History Essay

Study Advice:

The best way to study is to start with the general concepts and work your way down to the specifics. First, think about the themes of this unit from the Early Exploration to the American Revolution. Look over your notes to get a sense of how these themes shape "US" history in this time period.

Second, look at the essay questions. Pick one you like and develop your answer to it. Come up with short, general answers for the various parts of the essay prompt. Then go through your notes to find specific examples/terms that illustrate why your general answers are correct.

Finally, review the terms from the terms list. If they are already in your essay, then you’ve already studied them. For terms not already used in your essay, look at the other themes and essay questions to organize them and see how they fit together. Their significance is often what they represent about American history in this period or how they changed America. If you are struggling to determine the significance of a term, see if it would be useful evidence for answering one of the essay options. If so, that’s probably its significance.

Ultimately, I am holding you responsible for everything discussed in class. If anything is unclear, you are responsible for asking me to clarify it either during class, after class, or via email.

Themes:

This unit has had several related themes. Most of the questions on this test will revolve around these themes, so, when you’re studying, try to understand how the terms fit into these themes. You may notice that the essay questions also correspond to these themes.

1. Motivations, methods, and results of colonization and exploration

2. English origins and legacies for American colonies

3. International competition and Atlantic World context

4. War and strategy in colonial conflicts

Essays:

Because I am giving you these questions in advance, I will expect well-thought-out essays. Writing a history essay is not difficult, but many students are unfamiliar with the format for academic writing. Your answers should begin with one or two sentences that provide the short version of your answer to the question. This is your thesis or argument. After those sentences, you should explain, in detail, why your answer is correct, using specific examples to support your thesis.

The essays are about communication and critical thinking. You must communicate to me that you understand the material and have drawn some connection between the events and themes we’ve discussed. The essays are not about grammar or spelling. I will not penalize you for incorrect grammar or spelling as long as I can still understand what you mean. If your grasp of written English is such that this may be a problem, please come see me before the test and we will figure something out.

1. We discussed English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese exploration and colonization in this class. In your opinion, which country was the most successful in these endeavors prior to the French and Indian War (1753) and why? Describe the successes and failures of your choice and explain why the successes outweighed the failures. Justify your answer with specific examples from lecture and the textbook and with comparisons to the other nations.

1. Based on what we've discussed in class, was English colonization of America overall more beneficial to the England or to their colonists in America or neither before the American Revolution? Give specific examples to justify your answer, and explain it thoroughly.

1. What were the long and short term causes of the American Revolution? Discuss economic factors, the English political legacy, and foreign policy. Did these elements make the Revolution inevitable, or could it still have been avoided? Justify your answer thoroughly and with specific information.

1. Why were the British able to win the French and Indian War and the preceding colonial wars but not the American War of Independence? Provide specific examples, and discuss military, diplomatic, and economic factors.

Unit 1 Terms List

Inca

Cahokia

Tenochtitlan

Little Ice Age

Carthage

Hanno the Navigator

Trans-Saharan Trade

Eratosthenes

Leif Erikson

Greenland

Vinland

Trans-Saharan Trade

Silk Road

Timbuktu

Byzantium

Mongols

Portugal

Feitorias/Factories

Cape of Good Hope

Constantinople

Renaissance

Reformation

Christopher Columbus

Reconquista

Treaty of Tordesillas

Hernan Cortez

Conquistadores

New Spain

Triangle Trade

Columbian Exchange

Missions

Encomienda

Mercantilism

Northwest Passage

St. Lawrence River

Huron

Reformation

Calvinism

Coureurs de bois/woods runners

Joint-Stock Company

Seigneuries

Royal Colony

King’s Daughters

La Salle

Louisiana

New Netherlands

Protestant

Anglican

Plantation System

Joint-Stock Company

Jamestown

Tobacco

Royal Colony

Puritans

Separatists/Pilgrims

City on a Hill

Proprietary Colony

Restoration

Parliament

Divine Right

Glorious Revolution

Legitimacy

Social Contract

Enlightenment

Mercantilism

Navigation Acts

Atlantic World

George Washington

French and Indian War

Benjamin Franklin

Albany Plan of Union

Cajuns

Regulars

Militia

War of Attrition

War of Annihilation

Guerilla Warfare

George III

Pontiac’s War

Proclamation of 1763

Stamp Act Congress

Declaration of Rights and Grievances

Sons of Liberty

Actual and Virtual Representation

Declaratory Act

Townshend Acts

Boston Massacre

Boston Tea Party

Intolerable Acts

Suffolk Resolves

First Continental Congress

John Galloway

Second Continental Congress

Continental Army

Common Sense

Declaration of Independence

Battle of Trenton

Battle of Saratoga

Valley Forge

Benjamin Franklin

Charles Cornwallis

League of Armed Neutrality

Nathanael Greene

Yorktown, Treaty of Paris (1783)