Early American History: Key Figures, Concepts, and Events - Prof. Daniel C. Breitenberg, Exams of World History

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Coverture – The principle in English and American law that a married woman lost her legal identity which became “covered” by that of her husband, who therefore controlled her person and the family’s economic resources Las Casas – Dominican priest who wrote “A Very Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies” denouncing the enslavement and persecution of the Indians. The Columbian Exchange – The transatlantic flow of goods and people John Calvin – Swiss born theologian who’s ideas were the basis of Puritanism. Taught that the world was divided between the elect and the damned. Indentured servitude – Settler who signed on for a temporary period of servitude to a master in exchange for passage to the New World; Virginia and Pennsylvania were largely populated in the 17th^ and 18th^ centuries by English and German indentured servants. salutary neglect – British governments during the first half of the 18th^ century leaving the colonies to largely govern themselves. Large landowners, merchants and lawyers who dominated colonial assemblies increasingly claimed the right to control local politics. William Penn – proprietor of Pennsylvania, envisioned it as a place of spiritual freedom for those facing religious persecution in Europe, and devout member of the Society of Friends aka Quakers. The French and Indian War – The Seven Years’ War, In 1749, the government of Virginia awarded an immense land grant (half million acres) to the Ohio Company. The land grant threatened the region’s Indians as well as Pennsylvania land speculators, who also had claims in the area. It sparked the French to bolster their presence in the region. It was the Ohio Company’s demand for French recognition of its land claims that sparked the war. The Albany Plan of Union – Drafted by Benjamin Franklin at the beginning of the Seven Years War. It envisioned the creation of a Grand Council composed of delegates from each colony, with the power to levy taxes and deal with Indian relations and the common defense. It was rejected by the colonial assemblies. Deism – Enlightenment thought applied to religion; emphasized reason, morality, and natural law “the task” system – used during slavery allowing some slaves to work unsupervised as long as they completed their assigned task within the

allotted time. After completion of the task some slave owners permitted their slaves to spend their time working for themselves. John Locke – wrote “Two Treaties of Government” leading philosopher of liberty (liberalism). He believed that the principles that governed the family were inappropriate for organizing public life. Government, he believed, was formed by a mutual agreement among equals. In this “social contract” men surrendered a part of their right to govern themselves in order to enjoy the benefits of rule of law. the contract theory of government – in early history man lived in a “state of nature”. No government existed. Each man was only as secure as his own power could make him. By agreeing with one another to make a state by contract, men within a given area joined together, each surrendering personal freedom as necessary to promote the safety and well being of all. By this contract, the members created a government. The social contract gives rights and responsibilities to both the citizens and the government.

1. What did Adam Smith think about the discovery of America and the discovery of the Portuguese sea route around Africa? They were the two greatest and most important events in the history of mankind.
2. What were the largest and the wealthiest empires in Central and South America? The Aztec and Incan empire
3. What was the largest city along the Mississippi River about 1200 A.D.? Cahokia
4. Where did the Pueblo Indians live? In the South Western part of the us around Arizona
5. On what did the English, French, and Dutch base their claim on Indian lands? The idea that the Indians had not actually “used” the land and thus had no claim to it.
6. Which North American Indians had the wheel when Columbus arrived? None
7. How did the Portuguese arrival in Africa affect the internal African slave trade? It accelerated the buying and selling of slaves.
8. Which European countries took in about 100,000 African slaves before the trans- Atlantic slave trade began? Spain and Portugal

9. Which European countries had colonies in North America in the 1600's? Spanish, English, French
10. Why did Cecilius Calvert establish Maryland? He envisioned it as a refuge for his persecuted coreligionists in England, especially the younger sons of Catholic gentry who had few economic or political prospects in England
11. What geographic mistake did Columbus make? He thought the earth was much smaller than it was
12. Who was the first European to come in contact with the Aztec Empire? Hernan Cortes
13. Which European Country was the dominant trading nation in the seventeenth century (1600's)? Dutch
14. What did English settlers in North America believe was the bases of liberty? Land
15. Where did most of the people who left England in the seventeenth century move to? Ireland and the West Indies
16. What caused the high death rate in early Jamestown? Disease and lack of food
17. What was the headright system and how did it affect Virginia’s development? It involved awarding 50 acres of land to anyone who paid for his own or another’s passage to the new world. Increased the flow of slaves and laid the foundation for a society that would one day cause slave owning planters to dominate.
18. What ensured Virginia’s economic survival? tobacco
19. How common were indentured servants? 2/3 came as indentured servants
20. Where did the Puritans originally plan to go? Virginia
21. How did the Puritans treat the Quakers? Hostile, whipped, fined, banished or even hung
22. What did the Puritans believe that it would take to get into heaven? It was pre-determined

23. Why did most people migrate from England to North America? Religious freedom, chance to own land, riches
24. Who were the largest group of immigrants from mainland Europe? Germans
25. What crop established Carolina’s colonial economy and caused it to grow? Rice
26. Where did the Dutch settle? Manhattan
27. Which area had the wealthiest colonists in British North America? New York
28. The need for labor to grow which crop in Brazil and the West Indies drove the African slave trade? Sugar
29. What was the main crop worked by the task system? Rice
30. Where did the Stono Rebellion take place? Near the Stono River in South Carolina
31. Britain’s colonies in North America were ringed by posts of which country? France
32. What were the two sides during the French and Indian War? Britain and France
33. Slaves made up what percentage of the population in New York and New Jersey in the 1770's? New York 12%, New Jersey 7%
34. John Locke’s political philosophy focused on what idea? Government was a formed by a mutual agreement among equals, in this social contract men surrendered a part of their right to govern themselves in order to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law In which country did the Reconquista occur? Spain The oldest site in the present-day United States to be continuously inhabited by Europeans is St. Augustine, Florida Prior to 1800 the largest settled community in what is now the United States was Cahokia

In 16th^ century Spanish America, the Indians were compelled to work, either as slaves or as wage laborers, in gold and silver mines or large haciendas, a blending of Indian and Spanish culture gradually took place, and a black legend regarding the harshness of Spanish colonial rule spread across the Atlantic world. Mestizos – persons of mixed Spanish and Indian origin