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Chapter 3 (Amsco)
Colonial Society in the Eighteenth Century (COMPLETED)
37
History
11th Grade
01/14/2012

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Cards

Term
immigration (1700s)
Definition

Mainly result of two factors (colonies attractive to many people because):

  • abundance of fertile land
  • dependable food supply

 

Term
English cultural domination
Definition
  • In the colonial society, the greatest majority of the population were English in origin, language and tradition.
  • This was true even with the great diversity of immigrants.
Term
self-government
Definition
  • The government of each colony had a representative assembly that was elected by eligible voters (limited to white male property owners).
  • Only in RI and CT, was the governer also elected by the people.
Term
religious toleration
Definition
  • MA excluded non-Christians and Catholics.
  • RI and PA were the most liberal/tolerant.
  • All colonies varied.
Term
hereditary aristocracy
Definition
  • The social extremes of Europe, with a nobility that inherited special privileges and masses of hungary poor, were missing in the colonies.
Term
social mobility
Definition
  • With the major exception of African Americans, everybody in colonial society had an opportunity to improve their standard of living and social status by hard work.
Term
colonial families
Definition
  • The family was the social and economic center of colonial life.
  • People married young and reared many children.
  • Most lived on farms.
  • Colonial life provided a higher standard of living than in Europe.
Term
colonial men
Definition
Term
European immigrants
Definition

Composed primarily of:

  • English
  • Germans
  • Scotch-Irish
  • Other Europeans
Term
African immigrants
Definition
  • they did not come to America on their own free will
  • most were slaves or descendants of them
  • made up the largest non-english group of immigrants
  • in every colony there were laws that discriminated against African Americans and placed limits on their rights and opportunities.
Term
colonial women
Definition
  • the average colonial wife bore 8 children
  • did household work (cooking, cleaning, medical care,etc.)
  • educated the children
  • usually worked beside her husband
  • had limited political and legal rights
Term
subsistence farming
Definition
farmers focus on growing enough food to feed themselves and their families.
Term
established church
Definition

The overwhelming majority of colonists belonged to different Protestant denominations.

(i.e. Presbyterians, Lutherans, Mennonites, Quakers, etc.)

Term
The Great Awakening
Definition
A movement in the first decades of the 18th century, characterized by fervent expressions of religious feeling among masses of people. There was less emphasis on human sacrifice and the perils of damnation.
Term
Jonathan Edwards
Definition

The Reverend who initiated the Great Awakening with a series of sermons in a church in Massachusetts.

 

He argued that each individual who is sorry for their sins can be saved, but those who paid no heed to God's commandments would suffer eternal damnation.

Term
George Whitefield
Definition
Preacher who traveled from one end of colonial America to the other. He stressed that God was all-powerful and would only save those who openly professed belief in Jesus Christ; those who didn't would be cast into Hell. Also that ordinary people who had faith and sincerity could understand the Christian Gospels without depending on ministers to lead them.
Term
Georgian Style
Definition
A type of architecture that was commonly found in London and later immitated in colonial America.
Term
jeremiads
Definition
Sermons of despair that deplored (talked about) the signs of declining piety(religiousness)
Term
Old Lights
Definition
People who believed in the teachings of the old, traditional congregation; rejected the new light revivalist' ideas.
Term
New Lights
Definition
The people who believed in the new teachings of the puritan congregation about the absolute sovereignty of God, predestination, and salvation by God's grace alone.
Term
Benjamin West
Definition
Painter who wandered the countryside in search of families who wanted there portraits painted. Went to England to attain the necessary training and financial support.
Term
John Copley
Definition
Painter who wandered the countryside in search of families who wanted there portraits painted. Went to England to attain the necessary training and financial support.
Term
Cotton Mather
Definition
Famous Puritan minister from Massachusetts who wrote widely read religious pieces. He is most famous for urging the use of inoculation to prevent diseases such as smallpox.
Term
Benjamin Franklin
Definition
The most popular and successful Amrican writer of the 18th century who was also a jack of all trades, meaning he had done work in the fields of science as well.
Term
Poor Richard's Almanack
Definition
A widely popular book written by Benjamin Franklin.
Term
Phillis Wheatley
Definition
An African-American, woman poet who is noteworthy for her triumph over slavery and the quality of her verse.
Term
John Bartram
Definition
A famous self-taught botanist from Philadelphia during the colonial era.
Term
sectarian/non-sectarian
Definition

If an institution is sectarian, it means it exists to promote the doctrines of a particular religious sect.

 

Example: Harvard was an Anglican School; Yale was founded by Congregationalists.

Term
professions in the colonial era
Definition
In the course of the 18th century, other jobs gradually acquired respectability and social prominence as opposed to Christian ministry professions.
Term
the Zenger Case
Definition
  • John Peter Zenger was a newspaper editor and publisher in New York.
  • He was brought to trial on a charge of libelously criticizing New York's royal governer.
  • The jury decided to aqcuit Zenger.
  • This case didn't gaurentee complete freedom of press but it encouraged newspapers to take greater risks in criticizing a colony's government.
Term
Stono Rebellion
Definition
In 1739, in South Carolina, about 100 Africans rose up, siezed weapons, and killed several whites. They attempted to escape to Florida, but whites quickly put down the uprising and executed most participants.
Term
Andrew Hamilton
Definition
Philidelphia lawyer who defended John Peter Zenger and helped him win the case.
Term
colonial governers
Definition
The 13 colonies had similar systems of government, with a governer acting as cheif executive and a seperate legislature voting either to adopt or reject the governer's proposed laws. Some governers were appointed by the British King while others were appointed by the local voters.
Term
colonial legislatures
Definition

The legislature consisted of two houses:

  • Lower house - elected by eligible voters; voted for or against new taxes
  • Upper house - appointed by King or proprietor
Term
town meetings
Definition
The dominant form of local government in New England during colonial times. People would regularly come together often in a church to vote directly on public issues.
Term
county government
Definition

In southern colonies the local government would serve a large territorial unit called a county.

 

Term
limited democracy
Definition

Those barred from voting:

white women, poor white men, slaves, free blacks

 

However, some religious restrictions were being removed.

 

Yet, people still had to own a piece of land.

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