Unit 1 - (Labor and the Creation of the Colonies)

Question 1

What was the labor problem in America?

Answer 1

America had an abundance of resources and land; however, they had a shortage of labor.

Question 2

What was the labor problem in Britain and Europe?

Answer 2

Europe had a abundance of workers, but a shortage or resources and land.

Question 3

What was the first solution to the labor problems?

Answer 3

The family

Question 4

What did the family labor plan entail?

Answer 4

In New England and some of the middle colonies, the labor source was the family.
- Small family farms
- Women & kids worked
- Males inherited land by their mid 20s
- Other families expanded into western New England for land OR to escape the rigors of the Puritans.

Question 5

What was the second solution to the labor problem?

Answer 5

The Headright System

Question 6

Where did the Headright System occur?

Answer 6

In the Chesapeake and the south (specifically VA)

Question 7

What were the reasons for the Headright System?

Answer 7

• Lack of discipline in the Jamestown colony
• Near starvation conditions

Question 8

What was the Headright System arrangement?

Answer 8

Overall arrangement: Promises of land if one was willing to migrate.
- Had to pay for passage
- Each white male was counted “head” of the family and was promised land to work.

Question 9

What was the problem with the Headright System?

Answer 9

It was too expensive for commoners.

Question 10

What was the third solution to the labor problem?

Answer 10

Indentured Servitude

Question 11

What was the arrangement for indentured servants?

Answer 11

• Passage to America paid for in return for service (5-7 years).
• Promise of land.
• (Mostly made for poor Scots and Irish.)

Question 12

What were the problems with the indentured Servitude arrangement?

Answer 12

• Temporary and unstable
• Runaways were common.
• Laws did not always recognize the arrangement.
• Less inclined to do labor intensive work such as working on tobacco plantations.

Question 13

What was the final solution to the labor problem?

Answer 13

Slavery

Question 14

Why did slavery work for a long time?

Answer 14

It was permanent and dependable.

Question 15

How did race based slavery develop?

Answer 15

• Developed slowly
• Occured in the Chesapeake Region (VA/MD)

Question 16

What did the development of slavery look like in the early 1600s? (Origins)

Answer 16

• Status defined by your religion, education level, and land ownership.
• Africans gained freedom, owned land, and had servants.
• Labor source was a mix of peoples.

Question 17

What did the development of slavery look like in the mid 1600s?

Answer 17

• A person’s status was constantly changing.
• Idea of race took shape
• English view of outsiders as barbaric.
• Growth of plantation economy… depended on intensive labor.
• First slaves in the 1640s.

Question 18

What did the development of slavery look like at the end of the 1600s?

Answer 18

• Permanence of slavery.
• Laws passed to ensure permanence and stability.
• Status of a person in slavery came from the mother’s line.
• Slavery was for a lifetime
• Conversion to Christianity DID NOT lead to freedom
• Limited movements.

Question 19

What was Bacon’s Rebellion?

Answer 19

• A poor whites’ rebellion against VA governor (Led by Nathaniel Bacon)
• Governor refused to open lands for settlement/heavy taxes
• Forced poor whites to serve as tenants .
• Bloody rebellion forces a shift to slavery (Fewer immigrants from England because of improvements in England and slave trade expanded money making)

Question 20

How was the system of mercantilism reflected in the Triangle Trade?

Answer 20

The Triangle Trade allowed for the exchange of goods, raw materials, and labor to benefit the mother country (England). First, Europe sent textiles, rum, and manufactured goods to Africa. Then, Africa sent enslaved peoples to the Americas. Finally, sugar and tobacco were sent back to England.

Question 21

What is the middle passage in the Triangle Trade? What was its purpose, and where was its location?

Answer 21

The middle passage was the shipment of enslaved Africans westward across the Atlantic ocean, usually to Brazil or the West Indies.