Description
Week 2 Readings: U.S. History Chapter 4, and Chapter 5.
Answer one of the instructor-provided questions:
1. In 1973, Alfred Crosby published The Columbian Exchange, a book describing the biological and economic impact of Christopher Columbus’s voyages. Describe and discuss three of the most dramatic effects that the Columbian Exchange wrought upon the Atlantic World from 1492 to 1607? Are there similar exchanges still taking place today? Give two detailed examples.
2. Describe the differences between indentured servants and chattel slavery. Why did the Spanish begin replacing Native American captives with African slaves? How did this form of slavery spread to English and French colonies? Why did indentured servitude gradually fade from lower North American colonies, such as Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia? How did Bacon’s Rebellion (1676) factor into this shift — and what were its long-term effects?
3. In 1692, the Salem Witch hysteria erupted in Massachusetts. Discuss the different interpretations of why Salem became a hotbed of paranoia and judicial murder. Explain Tituba’s relationship to the Parris family and her involvement in the trials. What were the long-term consequences of this madness?
4. Compare and contrast the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment, two contemporaneous movements in Colonial America. Discuss at least three meaningful ways in which they influenced the 1700s colonies. Name a leader from each camp and discuss their influence on the coming American Revolution.
5. What did Great Britain acquire from their “Great War for Empire,” a long imperial struggle that included the French & Indian War? Explain the policy of “salutary neglect” between England and its North American colonies? How did British victory transform this relationship into grounds for a divorce?
