Historically, the founding of the United States has been heralded as a successful model of resistance against British colonial rule. While the colonists were successful in gaining sovereignty, they did so through a political, social, and economic system that was built upon resource extraction, labor exploitation, and transatlantic trade. In this essay, compare and contrast the ways in which native peoples, enslaved Africans, European indentured servants, and/or the propertied elites have enacted forms of resistance against labor exploitation, limits to personal rights and liberties, and forced resettlement. You must address at least two out of the four groups identified. Provide specific examples documented in the readings and from class discussion. Also, in answering this question, you must address how such forms of resistance intersected with racial formation and social stratification during the Age of Exploration and the subsequent colonization of the Americas.

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