1. One of the most significant parts of the encounters between Europeans and Native Americans beginning in the 1490s was the biological exchange that took place between them all across the Americas. How did disease effect Native American societies and why were Native Americans so susceptible to European diseases?
2. Slavery has existed in every human society in world history. Slavery in the New World - the Americas and the Caribbean - was unique, however. What do you think were the two most important factors that made slavery in the New World unique in world history? Be sure to explain your reasons and not simply list them.
3. During the early years of its existence, the Virginia colony relied overwhelmingly on white indentured servants for labor. Beginning in the 1690s, African slaves became more common than European indentured servants. What do you think were the two most important reasons that led to this transition to a slave society in Virginia?
4. What do you think were the two most important reasons that American colonists began to revolt against British colonial rule? Also, on what basis would American colonists begin to justify national independence from Great Britain?
Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence and penned, perhaps, the most famous and important line in American history in that document: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Nevertheless, Jefferson owned 100 slaves at the time and never freed them despite his belief in natural rights. For extra credit, explain one reason Jefferson did not emancipate his slaves or believe in immediate emancipation in general.