U.S. History I-AP
Unit Plan: Colonial America
The Big Picture, “Distinctive colonial and native societies developed as groups of Europeans and
American Indians navigated power, control, security, culture, and resources in North America.”
Key Concepts
1. Different goals, cultures, and environments led to different, distinct societies. How did these
differences influence the development of Spanish, French, Dutch, and English colonies? (much
of this was addressed in the last unit)
2. Slavery developed in English colonies in distinct ways due to their reluctance to integrate
with the native population, their belief in their own racial and religious superiority, and their
need for labor. Africans found their lives transformed by slavery, yet they managed to hold on to
some customs and beliefs, and to resist slavery in overt and subtle ways.
3. Environmental and geographical differences, along with the diverse beliefs and goals of
settlers, led to three distinct regions in British North America: New England, the Middle
Colonies, and the Southern Colonies.
4. The increased colonial presence in North America led to conflicts among various European
groups and between colonizers and natives.
a. The economy and politics of Europe impact America.
b. Contact and conflict among settlers and natives changes both groups.
5. The increasing political, economic, and cultural (& philosophical) exchanges within the
“Atlantic World” (Europe, Africa, the Americas) had a profound impact on the development of
colonial societies in North America. As America develops, it is still connected to Europe and
Africa.
6. Entering the 18th Century, British colonists develop more of a distinct culture. Their regional
differences decrease somewhat, and they develop a desire for more self-government and less
control by England.
Unit Readings: In American History, Chapter 2, “Transplantations and Borderlands” and Chapter 3,
“Society and Culture in Provincial America”
Directions: Read each section below, and answer the questions. Your answers may be in
bullet form. In your answers, indicate evidence that supports the key concepts above.
1. The Early Chesapeake I: Virginia (37-41)
1. What early problems did Virginia face? How did the settlers in Virginia contribute to their
own problems?
2. What impact did John Smith, and later Governor Lord De La Warr and Governor Dale, have
on Jamestown?
3. What role did tobacco play in the development of the Chesapeake?
4. Explain the headright system and its impact on Virginia.
5. Overall, what allowed Virginia to develop into a stable, prosperous colony?
6. Describe the relationship between the settlers and the Powhatan Indians.
transplantation & middle ground (borderland)
London Company/ Virginia Company
John Smith
tobacco
headright system
slavery
royal colony
Jamestown
“starving time”
John Rolfe
House of Burgesses
Anglo-Powhatan War/ 1622 Massacre
2. The Early Chesapeake II: Trouble in Virginia (42-44)
1. How was Maryland founded and governed? What was the religious makeup, and how did
this influence the development of the colony?
2. How was Maryland similar to, and different from, Virginia?
3. What problems did Virginia face in the mid 1600s? Was Berkeley a good leader?
4. What was Bacon’s Rebellion, what were its causes, implications, and effects?
Lord Baltimore/ The Calverts
Indentured Servants
Governor William Berkeley
tidewater and piedmont (backcountry) regions
Act for Religious Toleration, 1649
Nathaniel Bacon/ Bacon’s Rebellion
3. The Growth of New England: The Puritan Theocracy (44-47)
1. Why and how did the Puritan Separatists come to America? Were they successful?
2. How did the environment affect their settlement?
3. Describe relations between Plymouth settlers and Native Americans.
4. How was the Massachusetts Bay Company’s journey to America (aka the Great Migration)
similar to and different from that of the Plymouth colony?
5. Describe the society that developed in Massachusetts Bay, known as the “New England
Way.”
Puritans
Separatists
Mayflower
Plymouth Colony
Miles Standish
Massachusetts Bay Co.
“A Model of Christian Charity”
Congregational Church
Mayflower Compact
Squanto
William Bradford
John Winthrop
John Cotton
4. The Growth of New England: Tension and Expansion (47-51)
1. How were other New England colonies formed as alternatives to Massachusetts Bay, and
why?
2. Looking at readings 1-3, to what degree did the colonies embrace religious tolerance?
3. Describe relations between New England settlers and Native Americans and how they
changed over time.
3. What were the causes, events, and impacts of King Philip’s War? What role did the flintlock
musket play, and did this surprise you? How does Brinkley’s account of the war challenge your
assumptions about settlers and Indians?
Connecticut/ Thomas Hooker
Anne Hutchinson
Pequot War, 1637
Flintlock musket
Rhode Island/ Roger Williams
conversion experience/ visible saints
King Philip’s War, 1675-6
5. The Restoration Colonies (51-56) ALSO, find out more about New Jersey’s origins!!
1. Briefly explain the English Civil War and the Stuart Restoration, and the impact they had on
colonial settlement.
2. These ‘restoration’ colonies were proprietary colonies, not royal colonies. What does this
mean?
3. Describe the settlement and government of the Carolinas.
4. How did slavery develop in Carolina?
5. How did the English acquire and govern New York?
6. What did NJ have in common to NY, and how did this set them apart from the other colonies?
7. What were the main beliefs of the Quakers?
8. Under what circumstances was Pennsylvania founded? What were Penn’s hopes for the
colony? What made Pennsylvania different from most other colonies?
English Civil War
Fundamental Constitution for Carolina, 1669
King Charles II
Quakers/ Society of Friends
Charter of Liberties (Pennsylvania)
Stuart Restoration
Anthony Ashley Cooper
Duke of York  King James II
William Penn
Delaware
6. Borderlands and Middle Grounds (56-62+ “Where Historians Disagree”) & this map:
http://www.lssd.ca/~mwalterson/FOV1-000365BE/S00AB0358.1/pop'n%20Na%201700.jpg
1. Study the map on page 58. Be sure to find Barbados.
2. What impact did sugar cultivation have on Caribbean society?
3. How and why did slavery develop in the Caribbean? What was the importance of the
Barbados code? In what ways were slaves able to maintain their own culture?
4. In what major ways did English colonies in the Caribbean differ from those in North
America?
5. How did English experience in the Caribbean influence the North American colonies?
6. How have the Spanish North American colonies developed in the 17th Century?
7. How did European nations protect against each other in North America?
8. Describe the unique founding of Georgia.
9. Explain the relations between whites and Indians in so-called “middle grounds.”
James Oglethorpe
7.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Georgia, 1732
The Evolution of the British Empire (63-66)
How did the British economic policy of mercantilism affect the colonies?
How did the Stuart Kings change the way New England was ruled?
How did English policies towards the colonies change after the Glorious Revolution?
How did the Glorious Revolution cause upheaval in New York and Maryland?
What are 2-3 main ideas from this section—the big picture?
Navigation Acts
James II
Sir Edmund Andros
William and Mary
John Coode
Charles II
Dominion of New England
Glorious Revolution
Jacob Leisler
8. The Colonial Population I: How people lived (69-75)
1. What types of people immigrated to the British North American colonies?
2. Describe a typical indentured servant.
3. Why did the use of indentured servitude become popular but then decline over time?
4. Note the patterns of longevity and health of American colonists.
5. Describe the state of medical care in 17th Century America.
6. What were women’s roles in the colonies, and how did this vary by region?
Indentured servants
headright system
9. The Colonial Population II: Slavery and Immigrants (75-81)
10. The Colonial Economies (81-87)
11. Patterns of Society (88-94)
12. Awakening and Enlightenment (95-102)