CA - Colonial America: Society on the Edge Module Overview

Colonial America: Society on the Edge

Introduction

Studies of colonization highlighted the fact that millions of people organized in diverse societies existed in the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans.

Now it’s time to focus our attention on English colonists and the thirteen colonies that they established along the eastern seaboard of North America. As the Spaniards’ empire in the Americas was on the decline, the English imperial ventures emerged on top from the competition of the various powers for control of the area that would become the United States. The colonies in British North America served a strategic and economic benefit to the Crown.

While these thirteen colonies were ruled by the English, each colony was unique in many ways. The plantation-based economy of the Virginia Colony was very different from that of the Massachusetts Colony which had much smaller farms and a dependence on the maritime activities of merchants and fishermen. There was also a diversity of culture in the areas of social structure, religion, and ethnic minority groups. The Southern colonies contained a growing population of people of African descent as slavery became institutionalized over the early- to mid-18^th century. As the thirteen colonies expanded, they developed a more distinct American identity.

Photograph of the Governor's Palace in Colonial WIlliamsburg

Module Lessons Preview

In this module, we will study the following topics:

Colonial America: Key Concepts
New England Colonies
Mid-Atlantic Colonies
Slavery in Colonial America
Benjamin Franklin and the Great Awakening

Essential Questions

How was English colonization of the New World different from the other European groups?
What were the main groupings of the thirteen colonies and what were the major economic and social characteristics of each?
In what ways did the developing economy of the thirteen colonies affect the colonial experience?

Textbook Readings

Reading Assignments:
REMEMBER! You have to read the pages of the module AND the reading assignments in the textbooks Read the chapter(s) in your textbook that relate(s) to this module.

Key Terms

Southern Colonies- the region of British colonies on the Atlantic seaboard that included Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The Southern Colonies had an economy based on large-scale agriculture and slavery particularly took root in this region.
Virginia Company-an English joint-stock company that planned to make money by sending people to America to find gold and other valuable natural resources and then ship the resources back to England. Wealthy people bought shares of stock in the company and would profit if the colony succeeded economically. This established the first permanent English colony in America.
House of Burgesses- the first European-type legislative body in the New World; established in Virginia, set the precedent for all future colonies to desire a representative assembly.
Joint Stock Company- the Virginia Company; a business owned by its investors, with each investor owning a share based on the amount of stock purchased; created to finance projects that are too expensive for an individual or a government to fund. A precursor to modern-day corporations.
Powhatan- was a notable American Indian chieftain in Virginia who ruled over the Powhatan Confederacy, the largest indigenous confederacy in the region.
Chesapeake Colonies- a sub-group of the Southern Colonies made up of Virginia and Maryland, which border the Chesapeake Bay. This region was heavily reliant on the growth of tobacco on large plantations and had an unhealthy climate, which resulted in the death of many of the early colonists.
Indentured Servants- provided much of the labor in early Colonial America, especially in the Southern colonies. They agree to work without pay for a specified number of years (usually 4-7) in return for passage to the New World. The practice fell out of favor after Bacon’s Rebellion.
Bacon's Rebellion- was an uprising largely of poor whites in Virginia who wanted land and the colonial government to take harsher actions toward American Indians. It helped lead to the rise of slavery.
Puritans- a religious movement in England that felt that the Reformation had not gone far enough in removing “Catholic” elements from the Church of England. Many Puritans migrated to the New England Colonies to practice their faith and establish a society based on their beliefs. They wanted to purify the Church but not leave it forever.
Separatists-the people who sailed to the New World in 1620 aboard the Mayflower, were labeled “the Pilgrims” in the mid-18^th century; they were more radical than the Puritans.
Massachusetts Settlement- was established by the Puritans in the region known as New England.
Rhode Island Settlement- founded by religious dissenters from Massachusetts who were more tolerant of different religious beliefs.
New England Colonies- a colonial region that included Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. This region was dominated by the Puritans (except for Rhode Island) and was characterized by merchants, the fishing industry, and a healthier climate than the other colonies.
Half-Way Covenant- allowed for partial church membership for the children and grandchildren of original Puritans to encourage church membership as church rolls decreased.
King Philip's War- (1675-1676) was an armed conflict between English colonists and indigenous people that resulted in the establishment of English colonists as the dominant power in New England.
Salem Witch Trials- were a series of trials resulting from a mass hysteria about witches. 150 were accused and 29 were convicted and executed.
Dominion of New England- a failed attempt by King Charles II to decrease the local autonomy of New England governments by combining them into one administrative.
Mid-Atlantic Colonies- included New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. It was the most diverse area of the 13 colonies.
Pennsylvania– founded and led by William Penn as a haven for the religiously tolerant Quakers.
New Amsterdam (New York)- founded by the Dutch, but in 1664 it was captured and renamed by the British.
Quebec- an area of Canada that was settled by the French; one of its focuses was on the fur trade.
Mercantilism- an economic theory that held that the best way to become a stronger nation was to acquire more wealth; helped influence the desire of European powers to colonize the Americas.
Trans-Atlantic Trade- a part of mercantilism where Britain required goods from the colonies to be shipped on British ships and that British products would have a monopoly of the market.
Navigation Acts- laws meant to ensure British dominance of the colonial economy by forbidding trade with nations other than Britain. They were enforced with varying vigor at different times during the Colonial Era.
Middle Passage- the sea voyage that carried African slaves to North America. Conditions on the ships were poor.
African-American Culture- developed among the enslaved people in the New World; it included music, dance, basket weaving, and pottery making.
Benjamin Franklin- was one of the best-known founding fathers who was a printer, scientist, statesman, writer, businessman, philosopher, and inventor. He is a good example of individualism and social mobility.
Individualism- focused on a person improving himself or herself.
Social Mobility- rising through society; often connected to individualism.
The Great Awakening- a religious revival that swept through the colonies in the 1730s and 40s that led to a more distinct American identity, more independent thinking among colonists, and an increase in church attendance.

Test yourself! Review your terms in the activity below.

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