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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Queen Elizabeth force Raleigh to do when she calls him back from the fleet's attack on Spain?

2. Why do Ponce de Leon and his men travel north?

3. How does the narrator describe the descendants of the Puritans?

4. What happens when the Greenlanders fight with the people they meet in the New World?

5. Which of the following statements shows that Eric the Red has accepted his fate?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does George Washington not especially want to be President?

2. What was Aaron Burr like, according to Williams?

3. How did Cortez feel about burning Tenochtitlan?

4. What makes Houston a good example of someone who "came up from under"?

5. How is Morton treated by his captors?

6. How did Pire Rasles treat the Abnaki?

7. What does Williams think that Benjamin Franklin would say are the most important American virtues? Does Williams agree with Franklin? Why or why not?

8. In his letter to Benjamin Franklin, why does John Paul Jones keep bringing up the conduct of Captain Landais?

9. How did Williams think that bodily suffering affected the Pilgrims?

10. What happens to Columbus' sailors when the weather is bad and the ships go through violent storms?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you compare "The Voyage of the Mayflower" with "Cotton Mather's Wonders of the Invisible World." In "The Voyage of the Mayflower," Williams implies that Puritan values gave rise to the Salem witch trials. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Support your answer with examples from In the American Grain.

Essay Topic 2

At the end of "Poor Richard," Williams states, "...almost nothing remains of the great American New World but a memory of the Indian." What do you think Williams means by this? Write an essay explaining the connection of the Indian to the American Grain. Support your answer with evidence from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Do you think Williams blames Cortez for the destruction of Tenochtitlan? Why or why not? Use evidence from the chapter to support your answer.

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