Early US - Unit 1: American Beginnings

How has early American history shaped our lives today?

Early American history has shaped our lives today because it established core values like democracy, independence, and liberty.

How were English colonies funded?

By joint-stock companies: allowed investors to pool their money to support a colony and hoped it would give a profit

In April 1607, what company sailed into the Chesapeake Bay?

The Virginia Company

Where was the first colony established, and what did they name it and why?

On a peninsula in Chesapeake Bay. They named it Jamestown in honor of their King.

What did settlers hope to find?

Gold

By focusing on another valuable resource, what did settlers in Jamestown neglect to develop?

Farms, which caused many to starve. Also, they had poor drinking water.

What is pyrite?

Fool’s gold; looks similar to gold and was used in scams

Who held Jamestown together?

John Smith

What did JS do to hold Jamestown together?

Forcing colonist to farm and trade with local tribes.

How did the settlement first take off?

The development of tobacco and selling it to Europe

This person developed profitable tobacco farming in Virginia in 1612.

John Rolfe

What system did the Virginia Company establish in 1618 to attract laborers?

The headright system

What did the headright system mean?

Anyone who paid for themselves or another’s passage to Virginia received 50 acres of land.

How did wealthy people capitalize on the headright system?

They could afford to transport large numbers of people to Virginia, so they received large land grants.

To work their plantations, many land owners in Virginia imported….

indentured servants from England

What did being an indentured servant mean?

You were given free passage, food, shelter, and clothing, but agreed to a limited term of servitude (usually 5-7 years). After the term they were free, but they usually ended up not having the capital to start a better life.