US History I
An Interpretive History of Life in America, 1492-1877
Exam Review
UNIT 1 EXAM: “The Colonial Experience” -- 1492-1763
Multiple Choice -- 40% [NOTE: See quizzes and notes for lecture and textbook subjects.]
Essay -- 60%
Answer one (1) of the following questions with an extended essay that draws upon class lectures and assigned readings. Be sure to answer all parts of the question you select
[NOTE: On your test, you will have two essays from which you will choose one.]
1. How did differences in inheritance shape the experience of the “middle ground” in British North America between 1607-1763?
[HINT: Define inheritance, experience, and middle ground.]
Address each of the following questions with at least one paragraph for each as you answer the question above.
- How did native Americans define social and political power?
- How did the colonists define power relations?
- How did notions of gender and property in colonial New England define the middle ground?
- Why did violence become a part of life in the middle ground?
- Were there any “winners” or “losers” in the middle ground?
Be sure to give examples. Remember to define your terms.
2. How did the intersection of inheritance and experience shape social development in British North America between 1607-1763?
[HINT: Define the concepts of social simplification, social elaboration, and social replication.]
Address each of the following questions with at least one paragraph for each as you answer the question above.
- How does social simplification explain labor and gender relations in the seventeenth century?
- How did slavery change life in the Chesapeake?
- Why did family life, politics, and religion change during the social elaboration period?
- How well did the colonists replicate English life in the eighteenth century?
- Does the model explain life in New England?
Be sure to give examples. Remember to define your terms.
3. Did Puritans succeed in their experiment in colonial New England between 1629-1763?
[HINT: Discuss the relationship of English Puritans to the English Reformation.]
Address each of the following questions with at least one paragraph for each as you answer the question above.
- What did it mean to become one of “the Elect”?
- Why did the Puritans come to the New World?
- Why did Anne Hutchinson represent a threat to the Puritan leadership in Massachusetts Bay?
- Why did some Puritan's explain life in colonial New England as one of “declension”?
- Why did the Great Awakening captivate so many people in New England?
Be sure to give examples. Remember to define your terms.
4. Where did British North America fit in the World System?
[HINT: Define the concepts of “center,” “periphery,” and “semi-periphery.”]
Address each of the following questions with at least one paragraph for each as you answer the question above.
- How did the battle for the economic center change life in the English countryside between 1550-1650?
- Why did the English come to the Chesapeake in 1607?
- How did the English control trade with its North American colonies?
- How did slavery help compete for economic dominance?
- How did the seven years war change the world system?
Be sure to give examples. Remember to define your terms.
5. Why did the colonists in British North America adapt to slavery so well?
[HINT: Explain slavery in antiquity.]
Address each of the following questions with at least one paragraph for each as you answer the question above.
- Why did Europeans adopt African slavery in the late fifteenth century?
- Why did ship captains fear revolt during the “middle passage”?
- What was life like for a slave on a sugar plantation?
- Why did slavery differ in New England and the Carolinas?
- Why did colonists in the Chesapeake embrace a slave society?
Be sure to give examples. Remember to define your terms.
NOTE: Use your Blue Book to write your essay. Material written on the test sheet will NOT be considered. Stay cool and keep moving.
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