Please note, this assignment is not for the AP sections of US History

For this assignment, you should make use of the ABC-Clio American History database, accessible at : http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Home/Default.aspx. This is also linked from the History Department page of the Williams website.

You should start by looking at the Summer Assignment Research List (click on “select a research list” in the left column to access research lists), but one objective of this assignment is that you become more comfortable and confident in utilizing the database, so you should feel free to click on various links and utilize the search functions to further explore each topic. 

Part I.

Follow the directions and write a 4-5 sentence response to each task.  This assignment will be due the first week of school.

1. Look at the map “Language Groups of North American Indians, 1500.”  Is it fair to lump all Native Americans into one group and generalize about all of them?  Why or why not?  Navigate the site to find an interesting fact about three different Native American peoples.  You may find the article “How should Native American history be recognized by the public?” to be a good starting point.

Bonus: What’s the difference between the Mohegan and the Mahican?

2. Read “The Columbian Exchange” article and click on the suggested links in the left and right hand columns. Compare the visuals “English, French, and Spanish Exploration” and “Columbus Day Parade Cancellation.”  How should Columbus be viewed in American History?  Should Columbus be singled out as the most significant explorer?

Bonus: Where did the name “America” come from?

3. Read the quotes by John Winthrop, Richard Hakluyt the Younger, J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur, and look at the Virginia poster and the maps of European settlement in North America ca. 1680 and North America before 1754.  Who came to North America and what were their primary motivations?

4. Read the “Native Americans and the Europeans” article and click on the “visual” button in the column on the left.  What do you think were the most significant differences between Native American and European Colonists in terms of their goals and mindsets?

5. Look at the images “Wives for the settlers arrive at Jamestown” and “indentured servants,” along with the articles “Salem witchcraft trials” and “Anne Hutchinson.”  Why did women come to North America?  What roles did they play in colonial society?

6.  Look at the visual “Regional Development of the Colonies” and explore the subject further by following links in the left and right hand columns.  Is it useful to lump the famous “Thirteen Colonies” together and generalize about them?  Why or why not?  How do you think differences between colonies affected the role of slavery in the colonies?

7. Use the search functions to determine which regions of the colonies made extensive use of slave labor.  What role did indentured servants play in the settlement of the colonies?  Who was a typical indentured servant?

8. Who was King Philip?  What were the causes and consequences of King Philip's War?

9. Look at the image of the War of Jenkins’ Ear.  Who fought in this war?  What were the causes of this war?  What does this tell you about the relationship between people living in the Americas and people living in Europe during the 1700s?

10. Use the advanced search tool to find out what role pirates played in American History pre-1776. 

11. Use the search functions to find out about the Great Awakening.  Why do you think this movement is considered important in the larger view of American History?

Part II

Please follow the individual instructions per question.

1. Who wrote the following statement:

            “I was Born a Heathen and Brought up in Heathenism, till I was between 16 & 17 years of age, at a place Calld Mohegan, in New London, Connecticut, in New England.”

2. Who was “born in Groton, Connecticut on December 24, 1737. The son of a blacksmith, he graduated from Yale University in 1758. He was admitted to the bar to practice law in 1761, establishing a law practice in Wethersfield, Connecticut. On October 8, 1763, he married Mehitabel Webb, a widow who had five children from a previous marriage and owned a general store.”?

3. How many Allertons were on the Mayflower? What teacher shares the same last name as a passenger on the Mayflower?

4. Please translate “Powhatan: remarks to Capt. John Smith (ca. 1609)” into clear, modern day language.

5. When searching using the search box please list the articles found when you type in shot heard round the world and then article(s) found when you type the same phrase (shot heard round the world) with quotes around it.

6. In a paragraph, list the similarities and differences between the two images John Eliot preaches to Native Americans and Lewis and Clark meet with Indians. (Please list a total of three of each.)

Follow up: These two images were made roughly two hundred years apart from each other. Why do you think there would be such similarities in the visual depictions with the Native Americans made two hundred years from each other?

Bonus: Which famous American had been a teacher in New London and was eventually hanged as a spy?