Summer Assignment Study Group Questions

On page XV of his introduction, Eric Foner suggests  that: 

"Freedom is so central to our political language that it is impossible to understand American history without knowledge of the multi-faceted debates over it's meaning... the history of freedom sheds light on the ideas and purposes of social and political movements... what is important is not so much the evolution of a single definition as the multiple purposes to which the idea of freedom has been put, and the broader belief systems these useages illuminate."

Consider this quote as you reflect on Chapters 1- 6 of The Story of American Freedom.

Work with your group to complete each of the following tasks for each chapter assigned from to your group from the text:

1) Identify the dominant definition of freedom in each era/chapter 

 (For example, a reflection on Chapter 1 would explain require an explanation of how colonists' defined freedom in response to British tyranny and exploitation...)

2)  Provide three pieces of text based evidence (quotes/ passages) to support the definition that your group decided on in Step 1.

3) Identify the individuals and events that contributed to the development and promotion of each definition of freedom. Explain why each individual/ event's significance. (provide at least TWO events and TWO individuals for each chapter.)

Your notes for this assignment may be submitted as a group but each member is responsible for familiarity with the information , which you may need to know for this Monday's assessment based on the summer reading.

Your responses may be in outline format but must be legible and easy to understand. Please use headings if you chose an outline format and be sure they are self-explanatory. Give citations (page numbers) for all quotes you use in your response, and include the quotes itself in it's entirety.

Please bring your Foner book and notes for it to class every day this week. 

The study group notes will be due at the beginning of class on Friday.