The evolution of transatlantic exchanges

Your argumentative essay should assess the evolution of at least three transatlantic
exchanges that shaped colonial America during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries in order to answer the following question: was the European colonization of
North America a positive or negative development? The best essays will be those
that explore the relationships among different transatlantic exchanges, rather than
treating each exchange as a completely independent aspect of colonial America.
What should you accomplish in the introduction?:
-define what “positive” or “negative” means as you qualitatively assess the
colonization of North America
-in your thesis, explain why and how the European colonization of North America
was a positive or negative development
What makes for a strong introduction in an
argumentative essay?

1. nteresting “hook” – get the reader’s attention/establish your authority
   -brief anecdote, quote (possibly related to title of essay), question
   -avoid all-encompassing claims (“Throughout history…”)
2. Provide a narrative roadmap
   -describe the ideas you will develop in the paper (i.e., your three
   transatlantic “exchanges” and how they evolved over time)
3. Argumentative thesis: how are your three “exchanges” related? What is
   the significance of the exchanges that you have examined?
   -think about how to transition from your hook to your thesis: start
   broad and funnel down your focus, or do the opposite?
   Potential Essay #1 Outline Thesis: The colonization of North America was an economic process that increased the living standards of those in
   the Atlantic World while generating an inexhaustible demand for labor. The lucrative trade of cash crops across the Atlantic
   Ocean not only inspired European migration to the New World, but also provided the impetus for the emergence of a
   transatlantic slave trade organized around newly created racial categories that had negative, often horrific consequences for
   both Africans and indigenous peoples who were marginalized in the colonies.
   Body Paragraph #1: Cash crops cultivated in the New World quickly found a lucrative market in the nations of
   Europe that manufactured goods which gradually increased the living standards of colonists in North America.
4. cash crop cultivation in the colonial Chesapeake, Southern Colonies, Caribbean, etc.
5. Atlantic World “conversations” created a consumer revolution in North America during the 1730s and
   40s that provided colonists (and indigenous peoples) with greater access to manufactured goods, print culture, etc.
6. living standards in the colonies rose (especially in the eighteenth century), but the exchange of goods
   and commodities pulled all of the inhabitants of North America into the Atlantic World (whether they wanted to be or not)
   Body Paragraph #3: Bacon’s Rebellion accelerated the transition in North America from European indentured
   servitude to a system of transatlantic slavery, one that relied upon the law to create the racial categories necessary to
   condemn Africans to the violence and brutality of bounded labor.
7. Bacon’s Rebellion exposed problems inherent in indentured servitude and colonial Chesapeake society
8. the emergence of the Middle Passage
9. punitive slave codes passed to ensure that transatlantic slavery would be hereditary
10. the “construction” of race applied to Indians, who were enslaved in the Carolinas in large numbers
    Body Paragraph #2: The enormous demand for labor in the colonies was first met by the migration of Europeans,
    many of whom voyaged across the Atlantic to escape religious persecution or serve as indentured servants in regions of
    North America where cash crop cultivation was prevalent.
11. Puritans and Pilgrims to New England
12. indentured servitude in the Chesapeake and Middle Colonies
    Potential Essay #1 Outline Thesis: The colonization of North America brought about the untold suffering of Indians (who were victimized by epidemic
    disease and devastating conflicts with neighboring European settlers) and Africans (who were violently condemned to a system of
    hereditary slavery). However, colonization also allowed for the exchange of Enlightenment ideas across the Atlantic that not only
    informed the American Revolution, but also a system of representative government in the United States that would eventually (albeit
    slowly) bring about positive social and political change by allowing marginalized groups to advocate for the rights of citizenship.
    Body Paragraph #1: The exchange of germs and microbes across the Atlantic unleashed waves of epidemic disease that
    devastated indigenous peoples in North America, placing enormous pressures on their societies that eventually erupted in violent
    conflicts with European settlers.
13. impact of epidemic disease on Indians
14. pressures placed on Indian societies by trade and European settlement
15. faced with their own declining populations and encroaching Europeans, Indians waged wars against every
    colony in North America (almost always with disastrous results)
    Body Paragraph #2: Bacon’s Rebellion accelerated the transition in North America from European indentured servitude to a
    system of transatlantic slavery, one that relied upon the law to create the racial categories necessary to condemn Africans to the
    violence and brutality of bounded labor.
16. Bacon’s Rebellion exposed the problems inherent in indentured servitude and colonial Chesapeake society
17. the emergence of the Middle Passage
18. punitive slave codes passed to ensure that transatlantic slavery would be hereditary
19. the “construction” of race applied to Indians, who were enslaved in the Carolinas in large numbers
    Body Paragraph #3: The emergence of colonial print culture in the 1730s and 40s allowed for the transatlantic exchange of
    Enlightenment ideas that informed the American Revolution and a new system of representative government that allowed individuals
    marginalized on the basis of race, class, gender, etc. to gradually make an argument for their inalienable rights as human beings.
20. the Enlightenment and its challenge to the “external authorities” of European society
21. print culture and its importance in translating and disseminating Enlightenment ideas to a wide audience
22. the American Revolution and the creation of a system of representative government that, although it did not
    deliver immediate social and political change, would allow marginalized groups to eventually protest for the rights of citizenship
    Ways to Organize Evidence for Essay #1
    Sources that address the impact of epidemic
    disease on indigenous peoples and the
    prevalence of Indian wars in colonial America:
    -William Bradford, “Sickness Among the
    Natives”
    -Bartolomé de las Casas, A Short Account
    -John Easton, “A Relation of the Indian War”
    Sources that address the exchange of commodities and
    manufactured goods that created an Atlantic World
    economy:
    -John Easton, “A Relation of the Indian War”
    -Benjamin Franklin, “On Rev. George Whitefield”
    -Thomas Paine, Common Sense
    Sources that address the exchange of people
    needed to meet the enormous labor demands of
    colonization:
    -Wendy Anne Warren, “The Cause of Her
    Grief”
    -Jack Marietta and G.S. Rowe, “Violent Crime,
    Victims, and Society in Pennsylvania”
    -Richard Frethorne’s letter to his parents
    -Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of
    Virginia
    Sources that address the exchange of ideas across the
    Atlantic, including those concerned with religious worship
    or those that criticized hereditary monarchies with the tools
    of Enlightenment reason:
    -Jack Marietta and G.S. Rowe, “Violent Crime, Victims, and
    Society in Pennsylvania”
    -Bartolomé de las Casas, A Short Account
    -The Trial of Anne Hutchinson
    -Benjamin Franklin, “On Rev. George Whitefield”
    -Thomas Paine, Common Sense
    -James Madison, The Federalist No. 10
    -Abigail and John Adams’ correspondence

• Style and grammar issues:
  -avoid use of “this” or “that” as a noun
  -avoid use of contractions (e.g., can’t, won’t, aren’t)
  -be sure that punctuation goes inside quotes: This is “an example.”
  -avoid use of passive voice (e.g., They were ordered to…)
  -use present tense when discussing an author and his or her argument, and use
  past tense when discussing historical events
  -avoid unnecessary and broad language: words like “very” or “thing”
  -avoid unnecessary phrases like “it is clear that…” or “it is obvious that…”
• Topic sentences should accomplish three tasks in an argumentative essay:

1. Make some connection with your intro/thesis
2. Transition from the idea developed in the previous paragraph
3. Frame the idea that will be developed in the upcoming paragraph
   -paragraphs should develop one distinct idea (at least 3 to 4 sentences)
   Common Mistakes on Undergraduate History
   Papers

• Avoid summarizing your sources, as well as lengthy analysis of individual sources
  that distracts from your focused argument
• Pay attention to chronology and provide dates (just the year, not the specific day and
  month) that pinpoint when important events and developments occurred
• Do not recreate a textbook chapter in your paper
  -your essay should be argumentative (not entirely descriptive) and each sentence
  and paragraph should go towards answering the prompt
• Organize your thoughts so that your paper tells a story about how transatlantic
  exchanges evolved over time and how these exchanges were related
• Citations are needed after each time you draw info from a source (not just when you
  directly quote a source)
  Additional Reminders about Essay #1 (Part I)
  Additional Reminders about Essay #1 (Part II)
• Be sure to meet the formatting and evidence requirements in the essay prompt
  -“A”-level papers will cite seven different primary and secondary sources, the
  textbook (at least once), and the lecture slides (at least once)
• Be as specific as possible in each sentence of your paper
  -nearly every sentence should contain at least one specific name, detail,
  date, etc.
  -pay attention to dates and chronology throughout your essay as you tell the
  reader a story about historical change in colonial America
• Do not simply repeat your thesis in your concluding paragraph
• If you have questions about the essay or the course materials from the second half of
  the semester, get in contact with the instructor as soon as you can