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Information Related to the Text |
Warm-up activity |
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Warm-up activity
1.
In colonial American, what controlled people¡¯s right?
It was social rank or the amount of property you owned.
2.
Could you list the examples in the text to show how important rank and wealth were in colonial America?
They determined the arrangement of seats in universities and churches, the protection of law, and the right to vote or to be elected.
3.
How did the idea of all men being equal come true?
(1) The frontier line was on the move.
(2) Those poor people who had no chance to gain advancement in the older settlements moved to the West for their fortune.
(3) Those who survived grew independent. They did not want to rely on anyone except themselves and were not ready to obey rules made by the upper class.
(4) The frontiersmen wanted to share equal rights with the upper class and began to struggle against rule by a few.
(5) The idea of all men being equal was partly realized although the struggle for equality was still going on.
4.
Did anyone challenge the right of the upper class to manage things in colonial America? Where did the real challenge come from?
The small farmers who had the right to vote sometimes challenged the right of the rich to manage things. But the real challenge came from the frontier who demanded a say in running things and the right to help make the laws for themselves.
5.
Why do you think the frontiersmen took the lead in fighting against social inequality?
It was frontiersmen who strongly demanded equal rights from the upper classes and constituted a threat to the rich.
6.
Could you list the different classes in the colonies according to their rank and wealth?
the upper classes
yeomen
free laborers
the indentured servants
the Negro slaves
7.
What contributed to the forming of equality in the frontier line?
It is self-reliance or self-independence spirit that contributes to the forming of the two important American value ¡ª equality and individualism. Tocqueville (1805¡ª1859), famous French politician, had a precise account of the frontiersman¡¯s self-reliance.
They owe nothing to any man, they expect nothing from any man; they acquire the habit of always considering themselves as standing alone, and they are apt to imagine that their whole destiny is in their own hands.
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