Key Terms (defined with significance)
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| 1681704334 | Enlightenment | Suggested that people had substantial control over their own lives and societies, and the product of some of the great scientific/intellectual discoveries in Europe, encouraging people to look to themselves and their own intellect (not just God) for guidance. It produced interest in education and concern with politics/government | 0 | |
| 1681704335 | Participatory Democracy | Residents of a town held a yearly town meeting to decide important questions & choose "selectmen" who ran town affairs. Participation was generally for adult male members of the church. | 1 | |
| 1681704336 | Great Awakening | Began in 1730s (climax: 1740s) and emphasized the potential for every person to break away from the past and start anew in one's relationship to God. Led to the division of existing congregations and to the founding of new ones = great cultural upheaval in the colonies | 2 | |
| 1681704337 | Social Distinctions (stratification) | More than in England, white people in America faced opportunities for social mobility and there were new forms of community that varied greatly in regions. (NEED TO EDIT) | 3 | |
| 1681704338 | Middle Passage | The long journey to the Americas, during which the prisoners were usually kept chained in the bowels of the slave ships and supplied minimal food and water. Name came from being the second of the three legs of the voyage. Substantial commerce in slaves grew in mid 17th century = more available black workers in North America | 4 | |
| 1681704339 | Triangular Trade | Mainland colonies trade with England, continental Europe, and the west coast of Africa. Suggested the process of merchants carrying rum and goods from New England to Africa, exchanged them for slaves, whom were transported to the West Indies, and then exchanged slaves for sugar and molasses, which went back to New England to be rum. (A group of adventurous entrepreneurs emerged by the mid-18th century as a distinct merchant class) | 5 | |
| 1681704340 | "Poor Richard's Almanac" | The most famous almanac in the 18th century by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. Almanacs circulated throughout the colonies and even sparsely settled lands to the west. Gave America identity; Americans were different from British because they didn't have almanacs. | 6 | |
| 1681704341 | John Peter Zenger | The 1734-1735 trial of this New York publisher ruled that criticisms of the government were not libelous if factually true. This removed some colonial restrictions on freedom of the press. | 7 | |
| 1681704342 | Indentured Servants | Temporary servitude of usually 4-5 years in exchange for passage to America, food, and shelter. Male indentures were to receive clothing, tools, and occasionally land upon completion; in reality, many left with nothing. This created serious social problems because many (mostly males) had no land, employment, families, and prospects. A decrease in birth rate and improved economic conditions reduced pressure to emigrate= less indentured servants --> relying on African slavery | 8 | |
| 1681704343 | Huguenots | French Calvinists (~300,000) who left Roman Catholic France for the English colonies after the Edict of Nantes (guaranteed substantial liberties) was revoked in 1685. Complimented the feature of the American population bringing together various races, ethnic groups, and nationalities. | 9 | |
| 1681704344 | Harvard | The first American college established in 1636 by Puritan theologians wanting to create a training center for ministers. (Indicated the value of education, but higher education remained only to a few white men) | 10 | |
| 1681704345 | Salem Witch Trials | The most famous outbreak when adolescent girls charged several West Indian servants steeped in voodoo lore of witchcraft. Hysteria spread throughout town & hundreds (most were women) were accused. 19 put to death before trials ended in 1692. Similar accusations of witchcraft spread through many New England towns, centered around women (many of low social positions, involved in domestic conflicts, accused of other crimes, and considered abrasive by neighbors & some who challenged the gender norms). Reflective of the religious character of New England societies. | 11 | |
| 1681704346 | Jonathan Edwards | Outstanding preacher of the Great Awakening. He attacked the new doctrines of easy salvation for all and preached the traditional Puritan ideas of absolute sovereignty of God, predestination, and salvation by God's grace alone. (Led to the division of existing congregations and to the founding of new ones) | 12 | |
| 1681704347 | Slave Codes | Colonial assemblies passed "slave codes", so permanent servitude (slavery) became legal in the 18th century. White masters had almost absolute authority over their slaves, and color was what determined whether a person was subject to the slave codes (not caring of mixed race over pure Africans). | 13 | |
| 1681704348 | Stono Rebellion | In 1739, 100 blacks rose up, seized weapons, killed several whites, and attempted to escape the south to Florida. The uprising was quickly crushed, and most participants were executed. (Slaves were often resistant of their masters) | 14 | |
| 1681704349 | Jeremiads | When ministers preached sermons of despair deploring the signs of waning piety. The progress of science and free thought caused some colonists to doubt traditional religious beliefs--New Englanders thought declension of piety was a serious problem. | 15 |
