CHAPTER 3
Colonial Ways of Life
TRUE/FALSE
1. The earliest English colonists in the North American colonies had a relatively low death rate
until the 1750s.
2. Most colonists believed in the inferiority of women.
3. Most African men and women who were taken to the American colonies abandoned their
traditional religion for Christianity.
4. The most important crop in the Virginia colony was tobacco.
5. By 1700, tobacco, rice, and indigo were the staple crops of Maryland, Virginia,
and the Carolinas.
6. New Englanders, more than southerners, turned to the sea for their livelihood.
7. Belief in witchcraft was widespread in New England in the seventeenth century.
8. The colony of Pennsylvania was one of the most diverse in English North America,
with English, German, Scots-Irish, and a variety of smaller national and ethnic groups
represented.
9. Initially, in the early seventeenth century, many of the first slaves were treated like indentured
servants and earned their freedom.
10. During the eighteenth century, demand for slaves in the southern colonies declined slightly.
11. As slavery became more important to the economy of the colonies, some slaves became skilled carpenters,
blacksmiths, and other types of craftsman over time.
12. Because traveling at night was dangerous in the colonies, taverns became important during the
late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
13. Jonathan Edwards saw emotionalism as a weakness among Christians.
14. The Great Awakening shattered the Puritan ideal of religious uniformity.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following groups formed the majority of the colonists who initially settled
in America and, thus, significantly contributed to America’s distinctive restless energy?
a.
young, poor settlers
d.
older, white men
b.
rich, white families
e.
European politicians
c.
married women
2. Benjamin Franklin believed a major reason for colonial population growth was
a.
government bounties for large families.
b.
English immunity to contagious diseases.
c.
rapid advances in medical science.
d.
couples marrying later than in Europe.
e.
an abundance of cheap land.
3. Although diseases were widespread in North America, colonists were less susceptible than in
Europe because
a.
the American population was younger and more dispersed.
b.
Americans had been exposed to most diseases in Europe and had built immunity.
c.
the colonies had much better doctors than England.
d.
the diseases themselves were not as virulent as their European cousins.
e.
American cities were cleaner than their European counterparts.
4. Throughout the colonies, what did husbands expect from their wives?
a.
submission to their authority
b.
an equal partnership in managing the household
c.
instruction in religion and morality
d.
romantic love as the basis of marriage
e.
toleration of sex outside of marriage
5. Which of the following statements accurately summarizes the role of women in the
eighteenth-century American colonies?
a.
They generally had lower status in society than did women in Europe.
b.
They often remained confined to the domestic sphere or “women’s work.”
c.
They could vote and hold office.
d.
They were unlikely to find eligible men to marry.
e.
They lived lives of quiet and leisure.
6. Although women in the early American colonies were expected to perform household chores,
a.
many unmarried women worked outside the home in a skilled trade as an apprentice.
b.
many married women became religious ministers in congregationalist churches.
c.
many unmarried woman worked as clerks in colonial legislatures.
d.
many married women managed to earn some of their own money running laundries or bakeries.
e.
many women became physicians, as they were believed to have a natural nurturing nature.
7. What was the scope of prostitution in the American colonies?
a.
Prostitution carried a social stigma but became one of the most lucrative trades among colonial
women, especially recently released female indentured servants.
b.
Prostitution widely became accepted by local authorities, which thereby softened colonists’ views
on what actions were considered adulterous.
c.
Prostitution came to be limited to only the very rich because “bawdy houses” were expensive and
prostitutes largely came from the upper classes.
d.
Prostitution was limited to only the very poor because the members of the higher classes never
dared to participate out of protection for their reputations.
e.
Prostitution was almost nonexistent throughout the American colonies due to the pervasiveness of
Puritan values and norms.
8. In which of the following ways were the experiences of Eliza Pinckney unique for a woman
of the eighteenth-century American colonies?
a.
She managed to maintain social prominence even after having been accused by Massachusetts
Puritans of being a witch.
b.
She had become a successful farm owner but, upon getting married, was forced to relinquish all
management responsibilities to her husband.
c.
She lived a life of utter extravagance, spending large amounts of money on her family home and
often traveling to Antigua.
d.
She ran for the colonial assembly of South Carolina and almost won by a narrow margin, thereby
inspiring more women to run for office.
e.
She managed profitable indigo plantations even while married and signaled the possibility of
women taking on economic leadership roles.
9. In regard to religion, white women in the American colonies
a.
frequently served as ministers.
b.
were more likely to be churchgoers than men.
c.
experienced the most equality in Puritan churches.
d.
were more likely than men to question religious authority.
e.
were frequently employed as faith healers.
10. In the seventeenth century, the cash crop that was the basis of the economy in Virginia
and Maryland was
a.
rice.
d.
cotton.
b.
tobacco.
e.
barley.
c.
indigo.
11. The success of rice as a perfect crop for South Carolina was helped by
a.
plentiful labor and land in the colony.
b.
the native population’s willingness to work in the fields.
c.
the minimal amount of labor it required.
d.
the creation of irrigation systems that allowed laborers to flood and drain the fields.
e.
the lack of rain in the region.
12. Which of the following statements about early colonial life in the Chesapeake region is true?
a.
Settlers lived in primitive houses.
b.
Colonists relied on township grants.
c.
Social divisions decreased as the colonies matured.
d.
Indians tended to ignore and avoid English communities.
e.
Settlers lived in small but ornate houses.
13. Which of the following was true of New England in the seventeenth century?
a.
Residents were required to be members of the Puritan church.
b.
Residents were intensely loyal to the wishes of the king and Parliament.
c.
Church and state were separated in all New England colonies.
d.
Considerable cultural and racial open-mindedness was practiced.
e.
It was more governed by religious concerns than the middle and southern colonies.
14. Early settlers of Puritan New England typically lived
a.
in harmony with the local Indian tribes.
b.
in communities loyal to the Church of England.
c.
on large farms.
d.
in a religiously tolerant society.
e.
in communities where church and state were intertwined.
15. The covenant theory from which the Puritans drew their ideas led to
a.
majority rule being treated as the ultimate source of authority.
b.
the notion that the king replaced God as the head of the government of the people.
c.
the rise of commercial agriculture in the American colonies.
d.
a fundamental belief in democracy and equality.
e.
the idea of people joining to form governments, much as they formed congregations.
16. New England settlement patterns differed greatly because
a.
New Englanders applied for township grants and settled areas as groups and
church congregations.
b.
New Englanders tended to live and intermarry with the Native Americans
across various tribes.
c.
churches were typically the last buildings built in a township after town halls had
been established.
d.
the amount of land New Englanders received had nothing to do with their status or investments.
e.
New Englanders received huge tracts of land that kept them spread apart from one another.
17. Which of the following spurred shipbuilding in New England?
a.
the abundance of fish and whales off its coast
b.
the region’s extensive forests
c.
the growing American navy
d.
the need for transporting southern cotton
e.
southern purchases of New England–made ships
18. What was the triangular trade?
a.
a trade network limited to the American colonies in which New England, the middle colonies, and
the southern colonies exchanged region-specific goods
b.
an international trade system that relied on the transportation of enslaved Africans, manufactured
goods from Europe, and agricultural commodities from the Americas
c.
a pathway many European merchant vessels took through the Bermuda Triangle, characterized by
the number of sailors lost at sea
d.
an early American economic policy based on the idea that unbalanced trade would topple the
economy and that superior labor conditions created superior products
e.
a thriving Native American trade system that was disrupted by the arrival of the Europeans and
centered on the exchange of furs, crops, and weapons
19. Although Puritans led a strict lifestyle in many ways, they did
a.
have a significant drinking culture.
b.
promote the celebration of Christmas.
c.
allow men to have sexual relations with unwed women.
d.
refrain from publicly punishing those who ignored Puritan guidelines.
e.
place little emphasis on the Bible itself as a means of authority.
20. The witch craze in Salem started when
a.
a slave named Tituba cursed the village minister.
b.
Indians attacked and looted the village.
c.
several people died of a mysterious illness.
d.
adolescent girls began to exhibit strange afflictions.
e.
the town minister was caught in a sex scandal.
21. Which of the following is the best explanation for the Salem witch craze?
a.
The accusers sought to claim the positions of the accused, the vast majority of whom were men.
b.
Real witches had arrived in Salem Village and cast spells on young girls.
c.
The controversy reflected the social division and anxieties within the village.
d.
An outbreak of syphilis affected the day-to-day lives of most of the community.
e.
The community had recently converted to a religion far different from Puritanism.
22. Which of the following statements accurately describes the middle colonies?
a.
They included Rhode Island and Maryland.
b.
They lacked a suitable base for commerce.
c.
They for many years had a black-majority population.
d.
They were dominated by plantation agriculture.
e.
They geographically and culturally stood between the New England and southern colonies.
23. Which of the following terms was related to land policy in New York?
a.
patroonship
d.
plantation tracts
b.
headright
e.
Dutch estates
c.
royal grants
24. The largest number of German immigrants to the colonies settled in
a.
Rhode Island.
d.
Delaware.
b.
South Carolina.
e.
Pennsylvania.
c.
New York.
25. Of the following colonies, which one became the great distribution point for the ethnic groups
of European origin?
a.
New York
d.
Virginia
b.
Massachusetts
e.
Maryland
c.
Pennsylvania
26. Which of the following groups of immigrants settled primarily in the backcountry and was
driven not by religion but by the lure of cheap land?
a.
Puritans
d.
Germans
b.
Mennonites
e.
Quakers
c.
Scots-Irish
27. Which of the following statements about slave codes is correct?
a.
They outlawed many actions taken by slave-owners to punish slaves.
b.
They formalized the institution of race-based slavery by outlining the local laws that governed slave
life.
c.
They placed limits on race-based slavery so that it was no longer considered lifelong.
d.
They had been implemented since race-based slavery first reached the Americas.
e.
They demonstrated that most colonists deemed race-based slavery a moral issue.
28. Which of the following led to race-based slavery?
a.
Far more slaves went to North America than to the West Indies.
b.
Slavery only was present in the South, so they could get away with discrimination more easily.
c.
Color prejudice had been ingrained in the slave trade since its beginnings.
d.
No colony ever came to have a majority-slave population.
e.
Since the beginning of the slave trade, all slaves could expect a lifetime in bondage.
29. In the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century American colonies, how did indentured servitude
and race-based slavery evolve in relation to each other?
a.
As Enlightenment ideas spread about the evilness of race-based slavery, the number of enslaved
Africans in America declined, and the number of European indentured servants gradually rose to
compensate.
b.
As commercial agriculture grew, the colonists came to prefer the labor of enslaved Native
Americans to that of enslaved Africans or indentured servants due to their familiarity with
American crops.
c.
After 1700, most new immigrants coming to the Americas were English rather than African, so
English indentured servants were given the bulk of the agricultural labor in the South.
d.
As the sugar, tobacco, rice, and indigo economies expanded and demanded harsher, more intensive
labor, the number of enslaved Africans grew and the number of European indentured servants
slowed.
e.
Because the original Africans of the Americas had come to have children who were also enslaved,
the colonists no longer maintained slave-trading companies, and indentured servitude became
obsolete.
30. Which of the following is true of the Stono Rebellion?
a.
It took place in Virginia.
b.
It was the only successful slave revolt of the colonial era.
c.
It was incited by a law forcing Christianity on slaves.
d.
It came about as a result of Spanish interference.
e.
It tightened controls on slaves.
31. Slaves who lived in northern colonies
a.
usually lived and worked in cities and towns.
b.
were agricultural laborers like those in the South.
c.
enjoyed more humane treatment than those in the Chesapeake.
d.
usually possessed a trade or special skill.
e.
were forced to become Puritans.
32. The events surrounding a suspected slave revolt in New York City in 1741 offer parallels to
a.
the English Civil War.
d.
Bacon’s Rebellion.
b.
the Salem witch craze.
e.
the Great Awakening.
c.
the American Revolution.
33. By the end of the colonial period, American cities
a.
were limited to the middle colonies.
b.
were characterized by increasing social and economic equality.
c.
held no more than 10 percent of the total population.
d.
were cleaner, safer, and healthier than rural environments.
e.
had majority-non-English populations.
34. By 1700, which of the following was the most democratic and important social institution in
the American colonies?
a.
coffeehouses
d.
colleges
b.
churches
e.
taverns
c.
theaters
35. Enlightenment thinkers such as Isaac Newton stressed the
a.
value of traditional religion.
b.
virtue of divine right monarchy.
c.
ability of reason to discover the laws of the universe.
d.
superiority of art over science.
e.
presence of God in nature.
36. Which of the following beliefs characterized Deism?
a.
Evil resulted from humanity’s inherent sinfulness rather than human ignorance.
b.
Monarchs were deities and, thus, ought to have more power than legislatures.
c.
God created the universe and set it in motion, but no longer intervened with the earth
or its people.
d.
The best way to improve society and human nature was through daily worship.
e.
There was a great war for the human soul waged between the Catholic and Protestant faiths.
37. Benjamin Franklin emphasized the Enlightenment in his
a.
denial of God’s existence.
b.
rise from poverty to riches.
c.
passion for science and experimentation.
d.
disagreement with the works of John Locke.
e.
belief in the divinity of Jesus.
38. Education in the colonies was
a.
most advanced in the South.
b.
primarily intended for young women.
c.
most advanced in frontier regions.
d.
unrelated to lessons in morality.
e.
usually seen as the responsibility of family and church.
39. Puritan commitment to education is best explained by their
a.
need for a literate workforce.
b.
commitment to Enlightenment principles.
c.
prior exposure to schools in England.
d.
innate love of learning.
e.
focus on reading Scripture.
40. The Great Awakening developed in reaction to the
a.
attempt of British officials to regulate colonial churches.
b.
increasing education and sophistication of backwoods settlers.
c.
increasing role of emotionalism in religion.
d.
tendency of the Enlightenment to place great emphasis on formal religion.
e.
Deism and skepticism associated with the Enlightenment.
41. Which church dominated the Chesapeake region by 1700?
a.
Anglican
d.
Baptist
b.
Quaker
e.
Presbyterian
c.
Puritan
42. Jonathan Edwards’s famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” described
a.
a distant and uncaring God.
b.
the gruesome reality of hell.
c.
the beauty of God’s creation.
d.
the possibility of universal salvation.
e.
God’s desire that Americans economically prosper.
43. The English revivalist who preached to thousands, urged his listeners to experience a sudden
moment of conversion and salvation, and so impressed Benjamin Franklin was
a.
James Davenport.
d.
George Whitefield.
b.
Jonathan Edwards.
e.
William Tennent.
c.
Evander Osteen.
44. William and Gilbert Tennent were Irish-born Presbyterians who preached that
a.
true believers must return to the Anglican Church.
b.
people should renounce their ministers and pursue salvation on their own.
c.
scientific inquiry would help solve life’s mysteries.
d.
the acquisition of great wealth was a true path to heaven.
e.
local ministers held the only true power when it came to deliverance from sin.
45. According to the textbook, the MOST controversial element of the Great Awakening was
a.
women who rose to speak during religious services.
b.
the revolutionary approach of the so-called Old Light theology.
c.
the belief that religion was no longer a personal experience.
d.
the acceptance of confrontation as an element of worship.
e.
its emphasis on religious uniformity.
46. New Lights differed from Old Lights by
a.
their readiness to approach their religious conflict as open warfare.
b.
discounting the element of choice in a person’s faith.
c.
including elements like choir in church services.
d.
incorporating democracy and emotionalism into faith.
e.
promising to reinforce traditional Puritanism.
47. One result of the Great Awakening was that it spurred an increase in the number of
a.
slave rebellions.
d.
witch crazes.
b.
suicides.
e.
colleges.
c.
marriages.
48. Which of the following statements accurately describes the impact of the religious revivals
known as the Great Awakening?
a.
They resulted in fewer religious denominations, thereby creating a sense of unified American
religious identity.
b.
They had little effect on the day–to-day lives of colonists but managed to continue into the
nineteenth century.
c.
They insisted on the importance of local parish ministers over itinerants, which reinforced the
parish system.
d.
They sought to remove the emotional component of preaching in favor of rationalism advanced by
the Enlightenment.
e.
They influenced the forces leading to the revolution against Great Britain, as did the Enlightenment
in many ways.
ESSAY
1. In what ways did settlement patterns, family life, population growth, and society differ in the
New England and southern colonies in the seventeenth century? What factors might account
for these differences?
2. Compare and contrast race-based slavery and indentured servitude in the American colonies.
Consider the conditions these laborers experienced, the rules surrounding their status as slaves
or servants, and the ways in which their numbers in the colonies rose or fell.
3. Describe the status of women in colonial society. What factors might account for their role in society?
4. Compare and contrast the influence of religion in the New England, middle, and southern colonies.
5. Seventeenth-century slavery was unique in world history for its color basis. Examine the nature of
this institution at that time, making sure to speak to the economic forces that drove it.
6. How might the Enlightenment and Great Awakening have laid the foundation in the American colonies for
independence from England? What ideas, practices, and attitudes did they develop
that would facilitate this movement?
7. According to the textbook, “Both geographically and culturally, the middle colonies stood between New England
and the South.” Explain this statement.
8. Discuss the unique nature of colonial cities. Focus your emphasis on the social and political
order as well as the urban web. In what way were taverns a major social institution of the
English colonies? Why, despite all the differences among the colonies, did taverns prove a
common part of the culture?
9. Explain the system of education in the colonies. Which groups had the greatest impact on
expanding educational opportunities to colonial citizens?
10. Discuss the New England shipping industry and its impact on colonial trade.
11. Discuss the influence the Great Awakening had on higher education in the colonies.
12. Discuss the lasting cultural, political, and economic influence the Dutch had on the colony of
New York.
MATCHING
Match each description with the item below.
a.
was a revivalist who spread the gospel and pummeled her husband when he tried to intervene
b.
organized prayer meetings for black and white men and women
c.
urged his parishioners to experience a “new birth”
d.
challenged biblical notions through science such as his theory of gravitational pull
e.
was a former slave who became a major Virginia landowner
f.
published the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard’s Almanack
g.
was a newspaper editor tried for seditious libel
h.
experimented with several vegetable crops before developing indigo as an exotic staple
i.
was an advocate of “natural law” and “natural rights” and emphasized the idea of the consent of the
governed
j.
was a slave who confessed to witchcraft in Salem after being beaten
1. George Whitefield
2. Tituba
3. Bathsheba Kingsley
4. Benjamin Franklin
5. John Locke
6. Eliza Pinckney
7. Isaac Newton
8. Anthony Johnson
9. Sarah Haggar Osborne
10. John Peter Zenger