1. How democratic was colonial American society? Why was it apparently becoming less equal?
    
2. How were the various occupations and activities of colonial America related to the nature of the economy? Why were occupations like lawyer, printer, and artisan taking on greater importance?
    
3. What were the causes and effects of the Great Awakening? How did such an intense religious revival affect those who experienced conversion as well as those who did not? How did the Awakening help to create a sense of shared American identity?
    
4. In what ways was colonial life attractive, and in what ways would it seem tedious and dull to the average twenty-first-century American? How were the educational, cultural, and leisured sides of colonial life affected by the basic nature of the economy?
    
5. To what degree was a unique "American" nationality developing in the eighteenth-century colonies? Were regional differences in the colonies growing more pronounced or retreating in the eighteenth century?
    
6. What shaped how ordinary colonists thought? What were important sources of influence on an ordinary colonist? Did England control these sources or did the colonists? What implications did this have for the future England and the colonies?