Chapter 5 Questions.

Colonial Society on the Eve of the Revolution

1) What was the speed at which the colonies were growing by the American Revolution? Population doubling every 20 years.

2) What was the impact of this growth in population? It made Brittan mad and the Indians irritated.

3) What was the view of the Scots-Irish towards the English government? They did not have any loyalty to the British.

4) What was the largest non-English ethnic group in the Americas by 1775? The Africans.

5) What was the diversity of population in each of the three colonial regions? White man, Black man, Indian man.

6) How did the British react when several state legislatures attempted to restrict the importation of slaves? They were really mad.

7) What profession led the political agitation before the Revolution? Founding father.

8) What was the basis of the American economic activity before the Revolution? They were used to doing what they wanted, so they were not going to go along with the Brittan laws.

9) What was the least important economic activity before the Revolution? Whaling.

10) Why did American merchants come to resent the British during the 1700s? Brittan wasn’t letting American merchants gain any profit without giving a certain amount of the money to England.

11) What was the status of transportation during the colonial period? It was mainly by waterbeds or by their newly built roads.

12) What was the purpose of the Molasses Act of 1733?  Why was this an important change in policy? The Molasses Act of March 1733 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Brittan, which imposed a tax of six pence per gallon on molasses.

13) Why were American taverns important during the colonial era? They were a great way to escape the taxing of Brittan.

14) What were the two major religions in America prior to the Revolution? Christianity, and Paganism.

15) How did religion in the 1700s compare to religion in the 1600s in America? The new testaments were more welcoming to the thought of God.

16) What was the Great Awakening? A major event in the history of America. It changed everybody’s lives.

17) Who were some of the leaders of the Great Awakening? The founding fathers.

18) What were some of the results of the Great Awakening? Freedom from Brittan.

19) What was the status of education in the colonies prior to the Revolution? It was a very horrible education.

20) What was the background and impact of the Zenger trial? John Peter Zenger was a German-born American printer, publisher, editor, and journalist in New York City. He was defendant in a landmark legal case in American jurisprudence that determined that truth was a defense against charges of libel.

21) What political principle did Americans come to cherish in the 1700s? Religious freedom.

22) How did colonial legislatures come to control governors in the seventeenth century? Through the king.

23) Who usually had the right to vote prior to the Revolution? White men born in America.