This document provides 8 essay questions for a 3-part exam on early American history covering chapters 1-4 of the textbook. The questions assess understanding of key themes like differences between Indian and European societies, diversity of Native American cultures, Spain's justification for conquest in the Americas, definitions of freedom for various groups, reasons for conflicts between English colonists and Native Americans, distinctions between natural and moral liberty, comparisons of the Chesapeake and New England colonies, and impacts of the Enlightenment and Great Awakening on revolutionary thinking. Students must choose 1 question for each part and write a response of over 300 words not including direct quotes.

1. 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.

2. 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?

3. PART 3:
For part 3 of the Unit 1 Exam, choose
ONLY 1 essay question
from the list below, which covers chapters 3 and 4 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 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”

4. 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).