The Flow of History
 
 

The Origins of America: Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in a Colonial World

Fall 2007


Dates: October 16, 30, November 13, 27 4-6 p.m.
Locations: Dummerston and Hartford, VT; Claremont, NH.

How were the foundations of the nation that would become America forged in the interactions among indigenous peoples, European settlers, and African slaves?

The nation that would become America was forged in the contact, conflict, and relationships between three different population complexes in a mercantile colonial setting. Indigenous native peoples, a variety of white European settlers, and enslaved Africans imported to be a labor force together shaped the historical processes that created the United States. Using a mixture of adult nonfiction, young adult historical fiction, and children's picture books, these four 2-hour sessions will consider such topics as the Indian cultures of eastern North America; similarities and differences between colonial settlement in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the South; contact and conflict between natives and settlers; the origins of African slavery in America; culture and politics in the colonial era, with a focus on early New England towns; and the settlement of New Hampshire and Vermont.

Internet Resources      Bibliography      Timeline

Session 1: October 16

Settlement and Labor
Bernard Bailyn, The Peopling of British North America, An Introduction
Betty Wood, The Origins of American Slavery

Session 2: October 30

Europe in America: French, Dutch, and English Colonies
Excerpts from 17th-century sources: Samuel de Champlain, William Bradford, Records of New Netherland
"Champlain's Legacy: The Transformation of Seventeenth-Century North America," from Fred Anderson and Andrew Cayton, The Dominion of War: Empire and Liberty in North America, 1500-2000

Session 3: November 13

Thanksgiving Revisited: The Pilgrims, New England, and King Philip's War
Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
     Discussion Focus: The second half on King Phillip's War

Session 4: November 27

Rogers' Raid Revisited: An Abenaki Perspective on the Seven Years' War
For background on the Seven Years' War, please go to the roundtable discussion of the book, Crucible of War, at: http://www.common-place.org/vol-01/no-01/crucible/crucible-intro.shtml and read the Author's Intro and the brief essay by Eliga Gould.

Joseph Bruchac, The Winter People (YA novel)
Marge Bruchac, Malian's Song (Picture book, group reading)

Sharing of favorite books and teaching resources on the colonial era


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