Documenting United States History

ToPIc II | The Conquest of Native North America 43

Step 2 Now that you have characterized each nation’s policies and economic relations with

Native Americans, you’re ready to compare them. Compile the similarities and the differ-

ences between the Spanish, the English, and the French using the chart below. (Note: Your

similarities will be generalizations, or common statements, about all three nations. Your dif-

ferences also will be generalizations but about each nation in particular.) Try to come up with

three for each. One similarity and one difference are already completed for you.

Similarities: Policies and economics Differences: Policies and economics

1. All three European nations needed some
   form of cooperation from natives to fulfill
   their economic goals in North America.

Spanish: The Spanish used natives as labor and

needed to maintain their subservient social and

economics status to fulfill this goal.

2. French:


3. english:

Step 3 You’re now ready to create a thesis statement that compares these three nations

and the ways that their policies affected economic relations with Native Americans. Your

thesis statement should include both your similarities and differences. For example, it could

begin with a similarity:

Although Spain, England, and France all instituted policies that sought to exploit

native peoples,...

and could end with a statement of differences:

... Spain overwhelmingly sought to convert natives to Catholicism and treat them
as economic dependents, England traded with native peoples but primarily pursued
cultivation of Native American land, and France sought to trade raw materials with
Native Americans.

After you have written your own thesis statement, create between three and five claim

statements that incorporate evidence for your thesis statement based on the documents

above. Each claim statement should correspond to your claims in your thesis statement.

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