SUPA American History 101
Paper # 1- Jamestown
The story of the founding of Jamestown has been over scrutinized and
“written and re-written” countless times by Historians over the last two
hundred years. Professor James Horn’s book A Land as God Made It was
published just in time to coincide with the 400 anniversary of the
founding of Jamestown by the British and spurred many in academia to
sigh at the sight of another book about Jamestown. Yet, Horn captures
the story from a new and fresh perspective and Professor James Rice
perhaps best encapsulated the level of Horn’s work when he praised the
book for its “impressive combination of scholarly synthesis, original
interpretation and accessible prose.” The following assignment prompts
you to analyze one specific aspect of Horn’s work.
Most Historians agree that Jamestown was the birthplace of
modern America. As Horn masterfully explains, the
permanence of Jamestown was certainly not assured during
its early years and the struggle for its survival was complex
and multilayered. Write an essay that addresses the major
political, social and economic obstacles the Virginia
colony faced during its first twenty years. The essay
should be analytical in nature, identifying the major
obstacles, synthesizing their influence and drawing
conclusions about their effect upon the colony.
Please keep in mind that this essay is very short so you do not need to go
into great detail! This paper is designed for you to demonstrate your
ability to glean information from historical writing, process it, qualify it
and make sound conclusions from what you have read!
Requirements
Size 12 Times New Roman Font
Double Spaced
1 inch margins
3 pages long
A Bibliography and footnotes are not necessary for this paper. The only
source you need to use is Horn’s book.
Due Date- Friday September 11th or Wednesday September
16th