The Unfinished Nation Brinkley
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| Summary | Objectives | Main Themes | Points for Discussion | Interpretive Questions | Essay Questions | Bibliography |

POINTS FOR DISCUSSION

1. How did pre-Columbian Indian societies differ? How were they similar? What marked a highly developed Indian society? Where were these societies found and why were they located where they were? What defined an Indian society grounded in subsistence agriculture? What relationship existed between an Indian societyÕs subsistence pattern and its general culture?
2. What European "discoveries" were made in America before 1600? Which of these discoveries contributed to colonization and which did not? What contributed to the success or failure of these colonization efforts?
3. What did the Indian cultures contribute to the Europeans? Despite these contributions, why did the Europeans still think of the Native Americans as inferior? (See the John Smith document in the Study Guide.)
4. What did the Europeans contribute to the Indians? Despite these contributions, why was European contact such a destabilizing force to Native American societies?
5. How were the Spanish and English motives for colonization different? How were they similar? How were these motives reflected in the organization of the colonies they established?
6. What was the social and cultural background of the Africans brought to America? How did this background differ from that of the Indians and the Europeans? In what ways were the backgrounds of these people similar?
7. How did the Europeans use previous efforts at exploration and colonization when they went about colonizing America?
8. It has often been said that European colonization of America was motivated by "gold, God, and glory." Is this an accurate, shorthand interpretation of the motivation of all Europeans? Most Europeans? Some Europeans?
9. How did the cultural interaction of Europeans and Native Americans change when African slaves became part of the mix? Explain the factors which encouraged the origination of the African slave trade and the impact of African slaves on the economy and culture of colonial America.

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