New England and Religious Change Lecture Review

Flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture on New England society, religious changes, political events, and intellectual movements.

New England Society (1600s)

Largely based on religion and intolerant of dissent.

British Reassertion of Control (Colonies)

Achieved through revoking charters, dissolving governments, and enforcing trade laws.

The Enlightenment

An intellectual and cultural movement whose attitudes spread along international trade routes, emphasizing reason to improve society.

The Great Awakening

A revival of faith that swept through the colonies during the 1730s, leading to new congregations and emphasizing that Christians be "reborn."

New England Life Expectancy

Healthier than England, gained 5 years of life expectancy.

Women's Role in Massachusetts

Excluded from town meetings and decision-making in the church.

New England Self-Government

Composed of a governor and a two-house legislature.

General Court (New England)

Approved land grants for establishing towns.

New England Economy (Early)

Diversified family farms producing for subsistence and local sale, alongside coastal seaports bustling with trade, cod fishing, whaling, and shipbuilding.

Puritan New England Authority

The Bible, as interpreted by ministers and magistrates, was the ultimate source of authority.

Nonconformity (Puritan New England)

Citizens who strayed from conventional religious customs were considered a threat to civil order and punished.

Roger Williams' Beliefs

Preached that land belonged to Indians, church and state should be separate, and Puritans shouldn't impose ideas on others.

Providence (Rhode Island)

Founded by Roger Williams in 1636 after his banishment from Massachusetts.

Anne Hutchinson's Teachings

Claimed the faithful could communicate directly with God, questioning the institutional church and its ministers.

Antinomianism

A term used by Puritans to describe Anne Hutchinson's teachings, implying a discarding of the moral law.

Massachusetts Colony (Political Stance)

Considered itself an independent commonwealth, leading to conflict with the Crown's mercantilist expectations.

Navigation Acts (New England)

Crown's efforts to reassert control over trade, enforced more strictly in New England.

King James II's Centralization

Attempted to centralize English strength around the throne, creating the Dominion of New England.

Dominion of New England

An enormous colony created by King James II that eliminated several existing colonial governments.

Glorious Revolution (1688)

Led to the establishment of an English nation with limited monarchical power and protections for subjects.

English Toleration Act of 1689

Promoted greater religious diversity in the Empire.

Salem Witchcraft Hysteria (Timeframe)

A tragic climax in Massachusetts's transition from Puritan utopia to royal colony in 1692

–1693.

Characteristics of Witchcraft Suspects (Salem)

Mostly middle-aged women who had angered their neighbors.

Factors Contributing to Salem Accusations

Boredom, strong belief in the occult, disputes, rivalries, personal differences, cold weather, ergot poisoning, and PTSD.

Impact of Salem Witchcraft Trials

Signaled the beginning of the end of Puritanism as a potent force and triggered a distrust of government.

Rationalism (Enlightenment)

The idea that humans are capable of using their faculty of reason to gain knowledge.

Empiricism (Enlightenment)

Promotes the idea that knowledge comes from experience and observation of the world.

Progressivism (Enlightenment)

The belief that through reason and observation, humans could make unlimited, linear progress over time.

Cosmopolitanism (Enlightenment)

Viewing oneself as a citizen of the world and actively engaged in it.

Deism (Enlightenment)

A belief in a God who created but has no continuing involvement in the world.

Itinerants (Great Awakening)

Outspoken traveling evangelists who challenged local parish ministers and insisted on believers being

"reborn."