US HIST. Chapter 2: Beginnings of English America

1. What is it? 2. What it did. 3. Why is this significant?

Jamestown (1607)

1. Founded by John Smith in 1607, sponsored by the Virginia Company

2. Established for economic reasons and profit

3. The 1st successful English colony in the Americas

The Social Crisis (late 16th c. England)

1. When the economic growth of England in the late 16th century couldn’t keep up with its population

2. Many people flooded the cities for work, causing wages to fall

3. Turned masterless men into indentured servants

Indentured Servants

1. Masterless men in England who struggled during the SOCIAL CRISIS who were under a limited contract

2. Could be bought & sold, couldn’t marry without permission, and could be physically punished

3. 2/3 of English settlers were indentured servants (they will make up the majority of British American settlers in this period)

Headright System

1. A business strategy and incentive system designed to encourage people to go to the New World

2. Awarded 50 acres of land to any colonist who paid for his own or another’s passage

3. Stabilized the population and contributed to the plantation system in British America

Calvert

1. A Catholic who founded Maryland as a proprietary colony w/ a grant of land and govt. authority

2. Envisioned Maryland as a refuge for his persecuted coreligionist in England

3. Established Maryland in 1632 as a colony of religious freedom

Pilgrims

1. Puritans, a group of separatists, from England who emigrated to America

2. Followed the ideas of John Calvin (Predestination)

3. Established the religious colony of Massachusetts

Mayflower Compact

1. The document the Pilgrim leaders (adult men) drew up on the Mayflower

2. Said that the Pilgrims agreed to obey “just and equal laws” enacted by representatives o their own choosing

3. The 1st written frame of govt. in what is now known as the United States

Roger WIlliams

1. Puritan from Massachusetts

2. Said Puritans needed to separate church from state b.c that’s the ultimate way to purify the church, causing the theocrats to banish him to Rhode Island b.c he was threatening their power.

3. His faith influenced his individual ability to question the religious and political status quo

Anne Hutchinson

1. Massachusetts Puritan who had a problem w/ the church and was banished to Rhode Island and elsewhere

2. Questioned Christian norms and ministers due to strong Predestination belief (ex: didn’t believe that salvation could be earned by good works)

3. Her faith influenced her individual ability to question the religious and political status quo

The Magna Carta

1. A document written in 1215 England

2. Listed a series of liberties granted by the King to all of the Barons, free men, of the realm 

3. Gave an incredible amount of power to the English people through Barons obtaining the right to oversee the King’s conduct and revolt if he violated their privileges.

The English Civil War

1. A war between Englishmen and Englishmen starting in 1642 England

2. Resulted in a victory for the forces of Parliament leading to the beheading of King Charles I in 1649

3. Stimulated intense discussions of liberty, authority, and what it meant to be free Englishmen, who now knew for a fact that they could overthrow the King