History 151 Review Notes
America Before Columbus
I. The origin of the first people.
A. Bering Strait.
B. Other possibilities.
II. Native peoples in what became the United States.
III. Misinterpretations versus the reality.
A. Sophisticated societies.
B. Diverse Cultures.
C. Adapted and changed.
D. Land not empty.
IV. Why Indians could not stop the white advance.
A. Problems if unity.
B. Disease.
C. Technology.
Europe looked westward.
I. Leif Erikson & the Norse.
II. Why 15th century Europe looked outward.
A. Population rebound & prosperity.
B. Renaissance.
C. Centralized governments wanted more trade and wealth.
III. Portugal & Spain hit the ocean.
A. Wanted to avoid Italian and Middle Eastern merchants.
B. Spread religion.
C. Portugal.
1. Prince Henry the Navigator.
2. Around Africa.
D. Spain.
1. Columbus headed west.
2. Beginning of the Spanish empire.
IV. Spain in the New World.
A. Florida: Ponce de Leon.
B. Mexico/Aztecs: Cortes
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1. Reasons for success.
2. Malinche
C. Southwest: Coronado
D. Conquistadores: God, King & Gold
Colonial Outposts
Spanish in the New World.
I. Spanish colonization.
A. Settlement
1. Ranchos & encomienda system
B. Missions.
C. Forts for defense of the empire.
II. St Augustine, 1565.
A. Huguenots.
III. Santa Fe, 1609.
IV. Spain to Texas and California.
V. Spanish legacies.
A. Death.
B. A new people.
C. Columbian exchange of crops and animals.
D. Importation of African-Americans as slaves.
English in the New World.
I. Exploration.
A. John Cabot, 1497.
B. English claim in the New World.
II. Reformation.
A. Stalled British exploration.
B. Made England & Spain enemies.
C. Reasons for British colonization.
III. Elizabeth I.
A. Exploration – locate Northwest Passage.
B. Compete with the Spanish.
1. Sir Frances Drake – Sea Dogs
C. Sir Walter Raleigh to establish a colony.
IV. Roanoke
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A. Two tries.
B. The Lost Colony.
French in the New World.
I. Exploration.
A. Northwest Passage.
B. Cartier up St. Lawrence River – identified furs.
C. Fur posts began in 1598.
II. Colonization
A. Quebec, 1608.
B. Samuel de Champlain, Father of New France.
III. French pattern of Colonization.
A. Traded furs with the Huron Indians.
B. Formed an alliance.
C. Beaver Wars.
D. Missionaries.
E. Tightly regulated, numbers remained small.
F. Louisiana
Dutch
I. Henry Hudson – Hudson River, Dutch claim.
II. Fur trading posts.
A. Iroquois partners.
B. Beaver Wars.
III. New Netherland.
IV. Purchased Manhattan Island.
V. New Amsterdam.
VI. Taken over by the British.
Sweden – New Sweden.
A. Delaware River.
B. Annexed by the Dutch.
English colonization: Incentives.
I. Economic: Free Market
A. Investors – corporate colonies.
B. Settlers.
II. Mercantilism
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A. Crown wanted raw materials.
B. Crown wanted markets.
III. Religion
A. Puritans and Pilgrims.
English colonization.
Jamestown, 1607.
I. Why established? Profit. – corporate colony.
A. First Chesapeake colony.
B. Profit/gold
C. Northwest passage.
II. Misery & death from 1607-1624.
III. Stage 1: Time of death, 1607-1610.
A. Illness
B. Bad mix of settlers.
C. Lack of farming.
D. John Smith, 1608.
1. Brought temporary order.
2. Pocahontas.
E. Starving time, 1609-1610.
1. Colonists brought illness.
2. Powhatans resisted white incursion.
IV. Stage 2: Stability, 1611-1616.
A. More order instituted.
B. Marketable crop.
1. John Rolfe
2. Tobacco.
C. Peace with the Powhatan Confederation.
1. Pocahontas
2. John Rolfe.
V. Stage 3: Expansion, 1616-1622.
A. Virginia Headrights – land.
B. House of Burgesses – first elected legislature, 1619.
VI. Stage 4: Failure, 1622-1624.
A. Company faltered.
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B. Powhatan Confederacy attacked, 1622.
VII. Royal colony in 1624.
VIII. Jamestown precedents.
A. Indentured servants.
B. Africans arrived in 1619.
C. Varied Indian relations.
Plymouth Plantation, motivated by Separatists, 1620.
I. Grant from London/Virginia Company.
II. Approved by the king.
III. Backing of British merchants.
IV. Land at Plymouth.
V. Mayflower Compact –created civil government.
VI. Grew slowly, remained poor.
VII. Most remembered colony.
Massachusetts Bay, Puritans, 1630.
I. Independent of British homeland.
II. Centered on religion – “city upon a hill.”
III. Great Migration.
IV. Prospered
A. Helped by Pilgrims and Indians.
B. Brought tools and goods.
C. Commitment to order.
V. Church and the colony.
A. Theocracy.
B. Congregational Church.
C. Intolerance.
VI. New colonies spin off.
A. Religious reasons.
B. Better soil.
VII. Connecticut – Thomas Hooker, 1635.
VIII. Rhode Island, 1636, Roger Williams, banished.
A. Separation of church and state.
B. Religious tolerance.
C. Bought land from the Indians.
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D. Baptists.
IX. New Hampshire, 1639, 1679.
A. Hutchinson banished.
B. Inspired by Anne Hutchinson
Chesapeake Bay Colonies.
I. Maryland, 1634, Proprietary colony.
A. Calvert family gained grant from the king.
B. For Catholics and profit.
C. “Acts Concerning Religion,” freedom of worship, 1649.
D. Tobacco & indentured servants.
Pause in colonization for English Civil War.
Restoration colonies after 1660.
I. Carolina, 1663.
Divided into North and South, 1691.
II. New York created out of New Netherland, 1664.
A. Duke of York, King’s brother took control.
B. New Jersey to allies of royal family.
III. Pennsylvania and Delaware, 1681.
A. William Penn gained charter for a Quaker colony.
B. Popular colony.
C. Delaware formed as people anted own governor.
IV. Georgia, James Oglethorpe, 1733.
A. Block Spanish.
B. Home for debtors.
Caribbean colonies
I. Trade.
II. African slaves
III. Plantations.
Problems in colonization.
I. Indian-white relations.
A. Powhatan Confederation, 1622, Jamestown.
B. Pequot War, Connecticut Valley, 1637.
C. King Philip’s War, Massachusetts, 1675-8.
D. Land, treatment, existing conflicts, and alliances.
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II. Bacon’s Rebellion, Virginia, 1675-6.
A. Frontier people vs. established power.
B. Economic struggle.
C. Political struggle.
D. Jamestown burned.
E. Slaves over indentured servants.
III. Colonial Wars, 1689-1763.
A. People involved
B. Indians on the Middle Ground.
C. Wars of empire.
D. Events.
1. Canada.
2. Spain.
E. Death primary result.
English imperial control.
I. Navigation Acts, 1660-1673.
A. England to benefit.
B. Colonies benefitted as well.
II. Dominion of New England, 1685.
A. New England, New York & New Jersey under royal control.
B. Glorious Revolution.
Society & Culture
I. Recreate English society.
II. Frontier experience made America different.
Colonial sections: economically and socially.
I. New England: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut.
II. Middle: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware.
III. Southern: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia.
Colonies population grew rapidly.
I. Two-thirds of growth internal.
II. One-third of growth external.
III. Natural increase.
A. Birth rate.
B. Survival rate.
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C. Longevity.
IV. Immigration.
A. English immigration decreases.
B. Scotch-Irish majority.
C. German Protestants.
D. Irish.
E. Other groups.
V. Push-pull factors: why immigrate.
VI. Forced Black immigration.
A. Taken by rival African tribes.
B. Middle passage.
C. Majority in the colonies to the South.
VII. Transition from indentured servants to slavery.
A. Slave codes by 1700s.
B. Stono Rebellion, 1739.
C. Justification for human bondage.
Colonial economy.
I. New England.
A. Diverse agriculture.
B. Merchants.
C. Some trade, commerce.
D. Industry such as shipbuilding
II. New England town.
A. “Covenant”
B. Land grant
III. New England houses.
A. English model.
B. Small initially, but added on.
C. Little Commonwealth.
D. Patriarchy.
IV. Middle colonies.
A. Some diversity in agriculture.
B. Breadbasket colonies.
C. Hamlet system.
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D. Transportation and toll-roads
1. Conestoga Wagons
V. Southern colonies/staple crops
A. Tobacco: Maryland and Virginia.
B. Rice and Indigo: South Carolina and Georgia
C. Cotton limited.
D. Little industrial and city growth.
VI. Southern plantations.
A. Majority small, but large and small worked together.
B. Dispersed, self-contained communities.
C. Authority of church and government weakened.
D. Majority of Blacks lived on large plantations.
International trade
I. Triangular trade traditional view.
II. Other paths essential, two-way, and inter-coastal.
III. Barter economy
IV. Created a merchant class.
New England colonial strains.
I. Population growth. – children moved to new locations.
II. Individualism and more freedom.
III. Church membership fell – Half-Way Covenant.
IV. Indian wars.
V. Witches blamed.
A. Adolescent girls made charges.
B. Those who seemed different targeted.
Review of Religion.
I. Important to colonists.
II. Great diversity of faiths.
III. Religious freedom spawned.
IV. American colleges to train clergy, such as Harvard.
Philosophical movements
I. Enlightenment
A. Ben Franklin
1. Scientist, scholar, lightning rod.
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2. Printer/philosopher – Poor Richards Almanac.
3. Politician – Diplomat to France.
II. Age of Reason: Enlightenment applied to religion & politics.
A. John Locke: “Natural Rights” of life, liberty and property.
B. Deism.
III. The Great Awakening, 1730s and 1740s.
A. Spiritual regeneration.
B. People on the frontier or with little land moved to religion.
C. New Middle class women majority of converts.
D. Evangelists spread the word: Wesleys
E. New churches formed, more religious diversity.
Colonial societies.
I. Some attempted to recreate English society with class distinctions.
II. Became more egalitarian.
III. Blacks created own culture.
A. Kinship relationships.
B. Slave religion.
C. Language.
D. Slave resistance.
Empire Under Strain.
I. By 1750 few objected to empire.
II. Ties with England in the 17th century.
A. Navigation Acts.
B. Dominion of New England.
III. Ties Remained fairly loose.
A. Poor monarchs – Hanovers.
B. “Salutary Neglect” unofficial government policy.
C. Parliament concerned about business interests.
D. Poor royal governors.
E. Colonial assemblies operated independently.
IV. Colonies independent of one another.
A. Albany Plan of Union, 1754.
B. Not agreed to.
V. War with France strained colonial relations with England.
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VI. French and Indian War.
A. Started in colonies.
B. Trading concessions with Indians.
C. Forts in Ohio River Valley.
D. Colonial force defeated in 1754.
E. Colonists seemingly had the advantage.
F. War went badly.
G. French had the real advantage.
H. Conditions worsened with England took control.
I. Turning point in 1758 when England changed policies.
J. Culmination in 1759 when General Wolfe captured Quebec.
K. Colonial changes.
1. France lost continental possessions.
2. Spain gained Louisiana.
L. Ramifications: Britain angry at colonies.
1. Debt.
2. Thought colonies fought poorly.
3. Colonial merchants smuggled during war.
M. Ramifications: Colonials disliked Britain, and gained unity.
1. British troops.
2. Had acted in concert against common foe.
O. Ramifications for Indians.
1. Scorned.
2. Wanted the French back.
3. Pontiac’s Rebellion.
4. British forced to station troops in the Western territories.
After the French and Indian War.
I. Britain wanted to reduce debt.
II. Britain wanted better control.
III. Proclamation Line of 1763 to stop colonial advance.
IV. Other measures passed.
V. Stamp Act of 1765 brought protest.
A. Internal tax.
B. Colonists believed colonial assemblies had power to tax.
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C. Feared corruption.
D. Hurt economy.
VI. Forms of colonial protest.
A. Informal unorganized protests.
B. Organized groups.
1. Sons of Liberty – spread spirit of protest.
2. Committees of Correspondence.
3. Committees of Safety came with the Revolution.
C. Official protests from assemblies.
1. Virginia House of Burgesses, 1765, “Virginia Resolves.”
D. Inter-colonial Congresses.
1. Stamp Act Congress, 1765, nine colonies met.
a. Petitioned the king.
b. Promoted idea of boycotting.
VII. Outcome of protests.
A. Boycott worked.
VIII. Parliament responded with the Declaratory Act, 1766.
IX. Townshend Acts, 1767.
A. Taxed supposed imports: glass, paint, paper, and tea.
B. Tax collected in England.
X. Response more limited.
A. Political philosophers condemned the tax.
B. Some assemblies denounced the tax.
XI. Parliament responded harshly.
XII. Colonial assemblies moved for another boycott.
XIII. Townshend duties repealed, except on tea, 1770.
XIV. Boston Massacre occurred at this time.
A. British troops to protect British officials.
B. Colonials scorned the British troops.
C. The dead became martyrs.
XV. An era of calm from 1770-73.
A. British tried to stop smuggling.
B. Committees of Correspondence attempted to keep the spirit alive.
Road to the Revolution.
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I. Parliament passed the Tea Tax, May 1773.
A. Removed all duties on tea, except Townshend duties.
B. Picked special agents to distribute tea.
II. Colonials reacted with anger: Boston Tea Party, December 1773.
III. British response.
A. Destruction of private property.
B. Colonials must be taught a lesson.
IV. Coercive Acts and Quebec Act, or Intolerable Acts, April 1774.
A. Boston Harbor closed.
B. Restructured Massachusetts government.
C. Gave Quebec favored treatment.
V. First Continental Congress, 1774.
A. Declared Coercive Acts void.
B. Declaration of American Rights.
C. Planned another boycott.
D. Defensive measures should be taken.
E. Planned Second Continental Congress.
VI. England declared Congress illegal.
VII. Both sides became firm in convictions.
A. Colonial boycott.
B. Volunteer groups formed.
C. England said colonies in a state of rebellion.
VIII. British attempted to quell problems.
A. Arrest leaders.
B. Capture arms.
C. Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775.
The Revolutionary War.
I. Political activities as the war began – Second Continental Congress.
A. Recognized the colonial militia as the Continental army.
B. Washington selected to lead.
II. Was the war for reconciliation or independence?
A. Olive Branch Petition, July 5, 1775.
B. King George refused to accept it.
C. In one year, a war for independence.
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III. Military events.
A. Colonial militia to Bunker Hill or Breed’s Hill.
B. British wanted to crush rebellion.
C. Colonial defeated on June 17, 1775.
D. British navy attacked towns.
E. Militia in New England pushed toward Canada in December 1775.
F. British left Boston.
IV. Declaration of Independence, what brought it?
A. King’s actions.
B. Financial and human costs grew.
C. Lost respect of the British.
1. Recruited slave and Indians.
2. Brought in Hessians.
D. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, January 1776.
E. Independence endorsed on July 2, approved Declaration on July 4.
V. The Declaration of Independence.
A. Enlightenment principles.
B. Crimes of the king.
C. Transformed the war into one for American independence.
VI. Political status of central government.
A. Continental Congress operated without sanction.
B. Began drafting the Articles of Confederation.
C. Told states to set up governments.
VII. Loyalists and the war.
A. Perhaps 1/5 of Americans remained loyal to King.
B. Loyalists not evenly spread.
VIII. Mobilization.
A. Continental army.
B. Militias more irregular, served shorter terms.
IX. The army had hard times and little financing.
A. Problems brought suffering at Valley Forge in 1777.
X. British attacked New York in August 1776.
XI. To raise morale after retreat, Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night,
1776 to attack the Hessians at Trenton.
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XII. Attack on Princeton, January 3, 1777.
XIII. Howe captured Philadelphia in 1777.
XIV. Burgoyne advanced from Canada to split colonies.
XV. Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga, October 1777.
XVI. Saratoga brought the French into the war.
XVII. The War in the South.
A. British wanted to divide and conquer.
B. Cornwallis.
C. Nathanael Greene.
XVIII. The Importance of the French.
A. Lafayette.
IXX. The Nature of Colonial Wars.
XX. Yorktown, Virginia, October 1781.
Why England ended the war: debt, exhaustion, world war.
I. Peace Treaty of 1783, Paris.
A. Independence.
B. Lands to the Mississippi River.
Ideas held by Revolutionary leaders.
I. Liberty: Free from tyranny of the king.
II. Equality.
A. Equality of opportunity.
B. Advancement based on qualities: virtue, talent.
C. “Natural Aristocracy” to replace old aristocracy.
III. Republic and republicanism.
A. Power from the people.
B. For the common good.
IV. Leaders from natural aristocracy: “Disinterested” men.
V. How to ensure republicanism.
A. Common interest.
B. Jeffersonian ideal: yeoman farmers.
Republicanism tested in state governments.
I. Formed before the national government.
II. Demonstrated weaknesses of republicanism.
III. “Tyranny of the masses.”
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History 151: First Examination Essay Questions.
Of the following four questions, two will appear on the examination. You must answer both. You
are encouraged to prepare before the exam, but you are not allowed to bring anything to class to
assist you with your answer. Each is worth 15 points for a possible 30 points.
1. Compare and contrast the different reasons and motivations behind the settlement of the
English colonies.
2. From the end of the French and Indian War, the British colonies grew distant from the mother
country, and finally fell into rebellion. How did this happen? Why did this happen? What events
propelled America to revolution?
3. Why and how did the colonists struggle at Jamestown? What allowed the colony to survive?
4. What role did different religious beliefs have in establishing the various British colonies? Be
specific.
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