Skip to Main Content
Map of the United States displaying various geographic regions and their characteristics, including labels and colors.
Handout titled "QFT Notes and Reflections" with warm-up questions for historians.
Map comparing Pre-Columbian North America with North America in 1750, showing geographic and territorial changes.
A map shows the following sections of North America: Arctic, Subarctic, Northwest Coast, California, Plateau, Great Basin, Southwest, Plains, Northeast, Southeast.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – Chapter 1

23 items

Map of the United States displaying various geographic regions and their characteristics, including labels and colors.
Chapter 1 Introductory Essay: 1491-1607
Essay - 7552 Words

Essay

7552 Words

How did the collision of cultures create a "New World"?
Handout titled "QFT Notes and Reflections" with warm-up questions for historians.
QFT Notes and Reflections Handout
Activity

Activity

Student handout to facilitate formulation of questions based on maps from North America before contact with Europeans.
Map comparing Pre-Columbian North America with North America in 1750, showing geographic and territorial changes.
QFocus—Maps of PreColumbian North America and North America in 1750
Activity

Activity

Maps from 1491 and 1754.
A map shows the following sections of North America: Arctic, Subarctic, Northwest Coast, California, Plateau, Great Basin, Southwest, Plains, Northeast, Southeast.
Native People
Essay - 2020 Words

Essay

2020 Words

How did natives interact with each other before European contact?
Illustration of a historical scene depicting a confrontation between two groups near a body of water with boats.
The Oral Tradition of the Foundation of the Iroquois Confederacy
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Indigenous man with body paint and jewelry, holding a bow, depicted in historical artwork.
Watercolors of Algonquian Peoples in North Carolina, 1585
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.
Document titled "Handout A: Hakluyt Primary Source Packet" with sections for name and introduction questions.
Hakluyt Primary Source Packet
Activity

Activity

Primary Sources and questions to give students insight into Richard Hakluyt.
Portrait of a Spanish conquistador and an Incan ruler, each wearing traditional attire and accessories.
Hernando de Soto
Essay - 2167 Words

Essay

2167 Words

Why did Hernando de Soto explore Florida for Spain?
A king and queen seated on thrones, flanked by advisors, in an ornate hall, with attendees below.
Columbus’s Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, 1494
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Portrait of a man with curly hair and a black hat, set against a light background.
Should We Remember Christopher Columbus as a Conqueror or Explorer?
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Should Columbus' actions be viewed from a modern lens, or based on the values of his time? Mark Christensen shares two views on this question.
Graphic organizer with sections for summarizing claims and issues related to honoring Christopher Columbus.
Should We Remember Christopher Columbus as a Conqueror or Explorer Graphic Organizer
Activity

Activity

A handout to accompany the scholarly claims made in the corresponding Point-Counterpoint readings that helps student synthesize the claims put forth.
Historical map of northern America with a red line marking a outlined route.
Henry Hudson and Exploration
Essay - 2236 Words

Essay

2236 Words

Why did Henry Hudson want to find the Northwest Passage?
Historical illustration of several sailing ships on the water, with labeled names and decorative clouds.
First Contacts
Essay - 2016 Words

Essay

2016 Words

How did the "clash of cultures" impact natives and Europeans?
Paideia Seminar Goals and Notes
Activity

Activity

A handout to aid students in primary source analysis that helps them draw conclusions about the effect and legacy of Christopher Columbus.
Paideia Seminar Reflection
Activity

Activity

A follow-up activity to use after the seminar activity.
Illustration of a scene with two seated figures, surrounded by six people and animals, depicting a cultural or historical event.
Montezuma and Cortés
Essay - 2376 Words

Essay

2376 Words

In this section, you will explain the causes of exploration and conquest of the New World by various European nations and explain how and why European and Native American perspectives of others developed and changed in the period.
Portrait of a man with a beard, wearing a hat and fur collar, against a blue background.
Cortés’ Account of Tenochtitlan, 1522
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
A map of the world shows the flow of goods, animals, and diseases between North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Columbian Exchange
Essay - 1890 Words

Essay

1890 Words

What were the causes of the Columbian Exchange?
Mesoamerican scene depicting people performing a ritual with instruments and decorations.
The Florentine Codex, c. 1585
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.
A historical drawing of a coastal fortification with ships and people on the shore.
Origins of the Slave Trade
Essay - 2178 Words

Essay

2178 Words

Why did Africa and Europe engage in the slave trade?
A map shows the city of Tenochtitlán. The rendering depicts waterways, sophisticated buildings, ships, and flags. Numerous causeways connect the central city to the surrounding land.
Life in the Spanish Colonies
Essay - 2235 Words

Essay

2235 Words

How did the Spanish and New World natives interact?
Portrait of Bartolomé de las Casas, a 16th-century Spanish Dominican friar, with a focused expression and traditional attire.
Las Casas on the Destruction of the Indies, 1552
Activity

Activity

40 Min

Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Handout on thesis construction, including directions for writing and a prompt about cultural collisions.
Writing Practice Thesis Construction
Activity

Activity

A handout to help students answer the question "How did the collision of cultures create a “New World”?"