Early American History Study Guide

### Magna Carta

  • When: 1215 in England.
  • What: A document that legally limited the king's power and established basic rights for individuals, including the right to a fair trial.
  • Significance: It was a crucial step towards modern constitutional law and influenced documents like the U.S. Constitution.

### Philosophies of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes

  • Similar: Both believed in a social contract where people give up some freedom for government protection.
  • Hobbes: Argued people are naturally selfish and violent. An absolute ruler (like a monarch) with unlimited power is necessary to maintain order and prevent chaos.
  • Locke: Believed people have inherent natural rights (life, liberty, property) that government must protect. He advocated for a limited government accountable to the people, who have the right to rebel if their rights are violated.

### Jamestown Challenges

  • Environment: The swampy location led to widespread diseases like malaria and contaminated water.
  • Food and Conflict: Settlers lacked farming skills, faced severe food shortages (the "Starving Time"), and had hostile relations with the Powhatan Native Americans.
  • Leadership: Early years suffered from unstable and ineffective leadership.

### Jamestown Social Hierarchy

  • Planter Elite: Wealthy landowners who held significant political and economic power.
  • Small Farmers: Individuals owning and working smaller plots of land.
  • Indentured Servants: Mostly Europeans who exchanged 4-7 years of labor for passage to America and basic provisions.
  • Enslaved Africans: Introduced in 1619, they were at the bottom of the hierarchy, subjected to forced labor with no rights, a status that rapidly became hereditary chattel slavery.

### Bacon's Rebellion

  • Causes: Discontent among poor farmers and former indentured servants who wanted land and protection from Native American attacks, but felt ignored by Governor William Berkeley's wealthy-favoring policies.
  • Effects:
    • Short-term: Brief conflict, exposed deep social divisions.
    • Long-term: Led to a decrease in reliance on indentured servitude and a significant increase in the use of enslaved African labor to create a more controllable workforce.

### Important Occurrences in 1619

  • First Representative Assembly: The Virginia House of Burgesses was established, marking the first step towards self-government in the English colonies.
  • First Enslaved Africans Arrived: Introduced to Virginia, marking the beginning of institutionalized slavery in British North America.
  • "Tobacco Brides": More English women arrived to marry settlers, promoting family life and stability in the colony.