Mr. Frickman

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2017-2018 AP U.S. History Summer Assignment Instructions

You will read the non-fiction book Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick (2006).

Mayflower is a narrative history set in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century. Philbrick focuses on the relationship between the English colonists and the Native Americans and their collaboration and conflicts leading to King Philip’s War (1676).

Part I. U.S. History Historical Themes: You will pick examples from the book to illustrate the seven themes of United States History (BAGPIPE):

a.  Beliefs Systems: Ideas, Beliefs and Culture

b.  America and the World

c.  Geography and Environment

d.  Peopling

e.  Identity: “The Pilgrim’s religious beliefs played a dominant role in the decades ahead, but it was their deepening relationship with the Indians that turned them into Americans.” (p.347)

f.  Politics and Power

g.  Economy: Work, Exchange and Technology

By referencing the definitions for each of these themes below, pick one example that illustrates each theme. Describe Philbrick’s example and then relate the example to the theme. Include the page number of the example. Please make sure that each example comes from a different chapter. You must include an example from each of the five Parts of the book: Discovery, Accommodation, Community, War, and Epilogue. Each entry should be about 100 words (total of 700 words).

Part II. Questions:

1.  What is the historical context to the following two quotes (200 words each):

a.  Capt. Benjamin Church: King Philip was a “doleful, great, naked dirty beast.” (pg. 337)

b.  William Apess: “How deep then was the thought of Philip, when he could look from Maine to Georgia, and from the ocean to the lakes and view with one look all his brethren withering before the more enlightened to come; and how true his prophecy, that the white people would not only cut down their groves but would enslave them. . . Philip’s prophecy has come to pass; therefore, as a man of natural abilities, I shall pronounce him the greatest man that was ever in America; and so it will stand, until he is proved to the contrary, to the everlasting disgrace of the Pilgrim fathers.” Eulogy on King Philip 1836 (referenced on page 353)

Part III. Socratic Seminar Questions - You do not have to write out answers to the following questions. You must be prepared to discuss them in a Socratic Seminar using the book as evidence. It is recommend that you take notes on the following questions.

1.  “The cultural, economic, and political values of the Native American populations in North America were not radically different from the immigrating ‘Old World’ Puritan populations from 1600 to 1680.” Assess the validity of this statement.

2.  What beliefs and character traits that typified the Pilgrims enabled them to survive in the hostile environment that greeted them in the New World? Did some of the same traits that helped them survive limit them in other ways? How so?

3.  Analyze the impact of King Philip’s War on the social and economic structure of the English settlers and the Wampanoag societies.

4.  Philbrick shows that the English, as well as the American Indians, engaged in barbaric practices like torturing and mutilating their captives, as well as taking body parts as souvenirs. Could either side in King Philip’s War make any legitimate claim to moral superiority? Why or why not?

5.  During King Philip’s War, significant numbers of Native Americans sided with the English. How do you regard those who took up arms against their fellow natives? Do you see them as treacherous, opportunistic, or merely sensible? If you had been a native, which side would you have taken, and why?

6.  What event would you name as a turning point in making English Colonists into Americans?

7.  Compare and contrast the cultural values and societal attitudes of the English and Wampanoag.

8.  Compare and contrast William Bradford and Benjamin Church. In what ways did each contribute to the history of the Pilgrims and America?

9.  Discuss the social and economic changes that occurred in Plymouth Colony during the first fifty years of its existence. Were the changes positive or negative? Explain.

10.  Philbrick argues that the Pilgrims probably would not have survived without the help of Massasoit. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

11.  In what ways does Benjamin Church symbolize what America would become?

12.  One reviewer of Mayflower asserted that Nathaniel Philbrick “avoided] the overarching moral issues [of his subject] and [took] no sides.” Do you find this to be true? Are there moral lessons Philbrick wants us to learn? If so, what are they?

13.  Philbrick says the real history of the Pilgrims is different than what we are often taught. What does he mean by this? How does the real history differ from what we have been told?

U.S. History Themes and Historical Thinking Skills

Identity: This theme focuses on the formation of both American national identity and group identities in U.S. history. Students should be able to explain how various identities, cultures, and values have been preserved or changed in different contexts of U.S. history, with special attention given to the formation of gender, class, racial, and ethnic identities. Students should be able to explain how these sub-identities have interacted with each other and with larger conceptions of American national identity.
Work Exchange and Technology: This theme focuses on the development of American economies based on agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing. Students should examine ways that different economic and labor systems, technological innovations, and government policies have shaped American society. Students should explore the lives of working people and the relationships among social classes, racial and ethnic groups, and men and women, including the availability of land and labor, national and international economic developments, and the role of government support and regulation.
Peopling: This theme focuses on why and how the various people who moved to, from, and within the United States adapted to their new social and physical environments. Students examine migration across borders and long distances, including the slave trade and internal migration, and how both newcomers and indigenous inhabitants transformed North America. The theme also illustrates how people responded when “borders crossed them.” Students explore the ideas, beliefs, traditions, technologies, religions, and gender roles that migrants/immigrants and annexed peoples brought with them, and the impact these factors had on both these peoples and on U.S. society.
Politics and Power: Students should examine ongoing debates over the role of the state in society and its potential as an active agent for change. This includes mechanisms for creating, implementing, or limiting participation in the political process and the resulting social effects, as well as the changing relationships among the branches of the federal government and among national, state, and local governments. Students should trace efforts to define or gain access to individual rights and citizenship and survey the evolutions of tensions between liberty and authority in different periods of U.S. history.
American and the World: In this theme, students should focus on the global context in which the United States originated and developed, as well as the influence of the U.S. on world affairs. Students should examine how various world actors (such as people, states, organizations, and companies) have competed for the territory and resources of the North American continent, influencing the development of both American and world societies
and economies. Students should also investigate how American foreign policies and military actions have affected the rest of the world as well as social issues within the U.S. itself.
Environment and Geography: This theme examines the role of environment, geography, and climate in both constraining and shaping human actions. Students should analyze the interaction between the environment and Americans in their efforts to survive and thrive. Students should also explore efforts to interpret, preserve, manage, or exploit natural and man-made environments, as well as the historical contexts within which interactions with the environment have taken place.
Ideas, Beliefs and Culture: This theme explores the roles that ideas, beliefs, social mores, and creative expression have played in shaping the United States. Students should examine the development of aesthetic, moral, religious, scientific, and philosophical principles, and consider how these principles have affected individual and group actions. Students should analyze the interactions between beliefs and communities, economic values, and political movements, including attempts to change American society to align it with specific ideals.