OnRamps US History Unit 1

Which are the more dominant colonies?

Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia

How did the creation of representative democracy in colonial America contribute to the institutionalization of slavery?

Eventually, tobacco, emblematic cash crop of the colony, led to the introduction of slavery. Indeed, that horrible institution developed within a particular context- a need for labor, expectations of economic gain based on proto-capitalist agriculture, availability of land, etc. As we'll see, the adoption of slavery was also closely linked to the establishment of the first representative government in the new world.

Why were 20 people executed in Salem during this time period and what does this reveal about our society?

Socio-economic reasons for this tumultuous event but also contextualizes it within a broader Western culture concerned with shifting gender roles.

1689 Toleration Act

May 24, 1689. The act of Parliament granting freedom of worship. This is significant because it allowed freedom of worship and established the Glorious Revolution.

Albany Plan of Union

1754, the Albany Plan of Union was a plan to put more centralized government over the colonies. This is significant because it was the first important proposal to unite the colonies under one government.

American Enlightenment

17th to 18th century. The American Enlightenment was a period of intellectual awakening in the 13 American colonies. This is significant because it led to the American Revolution and American Independence.

Anne Hutchinson

1636 to 1638. Was a puritan spiritual adviser, religious reformer, and a participant in the Antinomian Company. She is significant because she was the defendant in a trial intended to squelch religious dissent in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Bacon's Rebellion

1676. Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley. This is significant because it made the government in Virginia frightened by the threat Civil War.

City on a Hill

1630. The term "city on a hill" was initially invoked by English-born Puritan leader John Winthrop. This is significant because it became central to the United States conception of itself as an exceptional nation.

Cotton Mather

1663 to 1728. Promoted vaccinations for disease and is most remembered for the Salem witch trials. He is significant because he helped promote vaccines and, although he was not directly involved with the Salem witch trials, he wrote a letter to one of the magistrates in the trials that urged caution in the use of spectral evidence.

George Whitefield

1714 to 1770. George Whitefield was an English Anglican cleric and evangelist. He is significant because he was one of the founders of Methodism and the Evangelical Movement.

Great Awakening

1730's - 40's. A series of Christian revivals that suspect Britain and the 13 colonies. This is significant because the revival movement permanently affected Protestantisms adherents strove to renew individual piety and religious devotion.

Indentured Servitude

17th century. Were men and women who signed a contract by which they agreed to work for a certain number of years in exchange for transportation to America and supplies. This is significant because it was a vital part to the colonial economy, as they worked the land.

Jamestown

1607, 17th century. Was the first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607 in Virginia. This is significant because it was the first permanent colony and was the foundation for what America would become.

John Locke

17th century. Was among the most famous philosophers and political theorists of the 17th century who believed all knowledge is derived from sensory experience. He is significant because he laid much of the groundwork for the Enlightenment, made central contributions to the development of liberalism, and was a key advocate of the empirical approaches of the Scientific Revolution.

John Winthrop

1587-1649. John Winthrop was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He is significant because he was an effective governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which was the second major settlement in New England.

Jonathan Edwards

18th century. An American clergyman, a leader in the Great Awakening who was an emotional preacher and emphasized the absolute power of God. He is significant because his work as a whole is an expression of two themes, the absolute sovereignty of God and the beauty of Gods holiness.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

1630, 17th century. Was an English settlement on the east coast of America. This is significant because it was intended to set up a society that would accord with what they believed were Gods wishes.

Mayflower Compact

1620-1691. Was an agreement reached by the Pilgrims on the ship of the Mayflower in 1620. This is significant because it bound them to live in a civil society because it was a political structure intended to bound them to live by their own laws in a civil society.

Mercantilism

16th to 18th century. A system in which a country attempts to amass wealth through trade with other countries, exporting more than it imports and increasing stores of gold and precious metals. This is significant because the British put restrictions on how their colonies spent their money so that they could control their economies.

Metacom or King Philip's War

1675 to 1678. This war pitted Native Americans against English settlers and their Indian allies that was one of the bloodiest conflicts in U.S. history. This was significant because it marked the last major effort by the Native Americans of Southern New England to drive out the English settlers.

Pennsylvania Colony

17th century. Founded in English North America by William Penn on March 4, 1681 as dictated in a royal charter granted by King Charles II. This is significant because it was one of the first 13 colonies which was later the site where the Declaration of Independence was developed.

Pequot War

1636-1638. The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth. This is significant because it ended Dutch domination in the region and established a pattern for English policy towards natives.

Puritans

16th and 17th centuries. Advocated total withdraw from the Church of England and wanted the freedom to worship independently from English authority. They are significant because they were a group of people who moved to America to escape the Church of England and had a large impact on America.

Quakers

17th century. Began in England, much the same as Puritanism, eventually they would have a colony of their own in Pennsylvania. They believed in pacifism and religious tolerance.

Religious Toleration

17th century. The Religious Toleration Act of 1649 was passed by the Maryland Assembly which granted religious freedom to Christians. This is significant because it paved the way for freedom of religion in America.

Roger Williams

17th century. He was an English clergyman and colonist who was expelled from Massachusetts for criticizing Puritanism. He founded Providence in 1636 and obtained a royal charter for Rhode Island and advocating for separation of state and church.

Salem Trials 1692

1692-1693. Trials held in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 that led to the execution of 20 people for allegedly practicing witchcraft. Significant because they were a formative event in the evolution of American civil society.

Separatists (Pilgrims)

16th century. A group of Puritans who advocated total withdraw from the Church of England and wanted freedom to worship independently from English authority. They are significant because their move to America resulted in the founding of Plymouth Colony.

William Penn

1645-1718. Founded the Province of Pennsylvania and the democratic principles he set forth served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution. He is significant because he founded the colony of Pennsylvania as a place for religious freedom.

Zenger Trial

1735. Was a trial against John Peter Zenger for harshly accusing the government of rigging elections and allowing the French into the New York Harbor. This is significant because it paved the way for freedom of the press.

What is the difference between Puritans and Pilgrims?

While the Pilgrims were Separatists, the Puritans were non-separating Congregationalists- they believed the Church of England was the one true church and they were loyal to England, but not in the way they worshiped. They believed that "New England" worship and practice would be an example for Old England and the world.

Starving Times

1609-1610, Jamestown residents endured this- a period so bleak that some resorted to cannibalism to survive. They entered the winter with 500 settlers and only 60 of them lived to see the spring.

When was the first successful cultivation of tobacco in the colonies?

After 1614

How did new religions challenge the old practices and form new cultural shifts in colonial America?

A new religion, or at least a new way of interpreting an older theology, spread like wildfire. So-called "New Lights", also known as Arminians, believed in a much more active and democratic Protestantism. In sharp contrast with the "Old Lights", who clung to their Calvinist upbringing, New Lights believed that an individual could be saved by experiencing a religious conversion.

The northeastern New England colonies had generally ?

thin, stony soil, relatively little level land, and long winters, making it difficult to make a living on farming.

Because the northeastern New England colonies could not make a living on agriculture, what did they do instead?

The New Englanders harnessed water power and established grain mills and sawmills. Good stands of timber encouraged shipbuilding. Excellent harbors promoted trade, and the sea became a source of great wealth. In Massachusetts, the cod industry alone quickly furnished a basis for prosperity.

Triangular Trade

Traders would purchase slaves off the coast of Africa for New England rum, then sell the slaves in the West Indies where they would buy molasses to bring home for sale to the local rum producers.

Though the Quakers dominated in Philadelphia ?

Elsewhere in Pennsylvania others were well represented.

The Dutch continued to exercise ?

An important social and economic influence on the New York region long after the fall of New Netherland and their integration into the British colonial system.

In contrast to New England and the middle colonies, the Southern colonies were ?

Predominantly rural settlements.

Harvard College

Founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts

College of William and Mary

Founded near the end of the 17th century in Virginia

Collegiate School of Connecticut

Later to become Yale University

The first printing press in the English colonies and the second in North America was installed at Harvard

1638

In the 18th century, the intellectual and cultural development of Pennsylvania reflected, in large measure, the vigorous personalities of two men:

James Logan and Benjamin Franklin

James Logan

Secretary to William Penn and Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court who became wealthy through land sales and trade with Native Americans. He is remembered for his role in producing the forged deed that led to the Walking Purchase.

Benjamin Franklin

American intellectual, inventor, and politician He helped to negotiate French support for the American Revolution.

In Virginia, how many free schools were there?

Very few.

Literary production in the colonies was largely confined to?

New England.

Magnalia Christi Americana

The book Cotton Mather published in 1702 about the religious development of Massachusetts, and other nearby colonies in New England.

The first successful newspaper was launched when?

In 1704 in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

One of Jonathan Edwards' most famous sermons, which warned listeners of Hell.

What did the Great Awakening do?

It weakened the status of the established clergy and provoked believers to rely on their own conscience. Also, perhaps most important, it led to the proliferation of sects and denominations, which in turn encouraged general acceptance of the principle of religious toleration.

In the early phases of colonial development ?

A striking feature was the lack of controlling influence by the English government.

The colonists incorporated concepts of freedom into Virginia's first charter, it provided ?

That English colonists were to exercise all liberties, franchises, and immunities "as if they had been abiding and born within this our Realm of England" and enjoy the benefits of the Magna Carta.

In only two cases was the self-government provision omitted,

These were New York, which was granted to Charles II's brother, the Duke of York, and Georgia, which was granted to a group of "trustees".

What made control over the colonies difficult?

The remoteness afforded by a vast ocean.

In 1691, what happened between Massachusetts and Plymouth?

Under a new charter, Massachusetts and Plymouth were united for the first time in 1691 as the royal colony of Massachusetts Bay.

Second Treatise of Government

John Locke's work arguing that true political authority comes not from God or precedent but from the people.

The colonies had leverage rested on two significant powers similar to those held by the English Parliament:

The right to vote on taxes and expenditures, and the right to initiate legislation rather than merely react to proposals of the governor.

By 1754, France ?

Still had a strong relationship with a number of Native American tribes in Canada and along the Great Lakes. It controlled the Mississippi River and, by establishing a line of forts and trading posts, had marked out a great crescent-shaped empire stretching from Quebec to New Orleans. THIS LIMITED COLONIES WESTWARD EXPANSION.

The Albany Plan of Union provided for a ?

president appointed by the king and a grand council of delegates chosen by the assemblies, with each colony to be represented in proportion to its financial contributions to the general treasury.

How many people died due to the Salem witch trials?

20