Documenting United States History

22 ChApTEr 1 | firSt ContaCtS | period one 14 91–1607

Putting it All together

Revisiting the Main Point

•   

To what extent did European migration to the Western Hemisphere

foster assimilation and cooperation among Europeans, Africans, and

Native Americans?

•   

How did the natural environment of the New World figure prominently

into the economic, political, and social conflicts of this period? How did

colonization of the Western Hemisphere shape European society? How did

ongoing colonization shape the societies of the Western Hemisphere (both

colonial and native)?

•   

After European contact, what economic considerations influenced both native

and colonial societies? What elements of native, African, and European work,

exchange, and technology were transformed by the Columbian exchange?

What elements remained the same for each?

•   

Which of the following factors (economics, politics, environment, religion,

and social interactions) was most important in the struggle for power during

this time period? Why?

•   

What were the competing points of view of Europeans toward the treatment

of native peoples? What do these different points of view reveal about the

European mind­set toward colonization?

Prewriting

There are three main steps to take prior to writing a historical essay that uses

documents.

steP 1 Understand the prompt, and identify the key words

Writing a response to a prompt depends on your ability to understand what you

have been asked to write about. For example, consider this prompt:

Using the documents above and your knowledge of the historical period,

analyze the extent to which economics, religion, and politics shaped the

earliest contacts between Europeans and native peoples in the Western

Hemisphere.

Buil Ding AP®

writing sKills

02_STA_2012_ch1_001-026.indd 22 26/03/15 10:35 AM

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