Ch. 4: American Life in the 17th Century (1607-1692)

Question 1

Indentured servents

Answer 1

Legal arrangement when an individual owed compulsory service for free passage to the US. Eventually received “freedom dues”- a few barrels of corn, a suit of clothes, and a small parcel of land. Common in Virginia for tobacco laborers.

Question 2

Headright System

Answer 2

Whoever paid the passage of a laborer received 50 acres of land. Created merchant-planters.

Question 3

Bacon’s Rebellion

Answer 3

Poor frontiersmen led by Bacon, who resented Berkeley’s friendly Indian policies,murdered Indians, chased Berkeley from Jamestown, and burned the capitol. When Bacon died of disease, Berkeley crushed the rebellion, and hung the rebels. Increased tensions between landless former servants and masters.

Question 4

William Berekely

Answer 4

Virginia governor whose friendly Indian policies, which monopolized the fur trade, led to Bacon’s Rebellion.

Question 5

Geography of the Chesapeake

Answer 5

Virginia and Maryland.

Question 6

Quality of life concerns of the Chesapeake

Answer 6

Malaria, dysentery, and typhoid cut 10 years off life expectancy. Huge influx of single male immigrants had a hard time finding wives. Marriages destroyed by death

Question 7

Chesapeake economic boom

Answer 7

Intense tobacco cultivation exhausted the soil, but was extremely profitable. This lowered prices, so farmers planted more tobacco.

Question 8

Indentured servants’ futures

Answer 8

As prime land became scarcer, were given less land in “freedom dues”. Penniless freed workers often had no choice but to hire themselves out to their former masters.

Question 9

Reasons for the introduction of slavery

Answer 9

Rising wages in England reduced indentured servants, and large planters were more fearful of rebellions.

Question 10

Royal African Company

Answer 10

Lost its monopoly on the slave trade in 1672. Now, enterprising Americans could get in on the slave trade.

Question 11

Origins of most slaves

Answer 11

West coast of Africa, especially from Senegal to Angola. Originally captured by African coastal tribes, and traded on beaches to European merchants

Question 12

Middle passage

Answer 12

Slaves transported to America, death rates of 20%.

Question 13

Slave codes

Answer 13

Originated in Virginia. Made blacks and their children property of masters for life. some made it a grime for slaves to read/write

Question 14

Slavery in the south

Answer 14

Hostile climate, life-draining labor-widely scattered rice and indigo plantations. Short life spans

Question 15

Slavery in Chesapeake

Answer 15

Somewhat better than South.Tobacco plantations closer together, and less physically demanding. More contact with friends and relatives, and population grew through natural reproduction

Question 16

Gullah

Answer 16

Language evolved by blacks on the islands off the coast of south carolina. Blended several african languages

Question 17

Ringshout

Answer 17

West African dance brought to the colonies by slaves. Shuffled in a circle while answering preacher’s shouts. Evolved into Jazz.

Question 18

Stono Rebellion

Answer 18

50+ resentful slaves along the Stono River tried to march to Spanish Florida, but were stopped by the local militia

Question 19

Southern social hierarchy

Answer 19

Gentry plantation owners
Small farmers (largest)
Landless whites (many former indentured servants)
Black slaves
American Indians

Question 20

Why was New England healthier than the Chesapeake?

Answer 20

Clean water, cooler temperatures, higher life expectancies

Question 21

New England family life

Answer 21

Migrated as families rather than individuals, so natural reproduction increased populations. Early marriage increased childbirth. Children learned from their parents and grandparents.

Question 22

Women’s rights in New England

Answer 22

Women gave up property rights at marriage
Couldn't vote
Seen as weaker than men
Illegal for men to abuse wives
Divorce rare, adultery illegal

Question 23

New England town growth

Answer 23

Towns legally chartered, then land was given to proprietors. Proprietors and families moved to designated place and laid out town with meetinghouse surrounded by houses, and village green. Each family received several parcels of land, with a woodlot for fuel, a place to grow crops, and pastures for animals. Towns w/ 50+ families required to have a school

Question 24

What led to democracy in government in New England?

Answer 24

Democracy in Congregational Church- Adult males voted in town meetings

Question 25

Jeremiad

Answer 25

New form of Puritan sermon- preachers scolded parishioners for their waning piety.

Question 26

Half-way covenant

Answer 26

Intended to increase church membership with fewer conversions. Unconverted children of members admitted to baptism, but not communion. Weakened distinction between the “elect” and others

Question 27

Salem witch trials

Answer 27

Witch hunt caused by adolescent girls claiming to have been bewitched by older women. 20 lynched. Caused by superstitions, prejudices, and social and religious tensions.

Question 28

New England geographical effect on life

Answer 28

Rocky soil prevented agriculture (tobacco), shaping Puritan frugality. Also made NE less ethnically diverse.

Hot summers/Cool winters

Question 29

New England attitudes towards Indians

Answer 29

Condemned Indians for “wasting” the land by underutilizing it. Europeans “improved” it by burning it and starting permanent settlements

Question 30

New England economy

Answer 30

Natural harbors and dense forest led to ship-building and commerce. Fishing industry.

Question 31

Leisler’s Rebellion

Answer 31

Bloody insurgence between landholders and aspiring merchants in New York City