American History I

1.  In Frethorne’s woeful letter, what was the relative balance of power between the English and Native Americans?

2.  In the face of dire conditions, what did Frethorne expect the colony’s leaders to do?  What did he expect himself to do?

3.  In Week 1 I asked you to define for yourself what a college student is, since cultural, institutional, family, and personal expectations of a “college student” have changed over time, and continue constantly to change over time, including in your present day — by you yourself.&nbps; I noticed that many of you focused in what you wrote on personal independence and future employment, but very few of you wrote anything about college students preparing themselves for citizenship.  When I attended college back in the day, I voted for the first time, and I started to pay much more attention not so much to politics, but to government policies.  Perhaps that is my nostalgia, but now I am shocked to be living in a historical moment when democracy itself seems under great threat in the United States, and when people are surrounded by an unprecedented amount of misinformation and disinformation.

So, if not during college, how and when do you learn to become a citizen, whatever that might mean to you?  Why do you think so few of you wrote about citizenship in week 1?  What does that mean for the protecting and sustaining of democracy?