The sophistication and diversity of the peoples in the early Americas are remarkable. Explore that diversity in an essay that discusses early Native American culture, architecture, religion, gender relations, economy, and views of freedom.
3 – The Spanish had a long history of conquering in the name of God. From the reconquista to the conquistadores to the settlement of the New World, Spain justified its conquests as a mission to save the souls of heathens—while putting them to work in subhuman conditions. Explore this paradox of conquering and killing in the name of saving. Remember to think about what else was going on in the world at that time with regard to the Protestant Reformation and the Inquisition.
4 – What was a borderland? Compare the roles the French, Dutch, and Indians played in the borderlands of North America. In the seventeenth century, did any group have an advantage? Explain your answer.
5 – Many degrees of freedom coexisted in seventeenth-century North America. Discuss the various definitions of freedom. Be sure to include slaves, indentured servants, women, Indians, property owners, and Puritans in your discussion. Identify any similarities and differences among these different versions of freedom.
6 – Explain the reasons behind the various conflicts between the English and the Indians. How do differing perceptions of land and liberty fit into the story? How do trade and religion play a part?
7 – John Winthrop distinguished between natural and moral liberty. What was the difference? How did moral liberty work, and how did Puritans define liberty and freedom? Discuss the restrictions of moral liberty and the consequences as illustrated by Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson. Be sure to address Winthrop’s speech in the “Voices of Freedom” box.
8 – Compare the Chesapeake and New England colonies. Explore the various reasons for the colonists’ emigrating to the New World, their economies, gender roles, demographics, religion, and relations with the Indians. How did land ownership compare from one region to the other? Which pattern of settlement is more representative of American development after the seventeenth century?
