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Week 2 · Module overview

Week 2 — Colonization & Empire

U.S. History to 1877 Free sample edition

Why this matters

A business major reading the fine print of an investment contract and a member of a community whose land and history were written down by others both ask the same thing: what did this founding paper promise, and whom did it leave out?

In plain language

This week is about how four European powers built colonies in North America, and what that meant for the Native nations who already lived there. An empire is a country that rules lands and peoples far beyond its own borders. A colony is a settlement planted on that distant land and run, at first, from back home. You will read two real documents: a king's charter, which is a written grant of rights, and the Mayflower Compact, a promise a group of settlers made to one another. You will also learn to tell a claim a document supports from a claim that reaches past it.

  • Already covered: Week 1's four moves and the first meetings of the Americas and Europe.
  • This week: four empires, the First Charter of Virginia, Jamestown, the Mayflower Compact, and three regions.
  • How they connect: each document gets the same four moves.
  • Where we're going next: Week 3, Colonial Society & the Origins of Slavery.

Focus

How did four European powers build colonies on Native land, and what do two founding papers show?

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

  • [ ] compare Spanish, French, Dutch, and English colonies
  • [ ] source the First Charter of Virginia and the Mayflower Compact
  • [ ] put St. Augustine, the charter, Jamestown, and the Compact in order
  • [ ] tell a claim a source shows from one that goes beyond it

To-do

Plan your week

  1. Read Chapter 2 (~45–55 minutes), then the lecture and slides.
  2. Work the lecture tutorial (60–90 minutes).
  3. Work the practice set (15–25 minutes).
  4. Do the Primary Source Workshop (about 90 minutes), the discussion, and the assignment.
  5. Take the quiz.

This week's checkpoint: sort one claim about the Mayflower Compact as shows or goes beyond, and say why.

You've got this

Old spellings slow everyone down. Take it in order, and ask your instructor if a step snags.

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