Honors HIST 1103 – Survey of American History
Spring 2002
Dr. Laura
Belmonte
Assignment for Jon Butler, Becoming America: The
Revolution before 1776 worth up to 100
points
Due in class on January 31, 2002
To Read: entire text (250 pages)
In typed, complete sentences, answer the following questions. Be sure to support your answers with evidence, but don’t get carried away. I don’t expect you to write more than a paragraph for each answer. Don’t get lost in the details – focus on general themes.
Introduction
1.) How does Butler distinguish his interpretation of colonial America from that of other historians?
2.) How does Butler describe relations between the Indians and the English?
3.) What types of people traveled to America? What were some of the reasons they decided to do so?
4.) Why did slaveholding begin to increase after 1680?
5.) Describe some of the experiences of the slaves. How did they attempt to resist?
6.) What were the major characteristics of the colonial economy?
7.) How did economic changes affect Indians?
8.) What were women’s economic roles?
9.) What was it like to be poor in colonial America? How did local governments respond to poverty?
10.) What were the major features of colonial politics?
11.) Who voted in colonial America?
12.) Was religion important in colonial political debates?
13.) Why was the press important in colonial political life?
14.) What was Whig political ideology? Why was applying it in colonial America difficult?
15.) What role did the British government play in colonial affairs prior to 1760?
16.) How did the colonists respond to British officials?
17.) Why was the Seven Years War significant in colonial relations with Britain?
Chapter Four: Things Material
18.) How does Butler describe the material culture of colonial America?
19.) What were the major characteristics and changes in American religious life prior to 1760s?
20.) What roles did women play in colonial religious life?
21.) How did the spiritual lives of Indians and Africans change during the colonial era?
22.) Why does Butler believe that the American Revolution is the “first modern revolution”?
23.) What were the major reasons that the colonists protested British rule?
24.) How did the Revolution affect women, slaves, and Indians?
25.) How did the Revolution affect religion?
Bonus Question (worth up to 10 points)
26.) Was reading this book a worthwhile experience? Did it enrich your understanding of colonial America? Explain your answers.