DBQ Exemplar Native Americans

US History CP KHS 2012-13
DBQ – Document-Based Question Essay Chapter 1: Exploration and the Colonial Era
Prompt: The situation between Native Americans and Europeans began to decline from the
beginning. It was further complicated by the different viewpoints held by Europeans. What did
the Europeans believe about Native Americans and their place in the “New World”?
TOPIC SENTENCE/INTRODUCTION:
ONE GOOD EXAMPLE

Most Europeans at the time of early exploration of the New World believed
themselves to be the superior race, and they viewed the Native Americans as savage,
uncivilized people who would be easier to conquer than to try to teach civilized ways. Other
Europeans, however, believed that the Native Americans should be treated with respect as
fellow human beings, and because they occupied the land long before the Europeans
arrived.
ANOTHER GOOD EXAMPLE

Some Europeans who explored and settled the New World believed that the Native
Americans were equal to the Europeans, and others believed differently. While some
wanted to make peace with the natives, other explorers and settlers wanted to conquer
them and make them their servants.
A THIRD GOOD EXAMPLE

Some early European explorers and settlers in the New World thought of the Native
Americans as below them in status and saw them as slaves and labor workers. Other
Europeans thought completely differently about the Native Americans they encountered,
considering them more their equals (almost like brothers) and deserving of fair treatment.
A FOURTH GOOD EXAMPLE

The ways that Europeans arriving in the New World in the 1500s viewed the Native
Americans was very different. Some Europeans thought the natives would make great
slaves; others didn’t like the natives at all and wanted to conquer them; still others wanted
to defend, rather than hurt, the natives.
BODY PARAGRAPHS/ESSAY: MAKING YOUR POINTS AND CITING EVIDENCE FROM

THE DOCUMENTS
EXAMPLE 1
Many Europeans felt that they were superior to the natives right from the beginning
of conquest of the New World. As shown in document 1, a map by Diego Gutierrez from
1562 the Spanish and French coats of arms appeared on one of the earliest scale wall maps
of the New World. This shows that the Europeans felt they had “victory” over the Americas
and had conquered them fairly. In document 2, Captain John Smith, in his book Historie of
Virginia from 1624 stated that the tribes near the Jamestown settlement had “only 1500
men to fight their wars”, implying that the natives didn’t have a great population or sense of
what was needed (a defensive army) to become a successful nation. In document 3, the
officials of the Virginia Company of London called the natives rude, barbarous, and naked”,
demeaning them to be worthless humans and incapable of defending themselves, referring
to the Powhatan Massacre of 1622.
Some Europeans believed that the conquest of natives would be easier than
civilizing them. This was stated directly by the Virginia Company officials in document 3.
The officials didn’t want to waste time and energy trying to civilize the natives when wiping
them out would be more efficient.
(this essay is not finished)
EXAMPLE 2
Some Europeans thought the Native Americans would make fine slaves and
laborers. In document 3, Captain John Smith, in his book Historie of Virginia from 1624 said
the natives were strong and resourceful. He saw that they were able to hunt and grow their
own food. But not all Europeans viewed the Native Americans in this way.
Other Europeans didn’t like the Native Americans. In document 3, officials of the
Virginia Company of London state that the natives were rude, barbarous, and naked people.
These officials wrote that Europeans – like themselves – should conquer the natives. They
thought that if they couldn’t civilize them or if it wouldn’t be so easy to do this, then they
would take control of them. The Virginia Company officials add that they can burn down
their crops, interrupt them when they are hunting, and sic their dogs on the natives and run
through their hunting grounds on horseback.
Still other early European settlers wanted to defend the Native Americans. In
document 4, Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Spanish Catholic priest who was outraged by how
the Spanish treated the Native Americans, wrote in 1552 that the natives were brothers and
should be protected, not destroyed or even hurt. He said “Christ has given his life for them”
and asked why they should be persecuted when had done nothing to deserve it.
(this essay is not finished)

Key points for the DBQ essay:
• Keep your topic sentence and introduction fairly general: answer the prompt (the
question) but save the examples to emphasize your points in the body paragraphs of the
essay. IN OTHER WORDS, DO NOT CITE EVIDENCE FROM THE DOCUMENTS IN YOUR
TOPIC SENTENCE. PERIOD.
• The topic sentence can be 2 sentences, especially if you are being asked to compare and
contrast (such as in this DBQ, where you are asked about European views of Native
Americans – and you must recognize that there are really opposing points of view.)
• Try WHENEVER POSSIBLE to include dates or timeframes AND places in both the topic
sentence AND the body paragraphs of your DBQ essay. (See topic sentence examples 1
and 4.)
• To begin EVERY body paragraph, you need a topic sentence. You can use part of your main
topic sentence and re-state it (slightly change its wording but keep its meaning) as the
lead sentence to a paragraph. (See TOPIC SENTENCE EXAMPLE 4 together with BODY
PARAGRAPH/ESSAY EXAMPLE 2.)
• Your job in the body paragraphs of the essay is to cite the documents – find specific
evidence in the documents (a phrase, a sentence, a passage, an image or part of an
image, etc.) that you can use to support your argument or make your point.
• It is OKAY to take a short phrase or a word or two from a document and include it in your
essay to help make your point. [For example, in document 4, Bartolome de Las Casas
speaks about the Indians as the Europeans’ brothers. Notice how in the 3rd topic
sentence example the phrase “almost like brothers” is used.]
• IT IS NOT OKAY to put a lot of text from a document into “quotation marks”. You need to
PARAPHRASE (like summarizing) the quotation or statement of the speaker in a
document, if you wish to use that information as evidence to support your point. (See
essay example 2, below.)
• Use your background knowledge ONLY after you have cited evidence from the documents
given to you to use in the DBQ. Remember: DBQ stands for Document based question.
You must answer the question by basing your arguments on relevant information in the
documents!

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US History CP KHS 2012-13

ONE GOOD EXAMPLE

ANOTHER GOOD EXAMPLE

A THIRD GOOD EXAMPLE

A FOURTH GOOD EXAMPLE

BODY PARAGRAPHS/ESSAY: MAKING YOUR POINTS AND CITING EVIDENCE FROM

(this essay is not finished)

(this essay is not finished)

Key points for the DBQ essay:

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