Colonial America Essays (Examples)

Because under the first Navigation Act" all American exports had to pass through British ports, and other foreign traders were not allowed to come into American ports, the higher price of imports hurt most American consumers and American businesses. On page 16 Newton quotes from a book by Jeremy Atack and Peter Passell:

"Americans paid higher prices and earned smaller incomes than would have been the case if they had been free to use the cheapest shipping service and ship by the most direct routing…In short, the Navigation Acts force Americans to pay more and consume fewer imports and earn less and sell fewer exports" (Newton, p. 16, quoting from A New Economic View of American History: From Colonial Times to 1940). as Britain the only colonial power that practiced the policy of mercantilism in the eighteenth century? Newton (17) writes that Spain, Holland and of course England put the…

Colonial America

African-Americans in Colonial America experienced the United States differently, depending on whether they lived in the North or South. The John Catherwood letter indicates many aspects of Colonial life between a merchant and a secretary to the Governor in New York State. Finally, examination of the Craftsmen, Plantation Owners and Slaves on a plantation illustrates the three major classes in Colonial America.

African-Americans in the 17th and 18th Centuries -- Southern vs. Northern

African-Americans in Colonial America experienced the United States differently, depending on whether they lived in the North or South. The American South of the 17th and 18th Centuries was dominated by agriculture with a climate allowing relatively long growing seasons, particularly by plantations, and was highly dependent on legalized slave labor. As a result, the "average" African-American living in the South during this period chiefly worked as a slave who labored in agriculture. In addition,…

(Boger 3 -- 15) (Murrin 67 -- 159)

Discuss the origins of colonial North American slavery. Compare and contrast eighteenth century slavery as it existed in the Chesapeake, in South Carolina and Georgia, and in the northern colonies. How did differences in regions, crop cultivation, and personal skill create opportunities for varied experiences among enslaved Africans? How did enslaved Africans use cultural retentions to preserve their humanity and to implement a distinct culture in America?

In the Northern colonies, slaves were less dominant. The reason why is because, the weather conditions and products that were being produced did not require individuals that were used to working in hot conditions. This is different from the South (i.e. The Chesapeake, South Carolina and Georgia), as they had warmer conditions and grew crops that required large numbers of people (cotton). The best individuals for this kind of work were considered to be Africans.…

It is written that the intension of the rebellion was to "ruin and extirpate all Indians in general" (Foner 59) because they were basically in the way. These accounts prove that there are two sides to every story and no one group of people is going to be "better" and "above" another. It was inevitable that such tension would occur given the nature of both groups of people. The Native Americans docile nature could not stand up to the overbearing qualities of Euro-Americans and it was only a matter of time before the Native Americans were crushed. This is not to say that they were completely innocent of any wrongdoing; however, it does shed some light on the interaction between the two groups of people, which was contentious and even violent more than anything else.

orks Cited

Foner, Eric. Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History. New York .. Norton and…

Several other principles of Georgia's charter serve to further explain Georgia's ready compliance with Edmund Charles Genet's plan to liberate Florida from Spanish rule. For instance, one of Georgia's founding principles had been the maintenance of citizen-based militias, which Oglethorpe had felt was a necessary precaution against any future likelihood of an army led revolt (Goon, 2002). Unfortunately, this principle later placed Georgia in a position where it had to rely on its own meager militia for defending its interests against both the Spanish and the Indians. Georgia's situation was only exacerbated by ashington's refusal to assist Georgia in removing the Indian population from its borders, and his promise that the government would not occupy Indian lands without tribal consent. To make matters worse, the 1790 Treaty of New York invalidated all earlier treaties made between the Creeks and the Georgia government and actually returned certain lands that were already…

Colonial omen

Different Experiences in Colonial America

One of the central debates in the lives of early colonial women relates to their quality of life. Some have proposed that there was something of a golden age for women in the Colonial America while on the other end of the spectrum many believe that this notion is completely untrue (Norton, 1984). This seems odd to some as women born into slavery were owned and subject to sexual exploitation from their master and their trials published (Jacobs & Child, 2008). In fact, the treatment of women and their inclusion or exclusion from social circles is definitely different depending on a range of socio-economic factors as well as even location.

Some local cultures treated women far differently than the regional or national cultures. To summarize an era as a golden age for women is almost certainly an overgeneralization unless is specifically targets a…

The result, however, seems less scholarly, less cold and professionally aloof than similar works by other more science-minded authors. Earle, however, operates with the intent to construct a true-to-life catalogue of the things that went into making up the lives of the Colonists. Earle's research does lead the reader to trust her sources and her findings, but the writing style can still distract from the overall impact - by being so "folksy" in some of her observations, by inserting suppositions and homey jokes, her work becomes very accessible by a large number of people.

The success of the book's depiction of life, however, far outweighs any criticism of the writing style. The truth about this book is that it is also somewhat quaint while at the same time incredibly thorough (but it does not draw grand conclusions about the colonial period). The overall impact is that the book works even…

Colonial America

Annotated bibliography

Crimean, Lawrence. (1970). American education: The colonial experience, 1607-1783. New

York: HarperCollins.

Education has been a profoundly democratizing influence in American history but it has also been used to reinforce principles of elitism, according to Crimean's analysis. On one hand, education was seen a cornerstone of America's status as a New Israel and a way of reinforcing spiritual values amongst all mankind; yet it was also used as a means of social control and moralizing -- as a way of keeping certain classes in their places.

Engal, Marc. (1998). New orld economies: Growth of the thirteen colonies and early Canada.

New York: Oxford University Press.

The different economies of the northern and southern colonies produced profound cultural differences between the two during the early years of America's development. Tobacco and cash crop production in the south created vast discrepancies of wealth between the 'haves' who owned…

Colonial America

The Philosophy of Individual Rights Before the Constitutional Convention in England and America

Although many individuals today might like to romanticize the origin of individual rights in America, suggesting that such rights began and ended with the passage of the current version of the United States Constitution that now governs the totality of the American land, the actual history of a private citizen's individual rights in America and England is far more checkered and complex. America's founding fathers owe a far greater debt to English and French philosophies of rights and liberties than were acknowledged at the time for the idea that the individual citizen possesses certain inalienable rights that cannot be impinged upon by the state. Also, the Articles of Confederation that were eventually passed contained the seeds of the later document that was to govern the land, even though it was too weak a document to…

..That sight was most appaling [sic], yet, I was obliged to endure it without complaining."

However, as she became acculturated to American Indian culture, Jemison was able to understand and tolerate more the traditions of what she and her race of white Americans considered as savages. As an adopted daughter of the Indians, Jemison was able to provide an objective and unbiased observation of the ways and traditions of the race that has so long been in animosity with the white Americans. As she became adopted as an American Indian, she realized that her adoption was the Indian's way of "replacing" a dead brother or sister, who was killed in a conflict with the white Americans. The Indians' acceptance of Jemison was an indicator that,

It is family, and not national, sacrifices amongst Indians, that has given them an indelible stamp as barbarians, and identified their character with the idea…

Epidemics and Smallpox in Colonial America

In 1992, the Smithsonian Museum held an exhibit on the process of exchanges between the Old orld and the New orld that resulted from the explorations of Christopher Columbus.

The exhibit, entitled Seeds of Change, focused on five catalysts or "seeds" which had the most far-reaching consequences for both Europe and the new colonies in the Americas. These catalysts were the horse, sugar, the potato, corn and disease.

This paper focuses on disease as a catalyst, paying special focus on the role of smallpox in subjugating the Native American nations. The first part is an overview of how various diseases have affected North American Indians, from the arrival of the first Europeans in the 1500s to the Spanish missionaries who first came to Mexico and California in the 18th century. The body of the paper focuses on the use of disease - particularly smallpox…

Colonial American Travel

What was the new world like for its early European inhabitants? The book Colonial American Travel Narratives offers four interesting and insightful travel narratives that describe the new world and its varied inhabitants through the eyes, and thus personal outlook, of the authors. By doing so, the narratives actually provide insights into the individuals who went to this new land and the life they established. In most cases, according to these stories, it appears that at least on an economic level, life was not much different than that in Europe. Although America offered many of the settlers the opportunity to rise above their previous socio-economic position, the social class system arrived with the colonists and was just as entrenched as in Europe. This can be seen in the authors' comments that were often negative and demeaning about the lower-class colonists, blacks and Native Americans.

The first narrative…

Generations: omen in Colonial America," by Carol Berkin.

THE BOOK

This book, "First Generations," discusses the lives of women who immigrated to America from other countries, and Native Americans that were here when the immigrations started. It then follows through two centuries of life in America, to show how women's lives changed, improved, and/or degraded during this time. It tells in detail how people lived in the 17th and 18th centuries, and particularly how women lived.

It is a compelling picture of everyday life in Colonial times, and of what women had to endure during their short lives. These are women of different ethnic backgrounds, financial circumstances, and areas. Berkin weaves them together to form a tapestry of what life was like for early American women, and it is a fascinating book.

For the first time, we can catch a glimpse of Colonial America from the women's point-of-view, but not…

Regardless of age, the desire for freedom remained. It is known that older slaves sometimes aided younger slaves to escape. Some of the aged also escaped to freedom. In some instances masters did not pursue older slaves because of their lower economic value. However, this was not always the case, as some older escaped slaves were still valued, and were advertised in the newspapers.

Some owners granted their older slaves freedom as they advanced in years (Reiss, 1997). If they were fortunate, owners gave them a small parcel of land. However, some owners simply wanted to avoid the financial responsibility of providing care to older slaves. The owners did not want to assume responsibility for food, clothing, and housing. Older female house servants were sometimes mistreated or abandoned. It was actually bad for a master to work older slaves to death, as some neighbors and others in the community would…

As a result, these regions became populated with Protestants who rejected the Church of England and the majority religion in Georgia and North Carolina were Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. In New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, there were many Congregationalist Church members but they lived side by side with Anglicans, Catholics, German Protestants, and, in Pennsylvania, with the Quakers (Furlong, Margaret, & Sharkey, 1988).

eligious Conflict, Technology, and the Success of egional Colonial Settlements

On one hand, there was already relative religious plurality in the Colonies even with many Colonists rejecting the mainstream Protestant Church (Furlong, Margaret, & Sharkey, 1988). However, just as in Britain, Catholics experienced widespread persecution based strictly on their religion. Partly, this was due to the fears of some Colonists that if the French or the French Canadians (who were both Catholic) ever challenged Britain for control over the Colonies, the Catholic Colonists might side with…

Once again, the sense of superiority comes to light in his statements. That a Christian family could be afflicted in this way was unthinkable, yet it happened.

The general colonial attitude towards servants confirms the superiority issues and correlates with the Indian issue mentioned above. A washerwoman was suspected of theft. The conclusion was immediately drawn that the washerwoman in question was using the linen for witchcraft practices. This event appears to indicate a slightly hysterical disposition that suspects guilt before innocence, especially within the lower classes of society. The woman in question and her mother are both described as "ignorant" and the woman's mother is described as "scandalous." This assessment is not elaborated or clarified, but fits well with the rest of the document.

The concepts "ignorant," "scandalous," and "pagan" are directly opposed to the concepts of piety and virtue in the document. In the introduction, it is significant…

In looking over "...thousands of pages of records" on this period, Dickerson writes that he couldn't find "a single instance" in enforcement of the Townshend Acts that the British "expressed the remotest interest in promoting the trade of the Empire." It was purely harassment and fundraising for the Empire, and the colonies now had one more solid reason to rebel.

CHAPTER #10: ENGLISH OPINION. hile the colonies were rebelling against the new taxation regulations, England was the scene of "a violent controversy" in which people took sides for and against the treatment of the colonies. The bottom line was that everyone in England recognized that the colonies were growing fast, coming of age, and that Americans resented the repression of their "political liberties" (p. 272).

CHAPTER #11: ERE THE NAVIGATION ACTS A CAUSE OF THE REVOLUTION? Dickerson only had to go back and read his own book to answer the…

French and Indian Wars ended in 1763, the American colonies banded together for the first time, sowing the seeds of one of the greatest rebellions of all time. The colonialists realized they shared in common not only mutual mistrust of French interests in North America, but also a desire to solidify their presence in North America. However, the colonies were unable to work with the British government to pursue their mutual best interests. One reason why the colonies ended up rebelling was that the Crown demanded that the colonies pay for the war debts, imposing unfair systems of taxation that benefitted only the British but not the colonies. Another reason was that the British government disallowed colonial systems of self-governance such as independent courts of law. Furthermore, the British refused to grant the colonies greater power, even though the Crown had come to depend on the colonies for its own…

Colonial America was a diverse hodge-podge of religious communities. The Quakers had been given Pennsylvania by William Penn, whose father had held ties with the King of England (Fantel). The Puritans were in New England. Baptists established themselves in the South. Catholics had been in the Northern territories and in the Southwest well before the Protestant surge, and they also established the first Catholic state in Maryland—before it was later taken over by Protestants who banned Catholicism (Laux). In short, there was little religious unity broadly speaking, but religion nonetheless played an important role in the structuring of society and class when it came to local organization. Hawthorne and Melville—the two premier authors of the 19th century—described this experience of social stratification within a religious context fairly well. But there are numerous signs and examples of how it existed and persisted. This paper will show that religion was used as…

RE: Topic 6: The American War for Independence – Treason or Justified Rebellion?
Treason or justified rebellion? Well, both! Ultimately we need to decide what kind of world we want to live in and what kind of country we want to give to our children. Dear citizen, Jenny is right: “We free citizens of these thirteen colonies must no longer stand idly by and endure such offensives, but instead come together!” Yes, we may be committing treason against the Crown, but is treason really the highest crime? We think not. Tis a much higher crime indeed to infringe on the rights of others, deprive others of freedom and liberty, and prevent the progress of humanity. We stand at the cusp of a tremendous revolution, one that cannot be stopped. If there is a way to settle these matters peaceably, then certainly we are all for it. But given the reactions…

1676 Editorial: Bacon’s Rebellion – A Justified Action or Personal Power Grab?
Many of you understandably sympathize with Nathaniel Bacon and his supporters. Bacon does present some legitimate gripes: for certain, Governor William Berkley has been unfairly favoring his own ilk in the creation of lucrative trading partnerships and coalitions with the local Indian population. While targeting the root cause of corruption in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the methods being used by Mister Bacon are untenable, ill advised, inappropriate, unethical, and contrary to the values we hold dear. It is time to take a stand against Bacon and condemn his rebellion for what it is: a personal power grab by a belligerent elite posing as a populist.
Let us consider the bad blood between our Governor Berkley and Mister Bacon. Did you know the two are related, albeit not by blood but by marriage? These two men are from the…

This earned him the title of werowance, a chieftain among the whites (Ibid.).

Sources:

Lema, J. (1991). The American Dream of Captain John Smith. University Press of Virginia.

"Pocahontas," (1995). Disney Archives. Cited in: http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/characters/pocahontas/pocahontas.html

Q: Why is the favorite American settlement story about the Plymouth Pilgrims, and not the New England Puritans or the Jamestown settlers? Please briefly answer the question with a solid (approx. 150 words) yet short paragraph. Make sure you provide some examples from any readings, movies, etc. that support your reasoning.

A: Plymouth Rock is the traditional site that the Mayflower Pilgrims landed in 1620. The symbol has become so engrained in American history that in the biographical film Malcolm X, the civil rights advocated even refers to the rock, "We didn't land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us" (Rule, 1992). The symbol has been prominent in American history for centuries: "This Rock…

Pre-Colonial America

The history of the educational system ironically has not been changed as much as one might think since the colonial era. Of course the content being studied may be completely different and they had no IPods in the early days of America, but the idea of education is still the same. According to American Education: The American evolution, it boils down to four questions: who will be educated; who controls the overall system; who pays for it; and who gets more education then others, rich and poor, have and have not so to speak. In other words, these issues have been the foundation of the American educational system since the 1700's and they still cause too many problems. So the complaints we hear today about vouchers, testing and rich school district vs. A poor one is simply a matter of history repeating itself, over and over again. This…

Among the first major nations to have their people leaving for America were the Irish and the Germans. Life in Europe during the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries had been difficult, with the lower classes living in extreme poverty. As a result, people saw the opportunity of establishing themselves in a place where they would escape their problems. People coming to America from countries other than England generally received harsh treatments because the English felt that North America mostly belonged to them.

hile white people coming to America did so in search of freedom and riches, black people had a totally different fate in store for them. Black people were brought into America as slaves and could have no dreams since they knew that freedom was an inaccessible concept.

The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries have been a period in which women were still regarded as not being qualified to fulfil…

Colonial Education

The Colonial Era's (1636-1784) adaptation of higher education as viewed through its instructional purpose and educational missions can help describe and contextualize the essence of its practices. The stark difference into today's world resembles little about what historians describe during this time. The purpose of this essay is to describe the educational missions of the Colonial Era institutions of higher learning and how they differ in today's world as a new evolutions of these schools are recreated.

Thelin (2011) explained that "their space was transformed dramatically to play a role in the American campaign for independence," when describing the synthesizing of politics, spirit and science into the higher educational institutions such as Harvard, Dartmouth etc.. It appeared that these organizations had a special purpose within the forming of the historic quest for freedom from oppressive monarchies and unfair tax systems, that sometimes reappear in today's world.

Colonial higher…

In years before, America was a collection of Chinese, Germans, Italians, Scots, Croats, etc., all craving freedom. Today, even the simple concept of an English-speaking nation is fading off the continent. In the past, immigrants were taught in English in the public schools. In America today, children are taught in German, Italian, Polish, and 108 other languages and dialects. Most of these schools are funded by 139 million federal dollars. "The linguist's egalitarian attitude toward dialect has evolved into the multicultural notion that dialect as a cultural feature is part of one's identity as a member of that culture."

Due to their ethnic or cultural heterogeneity, multiethnic societies in general are more fragile and have a higher risk of conflicts. In the worst case such conflicts can cause the breakdown of these societies. Recent examples of this were the violent breakdown of Yugoslavia and the peaceful separation of Czechoslovakia. Forced…

So alike yet distinct did these early writers create, that they are now required reading in British schools (Duquette).

In terms of religion, American culture emulated Britain less than many of the early settler were reactionary against British conservatism. Several of the original 13 Colonies were established by English, Irish, and Scottish settlers who were fleeing religious persecution. By 1787, in fact, the United States became one of the first countries to place a freedom of religion code into law, even if it was only at the Federal level (Gaustad).

Thankfully, America has a taste for more exotic foods and cuisine than the British, but if we think of many of the celebrated Holidays, they either derive from or are part of the British tradition. Thanksgiving, for instance, is now a traditional American holiday evolving from the Pilgrim's plight during the first winter of their landing. Christmas, Easter, and Lent…

Colonial life was like in two different areas. The writer compares and contrasts the way of life experienced during colonial times in the Chesapeake area and the new England area during Colonial America. The writer used ten sources to complete this paper.

Each year as Thanksgiving approaches students throughout the nation dress in traditional colonial garb and put on skits and meals to portray colonial life in America. While this has become a tradition for American students it has also become a blended generic portrayal of colonial life with little attention paid to area differences and similarities. Colonial times shared many similar facets as the nation of America began to build its foundation, but within that era there were also region and culture specific differences that set populations apart from each other. The new England Colonial life and the Chesapeake area colonial life can be held side by side to…

Colonial Culture efore the American Revolution

The Great Awakening and Religious Change

The Impact of Education

When discussing causes of the American Revolution, most historians cite growing taxation, lack of representation in the national government, attempts by the King and Parliament to curb the power of colonial legislatures, and restrictions on trade as some of the primary causes. Often ignored as a cause are the changes in American colonial society that occurred in the decades before the revolution. Americans began to develop a cultural identity separate from that of Great ritain. Attitudes toward religion underwent sweeping modifications as a result of the Great Awakening. Landed aristocracy was unable to dominate society in the same way that it did in England. Education became more prevalent. New ideas concerning the nature and rights of people were debated and gradually accepted. All of these factors played a part in propelling Americans toward independence.…

Colonial America: Questions

Puritans

Unlike previous European settlers who came to the New World primarily to make a profit, the Puritans arrived with a commitment to create a new society and genuinely 'settle' on the land. They had no plans to return to England, given that they had been cast out of the Old World because of their religious beliefs. Unlike the settlers at Jamestown, they came prepared to work hard, and did not hope to simply make a quick profit and return to England rich, having done little labor. They believed in the value of hard work as part of their religious philosophy. They believed God had quite literally 'chosen' them to know the truth, which sustained them during times of suffering. During the first years, however, like previous colonists, they did struggle to stay alive. The winter was harsh, and they were forced to adapt their crops and…

olonial Merchants and the American Revolution: 1763 to1776 by Arthur M. Schlesinger. (New York: Facsimile Library, Inc., 1939), 647, (381.0973).

This book covers a part of history that is often forgotten - the economic history of the U.S. As it headed into the Revolutionary War. While most people know part of the reason Americans wanted to break from England was outrageous tariffs on imports and exports, the merchants who dealt in these commodities are often forgotten or overlooked. In addition, there were trade sanctions that stated American goods could only be shipped out of England, and this reduced the effectiveness of commerce. This book delves into the reasons the olonials were angry about the British tariffs and duties, and what they did to overcome fiscal obstacles. ommerce was king in the colonies before the Revolution, and the merchants were not above smuggling to get around the strict British system. The…

Colonial Settlement

The lasting impact of colonial settlement

The colonialism is taken to be a political and economic experience which paved the way for the European to explore, conquer, settle and exploit large areas of the world. The era of modern colonialism started during 1400 A.D with the European discovery of sea route around Africa's southern coast during 1488 and that of America during 1492. They made provisions to transfer the sea power from that of the Mediterranean towards the Atlantic and to the emerging new nation-states at that time which were Portugal, Spain, Dutch epublic, France and that of England. The initiation for discovery, the desire to conquer and settlement led these nations to expand their territories and to colonize over the world, extending the European institutions and culture to other parts of the world. The competition continued among the European nations for colonization across the world. Such colonies…

Colonial and Post Colonial Short Stories

In the 19th and 20th centuries, much of the world was divided and compartmentalized. Empire nations colonized lands all over the world creating cultures which were based upon differentiation and racial inequality. In a colonized nation, the population would be comprised of the colonizers who were the ethnic and racial power and the colonized that would be considered ethnically inferior. In the short stories "Going to Exile" by author Liam O'Flaherty and "The Day They Burnt the Books" by Jean Rhys, the authors relate brief narratives which reflect the racial prejudices and conflicts that were bubbling beneath, and often times above, the surface of colonized countries.

In colonial literature, one of the dilemmas that come up most often is the question of identity. People who are colonized are forced to create for themselves a dual identity. At one they have their innate cultures, but…

People can feel more comfortable if their sense of safety results from a strong national security. Political leadership in cohesive-capitalist countries typically has a firm grip on the labor force, albeit sometimes the leadership becomes "repressive and authoritarian" and leaders are known to use nationalism (extreme patriotism) as a driver to keep people believing in the state.

A states that Kohli identifies as having pursued a cohesive-capitalist approach to economy and governing is South Korea under Park Chung Hee. Another country that has historically exhibited a cohesive-capitalist approach is Brazil. Both of those countries have experienced some success, Kohli goes on.

The fragmented-multiclass states have policies that lie somewhere between the two extremes previously mentioned. The leaders in fragmented-multiclass states are held accountable for more dynamics in their societies than others in the previous two state descriptions. For example, on page 215 Kohli states that India and Brazil during several…

Colonial Resistance in Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe was born in Ogidi, Nigeria, and his father was a teacher in a missionary school. His parents were devout evangelical Protestants and christened him Albert after Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, although they installed in him many of the values of their traditional Igbo culture. He attended University College in Ibadan, where he studied English, history and theology. At the university Achebe rejected his ritish name and took his indigenous name Chinua. In 1953 he graduated with a A, and later studied broadcasting at the C where, in 1961, he became the first Director of External roadcasting at the Nigerian roadcasting Corporation. In 1944 Achebe attended Government College in Umuahia. He was also educated at the University College of Ibadan, like other major Nigerian writers including John Okigbo, Wole Soyinka, John Pepper Clark, Elechi Amadi, and Cole Omotso. There he studied…

However, at the same time the onset of what many scholars regard as the first truly national event within the history of the fledgling United States of America took place throughout the 1740's, and indicated that the traditional religious beliefs that mandated a strict following of God would not so easily be overturned. The Great Awakening largely begin when George Whitefield, an Oxford-trained Anglican minster who came to Georgia in 1738, began touring through the lands pronouncing that people had limited time to repent before they were consumed by the fires of hell. This perspective certainly adhered to that which was shared by many of the pilgrims and puritans who initially began the colonies in the 17th century. Jonathan Edwards was another influential factor in this movement, and delivered a number of influential sermons during the early years of the 1740s in which he claimed damnation awaited anyone who would…

America at War 1865-Present

A Survey of America at War from 1865 to Present

Since the Civil War, America has seldom seen a generation of peace. In fact, a nonstop succession of wars has kept what Eisenhower termed "the military industrial complex" in lucrative business. From the Indian Wars to the World Wars to the Cold War to the war on Terror, Americana has expanded its foothold as an imperial power every step of the way -- even when isolationism appeared to be momentarily in vogue following World War I. This paper will look at the history of the progression of war in America from 1865 to present, showing how that history -- through social, economic, literary, political, and religious changes -- has both shaped and been shaped by American foreign and domestic policy.

Unit Once: 1865-1876

The Civil War had just ended on the home front, but that did…

constitution had been written with the abolishment of slavery included, the nation would not have benefitted much from such an act. Unfortunately, the United States was built on slave labor. This was especially true in the south. The colonists in colonial America would not have expanded the way they did. They would have not done well in crops like cotton and tobacco had they not employed slave labor. History states the conditions that existed back in the colonial era was deadly to most but African slaves. Although Europeans used indentured servants and Native Americans, they quickly died in those conditions.

Examining it in a positive way, the nation would have learned to exist and trade using other methods. They may have learned to cooperate with native populations and perhaps focus more on trade and developing skills versus farming and slave trading. The nation would have also remained unified. One of…

William Penn, a Quaker whose father had been an Admiral in the King's oyal Navy, was given a large piece of land as payment for a debt owed by the Crown to his father. Penn had suggested naming the new territory Sylvania, meaning wood, but the King added his surname, Penn, as a tribute to William's father (Uden). Penn considered his venture a "Holy Experiment" and sought to establish a society based on religious freedom and separation between religious and governmental authorities,

Under Penn's governorship, Pennsylvania became a safe haven for all persecuted religious groups like the Quakers. He instituted a ballot system that intended to allow all members of Pennsylvania to have an equal say in their own governance. Some of the provisions of equality and religious tolerance in the charter that he drafted for Pennsylvania would eventually be incorporated into other charters, including the U.S.

Constitution (Uden). Perhaps…

Admittedly, these two teams were faced with a daunting challenge in acquiring and interpreting those works of art that were most appropriate for their exhibition goals, and interpretive efforts must use some framework in which to present the resources in a fashion that can be understood and appreciated by the targeted audiences.

Nevertheless, there is little or no discussion concerning the fusion of artistic styles in the two catalogs, with a preference for a neat and orderly, date by date, presentation of representative works that typify the points being made by the exhibition. Despite these shortcomings, both catalogs were shown to be authoritative references that were supported by relevant citations and imagery. Likewise, both catalogs provide useful overviews of the materials that are being presented preparatory to their interpretation, helping place the information in its historical context.

Conclusion

The research showed that interest and appreciation in colonial Latin American art…

omen's Roles in Early America (1700-1780)

hat were the roles of women in the early American period from roughly 1700-1780? Although a great portion of the history of families and people in early America during this period is about men and their roles, there are valid reports of women's activities in the literature, and this paper points out several roles that women played in that era.

The Roles of omen in Early America -- 1700 -- 1780

In the "Turns of the Centuries Exhibit" (TCE) relative to family life in the period 1680 to 1720, the author notes that colonial societies were organized around "…patriarchal, Biblically-ordained lines of authority." Males basically asserted the authority over their wives, their children, their servants and any other dependents that may have been in the household. One reason for the male dominance in this era was do to the fact that "…law did not…

More importantly, the puritans had considered essential for the future of economic success the access to education and therefore established elementary schools throughout the state (Wright, 1947). Therefore, the degree of literacy was greater than in other parts of the country because there was a comprehensive access to education.

By comparison, the South was different in this area. The southern society had a particular system of private tutoring which allowed children to have access to education. However, for ordinary people, this was not an option and they most often appealed to the assistance of the minister. Still, the quality of education received in this way was limited and in many situations the young generation remained illiterate. It can be said therefore that the poor level of education was in part due to the lack of financial support and in part to the economic practices existing in the South which did…

religion shaped development of colonial society in 1740s New England, Chesapeake, and the Mid-Atlantic. eligion shaped development in these areas in a wide variety of ways, and the most important religious development during this time was the "Great Awakening." The "Great Awakening" was an important event in American history and religious history. It was the first real step away from the organized, strict religions that had followed the settlers here from England.

The "father" of the Great Awakening was Jonathan Edwards. He wrote a sermon called "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," which became very famous. A religious historian writes, "In that sermon he used the image of a spider dangling by a web over a hot fire to describe the human predicament. His point was that at any moment, our hold on life could break and we'd be plunged into fires of eternal damnation" (Matthews). While many…

Education in America

The seventeenth century has been called, as an age of faith, and for the colonists a preoccupation with religion, as probably right. The religious rebel of the sixteenth century was severe and shaking as its impact was felt both on the continent as well as in America. However, intelligent Americans of the seventeenth century thought and realized that education could, and may be should, be a handmaiden to religion. Yet, humanism was there more than religion in the intellectual diet of the educated Americans 1.

The humanists preceded their work at a stable speed, which, affected education of northern, middle & southern colonies of America. However, many argued that without much attention given to education, and without even realizing that the books comprised illustrations of better life were taught into schools in order to affect the life and mind of students, how could the aspiration of humanism…

In 1924, the American Congress greatly reduced immigration with the Immigration Act, but this system was removed in 1965 which allowed for a huge wave of immigration from parts of Asia, such as the Philippine Islands, Japan and China; also, immigrants from Haiti and Mexico flooded in and greatly increased the population of American Catholics. With the arrival of the 1960's, five events are of high importance. First, John F. Kennedy became the first Catholic President of the United States in 1960 which "due to his popularity, charisma and personal integrity reassured non-Catholic Americans that Catholicism was legitimate and that Catholics could be trusted" (Emerson, 256).

Second, Pope John XXIII who had been elected as Pope in 1958 became one of the most popular and beloved Catholic Pope in modern history, due to his attempts to bring Catholics and non-Catholics together in friendship and appreciation. Third, John XXIII also convened…

War

Imagine living in 18th Century America. What would a person encounter during that time period? Would the diverse social and political backgrounds impact a person positively or negatively during this era? Can a person prepare for what may occur with the upcoming Seven Years War? How would the outcomes of this war affect America in general? One will study these issues in depth from the perspective of an individual existing in the past.

During the 18th Century, I experienced a number of things that are worth mentioning. I went to the south at one time and noticed that slavery is an issue. Many of these individuals are poor, and a select few became land owners despite becoming exposed to various diseases. When I saw this I was devastated and wanted to help each person but I could not. However, these people after fifty years of service were promised their…

The ritish came to impose serious taxes as a result of the French Indian war. These in turn were unacceptable to a people which considered itself not to be responsible for the causes of the war. The confrontation had been in fact another matter of European dispute that had to be solved outside the continent in the colonies.

Third, there is a disagreement in the way in which the war was perceived at the local level. The American colonies viewed this struggle as a need for independence from a regime that continued to impose an undemocratic control over its institutions and the lives of the people. On the other hand, the ritish saw it as a rebellion that must be immediately squashed. In its view, it was a war for the maintenance of a certain order, while the Americans viewed it as one of disruption of this order. While the…

ritish agricultural revolution and English settlement patterns in their colonies in New England. It is the authors contention that the world view of the English influenced their agricultural practices and the way that these practices changed the ecology of the land in New England. While largely a failure as a commercial enterprise in New England, it did however have commonalities with the Middle and Southern colonies, a relentless drive West and a decimation of Native American cultures and populations. Needless to say, there were huge differences between this English world view and English agricultural policies and the Native American world view, agricultural practices and approach to the environment.

While agriculture was largely a failure as a commercial enterprise in New England, the idea in the English settlers mind to keep pushing West to find arable land was alive and well and continued throughout the colonial period. Surprisingly enough, this English…

colonial transplantation that occurred in Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts Bay. What were the major sources of friction between the Indians and the English in Virginia and Massachusetts Bay? Also explain the impact of the Glorious evolution on British rule and describe the policy of 'salutary neglect' and what it did for the government within the colonies. Be specific in your essay.

Colonial transplantation in Virginia, Maryland and the Massachusetts Bay

The colonization of Virginia, Maryland and the Massachusetts Bay represent crucial points on the history of the modern day United States. In the three regions, colonial transplantation processes were developed and these were characterized by distinctive elements. In both three regions, the colonization process was marked by a shortage of financial resources and the need to receive more money from London.

In Virginia for instance, the colonial transplantation effort had a grim start. Striving to protect themselves against the aboriginals,…

America, states' rights are a hot topic. Can states legalize gay marriage, or is that something that is better left to the federal government? Can states make their own gun laws, or should we have a general law by the U.S. government about them? These are just a few examples of issues where states' rights are disputed. Religion is a hot topic as well; can students pray at football games and graduation ceremonies? Can a person's religious beliefs make taking an otherwise illegal drug legal? Foreign affairs gets a lot of coverage, as well: should America be concerned about democracy in other nations? Should we use force to patrol the world, perhaps making it a more secure place?

These all seem like very modern questions, and in many ways, they are. Football games and gay marriage were hardly relevant during the colonial period of American history. But the events of…

America and the Great War" and "The New Era"

Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation. Vol. 2: A Concise History of the American People .4th Edition. McGraw-Hill 2004.

What were the causes of WWI in Europe in 1914? Why was President Wilson so reluctant for the U.S. To get involved until 1917 and what finally put the U.S. "over the edge" and decide to enter the conflict directly?

Nationalism, imperialism, and secret treaties all played a role in the instigation of WWI in Europe, but President Wilson was initially reluctant to become involved, because of a long history of American isolationism in regards to entangling European affairs, particularly the secret alliances that stimulated the conflict. His refusal to involve the U.S. In WWI became a crucial part of his re-election campaign. But President Wilson began to protest German violations of American neutrality more vehemently in his public rhetoric than British violations,…

Articles of Confederation: The Articles of Confederation were approved in November, 1777 and were the basic format for what would become the Constitution and Bill of ights for the United States. There were, of course, deficiencies in the document, this was a new experiment and getting the delegates to agree in kind to pass any sort of document was challenging at best. The Articles did allow a semblance of unity, the further impetus to remain at war with the British, and the conclusion that there would be some sort of Federal government. The Articles, however, failed to require individual States to help fund the Federal (National) government, a template for an Executive and National Judicial Branch, or the issuance of paper money and a central banking system. In essence, the largest failure was the Articles' inability to allow a Federal government to regulate commerce, tax, or impose laws upon the…

Colonial Slavery

Much of the conventional wisdom around slavery rightly centers around the issue of racism. To many Europeans, the darker skin and different culture of the African peoples indicates the latter's inferiority and lesser level of development. Many Europeans justified colonization based on the idea of bringing civilization to the savage heathens. Others believed that the inferiority of the African races also meant that slavery was a natural social order.

A closer look at the history of colonialism and slavery, however, indicates forces at work other than racism. There were four distinct colonial periods in from the 16th to the late 20th century, and the actions of colonial powers such as Portugal and Spain were not always explained simply by skin color.

This paper reflects on the other forces that underlay the European colonization efforts.

It looks at the role played by patriarchy and religion in the colonial experience.…

Additionally, she found that interdisciplinary units proved monumentally successful in helping teach children; for an inclusive colonial times unit, the children could learn about colonial daily life through completion of temporal everyday chores, cooking meals of the day, and involving themselves in the day-to-day activities that affected colonial children. Additionally, through their own student projects, the children might learn to "initiate and manage complex projects" when they are creating student projects.

Like Gardner, Campbell stresses the role of assessments in helping children progress. She guides the development of assessments that are devised to allow students to show what they have learned. According to Campbell, with an accurate understanding of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, teachers, school administrators, and parents can better understand the learners in their midst. They can allow students to safely explore and learn in many ways, and they can help students direct their own learning. Adults can…

American History: Rights and Freedoms of Women in the 1600's

In the early 1600's the ritish King made grants of charters were granted for settlements that were to become established colonies in the New World or America. y the 1700's 13 colonies had been established namely Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Rhode Island. The Constitution was not yet and Freedom not yet won and the rights of women varied from area to area.

This paper intends to explore what rights women possessed in the different areas of settlement in the early America as well as the difference of women's rights in other race and cultural groups in that time period. Further to understand what freedom was held by "Free Colonial Women" as well as what motivated the white and black women of that time to either declare…

Gage

American Revolution

General Thomas Gage and the American Revolution

In 1774 Thomas Gage was chosen to succeed Thomas Hutchinson as governor of Massachusetts, where the most serious conflicts between the colonists and the British government existed at that time. Gage's appointment was initially well received by the colonists, who were happy to be rid of Hutchinson. However, Gage tried to put down the dissident forces in the colony and enforce the Intolerable Acts, a series of five laws designed to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party and the boycott against British goods and reestablish British rule. These acts included the Boston Port Act, legislation the dictated that the port of Boston was closed to shipping until restitution was made to the India Tea company and the King for the lost tea and taxes; The Massachusetts Government Act, designed to increase royal control over the colony's administration; The…

Born to Die

hy did the native populations, such as the Incas and the Aztecs, appear to be, not equals to be met with military and diplomatic force, but as victims born to die in the eyes of the invading European powers? hy were they not feared, despite the extensive technological capacities of their civilizations, and the detailed political and religious theology these civilizations created? Simply put, the invading Europeans came to regard them as sick and ailing bodies of a sick and ailing body politic, born to die because of their lack of immunity to European diseases, even more than European firearms.

The book Born to Die thus presents the provoking thesis that disease was the major cause of the European power's seemingly never-ending successes of colonial successes and conquests in Latin America, rather than these nation's prowess in military conquest. In some cases, the nations had already been…

John Winthrop

What is America's role in the world? Considering that America was in many ways founded experimentally, it is only natural to imagine that outside observers are constantly looking to America as an example or a source of guidance. In particular, America's early status as an experiment in religious tolerance has led to the popularity of the phrase and image of "the city on a hill." Derived from Jesus Christ's Sermon on the Mount -- where Christ tells his followers "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden" (Matt. 5:14) -- the notion of America as both a model and a source of immense scrutiny is popular even to this day. In this paper I would like to examine three ways in which the notion of America as a "city on a hill" was persuasive in the period of…

Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and Benjamin Franklin's "Advice to a Young Tradesman."

The writings of Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin represent two opposite extremes of Colonial thought. Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is an example of the "Hellfire" religious revivalism that exercised such strong appeal during the period. Thousands turned out to be converted and save at great mass meetings. These people place their absolute trust in God, believing that He alone could save them from the eternal torments of Hell. Only through trust in Him, could any of their endeavors be truly blessed. According to such beliefs, men and women were not masters of their own fate -- all lay in the Hands of God. In contrast, to the extent that Franklin's piece, "Advice to a Young Tradesman" does touch on religion at all, it is a very different…

Spain chose, instead, to allocate its territorial expansion to the Americas. However, Spain was able to exploit its existing African holdings to supply Spanish colonies in the Americas with African slaves ("The Spanish Colonial System" par. 4).

Unlike its concerted efforts in the Americas, Spain's focus in Africa was not so pointed in its colonies there, namely Spanish Guinea, Spanish Sahara, and Morocco. The majority of Spain's African colonies were located along the northern coasts and served primarily as strongholds from which Spain could protect its shipping and commerce activities in the Mediterranean as well as between the Old orld and the New.

orks Cited

Campos, Alicia. "The Decolonization of Equatorial Guinea: The Relevance of the International Factor." The Journal of African History 44.1 (Jan. 2003): 95-114.

"Spanish Empire." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 2008. 20 July 2008 .

"The Spanish Colonial System, 1550-1800: Population Development." The Encyclopedia of orld History.…