Colonial America: A History in Documents

Pages from History

by Edward G. Gray

Colonial America is an extraordinary collection of original documents that show what life in the American colonies was really like for colonists, Native Americans, and slaves. From Georgia to Maine, diaries, letters, newspaper clippings, posters, and a multitude of primary sources provide
lively insight. Some examples
*Prenuptial agreements for women, child-rearing manuals, a letter from a father to his daughter explaining why inequality was beneficial for both men and women
*Native American land deeds, the creation story, captivity narratives
*Laws regulating slaves, advertisements for runaways, a letter justifying a wife's harsh treatment of a house servant
*A poem from a boy sent to the colonies for bad behavior, an exposé of German immigrant indenture
From wooden spoons to imported china, from adversarial relations between Indians and whites to colonial advocacy of native land protection, and from "limb of England" to a new sense of identity, Colonial America is a fascinating, oftentimes intimate, look at life in the colonies.

Genres: School, History

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 16, 2002