Colonial Era Questions Outlined

Sorry about every topic saying that it's 1, that is just the blog being bizarre

1. How did the factors of population, economics, disease, and climate shape the basic social conditions and ways of life of early Americans in both the South and New England? Suggested Topics that could be discussed:

• New England grew from immigration and natural increase in the 17th century.
• Continuity provided by longer lifespans because the Puritans had migrates are intact family units.
• Puritanism placed importance on family, was highly patriarchal in society.
• Puritanism placed great importance on education, making New England ahead of the other colonies.
• New England’s climate and soil were unsuited for large scale farming, region developed a prosperous economy based on small farming, home industry, fishing and especially trade and a large shipbuilding industry.
• Chesapeake colonies had a shorter life span, had less healthy life and survived fewer children.
• Population there steadily declined despite the constant influx of settlers
• Society was not as stable as New England’s.
• Most males became indentured servants, and the men outnumbered women, hindering the development of family life.
• Short lifespans also contributed to the region’s unstable family life.
• Chesapeake began to stabilize by the late 17th century. 
• Elite group formed dominating the social and political life in the region.
• Had vast plantations, and most citizens were small farmers, while the few elite were the plantation owners.
• Slaves in southern society began as indentured servants, but gradually changed and by the time of 1750 they made up 30 to 40 percent of the Chesapeake population.
• North Carolina followed Virginia in its economic and social development with more small farmers
• South Carolina developed a society dominated by large plantations and chattel slavery, making their economy dependent of staple crops rice and indigo.

1. Why did the initially successful indentured-servant system of labor undergo a crisis, and why was it increasingly replaced by African slavery?

• An indentured servant was typically a young unskilled laborer who came to America under contract to work for an employer for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for their ocean transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during the term of their indenture.
• Began as a positive way to come and make a life in America by paying through work instead of money, providing them a place a to stay and being treated almost as part of the masters family
• Soon it became open to serious abuse, with masters sometimes treating their servants brutally or contriving through some technicality to lengthen their terms of servitude.
• 40 percent o Chesapeake region indentured servants failed to survive long enough to gain their freedom.
• Black indentured servants soon made their transition to slavery, seeing it much easier to make them do work with no chance of freedom OR good living conditions, rather to encourage work by instilling fear .

1. How did the numbers and condition of women affect family life and society in New England, among southern whites, and among African-American slaves? Compare and contrast the typical family conditions and ways of life among various members of these three groups.

• New England: Had a fairly stable and well ordered family life in society, placing a great deal of importance on the family, with the patriarchal characteristic, causing them to see more infant birth success rates, and a natural and healthy growth in population. Also saw a longer life expectancy.  This all did correspond with the type of jobs available to them as well (i.e. fishing industry, trade and large shipbuilding).
• Southern Whites: Had a less healthy life and men largely outnumbered women in Virginia and Maryland.  This hindered the development of family life, so did the short life spans as few children reached adulthood without experiencing the death of one or both parents. 
• Slaves: Blacks outnumbered whites in the south, but were not treated as citizens, so the population of slaves was growing due to birth and the import of slaves.

1. How did the harsh climate and soil, stern religion, and tightly knit New England town shape the “Yankee character”?

• Climate and soil were unsuited for large scale farming, lead to their industry in fishing, trade, home industry and large ship building.
• The Puritan religion placed great importance on working hard for God, and also on education.  This work ethic and focus on learning is what put them ahead of other colonies educationally and had widespread literacy, because of their need to read the Bible.
• Puritanism placed a great deal of importance on family life, making them a very tight knit group that enjoyed a long lifespan due to hard work and the moral ethics that their religion taught them.

1. What factors contributed to the growing numbers and wealth of the American colonists in the eighteenth century?

• New England grew from immigration and natural increase in the 17th century.
• Continuity provided by longer lifespans because the Puritans had migrates are intact family units.
• Puritanism placed importance on family, was highly patriarchal in society.
• Even though there was the constant drain of wealth from America to Britain and Britain’s attempted to block the creation of paper money, colonial America’s economy was extremely prosperous.
• The population grew rapidly from natural increases due to prosperity and healthy environments, from large scale immigration.
• Chesapeake stabilized with death rates declining and life expectancies rising.  The wealthy elite came to play, and dominated social and political life.

1. What were the causes and consequences of the Great Awakening?

• Focus on how enlightenment, which did not defy God, but did not mention him, how that caused the colonies to not agree with such laws.
• A series of religious revivals occurring throughout the colonies from the 1720s to the 1740s.  
• Proclaimed personal repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for salvation from an otherwise certain eternity in hell.  
• The most dynamic preacher of the Great Awakening was George Whitefield.
• Results: community became divided between “old lights”, who rejected the great Awakening, and “new lights”, who accepted it, and sometimes suffered persecution because of their fervor.  Colleges were founded primarily for the purpose of educating new lights.
• The Great Awakening fostered a greater readiness to lay the claims of established authority along side with fixed standard and to reject any claims it found wanting.

1. What were the features of colonial politics that contributed to the development of popular democracy, and what were those that kept it from being more truly democratic?

• The House of Burgesses, the first of a representative government
• Many of the Northern and Middle colonies had such establishments with representative government
• Such documents as the Mayflower Compact were some of the first established constitutional like documents. Charter also provided government documents that had limitations and grants.
• Such things as the Dominion of New England were what favored the establishment of a unified government.  This would abolish representative assemblies and facilitate the imposition of the Church of England.
• Touch on Mercantilism and Navigation Acts
• New York had no representative assembly, making it very different from the rest of the colonies, but that soon changed when James broke his promise when he became king, due to New York begging for self government.
• Touch on Joint-Stock Companies

1. How did the various churches, established and non-established, affect colonial life, including education and politics, in the eighteenth century?

• Puritanism was what made New England so efficient, causing them to have the mentality of working hard and pleasing God.
• Decadence wasn’t seen as a good thing, so they only did what the absolutely needed to do.
• Education was very important because literacy was needed to read the Bible, getting the North ahead again in the realm of education, establishing schooling for their children.
• Politics largely based on religion, men could only vote if they were a member of the church for sometime.  Most Political leaders and representatives were strongly religious.  The two had a positive correlation.
• Separatists
• Rhode Island was formed because of the opposition of Puritanism with Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams.  Founded Providence, there was religious tolerance to an extent
• Discuss the various colonies and their specific religious views and institutions.

These bullet points are merely suggestions of what one could write when answering questions similar to these.  It is obviously not required to use all the information that was provided, they are merely topics that could be touched on.  As the reader can see, there is an abundance of factors that could be focused on by  the writer, giving them choices in what they wanted to write about.