American History Short Essays

INSTRUCTIONS

– Pick three essays from the list to answer:
Write a 1 to 3 page essay on EACH question you choose. State which question you are answering at the top of each page. You can use your book, your notes, the discussion forums, etc. If you use outside sources you must cite them. You must not plagiarize. Plagiarism will result in a zero. NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. Submit all three essays in one document, but make sure you mark where one ends and another begins.

1. Discuss the British colonist s ever-changing definition of freedom from Jamestown until the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Include male, female, servant, slave and native in your answer as freedom evolved for all groups involved. Include events both in England and the colonies that influenced the changes. Provide examples.

2. Who were the Loyalists? What kind of people were they? What were their reasons behind their opinions? Who were the Patriots? What kind of people were they? What were the reasons behind their opinions? Describe the events leading up to the battles of Lexington and Concord.

3. Define the concepts of indentured servitude and slavery from the settlement of Colonial America through the writing of the Constitution. How and why did these concepts change? What caused these changes? Give examples of laws or legislation that perpetuated these situations.

4. What were the Articles of Confederation? What is the Constitution and the Bill of Rights? What was problematic with the Articles of Confederation? What lead to its demise? What were the arguments for and against the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?

5. Describe the settlement of the NEW ENGLAND colonies? How did they differ from one another? As a whole how did they differ from the middle colonies AND the southern colonies? Hint: Make sure to reference political, economic, social and religious aspects.

6. Throughout the first eight chapters Women and Blacks seem to be the minorities discussed at length. How are these two groups the same? How are they different? How did their status change? Hint: Include ideas citizenship; property ownership; ownership of self (physically, mentally, spiritually, socially); autonomy; legal rights, etc.

7. Discuss religion in the colonies? What religions were brought to the colonies? Who was allowed to practice these religions? What impact did religion have (or not have) on settlement, slavery, legislation, the economy, society, family and the Constitution. Don t forget to include Native Americans and Slaves. — Do you believe the framers of the Constitution could have imagined an America as diverse (religiously) as it is today? What are some of the problems with religious freedom and the interpretation of the Constitution today? Give examples and expand on what the challenges are in interpreting the Constitution. Ex. The Mosque near ground zero, prayer in school, the phase In God we Trust on money, the pledge of allegiance recited in schools, the theories of creationism vs. evolution taught in schools and many, many more.

SUMMARY:
Pick 3 topics, and write one page essay on each of those topics. Please state the topics chosen before the short essay. You must cite outside sources, ONLY IF you use it. Total should be 3 pages.

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