Essays and Research Papers on Pre-Colonial America

This 3 page paper answers some specific questions about Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense." Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how these habits or trends had been developed prior to 1750, and how they ultimately ‘embedded’ themselves in the Revolutionary War and the U.S. Constitution. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A paper which looks at Woods' Radicalism of the American Revolution in terms of the impact which the revolution had on the development of an “American ideology” and also with regard to its lack of salient characteristics generally associated with political revolution such as class conflict, terrorism, or mass violence. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 3 page paper which examines the Anglo-Dutch conflict over North America as seen in Russell Shorto’s work “Island at the Center of the World.” No additional sources cited.

This 5 page paper examines race and racism in colonial America. The paper argues that slavery and racism are not necessarily one. Part of this paper is an annotated bibliography. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 4 page paper examines the Declaration of Independence with regard to its purpose; the principles of government it espouses; and relations with the British. Finally, it looks at the actual declaration of independence contained within the document. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 4 page book review of Morgan's award-winning treatise on the evolution of racism in the American colonies. In this text, which is one of the most "celebrated books in recent American historiography," Morgan explores the connections between "slavery, freedom, persistent inequality and American egalitarianism." Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page paper which compares Thomas Paines’ “Common Sense” to William Bradford’s “Of Plymouth Plantation.” Bibliography lists 3 sources.

3 pages in length. In Federalist paper #51, James Madison writes that "if a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure" (Madison, 1788), a statement whose message is meant to warn of the socially inequitable practice of utilitarianism. Bibliography lists one source.

A 3 page essay that contrasts and compares three accounts of early American history. There is a prevalent perspective among Americans that the earliest colonists to North America were homogenous in their purpose and intentions in coming to the New World. This viewpoint overlooks the immense diversity of early colonists and the multiple reasons that ...

A 6 page book report on Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 5 page paper discusses this great Americans with regard to Native Americans, Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay on Self-Reliance and how it applies to Louisiana politicians, and the contrast between Whitman, Emerson and Thoreau. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

This 3 page paper discusses the question of whether or not the American Revolution made a real difference in the issues of slavery, religion and women's rights, and argues that it was not as revolutionary as first thought. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 3 page paper discusses the Coercive Acts passed by Britain with regard to the American colonies. It takes the form of a letter from a British MP to his cousin in Massachusetts. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 3 page paper discusses the Hopewell and Mississippian cultures with regard to what they traded and what part trade played in their economies. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 3 page paper critiques an article about Edward Teach, known as "Blackbeard," from the August 2007 issue of "Smithsonian Magazine." Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page paper which defines progress and then relates it to the discovery of America and progress. Bibliography lists 1 source.

This 6 page paper discusses the Puritans. It gives an overview of their society, and then gives examples of their beliefs, attitudes and behaviors as revealed by contemporary literature. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 9 page paper discusses the way in which entrepreneurs have lived and thrived in America. Larry Schweikart's book is extensively referenced. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 4 page paper which examines the physical and religious differences between the Northern and the Southern colonies of America. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 4 page paper compares and contrasts Benjamin Franklin and James Madison, two of America's most famous men. Bibliography lists 8 sources.

This 10 page paper examines the use of the family metaphor (children , parent, mother country, etc.) in describing the relationship between England and the colonies. The American Revolution is discussed. The works of various authors who wrote during the 1770s are examined. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 3 page book review of Russell Bourne's The Red King's Rebellion, which recounts the conditions leading up to and including the war between Native Americans and colonists in the seventeenth century. Bourne addresses the position of colonists who argued against cooperation with Native Americans, but also those who argued in favor of maintaining the ...

This 6 page paper considers arguments by Enlightenment thinkers with regard to the separation of church and state, and how these arguments influenced Americans, particularly Thomas Jefferson. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 6 page paper takes the form of a letter from a Massachusetts farmer to his wife, explaining his anti-federalist stand, and how he finally voted on the matter of ratification. Bibliography lists 3 sources.