Deck 4: American Life in the Seventeenth Century

Question 1

In 1650, males in the Chesapeake area competed for the affections of the extremely scarce women, whom they outnumbered nearly

A) six to one.
B) ten to one.
C) fifteen to one.
D) twenty to one.
E) There is no statistical data.

Answer 1

six to one.

Question 2

By 1700, the most populous colony in English America was

A) Massachusetts.
B) Virginia.
C) New York.
D) Pennsylvania.
E) Maryland.

Answer 2

Virginia.

Question 3

The immediate reason for Bacon's Rebellion was

A) the Virginia governor's refusal to retaliate against Indian attacks on frontier settlements.
B) the wealthy planter class losing control of the colony.
C) a shortage of indentured servants.
D) to halt the importation of African slaves.
E) All of these are correct.

Answer 3

the Virginia governor's refusal to retaliate against Indian attacks on frontier settlements.

Question 4

Indentured servants in the 17^th century Chesapeake represented

A) one-tenth of the population.
B) one-fourth of the population.
C) half of the population.
D) three-quarters of the population.
E) 85% of the population.

Question 5

Bacon's Rebellion was supported mainly by

A) young men frustrated by their inability to acquire land and find women to marry.
B) the planter class of Virginia.
C) those protesting the increased importation of African slaves.
D) people from Jamestown only.
E) the local Indians.

Question 6

The majority of African slaves coming to the New World

A) went to English North America.
B) were delivered to South America and the West Indies.
C) came to New England.
D) were brought by the Dutch.
E) died before reaching their destination.

Question 7

Many of the slaves who reached North America

A) came from eastern Africa.
B) were originally captured by African coastal tribes.
C) were captured in southern Africa.
D) eventually gained their freedom.
E) settled in the middle colonies.

Question 8

Which of these is NOT a true statement about life expectancy for the earliest Chesapeake settlers?

A) It was 10 years shorter for these Chesapeake colonists than it had been in England.
B) Many of the early male settlers died soon after arriving in the Chesapeake.
C) Half of those born in early Virginia and Maryland did not live past age 20.
D) The population grew rapidly due to new male immigrants.
E) Half of the male settlers made it to age 50; half the female settlers to age 40.

Question 9

During the 17^th century, indentured servitude solved the labor problem in many English colonies for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that

A) the Indian population proved to be an unreliable work force because they died quickly after contact with whites.
B) African slaves cost too much money.
C) in some areas, families formed too slowly.
D) Spain had stopped sending slaves to its New World colonies.
E) families procreated too slowly.

Question 10

As the 17^th century wore on, regional differences continued to crystallize, most notably

A) the use of indentured servants.
B) loyalty to England.
C) the continuing rigidity of Puritanism.
D) the breaking of the Atlanta economy.
E) the importance of slave labor in the South.

Question 11

For their labor in the colonies, indentured servants received all of the following EXCEPT

A) passage to America.
B) a suit of clothes.
C) a few barrels of corn.
D) a headright.
E) at times, a small parcel of land.

Question 12

Over the course of the 17^th century, most indentured servants

A) became landowners.
B) devolved into slavery.
C) managed to escape the terms of their contracts.
D) faced increasingly harsh circumstances.
E) saw their wages increase.

Question 13

____ reaped the greatest benefit from the land policies of the headright system.

A) Indentured servants
B) African slaves
C) Merchant planters
D) New England colonists
E) Slave owners

Question 14

English yeomen who agreed to exchange their labor temporarily in return for payment of their passage to an American colony were called

A) headrights.
B) burgesses.
C) indentured servants.
D) slaves.
E) birds of passage.

Question 15

For those Africans who were sold into slavery, the middle passage can be best described as

A) the trip from the interior of Africa to the coast.
B) the easiest part of their journey to America.
C) the journey from American parts to their new homes.
D) the gruesome ocean voyage to America.
E) None of these are correct.

Question 16

All of the following are reasons for increased reliance on slave labor, after 1680, in colonial America EXCEPT

A) higher wages in England reduced the number of emigrating servants.
B) planters feared the growing number of landless freemen in the colonies.
C) the British Royal African company lost its monopoly on the slave trade in colonial America.
D) Americans rushed to cash in on the slave trade.
E) the development of wheat as a staple crop in the British colonies.

Question 17

The headright system, which made some people very wealthy, consisted of

A) using Indians as forced labor.
B) giving land to indentured servants to get them to come to the New World.
C) giving the right to acquire 50 acres of land to the person paying the passage of a laborer to America.
D) discouraging the importation of indentured servants to America.
E) giving a father's wealth to the oldest son.

Question 18

Seventeenth-century colonial tobacco growers usually responded to depressed prices for their crop by

A) selling slaves to reduce productive labor.
B) selling land to reduce their volume of production.
C) growing more tobacco to increase their volume of production.
D) planting corn and wheat instead of tobacco.
E) releasing unneeded indentured servants early.

Question 19

By the end of the 17^th century, indentured servants who gained their freedom

A) often gained great wealth as more land opened for settlement.
B) rarely returned to work for their masters.
C) almost always found high-paying jobs in the cities.
D) had little choice but to hire themselves out for low wages to their former masters.
E) often returned to England penniless and broke.

Question 20

As a result of Bacon's Rebellion

A) the economic aspirations of discontented backcountry frontiersmen were eased considerably.
B) planters sought African slaves to replace discontented backcountry frontiersmen as laborers.
C) Governor Berkeley was dismissed from office.
D) Nathaniel Bacon was named to head the Virginia militia.
E) improved relations developed between Indians and backcountry frontiersmen in Virginia.

Question 21

In 17^th-century colonial America, all of the following are true regarding women EXCEPT

A) women could not own property under any circumstances.
B) women could not vote.
C) women were regarded as morally weaker than men.
D) women dominated the profession of midwives.
E) abusive husbands could be punished.

Question 22

The Half-Way Covenant

A) allowed full communion for all non-converted members.
B) strengthened the distinction between the elect and all others.
C) brought an end to the jeremiads of Puritan ministers.
D) resulted in a decrease in church members.
E) allowed the children of unconverted existing members to be baptized but not full members of the church.

Question 23

The physical and social conditions of slavery were harshest in

A) Maryland.
B) Virginia.
C) South Carolina.
D) Massachusetts.
E) Pennsylvania.

Question 24

During the Salem witchcraft trials, most of those accused as witches were

A) property-owning women.
B) from the ranks of poor families.
C) primarily un-Christian.
D) women in their late teen years.
E) from subsistence farming families.

Question 25

The Puritan system of Congregational Church government logically led to

A) an authoritarian political government.
B) the early establishment of religious toleration.
C) democracy in political government.
D) the end of town meetings.
E) complete equality between men and women.

Question 26

As slavery spread in the South

A) social differences within society narrowed.
B) the great plantation owners worked less.
C) gaps in the social structure widened.
D) planters tried to imitate the ways of English country gentlemen.
E) it also increased dramatically in New England.

Question 27

The 1662 slave codes in Virginia are significant because they

A) restricted the number of slaves that could be imported into the colony.
B) established a legal difference between servants and slaves based on race.
C) established curfews and prohibited slaves from moving freely about the colony.
D) outlined the conditions under which slaves could obtain their freedom.
E) made slaves and indentured servants of equal status under the law.

Question 28

The social glue that formed the basis of tightly knit New England society was

A) small villages and farms.
B) black slavery.
C) the wealthy planter-merchant class.
D) the royal charter.
E) None of these are correct.

Question 29

Which of these is NOT a true statement about the experience of slavery for women?

A) Female slaves worked a much longer day than male slaves.
B) After toiling in the fields, female slaves spent their evenings spinning or making clothes for their families.
C) Slave women lived in fear of sexual violence from white masters.
D) Female slaves made up the majority of early imports to the colonies.
E) Women constantly sought ways to preserve their dignity under the slave system.

Question 30

The Salem witchcraft trials were

A) a result of Roger Williams's activities.
B) the result of unsettled social and religious conditions in rapidly evolving Massachusetts.
C) caused by ergot in the Puritans' bread.
D) unique to the English colonies.
E) accusations made by the daughters of business owners.

Question 31

Southern colonies generally allowed married women to retain separate title to their property because

A) of religious beliefs.
B) of English tradition.
C) southern men frequently died young.
D) southern families were stable.
E) of a smaller number of men than women.

Question 32

Thomas Jefferson once observed that "the best school of political liberty the world ever saw" was the

A) College of William and Mary.
B) Virginia House of Burgesses.
C) New England town meeting.
D) Chesapeake plantation system.
E) English parliament.

Question 33

The Salem witch persecutions in 1693 were characterized by all of the following EXCEPT

A) they followed larger-scale witchcraft persecutions that occurring in Europe.
B) they were a unique phenomenon, not repeated in any other locale in the colonies.
C) they were ultimately opposed by the more responsible members of the New England clergy.
D) they reflected the widening social stratification of New England.
E) they were unconnected to fears of many religious traditionalists that Puritan heritage was being eclipsed by Yankee commercialism.

Question 34

All of the following elements characterize New England families in the eighteenth century EXCEPT

A) a longer life span than their 17^th century predecessors.
B) the dread of death in birthing caused many women to fear pregnancy.
C) New Englanders tended to migrate as individuals rather than as families.
D) children grew up in obedient, nurturing environments.
E) divorce was exceedingly rare.

Question 35

It was atypical of colonial New England adults to

A) marry late and have no children.
B) be unable to read and write.
C) arrive in New England unmarried.
D) die before becoming grandparents.
E) live solitary lives.

Question 36

All of the following were consequences of the Half-Way Covenant EXCEPT

A) it weakened the distinction between the elect and others.
B) it maintained the original formula for church membership.
C) it conferred partial membership rights in the once-exclusive congregations.
D) it increased the numbers of church members.
E) women became the majority in the Puritan congregations.

Question 37

Compared with indentured servants, African-American slaves were

A) less reliable workers.
B) more likely to rebel.
C) cheaper to buy and own.
D) a more easily controlled labor force.
E) less expensive to buy but more expensive to keep.

Question 38

When new towns were established in New England, all of the following were true EXCEPT

A) a land grant was given by the legislature.
B) a meeting house was built.
C) a village green was laid out.
D) schools were required in towns of more than 50 families.
E) families did not automatically receive land.

Question 39

Puritans refused to recognize a woman's separate property rights because

A) of the short life span of New England women.
B) they worried that such rights would undercut the unity of married persons.
C) New England families were so rare.
D) there was so little land available.
E) All of these are correct.

Question 40

While slavery might have begun in America for economic reasons,

A) it soon became clear by 1700 that profits were down.
B) race was rarely an issue in relations between blacks and whites.
C) racial discrimination also powerfully molded the American slave system.
D) profit soon played a less central role.
E) Europe profited most from the institution.

Question 41

The combination of Calvinism, soil, and climate in New England resulted in the people there possessing which of the following qualities?

A) energy
B) stubbornness
C) self-reliance
D) resourcefulness
E) All of these are correct.

Question 42

In contrast to the Chesapeake colonies, those in New England

A) had a more diversified economy.
B) expanded westward in a less orderly fashion.
C) had a more ethnically mixed population.
D) were more oriented toward the individual than toward community interests.
E) followed the land use pattern established by the local Indians.

Question 43

As a result of poor soil, all of the following conditions prevailed in New England EXCEPT that

A) reliance on a single, staple crop became a necessity.
B) the area was less ethnically mixed than its southern neighbors.
C) frugality became essential to economic survival.
D) hard work was required to make a living.
E) diversification in agriculture and industry were encouraged.

Question 44

The late 17^th-century rebellion in New York was headed by ____, whereas that in Maryland was led by ____.

A) Nathaniel Bacon, Catholics
B) William Berkeley, slaves
C) Puritans, Indians
D) Jacob Leisler, Protestants
E) the Dutch, Catholics

Question 45

Which of the following was universally true about men and women, regardless of whether they from the North or the South and whether they were enslaved, free, or indentured servants?

A) Women cooked, cleaned and cared for children.
B) Women were the primary farmers.
C) Men cleared the land and planted the crops.
D) Men and women from different geographic, socioeconomic, and racial backgrounds were universally able to maintain family stability in colonial America, despite significant political, economic, and social challenges.
E) Children helped with all chores and picked up an education when possible.

Question 46

Identify and state the historical significance of indentured servitude.

Question 47

The impact of New England on the rest of the nation can best be described as

A) greatly exaggerated.
B) generally negative.
C) confined primarily to New England.
D) extremely important.
E) moderately important.

Question 48

Identify and state the historical significance of William Berkeley.

Question 49

Which of the following reflected the lessening hold of Puritan piety on later generations of New Englanders?

A) the geographical dispersion of New England's population
B) the Congregational church's reliance on the Half-Way Covenant to bolster church membership
C) the erosion of the distinction between the elect and other members of society
D) the declining participation of women in Puritan congregations
E) the witchcraft trials

Question 50

The early "slave codes" in colonial America

A) defined slavery as lifetime servitude.
B) defined slavery as inheritable servitude.
C) usually forbade whites from teaching slaves to read or write.
D) provided that slaves who converted to Christianity must be granted their freedom.
E) applied to indentured servants as well.

Question 51

Unlike those in the Chesapeake, New England immigrants

A) enjoyed a longer life expectancy.
B) usually migrated in family units.
C) were less ravaged by infectious diseases.
D) had a low premarital pregnancy rate.
E) allowed married women to retain property.

Question 52

The work and family schedules of the overwhelming majority of early American colonists were set by

A) the cycles of the season and the sun.
B) the demands of commercial merchant employers
C) the distinctive laws of each American colony.
D) the mothers and wives of American colonial fathers and husbands.
E) None of these are corect.

Question 53

Compared with most 17^th- century Europeans, Americans lived in

A) relative poverty.
B) larger cities.
C) affluent abundance.
D) a more rigid class system.
E) more primitive circumstances.

Question 54

The New England economy depended heavily on

A) slave labor.
B) the production of many staple crops.
C) fishing, shipbuilding, and commerce.
D) tobacco.
E) rice production.

Question 55

Identify and state the historical significance of Matthew Hopkins.

Question 56

The great majority of Africans who left Africa as captured slaves

A) were taken to South American and Caribbean colonies.
B) came to English America before 1700.
C) died aboard slave ships before they ever reached America.
D) came from the west coast of Africa.
E) came from the east coast of Africa.

Question 57

Identify and state the historical significance of the slave codes.

Question 58

By 1700, the colonial South generally lacked

A) a well-defined social structure.
B) reliable overland transportation.
C) an urban professional class.
D) a manageable labor force.
E) cash crops.

Question 59

Bacon's Rebellion stemmed from

A) Governor Berkeley's Indian policies.
B) the frustration of Virginia's colonial dependency on England.
C) the frontier's resentment of the tidewater gentry.
D) the inherent rebelliousness of African slaves.
E) lack of a policy toward Indians.

Question 60

Identify and state the historical significance of Nathaniel Bacon.

Question 61

Identify and state the historical significance of jeremiads.

Question 62

Write your definition of mass hysteria. Then use this definition to argue that the Salem witchcraft episode was or was not a simple case of mass hysteria.

Question 63

Identify and state the historical significance of Bacon's Rebellion.

Question 64

Why did colonial masters first adopt the institution of indentured servitude rather than Indian or black slavery to meet their demands for labor? Why, then, did black slavery replace indentured servitude?

Question 65

Compare and contrast the economies, geography and climate, mortality rates, sex ratios, and family relationships of New England and the southern colonies. In which of the two regions would you have preferred to live? Why?

Question 66

Identify and state the historical significance of the Half-Way Covenant.

Question 67

Write your definition of racism. Then use this definition to argue that the origin of slavery in colonial America was or was not primarily the result of white European racism.

Question 68

Identify and state the historical significance of family stability.

Question 69

Describe what you think town life contributed to the lifestyle of New Englanders; then consider what were the political, economic, and social consequences of the absence of cities in the colonial South.

Question 70

Identify and state the historical significance of Yankee ingenuity.

Question 71

Assess the extent to which distinctions of wealth and status were widening or narrowing as the 17^th century drew to a close? Why?

Question 72

Identify and state the historical significance of the headright system.

Question 73

Identify and state the historical significance of the Salem Witch Trials.

Question 74

Identify and state the historical significance of Leisler's Rebellion.

Question 75

Identify and state the historical significance of freedom dues.

Question 76

Identify and state the historical significance of "witch hunting".

Question 77

Identify three causes of Bacon's Rebellion. Evaluate the relative influence of the three identified political, economic, or social causes in initiating Bacon's Rebellion.

Question 78

Identify and state the historical significance of conversions.

Question 79

Identify and state the historical significance of the middle passage.

Question 80

Argue either that an American way of life had emerged by the end of the 17^th century or that two wholly distinct ways of life, one New England and the other southern, had emerged by the end of the 17^th century.