History 8-1, Assignment Five, The Colonies Begin to Change

Click here to go back to the web site for History 8-1.

How were the colonists in the Americas developing changing world views?

Description

During the colonization period, Americans began to develop views of their lives and their place in the world. They expressed their views in a variety of ways. For this lesson we are going to look at some of what they told us about their world and compare it with our own.

Objectives

Students will identify and explain the changes that took place in the colonies during the middle colonial period.

Essential questions

How were the colonists in America developing changing world views?

Special instructions

See the printed assignment for all instructions. The essay questions are listed below so you may copy them into your essays, if you wish.

Assignment Instructions
Use Chapter Seven, The American Colonies Develop New Ideas from the textbook, either on-line or as hard copy from the classroom as you work on this assignment.
Use separate sheets of paper to answer the questions below. When you have finished, attach it to this sheet.

Essay Questions
You will submit a well-constructed short essay of two or three paragraphs in response to three of the following questions. 

1. How did the Enlightenment, that began in Europe, affect the colonists in America?
2. Explain the importance of the Zenger trial. Why did Governor Cosby take such a strong stance? Who was the beneficiary? What role did Zenger’s wife play?
3. How did smuggling become so important to the American way of life? What did the British stand to lose by allowing it?
4. How did the blending of European interests and nationalities strengthen America?
5. Explain how the Seven Years or French and Indian War began. How did it relate to the other conflicts between France and England of that century? Why was the outcome of the conflict so vital to America’s growth?
6. How did the Treaty of Paris, 1763, affect Great Britain, America, and France? How did it help to unite the colonies? How did it deepen the differences between the colonies and Britain?

Links

A copy of the assignment

Click here to view a printed copy of the assignment.

Other online files

Click here to view the PowerPoint file about the contributions of many nations to colonial America.

Here is the link to the PowerPoint about the changing concept of rights in America during the Enlightenment.

Here is the link to Chapter Seven of the textbook.

Click here to view the PowerPoint we used in class about the French and Indian War.