1.2.

8Practice:North America Before the Columbian Exchange

In this assignment, you will use what you have learned about early European exploration in the 

Americas to write a five-paragraph essay. This assignment is worth 40 points. See the scoring 

rubric below for more details on how you will be graded on your essay. 

Carefully read and think about the following quote: 

How to balance the many achievements of European 

civilization in the New World after 1492 against the 
terrible destruction of native peoples that accompanied it 
is, in the end, less a historical question, perhaps, than a 
moral one.​1 

—Alan Brinkley, ​American History​1 

You will now write a five-paragraph essay answering whether you think the impact European 

contact had on the indigenous populations of North America should be addressed as a 

historical question or a moral question. Feel free to use resources outside of the materials in 

this course to support your thesis. 

Your five-paragraph essay should include: 

 1.2.8Practice:North America Before the Columbian Exchange

● An introduction paragraph with a clear thesis statement that responds directly to 
whether you think this issue is a moral or historical one. Your thesis statement should be 
supported by at least three claims. 
● Three body paragraphs that support your thesis statement by presenting evidence for 
your claims. 
● A conclusion paragraph that summarizes the main ideas of your essay and restates your 
thesis statement. 

The question of the balance of the European achievements in the New Worlds and the 

destruction of Native American societies by the European civilization should be considered a 

moral question. A historical question would say this is a fact, but a moral would say whether this 

was right or not and question should we change. The question of the impact should be 

considered a moral question because it develops a need to ask whether these sacrifices were 

necessary, whether or not the cons outweigh the pros, and the phrase “terrible destruction” 

greatly accompanies the idea of morals and right and wrong.  

The question generates the need to look into whether or not these sacrifices were 

necessary for these achievements. The need to look into this basically proves that we need to 

know whether it was right or wrong to carry out the destruction of Native American societies, 

which is the definition of moral. The Oxford English Dictionary explains the term ‘moral’ to mean: 

“concerned with the goodness or badness of human character or behavior or with the 

distinction between right and wrong.” If the achievements made by the Europeans did not need 

sacrifices of others, we can look to the meaning of moral and whether it was a sign of the 

badness of human behavior and be able to start understanding how humans were in the past. 

Now, if sacrifices were necessary, we can look at whether the value of the sacrifices 

outweighs the values of the achievements. This also goes back to the definition of morals. We 
 1.2.8Practice:North America Before the Columbian Exchange

can see if people of the past needed sacrifices to this extent, the destruction of societies, 

culture, and people. For example, we believe that the pros should always outweigh the cons, but 

this may not be the case in the past, and in order to analyze this we need to view the impact as a 

moral question to see more accurately into the past.  

We link the words “destruction” and “terrible” as a moral question. This is because we 

have images or feelings towards these words which make us believe that it was wrong. But, in 

the past, the Europeans may have viewed this as it was natural and they were right. Right and 

wrong aren’t one-dimensional. The word “destruction” is not always a bad thing, but we always 

view it as wrong or negative. But, if we view the impact of Europeans as a moral question and 

saw both the good and bad, we can get a view of what they were thinking, giving us a better view 

of the past and perspective on things and we can learn from these mistakes and improve the 

present and influence the future. 

The question of whether the impact of Europeans is a historical question or a moral 

question cannot be easily answered with just one or the other but looking at this at a moral 

question perspective can help us improve upon ourselves and gain a better understanding on 

the terms of right and wrong in the past and how we think of it. The question should be moral 

because it develops a need to ask whether these sacrifices were necessary, whether or not the 

cons outweigh the pros, and the phrase “terrible destruction” greatly accompanies the idea of 

morals and right and wrong. 

 1.2.8Practice:North America Before the Columbian Exchange

Here is the rubric on which your assignment will be graded. 

Requirements  Points  Points 

Possible  Awarded 

Write a five-paragraph essay identifying whether you think the  12   

impact of European contact had on indigenous populations is 
more of a historical or a moral question. 

Include a clear thesis statement supporting your argument.  4   

Support your thesis with at least three claims, which are  12   
supported with evidence. 

Write in a manner that is clear, complete, and persuasive.  12   

Total  40   

Comments: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1. Alan Brinkley, ​American History​ (Columbia University, McGraw-Hill, 2012, 14th ed.), 10-11.