The National Experience Chapter Outline
Introduction Questions:
a) “Recovering native importance, however has sometimes come at the cost of underestimating the importance of European empires to the colonial story.”
I believe this quote is saying that sometimes when we focus too much on finding artifacts and information about the natives and how it has shaped our world that we forget how important , at the same time, European empires were.
b) …imperial visions were “imperfectly inflicted.”
This quote is saying that the Europeans had this perfect dream/vision of imperialism and colonizing all these weaker countries but when it came to happen it wasn’t so perfectly delivered, there were a lot of obstacles adhering them from making their dream come true
c) In your own words in one or two well-written sentences, what is “American exceptionalism?” Is Taylor critical of this view? If so why? If not, why not?
American Exceptionalism is the view that the U.S has a special role among the other nations in terms of offering opportunities and hope. Taylor is critical of this because he says that the white men escaped their homes and went to the colonies looking for opportunities and found more prosperities than in their mother country.
d) What does Taylor mean by the “enormous diversity and tragic dimensions of the colonial experiences?
Taylor means that when the colonizers colonized all these different countries there were many different types of peoples that they encountered and how tragic it was how they had to live together and compromise.
e) Briefly identify the “three especially productive lines of recent scholarship” on which Taylor builds his analysis.
An Atlantic perspective, environmental history, ethno-history of colonial and native peoples.
Atlantic perspective: examines the complex interplay of Europe, Africa and colonial America through goods, plants, animals and ideas.
Environmental history: transformative impact on the landscape and life of North America
Ethno-history: cultural
a) “Recovering native importance, however has sometimes come at the cost of underestimating the importance of European empires to the colonial story.”
I believe this quote is saying that sometimes when we focus too much on finding artifacts and information about the natives and how it has shaped our world that we forget how important , at the same time, European empires were.
b) …imperial visions were “imperfectly inflicted.”
This quote is saying that the Europeans had this perfect dream/vision of imperialism and colonizing all these weaker countries but when it came to happen it wasn’t so perfectly delivered, there were a lot of obstacles adhering them from making their dream come true
c) In your own words in one or two well-written sentences, what is “American exceptionalism?” Is Taylor critical of this view? If so why? If not, why not?
American Exceptionalism is the view that the U.S has a special role among the other nations in terms of offering opportunities and hope. Taylor is critical of this because he says that the white men escaped their homes and went to the colonies looking for opportunities and found more prosperities than in their mother country.
d) What does Taylor mean by the “enormous diversity and tragic dimensions of the colonial experiences?
Taylor means that when the colonizers colonized all these different countries there were many different types of peoples that they encountered and how tragic it was how they had to live together and compromise.
e) Briefly identify the “three especially productive lines of recent scholarship” on which Taylor builds his analysis.
An Atlantic perspective, environmental history, ethno-history of colonial and native peoples.
Atlantic perspective: examines the complex interplay of Europe, Africa and colonial America through goods, plants, animals and ideas.
Environmental history: transformative impact on the landscape and life of North America
Ethno-history: cultural