Chapter 4 Flashcards
Legislature
A group of people who have the power to make laws
How did English ideas about government and trade affect the colonies?
English ideas about government and trade affected the colonies by affecting what they could legally do. The Magna Carta formed a Parliament. Then, the Bill of Rights boosted Parliament’s power. This led to the right to vote, all men could vote. However, no Africans or Native Americans could at all. Next freedom of the press was established, changing what they saw being published. The Navigation Acts affected trade greatly.
Bill of rights
A written list of freedoms that a government promises to protect
Habeas corpus
The principle that a person cannot be held in prison without being charged with a specific crime
Freedom of the press
The right of journalists to publish the truth without restriction or penalty
Libel
The publishing of statements that damage a person’s reputation
What were the characteristics of colonial society?
The characteristics of colonial society were very cut and dry. Family was an important role all around. Many lived with extended family. Family was a big part of both farms and towns. Roles of men, women, and children were all the same. Men held authority in the home, and controlled income and property. Women were expected to stay at home and clan, cook, and be her husband’s faithful “helper.” Children had until about age seven to play and be kids, after that, they were but to work. Young girls learned how to run a house, while young boys worked with their fathers’. The social class was gentry, middle class, indentured servants, and free African Americans. Gentry were the upper class, middle class were average people owning independent farms and small planters, indentured servants signed contracts to work for people for a certain amount of time, and free African Americans were barely valued.
Extended family
A family that includes, in addition to the parents and their children, other members such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Apprentice
Someone who learns a trade by working for someone in that trade for a certain period of time.
Gentry
Were the upper class of colonial society.
Middle class
Made up of small planters, independent farmers, and artisans.
Indentured servant
Signed a contract to work from 4 to 10 years in the colonies for anyone who would pay for his or her ocean passage to the Americas.
How did slavery develop in the colonies and affect colonial life?
Slavery developed in the colonies and affected colonial life by the Atlantic Slave Trade. The Atlantic Slave Trade transported more than ten million Africans between the 1500s and 1800s. English colonies were actively shipping enslaved Africans across the Atlantic. Many colonies made slavery permanent. A slaves child born during slavery was automatically a slave also. Lastly, many people resisted slavery, not believing in it.
Triangular trade
A three-way trade between the colonies, the islands of the Caribbean, and Africa.
Racism
The belief that one race is superior or inferior to another
