SUMMER ASSIGNMENT: COLLEGE US HISTORY
The class is very fast paced. Because we have so little time a summer assignment is required as a “slow
start” to help you get a handle on things and help prepare for the class. This preparation is to be done
before you arrive in September. The goal of these assignments will be to introduce students to the pace
of the class, the level of work that will be expected, and keep your minds fresh with historical thought.
The expectation is that these assignments will be completed and turned in on the first day of class in
September. Activities on those first days of school will be connected to the summer material. No late
assignments will be accepted for the summer reading activities.
Assignments will be submitted on the first day of school via turnitin.com
Text: America A Narrative History by Tindall and Shi
ASSIGNEMNET 1: Chapter 1 Skim and Howard Zinn Comparison
1. Read pages 11-15 on Christopher Columbus in the textbook. Take outline notes on this section of the
book. *taking good notes from the text DOES NOT mean copying the text it means to ORGANIZE and to
REWORD in your own words - the way you think.
2. Find Howard ZInn’s A People’s History of the United States online (google it or use link provided:
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html ). Read chapter 1: Columbus, the Indians,
and Human Progress. Preview the questions you will have to answer. It is wise to print a copy and
annotate as you read.
3. Answer the following questions- typed response. Skip lines between each question.
a. According to Zinn, what is his main purpose for writing A People’s History of the United States?
b. What is Zinn’s thesis for this chapter?
c. According to Zinn, how is Columbus portrayed in traditional history books?
d. What is Zinn’s basic criticism of historian Samuel Eliot Morison’s book, Christopher Columbus,
Mariner?
e. Identify one early and one subsequent motive that drove Columbus to oppress indigenous
peoples.
4. In a short paragraph, compare and contrast the way that your textbook and Howard Zinn describe
Christopher Columbus. In what ways are they similar? Different? What is the danger of reading only one
source for historical information?
ASSIGNMENT 2: Read and answer focus questions for chapter 2 and 3.
You will also
define/ explain the key terms listed at the end of each chapter.
Each focus question answer should be AT LEAST ½ a page in length. Each definition should be 4-5
sentences with the significance of the term underlined.
ASSIGNMENT #3: FREE RESPONSE ESSAY QUESTION
*** You will submit this using
turnitin.com on the first day of school.
Answer 1 of the following questions in essay format. Cite relevant historical evidence in support of
your generalizations and present your arguments clearly and logically.
1. “Geography was the primary factor in shaping the development of British colonies in North
America.” Assess the validity of this statement for the 1600s.
2. Compare the ways in which two of the following reflected tensions in colonial society
a. Bacon’s Rebellion
b. Pueblo Revolt
c. Salem Witch Trials
SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER!