How did the arrival of Europeans affect the environment of North America?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANSWER: This is a fairly straightforward question that requires students to look closely at one aspect of the Columbian Exchange. Students should point to the arrival of new crops and the creation of plantations, which eventually choked out some existing plants. They should note the emergence of new species of animals that pushed aside some native animals. Students ought to note the unintended consequences of much of the environmental change. The importation of dandelions is one example. But the major environmental impact resulted from the exchange of diseases that killed millions of Indians and lesser numbers of Europeans and Africans. More advanced students should be able to relate the impact this had on cultural knowledge and history due to the loss of storytellers and elders. The survivors of the epidemics then formed new relationships, to include confederacies, from the remnants of larger tribes.