Chapter 4-5 Study Guide: American Life in the 17th Century, 1607 – 1692, and Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution, AD 1700 - 1775 AP U.S. History Mr. Reichardt

54 flashcards covering key terms, people, events, concepts, and examples from Chapter 4-5 of AP U.S. History notes, designed for Question-and-Answer study.

What was the Great Migration and when did it occur?

The large movement of English Puritans to New England in the 1630s–1640s seeking religious freedom.

Who were the southern gentry?

Wealthy landowners in the Southern colonies who dominated plantation economies and local politics.

What was the Middle Passage?

The brutal transatlantic voyage that transported enslaved Africans to the Americas as part of the Triangular Trade.

What does 'conversion' mean in Puritan Massachusetts?

A personal religious experience indicating salvation, required for full church membership.

What was the Halfway Covenant?

A 1662 policy permitting grandchildren of church members to join the church without full conversion.

What is meant by a 'witch hunt' in colonial America?

A period of witchcraft accusations and trials, notably in 1692 Salem, fueled by fear and religious zeal.

Who were the New Lights?

Revivalist preachers and followers who supported the Great Awakening and emotional worship.

Who was Jonathan Edwards?

A Puritan minister whose sermons sparked the Great Awakening and urged personal conversion and piety.

Who was George Whitefield?

A charismatic preacher whose sermons popularized the Great Awakening across the colonies.

Who was John Zenger?

A New York printer tried for libel (1733–1735) whose acquittal helped establish a principle of freedom of the press.

What is the Triangular Trade?

A three-leg trade system linking the Americas, Europe, and Africa with goods, enslaved people, and raw materials.

What did the New World colonies ship to Europe?

Cash crops and raw materials such as tobacco, sugar, and furs.

What did Europe ship to the New World and West Africa?

Manufactured goods, including ironware, textiles, and weapons.

What did West Africa ship to the New World?

Enslaved Africans used as labor on colonial plantations.

Where were the vast majority of enslaved people taken, and what percent went to English North America?

Most were taken to the Caribbean and Brazil; roughly 5–7% were brought to English North America.

What was the Stono Uprising of 1739?

A slave rebellion in South Carolina that spurred harsher slave codes and tighter controls on enslaved people.

What did the Stono Uprising lead to?

Stricter slave laws in the southern colonies and increased fear of slave resistance.

Outside of uprisings, how did enslaved people resist?

Theft, work slowdowns, feigning illness, preserving cultural practices, escaping, and forming networks.

What were Puritans in Massachusetts Bay concerned about by 1660?

Religious laxity, drift from pure Puritan practices, and threats to church authority.

What measures did MB Puritans take to address concerns?

Reinforced church membership rules, enforced conformity, and disciplined the community more strictly.

What happened during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692?

A wave of witchcraft accusations and prosecutions that led to executions and a crisis of confidence in colonial authority.

Who were the accusers and who were often accused in Salem?

Accusers were mostly young girls; the accused were often older women with reputations or property.

How did the Salem Witch Trials reflect Massachusetts Bay society at the time?

They revealed religious fervor, gender and property tensions, and social anxieties about disorder.

What significant event occurred to England in 1703?

England was involved in ongoing European conflict (the War of the Spanish Succession era), affecting imperial policy.

What was the Great Awakening and what did it consist of?

A widespread religious revival in the 1730s–1740s emphasizing personal conversion and evangelical zeal across the colonies.

Who were the leading preachers and what was the movement’s key message?

Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield; the message centered on personal conversion, emotional revival, and renewed faith.

What was the lasting impact of the Great Awakening on the 13 colonies?

Expanded church membership, spawned new evangelical denominations, and promoted education and questions about church authority.

What were the main mercantilist laws passed by Great Britain during the era of 'salutary neglect' (pre-1763)?

The Navigation Acts which regulated colonial trade and restricted colonial manufacturing to benefit Britain.

Why did many North American colonists chafe at these laws?

Trade restrictions limited profits, restricted autonomy, and spurred illegal smuggling and protest.

Fact: As a result, many colonists ignored them and resorted to smuggling.

Smuggling became common as colonists sought to circumvent mercantilist restrictions and keep profits high.

What were the good things and bad things of GB’s mercantilist policies?

Good: protected imperial commerce and provided markets for colonial goods; Bad: stifled local industry, bred resentment, and encouraged smuggling.

What were previous examples of democracy and self-gov’t in the colonies up to this time?

Mayflower Compact, Virginia House of Burgesses, and local town meetings exemplified early self-government.

Why was this façade of democracy and self-gov’t incomplete?

Voting and officeholding were limited by property and church membership, excluding many groups.

Despite regional differences, what similarities existed between the 13 British colonies?

Shared British legal traditions, religious foundations, economic ties to Britain, and patterns of representative assemblies.

What led up to the widely covered Zenger trial (1733-1735), how did it end, and what did it lead to and encourage in the colonies by 1776?

Zenger published critical articles about the NY governor; he was acquitted, promoting press freedom and lay the groundwork for free speech norms by 1776.

What events led up to the Zenger trial?

John Peter Zenger printed articles critical of colonial governor William Cosby, triggering libel charges.

How did the Zenger trial end?

Zenger was acquitted by the jury.

What did the Zenger trial lead to?

A precedent for freedom of the press and accountability of government in the colonies.

What did the Zenger trial encourage in the colonies by 1776?

A growing culture of liberty, dissent, and support for print-based scrutiny of government.

A. Briefly explain the role that slavery played in the population growth of the 18th century.

Slavery contributed to population growth by supplying labor in colonies with large enslaved populations; enslaved people increased in number through natural population growth and continued importation.

B. Briefly describe ONE place other than Africa from which people came to the British colonies, and WHY did they do so?

Europe (e.g., Ireland/Scotland) came seeking economic opportunity, religious freedom, or escape from hardship and persecution.

C. Briefly explain the impact of voluntary immigration on ONE of the following sections of the British North American colonies: New England Colonies, Middle Colonies, or Southern Colonies

In New England, voluntary immigration boosted population growth, diversified labor, and fostered town-building and religious life.

What were the main motives for colonization in New England vs the Southern colonies?

NE motives: religious freedom, covenant community, and family settlement; South motives: economic opportunity and plantation growth.

What types of societies developed in the NE vs the South and how did male-female ratios differ?

NE developed town-based, church-centered communities with relatively balanced or family-centered households; South developed plantation societies with heavy male labor demand and more skewed gender ratios.

How did life spans and birth rates differ between NE and the South, and why?

NE generally enjoyed longer life spans and stable families; the South faced harsher conditions but had large birth rates from plantation life and labor needs.

How did class system and wealth disparities differ between NE and the South?

South had a planter aristocracy with large estates; NE had more merchant-driven wealth and more social mobility among small farmers.

What type of economy characterized the NE vs the South?

NE: mixed economy—fishing, timber, shipping, small farms; South: plantation-based economy reliant on slave labor for cash crops.

What factors drove the demand for African slave labor by 1700?

Expansion of plantation economies (tobacco, rice, later de facto cotton) and decline of indentured servitude increased reliance on enslaved labor.

What were common forms of resistance by enslaved people besides uprisings?

Work slowdowns, feigning illness, breaking tools, maintaining cultural practices, and running away to seek liberty.

What is the significance of the Stono Uprising’s timing (1739)?

It highlighted enslaved resistance in the South and led to stricter slave codes and tightened control over enslaved people.

What was the role of the Great Awakening in education?

The revival emphasized literacy so people could read the Bible and contributed to the founding of colleges (e.g., Princeton, Brown, etc.).

What was the Mayflower Compact and why is it relevant to democracy in the colonies?

A social contract among Pilgrims agreeing to self-government and majority rule, often cited as an early step toward American democratic practice.

What is the significance of the Navigation Acts?

Mercantilist laws designed to ensure that trade benefited Britain, regulating colonial commerce and limiting colonial manufacturing.

What were the Old Lights and New Lights in the Great Awakening context?

Old Lights favored traditional, rational religion and established churches; New Lights supported revivalist, emotional religious experiences.