Colonial North America 1690-1754 Flashcards
Define the Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was the journey of slaves from Africa to the Caribbean or North American plantations as part of triangular trade. Slaves were chained together for weeks at a time, poorly fed, and mortality was high.
Who was the most famous American Enlightenment figure?
Benjamin Franklin
Admired on both sides of the Atlantic, Franklin invented bifocals and a centralized stove, experimented with electricity, published an influential newspaper, and wrote the famous Poor Richard’s Almanack, as well as numerous essays, including Fart Proudly.
Franklin was also one of the founders of the University of Pennsylvania, the first secular university in the colonies.
Define natural law.
First expounded by John Locke, the principle of natural law claimed that merely by his existence, man was endowed with rights which could not be taken or abridged by government.
Natural law’s principles provided a justification for the American Revolution, and were listed in the Declaration of Independence. (“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”)
What was the Stono Rebellion?
In 1739, 100 slaves killed several plantation owners in South Carolina, resulting in harsher slave regulations. The slaves’ primary motivation was to flee to Florida, where the Spanish offered freedom.
The Stono Rebellion marked the largest pre-Revolution slave uprising. Fearful because they were outnumbered by their slaves, whites in South Carolina and elsewhere used the Rebellion as an excuse to enact harsher slave regulations.
How did the triangular trade system operate?
In the triangular trade system, rum was shipped from a North American port to Africa, where it was traded for slaves. The slaves were then carried to British colonies in the Caribbean in what was known as the Middle Passage. In the Caribbean, the slaves were traded for sugar cane, which was in turn carried to North America to be made into rum.
The European intellectual movement known as the _____ emphasized rationalism.
Enlightenment
Instead of explaining human problems through religion, rationalism was a belief that all problems could be solved through deductive reasoning and scientific inquiry.
How was local government in the North different from that of the South?
In the North, farms were smaller and closer to towns. Thus, the common form of government was the town meeting, which resolved public issues by a direct vote.
In the South, farms and plantations were far from one another, and government was usually established in the form of an elected sheriff and officials who would serve a wide area.
Why was the colony of Georgia established?
Georgia was the last of the 13 original colonies. In England, debtors who couldn’t repay their loans were commonly imprisoned. It was established as a haven for debtors and to provide a buffer between prosperous South Carolina and the Spanish possessions in Florida.
What was the purpose of the earliest American universities?
Most universities existed to train candidates for the ministry. Harvard (1636), William and Mary (1694), and Yale (1701) were the first three American universities. During the Great Awakening, Princeton, Columbia, Rutgers, Brown, and Dartmouth Universities were founded as “New Light” colleges.
How was voting limited in the American colonies?
Women and blacks were completely barred from voting. White males were restricted from voting unless they owned property. Most candidates for public office came from the upper levels of society, and power was restricted to a privileged few.
Despite these restrictions, life in the American colonies was more democratic than in Europe.
Who was John Peter Zenger?
John Peter Zenger was a newspaper publisher who printed statements critical of New York’s governor in 1734. Libel law provided that one who published critical statements could be jailed, regardless of whether the statements were true. Despite this law’s existence, a jury found Zenger innocent.
The Zenger trial did much to establish freedom of the press in the colonies.
How did the Great Awakening impact the American Revolution?
The Great Awakening revivalists claimed that all men were equal before God. This egalitarian principle led many to question the monarchy and to espouse democracy.
In addition, the Great Awakening revivals took place throughout the American colonies, providing a shared, unifying experience.
What was the experience of women in the American colonies?
Women in the American colonies had few legal rights; most women could not own property and could not vote. Some 50% of colonial women died in childbirth.
In the South especially, marriage was looked upon as a business transaction; a woman’s father was approached regarding marriage and the woman (often as young as age 14) was rarely consulted.
What percentage of the population lived in rural areas in 1750?
Approximately 90% of North America’s population was rural with people living on small farms.
In the North, poor soil conditions for growing crops meant that most farmers lived in poverty. In the South, many poorer farms owned no slaves, but larger plantations used slaves to farm cash crops, such as tobacco, rice, and indigo.
