HI334: Religion & Revolution
Take Home Final Exam
Due Tuesday, December 4, 12:00PM
Instructions: Answering two of the following questions below in essays that together span 5-15
pages. Essays will be judged on the quality of argumentation, style, and outside research. To earn
a “C,” essays must cite course texts and student papers posted on the course blogs. To earn a
“B,” essays must also cite materials posted in the Puritan and Revolutionary Reading Rooms. To
earn an “A,” essays must also cite the books held in the course reserve at the Abbot Vincent
Taylor Library.
Essay topics – Choose TWO:
1. Research the background of your assigned character from either the Trial of Anne
Hutchinson or the American Revolution in New York City (but not both). What happened
to them after the time period covered in game? Assess whether your actions taken in the
game faithfully reflected your character’s personality and beliefs. If you can’t find
information specifically about your character, research conditions for other individuals
like him/her and analyze what made your character’s background typical or exceptional.
For characters in the Anne Hutchinson game, brief biographies can be found in the
Genealogical Guides posted at the bottom of the Puritan Reading Room. More detailed
information can be found in the library course reserve, especially in Puritans and
Puritanism in Europe and America: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia. For characters in
the American Revolution game, information can be found in the assigned supplementary
readings, the books in the course reserve, and the Revolutionary Reading Room.
Wikipedia can be used as a starting point for your research, but shouldn’t be cited as a
source.
2. The protean and paradoxical nature of freedom in American society was a key issue
addressed in both historical periods this class examined. The Puritans settled New
England to escape religious persecution in England, only to persecute Anne Hutchinson
and her followers. The Patriots demanded liberty and independence from the British, but
were very reluctant to extend freedom to other groups in colonial society. Assess how
freedom was achieved and limited in both Puritan Boston and Revolutionary New York.
In what ways did freedom expand in both societies, and in what ways was freedom
challenged? Be sure to consider the theological and political beliefs that influenced the
struggle for freedom in both periods.
3. While women played an essential role in the colonial societies of Puritan Boston and
Revolutionary New York, the place of women in public society changed dramatically
from 1638 to 1775. Compare and contrast the role of women in colonial society in these
two periods. What role did Anne Hutchinson’s gender play in the Antinomian
Controversy? What role did women play in the American Revolution, and what did they
seek? What does the condition of women in both these historical periods say about the
experience of women in colonial American society?
4. The relationship between the governed and the government also played a central role in
both historical periods examined this semester. Assess the issues concerning government
and community in Puritan Boston and Revolutionary New York. What did theological
and political beliefs shaped the governments in the Puritan Commonwealth and colonial
New York? How would you characterize the relationship between the governed and the
government in both societies? What responsibilities did the residents of these societies
have to the state, and what did the state owe the people? What bonds linked these
societies to the British Empire, and what tensions threatened those bonds?
5. Analyze the complicated relationship between American colonists and the British crown
in both historical periods examined this semester. The Puritans fled England to escape
religious persecution, but unlike the Pilgrims at Plymouth avoided complete separation
from the British Empire. In contrast, the Patriot cause during in the American Revolution
evolved into a movement for complete independence. What factors influenced these
different relationships and different approaches? What role did Britain have in everyday
colonial life, and how did that role change over time? How did colonists transform from
British subjects into Americans?
6. While Native Americans played a peripheral role in both historical periods examined this
semester, they nonetheless played a central role in development of American colonial
history. Compare and contrast the role of Native Americans in the history of Puritan
Boston and Revolutionary New York. How did Native tribes like the Pequot,
Narragansett, Mohegan, and the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy influence their
colonial neighbors during the periods we examined? How were these tribes influenced by
the Puritans and the Revolutionary War? How did the conditions of Native American
societies change between the establishment of the New England colonies and the end of
the American Revolution?
7. Theology and political theory were chief topics of the two historical periods we
examined, but economics also played a key role this semester. Describe the economic
structures of the colonial societies in New England and New York, and how they
influenced the periods we examined. How did economic factors shape the Trial of Anne
Hutchinson and the American Revolution in New York City? What role did Great Britain
play in the colonial economy, and did this role shape colonial society? What were price
controls, and what purpose did they serve in the games we played?
8. One of the starkest contrasts between the colonial period and our own times is the role
deference played in the American society. In colonial societies “ordinary” people were
expected allow the powerful and wealthy to lead their society, and even expected to
demonstrate physical acts of respect to their “betters.” Expressing insufficient deference
could damage one’s social and economic standing, and public criticism of political elites
was considered sedition, a crime with often fearful legal penalties. Deference possessed a
theological dimension in Puritan Boston, and formed one of the key political elements of
Revolutionary New York. How did the concepts of deference and social hierarchy shape
the two historical periods we explored? What defined who was expected to show
deference, and who should receive it? How were these values reinforced in Puritan
Boston and Revolutionary New York, and how did were they subverted?