Lesson 6
Divergent Paths
nomic influence was slavery. As more and more
capital and resources were invested in slavery, the
difference in income between the rich and poor
became a widening schism.
The Northern colonies, on the other hand,
were more specialized in their agricultural pursuits,
and moved increasingly into commerce, trade, and
early industrial forms of home production. The
Saugus Iron Mills in Massachusetts and the Hasenclever Works in New Jersey attested to the North’s
capabilities, in spite of England’s restrictions on
such activities. Ironically, while the North was
involved in developing technology, the typical colonist in North America did not share in its fruits.
The North’s merchant class grew as a result of the
triangular trade and other economic endeavors,
and rising consumerism appeared among the
wealthy. In the English fashion, the wealthy began
to distinguish themselves as “ladies” and “gentlemen.” In the Northern colonies, moreover, cities
like New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Charles
Town – kknown as walking cities – characterized
how these colonies were progressing.
As the Northern and Southern economies differed, so, too, did the communities in the two
regions. In the South, the plantation, large and
small, appeared. Its labor force (slavery) developed
into large-scale labor gangs on the larger plantations and more intimate one-on-one relationships
on the smaller farms. The Southern slaveholders
controlled the slave population, suppressed rebellions, and assumed more and more authority and
influence within Southern colonial society. In this
society, the female black slave was particularly
Assignment
This lesson is based on information in the following text selections and video. Read the text carefully, watch the video, and study all the material.
Text: The chapter number and section title of
reading assignments are the same in both books:
A. Brinkley, American History: A Survey, Volume 1, 12th edition
A. Brinkley, The Unfinished Nation, Volume 1,
5th edition
The following sections in Chapter 3 of the text are
covered in this lesson: “Colonial Economies,”
“Patterns of Society,” “Awakenings and Enlightenments”
Video: Episode 6, “Divergent Paths”
Overview
By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the
Southern and Northern colonies were following
their separate paths of development, particularly
from an economic point of view. In the South, the
colonists were committed to cash crop agriculture,
farming tobacco, rice, indigo, and later cotton. In
this agricultural Southern society, the primary eco-
27
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T HE UNFINISHED N ATION ( TO 1877)
important because she was a cornerstone of the
labor system, being both a worker in the fields and
bearer of children.
Closely-knit and geographically close, Puritan
towns were the center of colonial life in the Northern colonies. In its pervasiveness and authority to
deal with any and all issues, the Puritan town meeting came very close to egalitarian democracy on the
local level. The colonial courts of the Northern colonies followed in this manner.
In the 1670s and 1680s the escalating diversity
of life was beginning to create tension within the
traditionally cohesive, united Puritan communities
of New England. Fearing change, the Puritans
reacted with a kind of mass hysteria that culminated
in the deaths of twenty people during the Salem
witch-hunts and trials that resulted. While even the
loss of one life to hysteria is inexcusable, many
more could have been executed if more moderate
influences within this environment had not
appeared.
As the eighteenth century progressed, the
Enlightenment emerged. With its emphasis on reason and science, it presented a challenge to the religious nature of the English colonies. The Great
Awakening led by Reverend George Whitefield
occurred in reaction. Although effective in many of
the New England colonies, this religious revival
faced stiff resistance in the Southern colonies due
to the slavery issue. Still, science and education
continued to grow as the literacy rate among colonists rose.
Focus Points
Learning Objectives
After reading the assigned pages in the text and
watching the video, you should be able to:
✓ Describe the economic development of the
Southern and Northern colonies and explain the
driving forces behind the differences.
✓ Explain the impact of slavery on the Southern
colonies and the importance of technology in the
Northern colonies.
✓ Compare and contrast Southern reliance on the
plantation with Northern development of the
town.
✓ Understand why and how the Salem witch hunts
occurred, the importance of the Enlightenment,
and colonial reaction to the Great Awakening.
✓ Analyze specific areas in literacy and education
impacted by the Enlightenment.
Key Terms and Concepts
After reading the assigned pages in your text and
watching the video, you should be able to identify
and explain the significance of the following:
Almanacs
cities
Colonial Assembly
colonial cities
colonial courts
colonial shipbuilding
consumerism
dame schools
Enlightenment
female black slave
Great Awakening
Peter Hasenclever
Iron Act, 1750
Jeremiads
mangle stick
Mercy Desborough
Myth of Self-Sufficiency
plantation economy
Salem witch hunts
Saugus Iron Works
slavery/overseers
Stono Rebellion, 1739
town
town meeting
triangular trade
upper South
walking city
George Whitefield
John Peter Zenger
Text Focus Points
These text focus points are the main ideas presented in this section of the textbook. Read these
points carefully before reading the text. You may
want to take notes for future reference and study.
✓ Northern and Southern colonies began to
develop along different economic lines as the
South turned to cash crop agriculture and the
L ESSON 6: D IVERGENT P ATHS
North, more limited in farming, moved toward
commerce and home industry.
✓ Technology grew, especially in the Northern
colonies as witnessed by the Saugus Iron Mill.
Yet, the average colonist did not share in its benefits, typically making due with an axe and a few
other simple utensils.
✓ A new merchant class appeared in North America exploiting such opportunities as the triangular trade. The growing affluence of colonists
gave rise to increased consumerism and a growing commitment to conspicuous consumption.
✓ In the South, the plantation was the focus of life.
A Southern caste system began to emerge and
slavery grew and became the mainstay of the
plantation economy.
✓ In New England, towns had a Puritan focus and
selectmen lead town meetings that were very
much egalitarian in nature. Conflict developed
within Puritan families as land distribution from
one generation to the next diminished.
✓ Puritan New England reacted to a series of
unfortunate events with the Salem witch-hunt
phenomenon. Women of substance, unusual
characters, and independent women generally
were the principal targets of the hysteria.
✓ As cities grew, the era of Enlightenment
emerged, emphasizing reason and science. The
Great Awakening was the colonial response, led
by George Whitefield and others.
✓ The Enlightenment promoted education and literacy as the colonists read everything from pamphlets to almanacs.
Video Focus Points
These video focus points are designed to help you
understand and get the most out of the video for
this section. Read these points carefully before
watching the video. You may want to take notes
for future reference and study.
✓ By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the
Southern and Northern colonies were clearly
developing different economic systems. In the
South, cash crop agriculture and slavery sustained the growth of a large plantation system
whereas in the North, limited farming, shipbuilding, and commerce fueled a more industrial
economic system.
29
✓ Cities played an important part in colonial development. A limited resource in Europe, land was
quite abundant in North America. This made
New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Charles
Town unusual in the proximity in which people
lived, and give rise to their being known as
“walking cities.”
✓ Southern plantations appeared with slavery as
their bulwark. Large plantation owners relied on
slave gangs while smaller farmers worked sideby-side with their slaves. A Southern elite gentry
emerged, dominating life and politics.
✓ Slavery was legalized in the South and female
black slaves were especially important as workers
and breeders.
✓ In New England, life centered around the Puritan town. Privacy was limited and an egalitarian
democracy prevailed in town meetings. Even
colonial courts witnessed this development.
✓ By the 1670s and 1680s, New England Puritans
faced smallpox, war with the Indians, and other
calamities. They reacted with the infamous
Salem witch trials in which twenty people were
killed, although many more could have been if
more moderate influences hadn’t prevailed.
✓ As the eighteenth century progressed, the
Enlightenment emerged with its emphasis on
reason and science. Colonial reaction, especially
in New England, was the Great Awakening led
by George Whitefield. Southern colonists
resisted the revival due to the slavery issue.
Critical Analysis
These activities are designed to help you examine
the material in this lesson in greater depth. It may
be necessary for you to conduct some additional
research (the Internet is an excellent resource).
Armed with what you have learned in this lesson
and your own research, carefully respond to each
of the following activities.
1. Write a journal about daily life from the point
of view of a planation owner during the seventeenth century, focusing on your crops, slaves,
and social standing within the colony. Discuss
your reaction to the religious revival happening throughout the English colonies.
2. Write a newspaper article about the Salem
witch trials from the perspective of a journalist
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T HE UNFINISHED N ATION ( TO 1877)
of the day. Report your experiences giving the
particulars about who was on trial and why,
the evidence, jury, and verdict. Include your
own opinion about the events you witnessed.
3. Write a sermon that you think George Whitefield or other preachers during the Great
Awakening would have written. What would
he have said to his Puritan audience? To
Southern colonials who own slaves?
Practice Quiz
This quiz is designed to give you an idea of how
well you understand the material. Choose the correct answers for each question and review any
question that you missed.
_____ 9. Female black slaves lived with a dual
burden under slavery.
Fill in the Blank – Complete the following sentences with the missing word, concept, or person.
10. _______ was a prominent leader in the Great
Awakening.
11. _______ was a German ironmaster who helped
develop the iron industry in New Jersey.
12. The _______ was the principal tool for English
colonists in North America.
13. _______ was a slave rebellion in South Carolina in 1739.
14. _______ were private classes conducted by
widows or unmarried women in their home.
Multiple Choice – Select the correct answer.
Matching – Match options a through e with items
1 through 5 below.
_____ 1. Walking city
_____ 2. Mercy Desborough
_____ 3. Puritan Selectmen
_____ 4. Mangle stick
_____ 5. John and Charles Wesley
a. Town meeting
b. Colonial court
c. Charles Town
d. Salem witch
e. Great Awakening
True/False – Determine whether each of the following statements is true or false:
15. Identify the most popular almanac in colonial
America in the years before the Revolution.
a. Poor Richard’s Almanack
b. Town and Country Almanack
c. Beer’s Almanack
d. Philomath Almanack
16. Who recommended inoculation against smallpox in the 1720s?
a. Benjamin Franklin
b. Cotton Mather
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. George Washington
Essay – These questions are designed to help you
think about all you have learned. Consider them
carefully and then write your responses.
_____ 6. Forty percent of England’s maritime
vessels were built in North America
during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.
17. Compare and contrast the Southern plantation
with the New England town. Explain the
development of the economies of the South
and North and discuss at least one event that
influenced each area’s economic direction.
_____ 7. In North America, the abundance of
land helped prevent the development of
an aristocracy.
18. Explain the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment. Why were these two events so important to English colonial settlements?
_____ 8. Southern plantation mistresses had
nothing to do with running the
plantation’s business.
19. Explain the Salem witch trials. Who were the
targets and why? How many were executed
and what caused the witch trials to stop?
Answer Key
for the Practice Test
Lesson 1 From Days Before Time
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
c used numerical system and calendar
e used human sacrifice in religion
a Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, Seminoles
b Bubonic Plague
d Prince Henry
False Text and Video
True Text and Video
True Text
True Text
Pueblo Revolt; Text and Video
Pigs, new livestock, or horse; Text and Video
Mestizo; Text
Matrilineal; Text
Francisco Coronado; Text
e Text and Video
e Text and Video
Lesson 2 – Turbulent Virginia:
Pirate Base ... Royal Colony
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
d Sir George Grenville
c Predestination
a Ireland
b fur trade
e New Amsterdam
False Text and Video
True Text and Video
False Text and Video
True Text and Video
“Starving Time”; Text
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Lord De La Warr; Text
John Rolfe; Text
Headright system; Text and Video
George Calvert; Text
b Text
a Text
Lesson 3 – Saints and Strangers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
e Sir William Berkeley
c Pilgrims
a Massachusetts Bay Company
b Rhode Island
d King Philip’s War
True Text
False Text
True Text
True Text
Puritans; Text and Video
Massachusetts Bay Company; Video
Town Meeting; Video
Anne Hutchinson; Text and Video
a Text and Video
a Text
Lesson 4 – The Lure of Land
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
147
c
a
d
e
b
Maryland
Cromwell
Diversity
Quakers
Pennsylvania
148
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
T HE UNFINISHED N ATION ( TO 1877)
True Video
True Text
False Text
True Video and Text
Oliver Cromwell; Video
Charles II; Video
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Carolina; Video
Women; Video
Puritans; Video
a Video
c Video and Text
Lesson 5 – Coming to America:
A Portrait of Colonial Life
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
d Slave ship
c Galen
a Colonial doctors
b German Palatinates
False Video
True Video
True Video
True Video
Edwin Morgan; Video
Africans; Video
Benjamin Franklin; Video
Scotch-Irish; Text
Slave Codes; Text
d Video
a Video
Lesson 6 – Divergent Paths
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
c Charles Town
d Salem Witch
a Town Meeting
b Colonial Court
e Great Awakening
True Video
True Video
False Video
True Video
George Whitefield; Video and Text
Peter Hasenclever; Text
Axe; Text
Stono Rebellion; Text
Dame Schools; Text
15. a Text
16. b Text
Lesson 7 – Strained Relations
1. c Immigrants of French descent
2. d Confederation of five Indian tribes
3. b Commander of the British garrison in
Boston
4. a Called for action against the Stamp Act
5. True Video
6. False Video
7. False Video
8. True Video
9. False Video
10. Paxton Boys; Text
11. Spain; Video
12. molasses; Video
13. East India Company; Text
14. Massachusetts Government; Video
15. d Video
16. b Video
Lesson 8 – Not Much of a War
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
d “Common Sense”
a Tories
b Declaration of Independence
c Home rule
e Green Mountain Boys
True Video
True Video
True Video
False Video
Sally Bache; Video
The Battle of Saratoga; Text
France; Text
Benedict Arnold; Text
Count Jean Baptiste de Rochambeau; Text
c Text
c Text
Lesson 9 – A Precarious
Experiment
1. c
Led a rebellion in New England
A NSWER K EY FOR THE P RACTICE T EST
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
d Basis of the post-Revolution government
b Established the grid system
a Proposed a “continental impost”
False Video
False Text
False Vdeo
True Video
True Video
Connecticut; Text
western lands; text
Statute of Religious Liberty; Text
Fallen Timbers; Video
New Orleans; Video
a Text
c Video
Lesson 10 – Vision for a Nation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
d Virginia plan
a New Jersey plan
b Slavery
c All power rests in the people
True Video
True Text and Video
False Video
True Video
James Wilson; Video
states; Text and Video
Anti-Federalists, Federalists; Text and Video
Hamilton, Madison, Jay; Text and Video
Rhode Island; Video
d Text
c Text
Lesson 11 – Rivals and Friends
1. c
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Federalist appointed Chief Justice by John
Adams at the end of his presidency
d Vice presidential candidate in 1800
b United States minister to France
a Chief justice of the Supreme Court
True Text
False Video
True Video
False Video
False Video
Pinckney’s; Text
Alexander Hamilton; Text
Quasi War; Video
13.
14.
15.
16.
149
Alien and Sedition; Video
Tammany Society; Text
c Video
a Video
Lesson 12 – Best Laid Plans...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
c Louisiana Territory
d Berlin and Milan decrees
b Prophet
a Second Great Awakening
False Video
True Video
False Video
False Video
Spain; Video
$15 million; Video and Text
Sacagawea; Video and Text
Dolly Madison; Video
Andrew Jackson; Video and Text
c Text
d Text
Lesson 13 –Pressures from Within
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
d Proponent of the American System
c Commander in the Seminole War
a Monroe’s secretary of state
b Proposed an anti-slavery amendment
False Text
True Video
True Video
False Video
Black Belt; Text
John Jacob Astor; Video
Great American Desert; Text
Virginia Dynasty; Video
Panic of 1819; Video
a Text
c Video
Lesson 14: He Brought the People
With Him
1. c
2. a
Adams’ Vice President
Speaker of the House
150
T HE UNFINISHED N ATION ( TO 1877)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
b Charles Dickinson
d Jackson’s inauguration
True Video
True Video
True Video
False Video and Text
Martin Van Buren; Text
Margaret Timberlake; Video
Robert Hayne; Text
Dorr Rebellion; Text
“Our Union, next to our liberty, most dear”
“Our Federal Union, It must be
preserved”; Text
14. b Text
15. d Text and Video
Lesson 15 – Legacy of an
Autocratic Ruler
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
c
d
a
b
President of the Bank of the United States
Chief justice of the Supreme Court
Radical Democrats from the Northeast
Sought to capitalize on Anti-Mason
sentiment
True Video
False Video
False Text
True Text
Removal Act; Video
Trail of Tears; Video
Henry Clay; Video
King Andrew I; Video
Panic of 1837; Text
a Text
d Video
Lesson 16: A Revolution of a
Different Sort
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
c Population growth
d Canals
a Erie Canal
b Penny Press
False Text and Video
False Text and Video
False Text and Video
False Text and Video
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Railroads; Video
Factory; Video
Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago; Video
Moses Brown; Video
small workshops; Video
a Text
a Text
Lesson 17: Worlds Apart
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
b Godey’s Lady’s Book
c the American Museum
d steel plows
a Mount Holyoke College
False Video
True Text
False Video
True Video
True Text
Irish, free blacks; Text
Catherine Beecher; Video
Oberlin; Text
minstrel show; Text
a Video
c Video
Lesson 18: Master and Slave
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
d Mrs. Benjamin Perry
c legalized slavery
a Maryland, Delaware, Virginia
b slave rebellion
True Video
False Video
False Video
True Text
Slave women; Video
Slave auction; Video
Christianity; Video
Factor; True
Northern states; Video
d Text
a Text
Lesson 19: Voices of Reform
1. d published the Liberator
A NSWER K EY FOR THE P RACTICE T EST
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
c escaped from slavery
b black anti-slavery activist and feminist
a prison reformer
True Text
False Video
True Text
True Video
Hudson River School; Video
Brook Farm; Text
Joseph Smith; Text
temperance; Video
phrenology; Text
a Text
c Video
Lesson 20: Manifest Destiny?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
c To govern is to populate
b First legal settlement in Texas
a Alamo
d Spot Resolution
False Video
True Video
True Video
False Video
Californios; Video
slavery; Text and Video
Zachary Taylor; Text, Video
Popular Sovereignty; Text
Gold, John Sutter’s; Text and Video
c Text
b Text
Lesson 21: Decade of Discord
1. a
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
divided Clay’s compromise bill into
individual parts
d supported the “Young America”
movement
a assaulted a Massachusetts senator
b defeated Fillmore and Frémont in 1856
False; Video
True; Video
True; Text
False; Text
False; Video
benevolent diffusion; Video
Personal liberty laws; Text
Ostend Manifesto; Text
151
13. Gadsden Purchase; Video
14. c Text
15. a Video
Lesson 22: House Divided
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
d Abraham Lincoln
c CSA
a Fort Sumter
b Anaconda Plan
True; Video
True; Video and Text
False; Video
False; Video
Benjamin Butler; Video
G. McClellan; Video and Text
R.E. Lee; Video and Text
Line item; Video
90,000–100,000 men; Video
c Video and Text
c Video and Text
Lesson 23: Battle Cry
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
d Last Confederate general to surrender
e Often reluctant to commit troops to battle
b United States secretary of state
a Killed at Shiloh
c American minister to London
False Video
True Text
False Video
False Video
True Video
Monitor, Merrimac; Text
Peninsular Campaign; Text
Antietam; Video
Fredericksburg; Video
b Text
c Video
Lesson 24: Final Stages
1.
2.
3.
4.
d
a
c
b
Vicksburg
Replaced Joseph Hooker
Gettysburg
Chickamauga
152
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
T HE UNFINISHED N ATION ( TO 1877)
False Video and Text
True Video
False Video
False Text
“Grease”; Video
Jeb Stuart; Video and Text
P.G.T. Beauregard; Video
Cold Harbor syndrome; Video
G. McClellan; Video and Text
c Text
b Video
Lesson 25: What Price Freedom
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
d scandal during the Grant administration
c refers to the purchase of Alaska
e required an Ironclad Oath
b response to the Black Codes
a opposed the gold standard
True Text
False Video
True Text
True Text
reuniting the country, emancipation and
freedom; Video
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Freedmen’s Bureau; Video
Fifteenth; Video
sharecropping; Text
Grantism; Text
a Video
d Text
Lesson 26: Tattered Remains
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
d Republican Party
c Perpetual debt
a Atlanta compromise
b Enforcement Acts
True Video
True Video
True Video
True Video
Landowners or merchants; Video and Text
leave in the middle of the night; Video
black women; Video
KKK; Video and Text
Samuel Tilden; Text
c Text
b Video