Colonial America, 1607-1775 1st EXAM Moore class (copy)

13 British colonies

New England- CT, RI, MA, NH
Middle- DE, PA, NJ, NY
Southern- VA, MD, NC, SC, GA

Where were the first settlers from?

The British isles: England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales

Define Push factors; what were specific push factors?

terrible conditions that pushed Europeans to come to the colonies (overcrowded cities, wars, the threat of conscription, crime, lack of land, religious persecution, forced deportation, forced migration of blacks from West Africa).

Define pull factors; what were specific pull factors?

things that attracted them to the new world (improve economic situation, abundance of land for farming, practice religion without government interference/persecution, desire for adventure).

Explain loyalty

Regardless of where the colonists originally came from, they considered themselves loyal to the British Crown.

Explain deference

The colonists were supposed to accept the wishes and policies of their "social betters" or wealthier/upper class/gender. Everyone deferred to the British monarchs.

Explain the colonial class structure

Elite (gentry): planters and wealthiest merchants. Copied fashion of European aristocracy. Wore shoes with buckles/silk shirts/etc.

Middle sort: small farmers, coach makers, clockmakers, wig makers, artisans. They could vote if they owned enough property.

Next were propertyless men who could not vote.

Last were servants/slaves.

Who was Robert Livingstone? What does he exemplify about colonial America?

Went from being town clerk to owning 160,000 acres in just 21 years. This shows that in colonial America, you are not entitled your class structure your entire life; there is room for change.

Was colonial America overwhelmingly urban or rural?

Overwhelmingly Rural (90%). Farming was the most common occupation and they made the things they used.

Who legally headed colonial families?

White males; acted as family representative.

Explain the legal restrictions on married colonial woman

Any property a woman bought/her income went to the husband. Women could not vote/hold office, sign contracts, draft wills, or sued/be sued.

Martha Ballard

colonial midwife who delivered 797 babies in 27 years.

Why was socialization among the colonies so important?

Socialization helped politicize the colonists.

In terms of government, what did all 13 colonies have?

1. Governors, elected legislative assemblies, and courts. Qualified voters chose the members of the lower assembly.

What did one historian have to say about "self-government?"

"Settlers enjoyed the greatest degree of self-government known anywhere on earth- even more than the English people at home."

Who dominated the colonial assemblies? Connect the colonial ordinaries and deference to those who dominated the assemblies.

The colonial elite served in the assemblies, and they were expected to by the ordinaries. Because the ordinaries were lower ranked than the "gentry" or elite, they thought that the only the rich possessed enough wisdom and capacity to govern.

How did the colonial gentry use the power of the purse?

Royal officials knew that if they antagonized their colonial subjects too much, the elite representatives could retaliate by not paying their salaries. "2 masters: one who gives him commission (the crown) and one who gives pay."

How did well-to-do candidates for political purpose seek votes? Use George Washington to support your statement.

Wealthy candidates supplied ordinary colonists with food and drink. George Washington in 1758 wanted a seat in the House of Burgesses, so he sought votes by offering the voters 34 gallons of wine, 13 gallons of beer, 40 gallons of rum, 3 pints of brandy, and eight quarts of cider.

In 1776, how many of the 13 colonies required taxpayer support for religious denominations? What was the established church in Puritan MA? What was the established church in colonial VA?

1. 9
2. The Congregational Church.
3. The Anglican Church, or the Church of England.

What restrictions did the colonists place on Catholics?

Prohibited them from holding public church services, did not permit Catholics the right to vote/hold office.

Connect the colonists to god and nature. Connect the colonists to god and prosperity.

1. God showed his happiness/anger by intervening in people's lives and in nature (storms/sickness/health). He punished sinners and blessed those he favored.
2. God approved of wealth and prosperity; believed it was God's will.

Why were the colonial cities small? Which colonial city was the largest in 1775?

Few factories bc manufactured goods exported from England. Philadelphia was the largest in 1775.

Summarize colonial roads. In addition, how long did a colonist need to travel 5,000 miles via ship from Boston to London?

Terrible, dusty, slow travel, impassable in winter. Carried axes. 6-8 weeks to clear 5,000 miles from Boston to London via ship.

What was the lifeblood of the colonies?

Foreign trade (based on mercantilism, or regulating foreign trade).

Define, explain, and understand mercantilism.

Regulate trade. The dominant economic practice of most European countries. Governed the economic relationship between England and its thirteen North American colonies. Based on extracting wealth from foreign lands (colonies). Goal of mercantilism is to increase the mother country's wealth. Example is the Navigation Acts.

Who were vital to the colonial economy? Why?

Colonial merchants because of the importance of foreign trade. Besides being a retailer, the merchant also was a wholesaler, a banker, an insurance agent, and a shipbuilder.

Explain how the Massachusetts Puritans tried to create a "Bible Commonwealth."

To make a righteous colony based on their interpretation of the Scriptures, the Puritans used saintly standards to judge the behavior of village residents. Those who acted immorally were summoned before the church elders. Residents were forbidden to work, play, or travel on the Sabbath. Sabbath-breaking activities (flute playing, smoking a pipe, visiting neighbors, colorful clothing, cards, etc.) resulted in fines.

Identify Anne Hutchinson

1. Anne Hutchinson- (Boston, 1634) Mother of 14 children, served as valuable midwife. Preached from her home. Attacked Puritan doctrine. She was put on trial and said that if anyone tried to harm her, God would curse them. She was banished from the colony and killed, along with most of her family, by Indians.

Identify Roger Williams.

2. Roger Williams- (Massachusetts, 1631) English minister who told the Puritans that taxes should not support the Church, that they had no right to seize Indian lands, and they should not force religion on others. Banished from colony. He ended up helping to found the colony of Rhode Island and established Baptist religion there. Puritans were very forceful and unfair in the treatment of others, and were forceful with religion and ideas.

What do the cases of Hutchinson, Williams, and the Quakers reveal about the Puritans?

This shows that the Puritans or intolerant to people who did not agree with them, and they would go to any likes to keep their Bible Commonwealth safe

Why did the Puritans call their Massachusetts colony "a city upon the hill." Connect this answer to the "Mission of America." Make sure you can define and explain "Mission of America." What have been both the positive and negative consequences of this "Mission?"

1. Models righteousness for the rest of the world to copy; belief that the rest of the world should be like the U.S.
2. The belief that we are exceptional people living in an exceptional country and that everyone else in the world should want to be like us.
3. Positives- immigration to the U.S has nearly always outstripped emigration from it; people long for democracy/freedom/higher standards of living. Negatives- The U.S tries to force this idea on other countries thru military interventions and occupation in Central America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

What was the most important government in colonial New England? What kinds of decisions did this type of government make?

Town Meeting (self-government). Spoke on local issues/levied taxes/settled disputes/surveyed land.

What were the most important industries in colonial New England? What was New England's number-one export?

1. (SEA) Timber for ship construction, shipbuilding, and fishing. Second was rum making.
2. Fish (dried salt codfish).

Who dominated New England's economy? What did their success create?

Merchants in Boston. Maldistribution of wealth (richest 5% owned one half the city's wealth).

1. In the seventeenth century, was the mortality rate lower in New England or in the Chesapeake? 2. Which section was healthier?

1. New England

What are the two most important points about the middle colonies?

1. More ethnically and religiously diverse than any other colonial section
2. Breadbasket of colonial America

What factors explain the ethnic diversity of the middle colonies, including Pennsylvania?

1. Middle colonies were more religiously tolerant than New England/Virginia.
2. Many immigrants came to these colonies for rich soil for crops.

What was the middle colonies' number-one export?

Flour

Why do I consider the Quakers the most important group in colonial Pennsylvania?

Different from other colonists:
1. Quakers were pacifists (rejected violence/war).
2. Rejected hierarchy (rank of importance).
3. First colonial group to publicly condemn slavery.

What was the first permanent English settlement in North America? What characterized this settlement in the early years of its existence?

Jamestown, Virginia (1607); Disease, management, and starvation.

What largely turned around the fortunes of the Virginia colony?

The appalling conditions led English King James to take away the Virginia colony from the joint-stock company and put it under his control; Virginia's governor now appointed by the king.

1. What was the House of Burgesses?
2. Established when?
3. Who dominated it?

1. A legislative assembly elected by eligible voters.
2. 1619
3. Adult white men w/ certain amount of property/Elite.

What was the most important colonial export on the eve of the Revolutionary War?

Tobacco

1. Define and explain indentured servitude.

People would come from other countries to America by ship, and they would work for free for colonial farmers.

2. Why were poor Europeans willing to become indentured servants?

Because they came in hopes of getting land when their boss died

3. About how many prisoners came as indentured servants to colonial America in the eighteenth century?

30,000

4. What were the characteristics of most indentured servants?

Poor white males: ages, 15 to 25

5. What percentage of Chesapeake indentured servants were women?

25%

6. What did colonial law stipulate and assume about female servants?

Females could not be married because they cannot serve two masters at once

Was literacy more common in the colonies or in Europe?

Colonies

why was colonial literacy important?

It helped to politicize the colonies

George Washington

Virginia militiaman; lead the Continental army; fought for Britain: Seven Years' War, 1754-1763; at FCC in Philad. 1709-1774

George Grenville

British Prime Minister 1763-65

George III

British King 1760-1820; lost the 13 colonies

Samuel Adams

Harvard degrees; fired mercantile firm; indifferent about making beer like father; 4 children died; wife died after childbirth; messenger/agitator; Niche=politics; Genuine revolutionary with burning sense of indignation about British politics; attended FCC 1709-74
Significance-

1. organized Boston's working class
2. Created Boston's Sons of Liberty
3. Reminded people about "British Tyranny"

Ebenezer Mackintosh

Agitator; Boston shoemaker; led violent protests against British politics

Andrew Oliver

Born in colonies; Boston stamp distributer; land wealthy, effigy hanged; loyal 2 British crown

Sons of Liberty

Protest groups formed after Stamp Act; included ordinaries

Thomas Hutchinson

Born in colonies; Lieutenant Governor; Governor of MA; loyal to crown

John Dickinson

Philad. lawyer; Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania- response to "Townshend Duties"

Daughters of Liberty

Women; wouldn't buy British clothing; made it in own homes

John Adams

MA lawyer; Sam's cousin; lawyer for British soldiers--Boston Massacre; attended FCC

Sam Adams

VA lawyer; great orator; early on opposed British policies; "give me liberty or give me death."

Who fought whom in the Seven Years' War?

1. American colonists and British against French & Indians.

What effects did this war have on the British colonists (both during and after the conflict)?

2. During the war the colonists prospered (shoemakers, tailors, bakers, shipbuilders); kept busy despite hardships after war (700 men died, left widows and orphans).

What additional point did I make about this war?

Colonists gained valuable experience, that they will use against England in the revolutionary war

1. What was the name of the treaty that ended the Seven Year's War?
2. Who were the winners?
3. Loser?

1. Treaty of Paris
2. England and colonists
3. France

Why is the Seven Year's War significant?

• Empire grew larger/expensive

• Debt doubled

• result- revenue needed; taxes on colonists

• Taxes helped lead to Rev.War

Explain the provisions of the Stamp Act of 1765, What was its purpose?

• Tax on all colonial paper products

• Refusal to pay tried without a jury.

• Purpose: Generate revenue.

Difference between the Stamp Act and the Navigation Acts?

Nav. Acts- trade regulation; Stamp Act- Direct taxation.

Explain the connection between the Stamp Act and political representation. Make sure you know how the Crown and the colonists differed over the issue of political representation.

Parliament represents all in empire.

Colonial view- impossible; we can't vote for Parliament. Thought taxation w/out rep. Affected businessmen/lawyers most.

How did Grenville attempt to make the Stamp Act less objectionable?

Pay colonists to collect tax. Colonists made street protests in response. In the end there was no distribution or collection.

Where did the First stamp act protest occur?

Boston

Who organized the first major protest against the Stamp Act?

1. Sam Adams
2. Boston
3. Convince Oliver to resign
4. - 2k people, including ordinaries decapitated and burned effigy
- Destroyed part of mansion/drank his wine
- Grenville ran away and resigned
5. Yes; no stamps got distributed.

What was the first stamp act protest’s purpose?

To get Oliver to resigned his position of tax collector

Summarize the first stamp act protest

2000 people, including ordinaries, decapitated and burned effigy

• Destroyed part of his mansion, and drink some of his wine

Did the first stamp act protest accomplish its purpose?

Yes, Oliver resigned

Connect the late August 1765 Stamp Act protest in Boston to Thomas Hutchinson.

- Mob demolished much of his mansion.
- Defaced his paintings, stole his $, china, family silver
- Cut down his trees

What effect did violent protests carried out by colonial ordinaries have on the colonial elite?

Elite's reaction- frightened that mob might turn on them

What type of protests did the elite prefer?

peaceful protests

What were non-importation agreements?

boycott on British goods- colonial legislature petitioned crown for repeal.

What was the colonial reasoning behind such agreements?

Hurt British exports

In addition, what was the Stamp Act Congress of Oct. 1765?

27 delegates, 9 colonies, petition to crown

What decisions did the Stamp Act Congress make?

• Only our assemblies can tax colonists, and we're still loyal to subjects

What kind of protest do the non-importation agreements and the Stamp Act congress exemplify?

Peaceful protests

What did the British Parliament do with the Stamp Act?

Repealed it; Declaratory Act of 1766.; Pass any law regarding colonies.

What law replaced the stamp act? Summarize this replacement.

Declaratory Act of 1766.; Parliament asserted its ability to pass any law regarding colonies.

Explain the provisions of the Townshend Duties of 1767.

Several imports on list (lead, paint, glass, tea, and paper). To use, colonists must pay tax.

Who provided the most notable reaction to these Townsend duties taxes? What was the ides behind the letters from a farmer in Pennsylvanian

Paul Dickinson’s Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania

What was the ides behind the letters from a farmer in Pennsylvania

parliament could regulate trade, but could not use its power to tax colonist without their consent

Some colonial cities responded to the Townshend Duties by approving "non-consumption agreements."What were these agreements? What was the idea behind them?

Don't buy, sell, or use British goods; Economic boycott to hurt British exporters.

Connect colonial women to the Townshend Duties.

Dedication to protest; in homes, made some items on boycott list.

The British Parliament repealed the Townshend Duties except for one tax. What was it?

tea

What conclusion did Bostonians reach when 3,000 British troops arrived there in 1768? Why did they reach such a conclusion?

Crown going to use troops to crack down; Monarchs used troops against own people.

Connect Samuel Adams to the Boston Massacre.

He wanted to Remember and commemorate Massacre

Why did John Adams defend British soldiers accused of killing his fellow colonists?

Even unpopular defendants deserve a fair trial

How did Britain create a furor in 1772? Why did Massachusetts colonists object to this announcement?

Parliament will now pay salaries of royal judges in MA.

• Judges paid by crown are loyal to crown. Fair trials became less likely.

What were Committees of Correspondence?

Propaganda groups led by elite. Medium- newspapers, pamphlets.

What what was the purpose of the committees of correspondence?

To get people living west of seaport cities to join protest movement.

What was the revolutionary message for the committees of correspondence?

All white colonists, regardless of social class, had equal rights to life, liberty, and property; British laws attacked that right.