Ch 4 - Growth, Diversity, and Conflict

Tenancy

The rental of property, commonly used in New York's Hudson River Valley where wealthy manorial lords granted long leases. It was significant because it made it incredibly difficult for poor farmers to ever gain their own land and independent wealth.

Competency

The ability of a family to keep a household solvent, independent, and capable of passing that financial stability to the next generation. It was the primary economic and social goal of New England freeholders.

Household Mode of Production

A system of exchanging goods and labor that helped 18th-century New England freeholders survive on shrinking farms. It maximized agricultural output and preserved the freehold ideal as the population grew and land became scarce.

Squatters

Immigrants who illegally settled on land they did not own or rent. Many new migrants to Pennsylvania took this route, creating major conflicts with Native Americans and the Penn family over land claims.

Redemptioner

A flexible form of indentured servitude that allowed families to negotiate their own terms upon arrival. It was heavily used by German immigrants settling in the Middle Colonies, shaping the region's ethnic diversity.

Enlightenment

An 18th-century philosophical movement that stressed human reasoning, scientific observation, and natural rights. It fundamentally changed colonial thought by encouraging people to question traditional authority and royal governance.

Pietism

A Christian revival movement characterized by a deeply emotional and personal connection to God. It sparked the Great Awakening in the colonies, drastically changing American religious culture and challenging established churches.

Natural Rights

The fundamental human rights to life, liberty, and property. Coined by John Locke, this Enlightenment concept became the core justification for representative government and eventually the American Revolution.

Deism

The Enlightenment-influenced belief that God created the universe and then stepped back, allowing it to run according to natural scientific laws. It was embraced by influential colonial leaders like Benjamin Franklin.

Revival

A massive, emotional outpouring of religious enthusiasm. These gatherings were the hallmark of the Great Awakening, bringing together diverse groups of people and undermining traditional, tax-supported church structures.

Old Lights

Conservative, traditional ministers who strongly opposed the passion, emotionalism, and theatricality of the Great Awakening revivals.

New Lights

Evangelical preachers and converts who embraced the emotionalism of the Great Awakening. They were highly important for founding new colleges (like Princeton and Brown) and challenging traditional religious authority.

Consumer Revolution

A massive increase in the consumption of English manufactured goods in the colonies. While it raised living standards, it also plunged many colonists and colonial economies into deep consumer debt.

Regulators

Landowning protestors in the Carolinas who demanded fair political representation and fairer taxes in the western frontier. They highlighted the intense, growing conflicts between the wealthy Eastern elites and poorer Western farmers.

Isaac Newton

A major figure of the scientific revolution who used math and physics to explain the movement of the planets. His work undermined traditional religious explanations of natural events, laying the groundwork for the Enlightenment.

John Locke

An highly influential English philosopher who argued that government requires the consent of the governed and must protect natural rights. His writings directly inspired the American independence movement.

Benjamin Franklin

The founder of the Pennsylvania Gazette and a prominent Deist. He was the most famous exemplar of the American Enlightenment, advancing science, print culture, and secular reasoning in the colonies.

Jonathan Edwards

A Massachusetts minister whose terrifying, highly popular sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" helped spark the Great Awakening by encouraging deep religious fear and repentance.

George Whitefield

An incredibly charismatic English minister who traveled the colonies delivering highly emotional sermons. He was the primary catalyst for spreading the Great Awakening across all of British North America.

Tanaghrisson

An Iroquois "half-king" who sparked the French and Indian War by killing a French officer in the Ohio Valley. His actions forced the British to defend George Washington and enter a massive global conflict with France.

William Pitt

The British statesman and master strategist who committed massive resources to the Great War for Empire. His leadership resulted in Britain's victory and the total expulsion of France from North American colonies.

Pontiac

An Ottawa chief who led a major Native American rebellion against British colonists encroaching on their lands after the French and Indian War. His uprising led directly to the British issuing the Proclamation Line of 1763.

What was the primary role of women in the New England household economy?

They were legally and socially subordinate to men, lost all property rights upon marriage, and were expected to remain silent around company while performing crucial household labor and raising large families.

As the New England population grew rapidly and inheritance land became scarce, how did farmers adapt their agricultural practices?

They abandoned traditional European wheat farming and shifted to growing high-yielding maize (corn) and raising livestock to maintain their competency.

Why did a massive influx of German immigrants move to the Middle Colonies?

They sought to escape harsh military conscription, heavy taxes, and religious persecution in Europe, finding Pennsylvania's religious freedom appealing.

Why did Scots-Irish settlers migrate to North America, and how did they generally interact with Native Americans?

They fled the Irish Test Act (which restricted voting to Anglicans) to seek religious freedom; on the colonial frontier, they were notoriously hostile and violent toward Native Americans.

The Middle Colonies, particularly Pennsylvania, became the most _____ diverse region in British North America, though different immigrant groups still mostly married within their own communities.

Ethnically

Despite William Penn previously advocating for fair payment for land, the Penn family notoriously claimed Native American land near Philadelphia as waves of new immigrants became _____ to survive.

Squatters

How did the slow development of colonial roads and waterways impact society?

Despite being difficult and costly to build, they drastically increased the flow of information, goods, and print culture (like newspapers) across the colonies, tying them closer together.

The _____ _____ fundamentally undermined traditional religious authority, leading to the development of new, independent churches and the founding of New Light colleges to train ministers.

Great Awakening

Why did the Baptist insurgency in the South appeal so strongly to African Americans and poor whites?

The Baptists focused on adult baptism and preached the radical, egalitarian message that all people were considered equal in the eyes of God.

To suppress the growing influence of the Baptist insurgency among enslaved people, the wealthy Virginia House of Burgesses made it illegal to _____ to slaves without their owner's direct permission.

Preach

What specific event was the initial spark of the French and Indian War?

Violent land disputes in the Ohio River Valley, where a young George Washington led a Virginia militia to challenge French forts in Pennsylvania.

What was the primary purpose of the Albany Congress, and what famous proposal was made there?

The congress aimed to keep the powerful Iroquois Confederacy allied with the British; Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union ("Join or Die") to unite the colonies.

Why was the Albany Plan of Union ultimately rejected by both the colonial legislatures and the British government?

Colonial legislatures rejected it because they fiercely disliked the idea of shared taxes, and the British rejected it because they feared giving the colonies too much centralized independence.

During the Imperial Wars, politicians and colonists who strongly favored conflict and aggressive military expansion against the French and Spanish were known as _____ _____.

War Hawks

Following their victory in the French and Indian War, Great Britain took control of French territory in North America, which caused Native Americans to lose a vital _____ partner and military ally.

Trading

What was the Proclamation Line of 1763, and why did the British government issue it?

A royal decree prohibiting colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains, issued to prevent further costly and violent conflicts with Native Americans after Pontiac's Rebellion.

The violent March of the Paxton Boys involved Scots-Irish frontiersmen in Pennsylvania aggressively massacring Native Americans over disputes regarding _____.

Land

Both the Regulator Movement in the Carolinas and the Paxton Boys uprising in Pennsylvania highlighted the intense, growing political and economic conflicts between the wealthy _____ and the poorer, underrepresented _____.

East; West

While colonial militiamen fought alongside British regulars during the French and Indian War, British officers strictly limited promotions so that colonists could only rise so far, creating early feelings of _____ among Americans.

Resentment (or Inequality)