Part I:

Instructions: Please answer the following question. You should write a minimum of 1 page (double-spaced, 12pt. font). This essay is worth 10% of your final exam grade.

Question: Almost every week so far this semester, you’ve been asked to relate what you’ve been learning to a contemporary issue or event. The idea behind this, of course, is to emphasize connections between the past and present, and to show how learning about the past can help you to better understand present day issues. For this essay, write about TWO of these connections that you found most interesting or meaningful to you. You should identify each connection and explain in detail why you found it interesting or meaningful. You can use the topics I gave you for your Reflective Writing assignments each week, or you can share other connections that you have made.

Part II:

Instructions: Please answer one of the following questions. Be sure to have a thesis statement, and support it with evidence. Your evidence should come from course lecturers, the textbook, and most importantly, the primary and secondary source readings that you have discussed in your Friday classes. You should cite any information that you take from these sources. For instructions on how to cite, please see the guidelines listed on the next page. Your essay should be 2-3 pages (double-spaced, 12pt. font). This essay is worth 90% of your grade.

1. How would you describe Colonial American society? (You should focus only on the period from 1607-1763. You should also discuss all three regions of Colonial America (New England, the Middle, and the Southern colonies) and the many different kinds of people and cultures in these regions.)

2. In 1763, a majority of American colonists were proud, loyal British subjects. Thirteen years later, in 1776, many chose to revolt against their King. Why?

See Citation guidelines on the next page.

Citation Guidelines:

You CANNOT use any other sources besides the course textbook, my lectures, Parkinson’s Thirteen Clocks, and the weekly primary source readings. Here are examples for how to cite each of these sources:

1. For the textbook, just put (American Yawp) at the end of any sentence that includes information taken from the textbook. Example: “Virginia, the oldest of the English mainland colonies, imported its first slaves in 1619.” (American Yawp)

2. For my lectures, just put (Jones Lecture) at the end of the sentence that includes information taken from my lectures. Example: Slavery replaced indentured servitude as the main form of labor in the middle of the 1600s (Jones lecture).

3. For Parkinson’s Thirteen Clocks, just put (Clocks, page number) at the end of the sentence that includes information taken from his book. Example: Parkinson argued that “patriot leaders weaponized prejudice about African Americans and Indians to unite the American colonists and hammer home the idea that the British were treacherous and dangerous enemies.” (Clocks, 2)

4. For the weekly primary source readings, just put a brief title of the source at the end of the sentence. Example: Colonists blamed the King “For imposing taxes on us without our consent.” (Declaration)