Your midterm is, in essence, multiple short answer responses. You will choose four of the six topics to respond to, you may use any class materials to help answer the questions. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling count for each response. Just as in your other short answer questions there may be multiple questions to be answered within each topic, please be sure to answer all parts of the questions. Each response should be no less than 300 words double spaced (a page to a page and a half double spaced.) Do not copy and paste information from any source to complete your answers. If you are going to quote something it needs to be cited properly (MLA) and will not count in your word count. You may number your response so I know which four topics you are responding to.
1) What country had the greatest impact on exploration? Why do you think there was such competition over the New World? Would you describe the America’s as in fact a “New World” or do you think it was actually more similar to Europe than they thought? In the Americas did the Europeans transplant the best of their culture and society or do you think that what came to the Americas with Europeans was mostly negative?
2) How do you think Native Americans viewed European arrival? Do you think they were right to cause conflict in some cases for Europeans or do you think they should have just tried to peacefully exist with them? Who would you describe as the aggressors or agitators in Native and European relationships? Was their interactions always contentious or were their positive interactions as well?
3) Which colony do you believe was most important of the original 13 and why? What was the reason that colony was founded? What was their economy based off of? Did they have good or poor relations with Natives? Would you describe them as a colony that heavily relied on the slave trade? What makes it stand out from the others?
4) How did the French and Indian War affect the colonies and England? Would you describe it as mainly a positive outcome or negative? Why was this conflict started? At its conclusion what was solidified, if anything?
5) Which Act or Acts do you think had the greatest affect turning the colonists against the British? Is there one in particular that if it hadn’t’ been passed would have stopped the march toward rebellion and revolution? Were the colonists being realistic with their demands and was their outrage justified?
6) Which of the leaders of the Revolution do you think was most important and why? Was there one person in particular who changed the outcome of the war or brought support to the cause and it changed the tide? Can one person really affect the outcome of an entire movement or revolution or was the American Revolution only successful because of the wide spread support it gathered from across the colonies? Was there a group that was particularly influential?