Divergent Paths: Great Awakening, The
As the 1700s begin, a new force-the spirit of enlightenment with its emphasis on science and reason- competes with the religious messages of George Whitfield and the first Great Awakening. The movement surfaces in the mid-Atlantic colonies and soon ...
Divergent Paths: Governance of New England Towns
A very different form of community emerges in New England, one that is also distinctly American. Here the primary social unit is not the isolated farm, but the town-a tightly knit community of people bound together by their town covenant. In order t...
Divergent Paths: Contrast between Northern and Southern Colonies
The Southern and Northern colonies continue along divergent paths in the 17th and 18th centuries. Their physical environments are different, their populations diverse. But perhaps the factor that contributes most to their distinctiveness is the intr...
Divergent Paths: Cities of 17th Century Colonial America
Cities, even in the 17th century, play a prominent role in the economic and social life of the colonies. Early population centers--New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Charles Town--are often referred to as walking cities. There is little stratificati...
Growing Pains: Crown Tries to Tighten Its Control, The
In the British colonies along the Atlantic seaboard new agricultural and commercial interests begin to thrive. This success comes at a time when Britain is in conflict with its European neighbors over trade. In an attempt exclude other nations from ...
Growing Pains: England's Glorious Revolution and its Aftermath
22) James II is not only losing friends in America, he is also making powerful enemies in England by attempting to exercise autocratic control over Parliament. He and his colonial governors are overthrown in the Glorious Revolution. This is a period...
Growing Pains: Proprietary Charters Issued by Charles II
Historian John Murrin calls the 17th century the "age of remarkable experimentation in terms of how you organize a colony." The four new colonies Charles II initiates are all proprietary ventures styled after the Maryland model. Despite greater inte...
Growing Pains: Settlement of the Southern Coast: Carolinas, Georgia, Florida
The lure of land is so strong that some adventuresome settlers move away from the coastal areas to territory explored and occupied by the French. They are also tempted by the less densely populated regions of the south. Carolina, for example, is a s...
Strained Relations: Seven Years' War, The
In 1754 the long-standing struggle between France and England erupts in the Seven Years' War over the building of Fort Duquesne in the Ohio Valley. At first, the war is fairly contained, but in 1756 it explodes into a conflict of international propo...
Growing Pains: Impact of Quaker Presence in the Middle Colonies, The
For Quaker families, the religious freedom the colony offers is reason enough to come. Quaker women often travel as "public friends" or missionaries, a practice that is frowned upon by Puritans. Quaker settlers do not believe in killing; in fact the...