The argument over States Rights, Slavery, Abolition, The Missouri Compromise, The Compromise of 1850, The Fugitive Slave Act, Popular Sovereignty and Bleeding Kansas.

We began with wrapping up the agendas/accomplishments of the First and Second Continental Congresses and the initial engagements at Lexington and Concord, then moved on to the advantages and disadvantages of the American side in the revolution.

We continued with a countdown of the various events and issues that led up to the American Revolution. We focused particularly upon the Boston Massacre, Gaspee Affair, Boston Tea Party and the Coercive Acts. I also introduced Emma to the new textbook.

We discussed the continued deterioration in the relationship between Great Britain and the American colonies between 1768 and 1773. Particular attention was focused upon the Declaratory Act, the Tea Act, Boston Massacre, the resulting colonial responses (i.e., Boston Tea Party and Gaspee Affair), and the British reaction to the aforementioned colonial responses (i.e., the Coercive Acts).

I was pleased that Emma was able to draw some pertinent conclusions with regard to the various events discussed.

We studied the ramifications of the French & Indian War in the context of Britain's desire to extricate its debt and to manage the colonial economies in a manner as to support this objective. We then focused on the series of Parliamentary decisions that sought to achieve this objective in the immediate years following the war. Lastly, we studied the colonial concerns over Parliament's decision to arbitrarily legislate on behalf of the colonies and the ambiguity over the extent of colonial sovereignty.

Emma took a 25-minute, multiple choice test to begin the class. The test primarily consisted of straight facts with about six requiring some analytical judgment.

All twenty-five questions were thoroughly covered in our one-on-one sessions and a detailed study guide with specific topics and page numbers in the text book where information related to those topics was located was emailed to her ten days prior to the test.

This being said, I'm going to make some changes on my end. Specifically, I'm going to reduce the scope of material covered in the course. However, I am going to emphasize what material is covered in a focused, targeted manner so that she understands the key players, groups and ideas behind major historical movements and events in American history. To accomplish this, I am going to rely more upon my own personal essays on various subjects than the textbook. Undoubtedly, Emma is struggling with the textbook. Yes, the Brinkley text is one of the more difficult for those who have not studied history at an honors level. And too often I have had Emma read a selection in the text with her unable to fully understand the key points of the text that she has just read. This is not due to Emma lacking the aptitude required but more her inexperience in the field of history.

In summary, I remain confident that we can and will succeed in this mission. Emma is bright and delightful with a positive attitude. This should give her a firm understanding of the material covered so that she can go forward feeling confident about herself. I let her know that if the assignment is done properly (with strict attention to grammar and punctuation) that her test score will be raised to a B. However, I also made it clear that I cannot do this in the future and that she will need to put more time in to make this venture successful.

The last twenty minutes were spent covering the Anglo-Franco rivalry culminating in the French & Indian War (a.k.a. Seven Years War) in the 1750s and '60s. I emailed her a doc of mine that provides a backdrop of the war, a summary of the war itself and (most importantly) the enormous geo-political ramifications of the war, especially with regard to how the conflict led to deterioration in the relationship between Great Britain and her American colonies.

We discussed the root cause of the Great Awakening (i.e., a reaction against deism) in England and its transplanting into the American colonies beginning with the Wesley brothers and culminating with Jonathan Edwards and the New England evangelists of the movement. We also discussed colonial jurisprudence and examined why the legal system differed from colonial region to colonial region and deviated from that of England in several respects.

We discussed the differences in the various colonies of the four colonial powers of North America, specifically how they differed in terms of demographics, social structure, government, religion, agricultural practices and labor systems. We also discussed the Protestant Reformation and its influence on the Church of England and the Calvinist movement in England (i.e., Puritans and Pilgrims). At the end of class, we did a partial review of some key topics.

We discussed the following topics: Restoration of the English monarchy under Charles II following the English Civil War and its impact upon England and the colonies; the transition of New Netherland from Dutch to English rule in 1664; the establishment of Carolina along the same lines as that of the Caribbean island of Barbados in the 1660s; the establishment of the Quaker colony of Pennsylvania in the 1680s; the Glorious Revolution/English Bill of Rights in 1689 and their impact upon English and colonial politics; the Act of Union in 1707 uniting England and Scotland; and the establishment of Georgia as a penal colony under James Ogelthorpe and that colony's eventual transition to a slave-based economy along the lines of Carolina. We also discussed the tension between the poor white farmers of northern Carolina and the large planters of Carolina, which culminated in the decision of the colony into North and South in the late 1720s.

We examined the first two English colonies: Jamestown (1607) and Plymouth (1620) and contrasted them in terms of: the motivation for settlement; religious orientation; social structure; agricultural practices; labor systems; demographics and level of self-government. We also discussed the establishment of Maryland by George Calvert as a proprietary colony intended to serve as a Catholic refuge and its transition to a Protestant, crown colony. Lastly, we discussed the transition from White indentured servant labor to African slave labor in the Chesapeake as a result of: Bacon's Rebellion; increase in the cost of labor back in England and the immunity of African slaves to malaria.