Untitled Flashcard Set

1. Native Americans, Environment, and Regions

• Diversity: Hundreds of distinct Native American tribes with varied cultures, languages, and social structures.

• Adaptation to Environment:

  • Eastern Woodlands: Hunter-gatherers, farming (Three Sisters – corn, beans, squash), river-based societies (e.g., Iroquois, Algonquian).

  • Great Plains: Nomadic hunters (buffalo), adapted to grasslands, later horse cultures (e.g., Sioux, Cheyenne).

  • Southwest: Arid climate, agriculture (corn), irrigation systems, settled societies in pueblos (e.g., Anasazi, Pueblo).

  • Pacific Northwest: Rich marine resources, fishing, hunting, elaborate artistic traditions (e.g., Kwakiutl, Chinook).

2. Columbian Exchange

• Definition: The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas (New World) and the Old World (Europe, Africa, Asia) in the 15^{th} and 16^{th} centuries.

• Impacts:

  • From Old to New World: Horses, cattle, pigs, wheat, rice, coffee, smallpox, measles, influenza.

  • From New to Old World: Corn, potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, cacao, syphilis.

  • Demographic Catastrophe: Diseases decimated Native American populations.

3. Religious Tolerance in Colonial America

• Variations Across Colonies:

  • New England (e.g., Massachusetts Bay): Generally intolerant, founded by Puritans seeking religious freedom for themselves, but not for others (e.g., banishment of Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson).

  • Middle Colonies (e.g., Pennsylvania, Maryland):

  • Pennsylvania: Founded by William Penn for Quakers, promoted religious freedom and peaceful relations with Native Americans.

  • Maryland: Founded by Lord Baltimore as a refuge for Catholics, passed the Maryland Toleration Act of 1649 (granted religious freedom to Trinitarian Christians).

  • Southern Colonies: Often Anglican as the established church, but generally more diverse in practice due to economic motivations for settlement.

4. Colonial Interactions with Native Americans

• Cooperation and Trade: Early alliances (e.g., Squanto with Pilgrims), fur trade.

• Conflict: Land disputes, cultural misunderstandings, and competition for resources led to wars (e.g., Pueblo Revolt, King Philip's War/Metacom's War).

• Disease and Displacement: European diseases severely weakened Native populations, making them vulnerable to displacement and conquest.

5. Founding of British Colonies

• Motivations: Economic opportunity (e.g., gold, tobacco), religious freedom (e.g., Puritan Separatists), political dissent.

• Key Colonies:

  • Jamestown, Virginia (1607): First permanent English settlement, economic venture (tobacco).

  • Plymouth, Massachusetts (1620): Pilgrim Separatists seeking religious freedom, Mayflower Compact.

  • Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630): Puritans seeking to create a "city upon a hill."

6. Slavery, Slave Codes (Laws), and Rebellion

• Development of Slavery: Introduced early (1619 in Virginia), evolved from indentured servitude to chattel slavery based on race.

• Slave Codes: Laws passed in Southern colonies to control enslaved people and maintain the institution of slavery. Examples:

  • Defined enslaved status as lifelong and hereditary.

  • Restricted movement, assembly, and education of enslaved individuals.

  • Legalized brutal punishments and violence against enslaved people.

• Rebellions: Rare but significant acts of resistance (e.g., Stono Rebellion, 1739 – largest slave revolt in the British mainland colonies before the Revolution).

7. Colonial Regions and Agriculture

• New England Colonies (e.g., Massachusetts, Rhode Island):

  • Agriculture: Rocky soil, short growing season; subsistence farming (corn, beans).

  • Economy: Fishing, shipbuilding, shipping, rum distillation, timber.

• Middle Colonies (e.g., New York, Pennsylvania):

  • Agriculture: Fertile soil, longer growing season; "breadbasket colonies" (wheat, corn, livestock).

  • Economy: Diverse; trade, crafts, shipbuilding.

• Southern Colonies (e.g., Virginia, Carolina, Georgia):

  • Agriculture: Long growing season, rich soil; cash crops like tobacco, rice, indigo.

  • Economy: Plantation system, relied heavily on enslaved labor.

8. Mercantilism and Navigation Acts

• Mercantilism: Economic theory that states a nation's power is based on its wealth (especially gold and silver). Colonies exist to benefit the mother country.

  • Goals: Maximize exports, minimize imports, accumulate bullion, establish colonies as sources of raw materials and markets for finished goods.

• Navigation Acts (starting 1651): Series of English laws to enforce mercantilist policies.

  • Requirements: Colonial trade to be carried on English or colonial ships; certain "enumerated goods" (e.g., tobacco, sugar) could only be shipped to England.

  • Impact: Boosted English shipping, sparked colonial smuggling, eventually contributed to resentment leading to revolution.

9. French and Indian War (1754-1763) and Proclamation of 1763

• French and Indian War (Seven Years' War):

  • Cause: Competition between Britain and France over control of the Ohio River Valley and overall North American dominance.

  • Outcome: British victory, France lost almost all its North American territory. Britain gained vast new land.

• Proclamation of 1763: Issued by the British Crown after the war.

  • Content: Forbade colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

  • Purpose: Avert further conflicts with Native Americans (e.g., Pontiac's Rebellion) and control westward expansion.

  • Colonial Reaction: Ignored and resented by colonists eager for western lands, seen as an infringement on their rights.

10. End of Salutary Neglect

• Salutary Neglect: Unofficial British policy of relaxed enforcement of parliamentary laws (especially trade laws) in the colonies from the early 18^{th} century to the French and Indian War.

• End: After the French and Indian War, Britain ended salutary neglect to:

  • Cover massive war debt.

  • Administer new territories.

  • Assert greater control over colonies.

• Impact: Led to new taxes (e.g., Sugar Act, Stamp Act) and stricter enforcement, sparking widespread colonial protest.

11. Women in the Revolution

• Roles: Varied and essential, often overlooked.

  • "Camp Followers": Wives and women who followed armies, providing essential services like cooking, laundry, nursing.

  • Maintain Home Front: Managed farms and businesses while men were at war.

  • Boycotts: Participated in boycotts of British goods, producing homespun cloth (Daughters of Liberty).

  • Spies and Messengers: Some served as spies or carried messages.

  • "Republican Motherhood": Post-war ideal that women had a civic duty to educate their children in republican virtues, elevating their status in the domestic sphere.

12. Thomas Paine - "Common Sense" (1776)

• Content: A powerful, widely read pamphlet arguing for immediate American independence from British rule.

• Key Arguments:

  • Monarchy is an illogical and corrupt form of government.

  • Britain's rule was detrimental to American interests.

  • America had a moral obligation to seek independence and establish a republican government.

• Impact: Persuaded many undecided colonists of the necessity of independence, using plain language accessible to common people.

13. Enlightenment and Great Awakening

• Enlightenment (late 17^{th} to 18^{th} centuries):

  • Definition: An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, individualism, and scientific inquiry.

  • Key Ideas: Natural rights (life, liberty, property), social contract, separation of powers, popular sovereignty.

  • Influence on Revolution: Provided the philosophical basis for challenging British authority and advocating for self-government.

• Great Awakening (1730s-1740s):

  • Definition: A series of religious revivals that swept through the American colonies.

  • Key Ideas: Emphasized personal piety, emotional religious experience, democratic spirit in religion (individual relationship with God).

  • Influence on Revolution: Fostered a sense of shared American identity, challenged established authority (both religious and secular), and promoted individual liberty.

14. Philosophical Foundation of the Revolution

• Core Ideas: Heavily influenced by Enlightenment thinkers, especially John Locke.

  • Natural Rights: Inherent rights to life, liberty, and property that government cannot take away.

  • Social Contract Theory: People form governments to protect their natural rights; if the government fails to do so, the people have a right to alter or abolish it.

  • Popular Sovereignty: The idea that the power of government ultimately resides in the people.

  • Consent of the Governed: Government legitimacy derives from the consent of the people it governs.

15. Declaration of Independence (1776)

• Author: Primarily Thomas Jefferson.

• Purpose: To formally declare the colonies' separation from Great Britain.

• Key Principles:

  • Preamble: Articulates Enlightenment ideals (natural rights – "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness"; government's purpose is to protect these rights; right to revolution if government becomes destructive).

  • List of Grievances: Details abuses by King George III and the British Parliament (e.g., taxation without representation, quartering troops, denying trial by jury).

  • Declaration: Proclaims the colonies free and independent states.

16. Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)

• Author: George Mason.

• Content: A document that declared the inherent rights of Virginians.

• Key Rights: Freedom of the press, right to trial by jury, protection against self-incrimination, religious freedom, separation of powers, and the notion that all power is vested in the people.

• Influence: Served as a model for the U.S. Declaration of Independence (especially its statements on natural rights) and the U.S. Bill of Rights.