US HIST 1301, Unit 1

Identify and describe at least two North American societies Pre-European contact.

Pueblos: A tribe of Native Americans who settled in the present-day American Southwest.
Mississippians: Native American peoples who lived in modern-day Missouri and Illinois.
Algonquians: Native American peoples of the east coast who spoke related languages.

Why did Mesoamericans revere astronomers?

The Mesoamericans prepared almanacs recording past and recent solar and lunar eclipses, the phases of the moon, the periods of Venus and Mars, the movements of various other planets, and conjunctions of celestial bodies. These almanacs also made future predictions concerning celestial events.

Identify at least two Mesoamerican Empires.

The Olmec, the Maya, the Aztec

Identify at least two West African Nations prior to 1492.

Mali, Songhai, Ghana

Explain how the Commercial Revolution contributed to the rise of Nation States in Europe.

For starters, the Commercial Revolution was a period of European economic expansion, which began in the 16th century. The catalyst for this expansion was Europe's discovery and colonization of the Americas. As trade routes grew between the New World colonies and Old World Europe, the European continent was transformed.

Which European Nation State first established colonies in America?

Britain (Jamestown)

What environmental factors played a role in European colonization of America?

Profit of natural resources

Describe the goals and character of the first English colony in Virginia.

To profit and make money

What was the mission and theology of New England Puritans?

Mission:
-To prove supe​riorit​y of a genuine Protestant society
-To build an exemplary Protestant society in the New World for the Old to follow

Theology:
-Believed special group chosen by God for salvation identified by regenerations
-Likened to the Jewish moving out of Egypt through the Red Sea into the Promised Land of Israel

Explain John Winthrop's notion of the 'City on a hill.'

Perfect holy city made by the puritans. A model for the world to follow. (family, church, state)

Describe at least three ways Europeans & Indians interacted in ways other than warfare.

Trade, conversion to Christianity, marriage
-N.A. initially wanted to trade with Europeans
-Europeans wanted to "civilize" Indians
-N.A. resisted changes in religion and European-style education
-old-world diseases (smallpox) decimated Indians (they were left vulnerable to cultural imperialism)

How was African slavery different from American slavery?

In African society, slaves could escape their bondage in numerous ways, including married into the family they served or making themselves less productive by breaking tools, uprooting plants, and working slowly.

How did Puritan theology change as it spread to the frontier?

Congregationalism, each village church was independent of outside interference. No bishops, the people were the church, as a body they pledged to uphold God's law.

Explain the consequences of England's victory in the Seven Years War.

Expansion of English territorial claims in the New World. The cost of the war required England to seek better forms of revenue. Sets up a system to manage debt.

Identify the contributing factors to the British colonies decision to declare independence.

Experience of colonists forged a somewhat new identity different from simply being "British." This includes the French and Indian War and the Great Awakening. Crisis of British colonial policy. Resentment toward Parliment- not the King. Colonies had been experiencing benign neglect since England could not afford to fund its colonies, when they decided to step back in it seemed to be a little too much.

Describe Spain's Reconquista and how it impacted conquest in the New World.

Began in 711 when The Moors conquered the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and it ended in 1492 with the fall of Granada. The reconquista was a series of campaigns by Christian states to recapture the territory from the Muslim Moors who occupied much of the peninsula. Reconquista it was considered a holy war similar to the Crusades because the Catholic Church wanted the Muslims removed from Europe.
Historical Significance: It gave rise to several things, such as the Spanish Inquisition, the spread of jewish people throughout more of Europe, and the exploitation of the Americas.

What did Bartolome de Las Casas argue regarding Spain's treatment of "los Indios?".

Citing the Bible and canon law, Las Casas responded, "All the World is Human!" He contradicted Sepulveda's assertions that the Indians were barbarous, that they committed crimes against natural law, that they oppressed and killed innocent people, and that wars should be waged against infidels. Las Casas managed to convince​ the theologians at Valladolid that the Spanish policy was unjust and had to change.

How did John Smith's narrative of Pocahontas reveal central characteristics of Powhattan culture?

John Smith's story of Pocahontas's rescue from her chief and father's hands was largely misinterpreted. It was a ceremony meant to induct Smith into the folds of their society, and Pocahontas's role in "saving him" was the demonstration of the tribe's willingness to incorporate Smith and the white strangers into the Powhatan's empire.

Explain the social changes that occurred as a result of the Great Puritan Migration of the 1630s.

The accepted wisdom is that the Puritans were forced to flee England and Europe because they were being persecuted for their religious beliefs, and that they arrived in the Americas (which they regarded as an empty, previously untrodden land, despite the presence of the Native Americans) with ideas of creating a new society built on the ideal of freedom.

What do Roger Williams' and Anne Hutchinson's narratives reveal about Puritan culture?

The promise of a godly society and the puritan's emphasis on individual Bible study led New Englanders toward different visions of godliness. The smallest of errors or differences in doctrine and policy created unproportionate rifts.

Explain the causes and consequences of Bacon's Rebellion.

-Cause: Nathanial Bacon grouped together and angry mob to burn Jamestown and Indian settlements as a protest for the reason that they didn't get any protection from the government.

-Consequences: He burned Jamestown to the ground and then bacon sudden illness and death ended the rebellion and hanged bacons followers

Describe what Jonathan Edwards meant by the term "Sense of the heart."

He is describing a spiritual touch, a leading beyond words, yet something distinct from impulse, gut reaction, or mere sensuality.

What impact did George Whitefield's evangelical revivals have on marginalized people?

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The Awakening challenged the social order of the South because slaves were as welcome as anyone else. The idea of salvation being available to anyone directly from God, regardless of race, gender or economic class, made church a thoroughly democratic experience. People became more tolerant, seeing themselves not as members of a particular religious group but as Americans who shared convictions about virtue, united in opposition against any establishment that tried to tell them how to think, feel or behave. In many ways, it prepared the colonists to defy the king and start a revolution.

Explain the significance of Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Conunon Sense" on the American Revolution.

Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Written in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government.

Describe the economic system of "Mercantilism" and how it contributed to conflict in the English American Colonies.

Mercantilism is 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. It is often considered an outdated system.

Mercantilism led to the adoption of enormous trade restrictions, though, which stunted the growth and freedom of colonial business. In the 1660s, for example, Great Britain passed the Navigation Acts. These were a series of laws designed to make American colonies more dependent on manufactured products from England.

Demonstrate how environmental changes associated with the Columbian Exchange transformed American and Europe.

The European presence in America spurred countless changes in the environment, negatively affecting native animals as well as people. The popularity of beaver-trimmed hats in Europe, coupled with Indians' desire for European weapons, led to the overhunting of beavers in the Northeast. Soon, beavers were extinct in New England, New York, and other areas. With their loss came the loss of beaver ponds, which had served as habitats for fish as well as water sources for deer, moose, and other animals. Furthermore, Europeans introduced pigs, which they allowed to forage in forests and other wildlands. Pigs consumed the foods on which deer and other indigenous species depended, resulting in scarcity of the game native peoples had traditionally hunted.
European ideas about owning land as private property clashed with natives' understanding of land use. Native peoples did not believe in private ownership of land; instead, they viewed land as a resource to be held in common for the benefit of the group. Colonizers erected fields, fences, and other means of demarcating private property. Native peoples who moved seasonally to take advantage of natural resources now found areas off limits, claimed by colonizers.

Define Deism

belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe

How did the Great Awakening contribute to English American colonists shifting sense of identity?

the Great Awakening was a movement rooted in spiritual growth which brought a national identity to Colonial America.

Explain the "Imperial War" impact on colonial/metropole relations.

There were four (4) wars between Great Britain, France and Spain, which took place from 1689 to 1763. These wars were not only fought in Europe but also in India and North Africa. The ultimate winner was to control most of the global Colonial Trade, including the West Indies, Canada and the Thirteen Colonies.