1607-1754 (6-8%)

Question 1

What was the First Great Awakening?

Answer 1

The First Great Awakening occurred in the early 1700s (specifically 1720s-1740s) and it was a religious revival in Europe that influenced the spiritual and intellectual values in America.

Question 2

What is this time period (1607-1754) known as and why?

Answer 2

The time of 1607-1754 is known as the Age of Enlightenment because of the ideals that developed during this period. Rationalism and logical and scientific thought dominated this age, which influenced sentiments and the eventual initiation of the American Revolution (1775-1783).

Question 3

What was the Transatlantic Exchange/Triangular Trade System?

Answer 3

The Transatlantic Exchange was the trading path on which slaves and resources were sold. Europeans bought slaves from Africa, raw materials from the colonies were sold to Europe, and other European products were sent to the colonies.

The “Middle Passage” was the horrid voyage taken by slaves from Africa to the Americas

Question 4

How did the EARLY English Colonies differ from those of France and Spain?

Answer 4

The early English Colonies differed in the sense that they were not directly ruled by the crown and that they enjoyed greater self government.

Question 5

What is mercantilism?

Answer 5

Mercantilism is the idea that trade generates wealth. This is seen in the Transatlantic Exchange.

Question 6

What was the Plymouth Colony?

Answer 6

The Plymouth Colony was the first of several colonies established by the Pilgrims (Separatists) upon arrival in 1620.

Question 7

What were the Navigation Acts?

Answer 7

The Navigation Acts (1651, 1660) were acts of Parliament intended to promote the self-sufficiency of the British Empire by restricting colonial trade to England and decreasing dependence on foreign imported goods.

Question 8

What was Bacon’s Rebellion?

Answer 8

In 1676, Bacon’s rebellion, the first armed insurrection by the colonists against the British and their government, occurred. This demonstration involved both black and white indentured servants, which worried the ruling class.

Question 9

What were the Salem Witch Trials?

Answer 9

In 1692, trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts for 19 women being accused of practicing witch craft. These trials signaled the beginning of the end of Puritanism, and triggered a distrust in the Massachusetts government. The prevailing message of the trials, however, was that fear could ruin the lives of many, and clarified the importance of due process.

Question 10

What was the Glorious Revolution?

Answer 10

In 1688, King James II was overthrown by William and Mary, whom the colonists declared their loyalty to after they abolished the “Dominion of New England” (The merge of the New England Colonies).

Question 11

Who was Anne Hutchinson?

Answer 11

Anne Hutchinson was one of the earliest American feminists of the Colonial Era who challenged male authority, and preached to both men and women. In 1637, Hutchinson was convicted of heresy and sedition and was banished.

Question 12

What were the main issues with the Jamestown colony?

Answer 12

• Settlers were vulnerable to local diseases (particularly malaria)
• Spent more time searching for gold than growing enough food to be self sufficient
• There were no women so they couldn’t build a community
• A few months later following its establishment, additional ships appeared with more food and supplies… by then there were only 38 men still alive (the rest killed by disease and famine)

Question 13

Explain the Headright System.

Answer 13

• Established by the Virginia Company
• Headrights were fifty-acre grants of land
• Those who already lived in the colony received two headrights
• Each settler received a single headright for him of herself
• The system encouraged families to migrate together since the more family members that traveled, the more land they’d receive transported ironworkers and other skilled crafts workers to Virginia to diversify the economy
• Sent 100 Englishwomen to the colony to become wives of male colonists

Question 14

What distinguished Maryland from the other colonies?

Answer 14

• Created as a refuge for English Catholics (because England at the time was Protestant) by the first Lord Baltimore
• Established by Lord Baltimore in 1632
• Neighboring Indians befriended the settlers and provided them with temporary shelter and stocks of corn
• Instituted a religious policy of tolerance
• Adopted a headright system due to a severe labor shortage in 1640

Question 15

What happened during the first winter of the Massachusetts Bay Experiment? What followed this hardship?

Answer 15

• Nearly 200 people died and many decided to leave
• Soon after the winter, the colony grew and prospered
• Nearby Pilgrims and neighboring Indians helped with food and advice
• Incoming settlers brought needed tools and other goods
• The presence of families in the colony helped establish a feeling of commitment to the community, a sense of order among the settlers, and ensured that the population would reproduce itself

Question 16

What made the Rhode Island colony special?

Answer 16

For a while, Rhode Island was the only colony in which all faiths could worship without interference.

Question 17

What was the early relationship between the settlers and the natives like?

Answer 17

The first white settlers had friendly relations with the Natives. The Indians taught whites to grow vital food crops such as corn, beans, pumpkins, and squash. White traders used Indians as partners in some of their most important trading activities. However, later white settlers had an insatiable appetite for land and uneven respect for Indian culture and beliefs (religious leaders of New England came to consider the tribes a threat to their hopes of creating a godly community in the New World. The image of Indians as helpful was replaced by the image of Indians as “heathens” and barbarians.

Question 18

What was The Restoration?

Answer 18

Charles II returned from exile two years after the civil war, seized the crown, and this period became known as the Restoration. He then issued four charters for four new colonies in the New World: Carolina, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Question 19

What was the “Quaker Colonies”?

Answer 19

• Pennsylvania was born out of the efforts of the Society of Friends (dissenting English Protestant sect)
• Followers became known as the Quakers who trembled at the name of the Lord
• No formal church government and no paid clergy
• As confirmed pacifists they would not take part in wars
• Became the best known and most cosmopolitan of all the English colonies
• Prospered from careful planning, a mild climate, and fertile soil
• Good relationships with the Indians because of their religious belief of no war
• Established a representative assembly that limited the authority of the proprietor

Question 20

What was the Dominion of New England?

Answer 20

James II created a single Dominion of England, which combined the government of Massachusetts with the governments of the rest of the New England colonies and later with those of New York and New Jersey. He appointed Sir Edmund Andros as the governor who was highly unpopular due to his dismissal of the colonists’ claims to the “rights of Englishmen”.

Question 21

Explain indentured servitude.

Answer 21

• System of temporary servitude
• Usually four or five years
  In exchange for passage to America, food, and shelter
• Women indentures were expected to marry when their terms of servitude expired
• By the late 17th century (1600s), indentured servitude became one of the largest elements of colonial population and created serious social problems
• Beginning in the 1670s, the birthrate in England decreased and the improvement in economic conditions reduced the pressure on laboring men and women to emigrate

Question 22

Describe family life in New England.

Answer 22

• Death rates declined more quickly than in the Chesapeake
• Family structure was more stable than in the Chesapeake
• Much like the Chesapeake, women married young and bore children early
• Northern children were more likely to survive, and their families were more likely to maintain intact
• Few children could choose a spouse independently of their parents’ wishes
• Puritanism placed a high value on family
• The position of the wife/mother was highly valued
• Absolute male authority
• A wife was expected to devote herself entirely to the needs of her husband and their economy

Question 23

Explain the beginnings of slavery in English America.

Answer 23

The demand for slaves in North America helped expand the transatlantic slave trade, and was responsible for the forced immigration of as many as 11 million Africans to North and South America and the Caribbean. The Middle Passage was the long journey to the Americas in which prisoners were kept chained in the bowels of the slave ships and supplied with only minimal food and water. Those who died on the long journey were just thrown overboard. Upon arrival in the New World, slaves were auctioned off to white landowners and transported, frightened, and bewildered to their new homes. Gradually, the assumption spread that blacks would remain in service permanently. White beliefs about the inferiority of Africans reinforced the growing rigidity of the system. Permanent servitude then became legal in the early eighteenth century (the only factor that determined whether someone was subject to slave codes was the color of skin.

Question 24

How did the northern and southern colonies differ from each other?

Answer 24

In the south there was a strong European demand for tobacco which made some planters in the Chesapeake extremely wealthy. However, throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, production of tobacco frequently exceeded demand, and sometimes as a result, the price of it suffered severe declines. In contrast, the colder weather and hard, rocky soil made large-scale farming difficult for northerners. The North was much more industry focused as metalworks became an important part of the economy.

Question 25

What gave rise to the birth of consumerism in America.

Answer 25

The growth of consumerism was a product of the early stages of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. There was very little industry in the Americas but Europe and England began making rapid advances and producing more and more affordable goods for Americans to buy. Things that once were considered luxuries quickly became seen as necessities and were readily available (tea, household linens, glassware, manufactured cutlery, crockery, furniture, and many other things). Consumerism also cultivated the ideal of being educated and “refined” in speech and behavior.

Question 26

Explain the socioeconomic inequality that arose in the 1700s.

Answer 26

“Some must be rich and some poor,” said John Winthrop

• Elites were called “ladies” and “gentlemen” and poorer citizens were known as “goodman” or “goodwife”.
• Men had more power than women
• Servants had few rights
• The church claimed that inequality reflected God’s intention
• Wealthy people were most likely to move to cities and participate in commerce

Question 27

Who were the Huguenots?

Answer 27

Huguenots were French Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who followed the teachings of theologian John Calvin.

Question 28

What was the Zenger trial?

Answer 28

In 1733, Peter Zenger was accused of publishing information that opposed the government. This court case sparked a breakthrough in the press and democracy. It told people that they could have freedom of speech and they wouldn’t be punished for it. This win also showed the public how the court was fair and that you needed evidence and an actual law to be broken for someone to be punished.

Question 29

Describe the Puritans and their beliefs and explain why they left England for the New World.

Answer 29

Puritans believed that each individual was connected to God and it was their responsibility to have a relationship with him. Every person was allowed to interpret the bible in their own way, Puritans did not believe in violence or the Catholic way of life. With the protestant church of England so similar to Catholicism the Puritans wanted a clean break. Not being allowed to practice their beliefs in England the Puritans set sail to the New World.

Question 30

Explain the basic religious and governmental ideas and practices of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Answer 30

The Massachusetts Bay colony was a Puritan society that believed they had a convent with God to build a holy society. This society was meant to be a model for all of mankind. The government was run by the congregational church, this was not a democracy. Only the “visible saints” were allowed to be in the church.

Question 31

Explain how Massachusetts Bay’s conflict with religious dissenters as well as economic opportunities led to the expansion of New England into Rhode Island, Connecticut, and elsewhere.

Answer 31

With the religious dissenters not being welcome in Massachusetts they sought out to find their own colony, starting with Rhode Island founded by Roger Williams. The Dutch and English sprinkled into the Connecticut area and founded Hartford - a new land for religious freedom.

Question 32

Describe the conflict between the colonists and the Indians in New England and the effects of King Philip’s war.

Answer 32

Chieftain Massasoit wanted peace between the Indians and the white man. When Massasoit died so did the warm welcome given by the natives. The colonists increased their efforts to christianize the Indians. Metacom, later known as King Philip, had finally had enough of the settlers. He attacked 52 towns and completely destroyed 12. The war left several hundred colonists dead and dozens of English settlements destroyed or heavily damaged. Thousands of Indians were killed, wounded or captured and sold into slavery or indentured servitude.

Question 33

Summarize early New England attempts at intercolonial unity, and the consequences of England’s Glorious Revolution in America.

Answer 33

The New England Confederation (1643) was a weak union of the colonies in Massachusetts and Connecticut, which was led by Puritans for the purposes of defense and organization. It was an early attempt of self- government during the benign neglect of the English Civil War. Many colonist seized the occasion to strike against royal authority in America.

Question 34

Describe the founding of New York and Pennsylvania, and explain why these two settlements as well as the other middle colonies became so ethnically, religiously, and politically diverse.

Answer 34

New York was originally a Dutch colony until the Duke of York was given the land by his brother Charles II. The English may have taken over the colony but the Dutch culture remained in the streets of New York. Pennsylvania was entirely different. Founded by Quakers looking for a better life, this new colony welcomed all religions making it a beacon for everyone to come.

Question 35

Describe the central features of the middle colonies and explain how they differed from New England and the southern colonies.

Answer 35

The middle colonies had fertile and abundant land. They had vast forests for lumber and shipbuilding, and they had an unusual degree of religious toleration and democratic control. The soil was also different here which meant less farming in the South and more farming than the North. There were also fewer industries in the middle colonies than in New England but more than in the South.

Question 36

What were the two major non-farming industries of Massachusetts Bay?

Answer 36

Fishing and shipbuilding were the two major non-farming industries of Massachusetts Bay.

Question 37

Describe the basic economy, demographics, and social structure and life of the seventeenth century southern colonies.

Answer 37

• Although unhealthy for human life, the Chesapeake was immensely hospitable to tobacco cultivation; profit-hungry settlers often planted tobacco before they planted corn; seeking fields to plant tobacco, these new immigrants plunged farther up the river valley (Indian attacks).
• The demographics increased drastically during the eighteenth century due to immigration.
• The social structure from bottom to top was African slaves, indentured servants, farmers, and merchants.

Question 38

Compare and contrast the different forms of society and ways of life of the southern colonies and New England.

Answer 38

• In the southern colonies, the social hierarchy was defined based on who owned more land/slaves/plantations. For the most part, the colonies down south were “a hardworking, businesslike lot. As for their culture, indeed some libraries and manors were built, and some practiced the arts, but for the most part life in the southern colonies revolved around the great plantations.
• In contrast, the New England colonies were enjoying a more well rounded life. Women, men, and children had duties that contributed to the economy as well as practicing the culture.

Question 39

Describe the basic economy, demographics, and social structure and life of the seventeenth century colonies.

Answer 39

• Although unhealthy for human life, the Chesapeake was immensely hospitable to tobacco cultivation; profit-hungry settlers often planted tobacco before they planted corn; seeking fields to plant tobacco, these new immigrants plunged farther up the river valley (Indian attacks).
• The demographics increased drastically during the eighteenth century due to immigration.
• The social structure from bottom to top was African slaves, indentured servants, farmers, and merchants.

Question 40

Compare and contrast the different forms of society and ways of life of the southern colonies and New England.

Answer 40

• In the southern colonies, the social hierarchy was defined based on who owned more land/slaves/plantations. For the most part, the colonies down south were “a hardworking, businesslike lot. As for their culture, indeed some libraries and manors were built, and some practiced the arts, but for the most part life in the southern colonies revolved around the great plantations.
• In contrast, the New England colonies were enjoying a more well rounded life. Women, men, and children had duties that contributed to the economy as well as practicing the culture.

Question 41

Explain how the practice of indentured servitude failed to solve the colonial labor problem, and why colonists then turned to African slavery.

Answer 41

Hungry for both labor and land, Chesapeake planters brought some 100,000 indentured servants to the region by 1700; these “white slaves” represented more than 75% of all European immigrants to Virginia and Maryland in the seventeenth century.

Indentured servants led a hard but hopeful life in the early days of the Chesapeake settlements; they looked forward to becoming free and acquiring land of their own after completing their term of servitude.
But as prime land became scarcer, masters became increasingly resistant to including land grants in “freedom dues”.

Misbehaving servants might be punished with an extended term of service and even after formal freedom was granted, and penniless freed workers often had little choice but to hire themselves to their masters.

Question 42

Describe the role of family life and the roles of women in the seventeenth century colonies, and indicate how these changed over time.

Answer 42

Nature smiled more benignly on pioneer New Englanders than on their disease-plagued fellow colonists to the south; clean water and cool temperature retarded the spread of killer microbes and in contrast to the Chesapeake, setters in New England added ten years to their life spans.
Early marriage encouraged the booming birthrate; women typically wed by their early twenties and produced babies about every two years.
​The longevity of the New Englanders contributed to family stability.​

Question 43

Summarize the major factors that led England to begin colonization.

Answer 43

A bunch of different reasons. Naval techniques and technologies were advance and they wanted to explore and find new lands to claim and to grow their country. Another was that England was so small and overpopulated that disease was everywhere. Jamestown was established in 1607 in Virginia. People came here for the purpose of finding gold. The king did not fund this because he didn’t want to gamble his money, but he did give them the okay to do so themselves. Plymouth, In Massachusetts, was founded because the Puritans wanted to escape religious persecution. The reason more English came over was because they realized they could make more money by making a mercantilism policy to allow England to make more profit buying materials from the colonies that they couldn’t grow in England, and selling the products back to the colonies and other countries.

Question 44

Describe the developments of the Jamestown colony from its disastrous beginnings to its later prosperity.

Answer 44

After peace with Spain, a joint-stock company known as the Virginia Company received a charter from King James I to settle in the New World. The main attractions were gold and a strong desire to find a passage through America to the Indies. Forty men were wounded on the initial voyage, and once they arrived, many died from disease, malnutrition, and starvation. The colonists were more concerned with discovering gold than doing what they needed to do to survive. Months later, when the majority of the colonists were dead, a new wave of colonizers came and brought the necessary tools needed to survive. The settlers also befriended the Indians who taught them how to survive.

Question 45

Explain how the economic development of the colonies altered the patterns of social prestige and wealth.

Answer 45

The greater class division in the 1700s can be attributed to the growing number and types of occupations.

Question 46

Identify the major religious denominations of the eighteenth-century colonies, and indicate their role in early American society.

Answer 46

The supporters of the Great Awakening–Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists–became the largest American denominations by the end of the 18th century. Deism, which emphasized morality and rejected Christianity, found advocates among upper-class Americans

Question 47

Explain the causes of the religious Great Awakening, and describe its effects on American education and politics.

Answer 47

Christians were feeling complacent with their methods of worship, and some were disillusioned with how wealth and rationalism were dominating culture. Many began to crave a return to religious piety. Around this time, the 13 colonies were religiously divided. Most of New England belonged to congregational churches. The revival led to the establishment of several renowned educational institutions, including Princeton, Rutgers, Brown, and Dartmouth.

Question 48

Describe the origins and development of education, culture, and journalism in the colonies.

Answer 48

Schools were originally focused on religion and dead languages while the wealthy had private tutors. However, starting in 1750, they started teaching more live languages and modern subjects. The Zenger Case also helped to gain freedom of press.

Question 49

Describe the basic features of colonial politics, including the role of various official and informal political institutions.

Answer 49

NE had town meetings where everyone got a say in colonial affairs; VA and the Chesapeake were ruled by House of Burgesses where a select few people had political power; RI had an assembly where small groups met and controlled affairs, but it was indirectly ruled by King. It’s also important to note that there was always a power struggle between colonial legislatures and the royal government.

Question 50

Describe the cultural and social interaction and exchange between English settlers and Indians in Virginia, and the effects of the Virginians’ policy of warfare and forced removal.

Answer 50

The white settlers craved what the natives had, land. The English could have been allies to the natives if they had not been so destructive and greedy. When Lord De La Warr arrived in Jamestown he declared war on the natives (The two Powhatan wars). The second would led to the banishment of the natives. The fate of the Powhatans would be the same as natives all over the continent. Some natives had the chance to buy firearms; a competition in game was increased among the Indians.

Question 51

Explain what caused the great contest for North America between Britain and France, and why Britain won.

Answer 51

The European powers wanted dominance in colonial power and the resources that they had in North America, thus increasing their nation’s wealth. Britain won because of their navy setup across the Atlantic which didn’t allow the French to send military reinforcements and supplies.