APUSH chapter 4

Question 1

How was health in the Chesapeake colonies? What was the population make up?

Answer 1

People died within months of being there, and people rarely lived past their forties

People there were mostly single men, as Virginia was supposed to be a short lived colony, shut down once all money and resources had been extracted and exploited. The uneven ratio of men and women made reproduction scarce, and many women died in birth

People who successfully reproduced had children who were immune to the diseases and bacteria of the area, and allowed the population to grow once more

Question 2

What was the headright system?

Answer 2

Due to such a low population, the crown began giving acres of land to those who paid for the voyage of others. These others consisted of the poor, jobless, and offenders, who sought better treatment in the colonies

Question 3

What was the labor system in the Chesapeakes? How did it change?

Answer 3

Initially, the Native Americans were all expelled or died out, and African slaves were an imprudent investment, as they had a high chance of passing away as soon as they reached the colonies or even on the journey there.

To solve this, indentured servants were created; those poor, jobless roamers, who sold their freedom in the form of labor in order to later be reimbursed with freedom and land. They solved this labor shortage, but as land began to decrease, their masters were hesitant to give them their “dues” and began treating them harshly

Those who did gain freedom ended up poor farmers, or even landless, and were forced into the backcountry, farming cheap tobacco if anything. the elites, planters, ran society in the House of Burgesses, and cared more for crop diversification and good NA relations, the governor being Berkeley. The farmers began to go further into NA territory and were attacked, but Berkley refused to protect them. Bacon’s rebellion occurred and indentured servitude was then limited in fear of similar revolts

Question 4

How was African Slavery introduced into the colonies? How did it continue to grow in relation to laws?

Answer 4

Once the Royal African Company lost its’ rights/charter, the slave industry opened, and the colonies were able to afford slaves. They imported many, who endured the middle passage, but most went to the West Indies

Originally, African Slaves had a possibility of freedom in their future, but seeing how Bacon’s Rebellion began, they changed this system to make it a hereditary, life long subjection. Harsh Slave Codes were enforced to prevent any intellectual or mutual uprising from slaves, as they outnumbered the whites; these codes included prohibition or education, religion, or culture

This led to the extreme racial hierarchy in the colonies, and was the start of true racism, rather than superiority over those of a lower class

Question 5

How was Southern society?

Answer 5

Despite them now being able to afford slaves, they were still very underdeveloped. The elites of society were still hard workers, though they thrived off of plantation monopolies, and business-like. There was a social system established, and urbanization was slow to occur, along with jobs of the sort such as financiers and lawyers

Water transportation was the main mode of transportation

Question 6

In contrast, how was New England society?

Answer 6

The New England colonies had clean water that fought off diseases that caused the suffering of the southern colonists. They lived for many years, established a community built around religion and unity, established schools, and had very high marriage and birth rates. Many people moved there as families.

Unlike the southern widowers, women did not get the right of land or to vote, as they were seen as less moral in the church-ruled society

Law tried to prevent divorce as much as possible, but men did not have complete control over their wives.

Question 7

How were town meetings established in the New England Colonies?

Answer 7

-The Puritan mindset focused on unity and close knit society. They focused majority preference and input, causing town meetings to be a clear choice

-They established schools where they would teach both religion and enlightenment ideas; these schools were to have future, educated clergy members. But, seeing as such enlightenment ideas consisted of natural rights, this also led to a clear choice of town meetings and democracy. This also allowed those who voted, the people, to be enlightened, placing trust into the society and not just the church members

-Even further, the elites, the Congregational Church, used a town meetings system. They were, in this society, the main power, and were closely related to government, influencing the choice of government system employed in the colonies

Question 8

What was the Halfway Covenant?

Answer 8

As New England began to spread out more in response to attempts at agriculture, religious devotion began to fade. The Jeremiads lamented over the loss of religious zeal

However, a big problem was that without religion, there came a lack of converts, or freemen/visible saints, which were the only people who were allowed to vote in the Congregational Church

In response, the church decided to allow children of those who weren’t converted (church members) to be baptized; this blurred the previously intense line between elite and the “average”

eventually, the Puritan church allowed everyone in, baptized or not, contradicting the original goals of Winthrop and Bradford

Question 9

What were the Salem Witch Trials?

Answer 9

As religion became more accepted, people weren’t allowed to express heavy resentment towards or punish those who had different views; the fear of God created the accusation of witchcraft to gain justification in physical cases of the ill. However, soon this term was used as a mental diagnosis towards those of different views to punish them

These were caused by religious resentment, economic shifts, and fear of the Devil

Question 10

How was the economy/industry in New England?

Answer 10

The soil was rocky, the climate extreme, and forests were dense; it was not a region for agriculture.
This lack of agriculture stunted immigration

They thrived off of lumbering and fish building, and got their nutrients via fishing. The Native Americans originally destroyed some trees, but the New English philosophy scolded them for not using the land to its’ highest potential; they built roads, gates, fences, and more

Further, they introduced livestock into the area, which took up more land, raided NA supplies, and made depressions in the soil with their hooves, causing quick flooding and erosion.

But, the colony prided themselves on being able to overcome such struggles

Question 11

How was New England’s labor system?

Answer 11

Men who were farmers adjusted to the cycles of the seasons. Women partook in maternal/ gender based jobs, while men did the ones that required strength. Children helped with these jobs and also went to school.

Land was cheap, wages were sufficient, and diets were diverse

Question 12

What led to the Salem witch trials?

Answer 12

The unsettlement within the colonies of fear from lack of religious devotion

Question 12

Who migrated to the colonies?

Answer 12

Dukes and poor people didn’t, as they had their own systems in England whether they thrived or not. The middle class tended to migrate to the colonies as families, with some younger aristocrats who did not benefit from primogeniture

Social classes were not heavy at all; the Democratic systems did not allow for such hierarchies to be made

Those who tried to establish a system similar to England’s aristocracy, such as in New York, implemented laws that prohibited the people of lower income and class from wearing or displaying signs of wealth

This however was met with rebellion, more specifically Leisler’s Rebellion, where merchants revolted against the landowners

Question 13

What caused chattel slavery to become popular and the dominant labor system in the colonies?

Answer 13

strict codes that made slavery lifelong, controlled, and hereditary

Question 14

What caused efforts to increase church involvement (Jeremiads and halfway covenant)?

Answer 14

fading religious beliefs of the younger Puritan generations

Question 15

What caused the shift from indentured servitude to slavery?

Answer 15

The fear of similar uprisings like Bacon’s rebellion

Question 16

What caused chattel slavery to be implemented?

Answer 16

the fear of living alongside Africans in fear of revolt

Question 17

What caused the large number of detached single men in the Chesapeakes?

Answer 17

The lack of women/reproduction

Question 18

What created the large population and birth rates in New England?

Answer 18

The even ratio of men and women