Freedom | Short Essay Assignments

Short Essay Questions

The 60 short essay questions listed in this section require a one to two sentence answer. They ask students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the text. Students must describe what they've read, rather than just recall it.

Short Essay Question - Chapter 1

1. What are Patterson's three components of freedom?

2. What is slavery? What is a slave-dominated society like?

3. Why is freedom not a social value of the Tupinamba people of Brazil in the sixteenth century?

4. How does Patterson view the development of freedom as a social value?

Short Essay Question - Chapter 2

5. Given the premise that a social reaction between slave, slaveholder and society must take place in order for freedom to develop as a value, why didn't freedom as a value develop universally?