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Regionalism

Regionalism
As life in the colonies progressed, certain regions of America developed distinct characteristics and each had its own unique niche. The contrasts between the different regions were involving crops, religion, and control. The distinct regions were New England ,the Chesapeake Bay area, the southern colonies, the middle colonies, and the frontier.

New England: Region of the colonies lying on the northeast Atlantic Coast. It started as a highly religious, Puritan society, but eventually became a commercialized "Yankee" society. Of all the colonies, the New Englanders prospered the least, had the most overpopulated towns, and had the poorest soil. To make up for the lack of farming, New Englanders turned to fishing and the merchant marine, and by 1700, this was one of the largest industries in the colonies.

New England Confederation, 1643: A concord among the New England colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven in the years from 1643-1684. The union was for the purpose of ensuring safety and peace between the colonies. The confederation was used most effectively advising during King Phillips War.

The Dominion of New England: Centralized government imposed upon the New England colonies by England in 1686 as a result of the Restoration monarchy’s need for control and renewed colonial interest. The Dominion was governed by New York governor Sir Edmund Andros. The consolidation was strongly opposed by the colonists because of the elimination of all colonial legislatures, and was ended by colonial insurrection.

Massachusetts Bay Company: Company in 1628 to govern the Massachusetts Bay Colony on granted by the Council of New England in America. Puritan settlers who founded their settlement at Boston first colonized the land, starting a trend of religiously independent settlements. The Company was dissolved in 1684.

Sir Edmund Andros: Political leader appointment as governor of the Dominion of New England in 1686. Andros was extremely unpopular because of his suppression of colonial legislatures, town meetings and enforcement of the Navigation Acts. Boston colonists forcefully removed Andros from office in 1689.

Thomas Hooker: Religious leader in colonial America and founder of Hartford, Conn. As a clergyman in Massachusetts, Hooker grew dissatisfied with the rigid practices and government of the Puritan church. In 1635 he lead a group of followers to start a more liberal colony in Hartford.

Saybrook Platform: A modified version of the Cambridge platform that was used by Connecticut Congregationalists and contained a more centralized church government. The government was for the colony at Saybrook of which John Winthrop’s son was governor.

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut: The constitution of the Connecticut colony that was established in 1639. Written by Thomas Hooker and similar to the government of Massachusetts Bay, it contained a preamble and 11 orders. Following the puritan ideal, it put the welfare of the community above that of individuals.

Poor Richard’s Almanack: Publication written by Benjamin Franklin in 1732 that gained an immense following with its home remedies and practical wisdom. It can be said that Poor Richard’s Almanack helped define the American culture by giving them traditions and wisdom’s all their own, separate from Britain.

Phillis Wheatly:
African American poet who was brought to America by slave traders at the age of eight and was bought by the Wheatly family. In 1767, at the age of 8, Phillis found her first fame while escorting one of the Wheatly’s in England. One of her works is "To the University of Cambridge in New England."

Ann Bradstreet:
The first woman to write poems in colonial America and receive acclaim for them. She was born in 1612 as the daughter of the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her poems, which were published as The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung up in America, asserted that women had the right to gain knowledge.

Southern Colonies: Region consisting mainly of the Carolinas and Georgia. The Southern Colonies were distinct from other colonies mostly on their dependence for slave labor and for farming. The main crop in the South was rice, leading to an absence of large cities in the south. But although most southern cities were tiny, Charleston became the fourth largest city in the colonies. The Southern Colonies were also the only colonies with a large population of blacks and an ethnically stratified society.

Culpeper’s Rebellion: Rebellion against the colonial government in Carolina in 1677. The rebellion was lead by John Culpeper and was directed against the government’s acceptance of English trade laws. The rebellion succeeded in disposing the governor and placing Culpeper in his position, but he was removed in 1679.

Georgia: Colony founded in 1733 by a charter granted to James Oglethorpe. The colony started with a settlement in Savanna created by Oglethorpe as a debtor’s colony. The high ideals of Oglethorpe, such as bans on slavery and rum, slowed growth as large settlement did not occur until after slavery was brought to Georgia.

James Oglethorpe: English soldier and founder of the colony of Georgia in 1733. Oglethorpe founded Georgia after a grant from King George II and settled with a small group on the Savanna River. Oglethorpe’s ideals in creating a debtors colony free of vice were a distinction from other colonies.

Tidewater vs. Piedmont: Two regions of contrasting economic opportunity. The Tidewater was along the coast, where most of the opportunity was in shipping and fishing. the Piedmont, on the other hand, was where farming took place. This contrast represented an East-West dichotomy to accompany the North-South one.

Maryland:
Proprietary colony originally intended to be a refuge for English Catholics. Maryland was created in 1632 when Lord Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert) was given a land grant and created a manor based state with a headright system. However, Protestants formed a majority and the manors evolved into plantations.

sugar colonies: Colonies that produced sugar for England, like New Netherlands, New England, Virginia, Maryland, and the Caribbean. Sugar was produced because it could make people rich quickly because it was sold at very high prices. Sugar plantation owners liked to use black slaves because they were able to work harder and longer.

Chesapeake Society: Society characterized by few neighbors and isolated families whose lives depended on tobacco. Chesapeake society also revolved around fertile soil near navigable water because tobacco needed such an environment to be grown profitably. Because of this, most farms were located along Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake society also had a powerful merchant class who controlled both export and import commerce. Slow urbanization also characterized society around the Chesapeake.

Lord Baltimore: Founder of Maryland who, in 1632, received a charter from King Charles I for a tract of land to the northeast of the colony of Virginia. It comprised the present-day states of Maryland and Delaware. He wrote the charter for the colony but died before he got it.

Maryland Act of Toleration: Act that resulted when the Catholics began feeling threatened by the overwhelming Protestant population. The Maryland Act of Toleration was passed in 1649 so all types of Christians could have equal political rights. Along with this equality Lord Calvert allowed a representative assembly for the Catholics.

Maryland’s Protestant Association: Group of Protestants in Maryland during late 1600s who controlled the lower house but not the upper, which the Catholics ruled. Eventually, after the Act of Religious Toleration was passed, the Protestant majority barred Catholics from voting and threw out the governor and repealed the act.

Huguenots: French Protestants. The enlightened and religiously skeptical spirit of the 18th century, however, was opposed to religious persecution, and during this time the French Protestants gradually regained many of their rights. The Huguenots slowed the colonization process for the French, because of the religious wars with French Catholics.

Carolinas: Colonies created when Charles II rewarded eight of the noblemen who had helped him regain the throne from the Puritan rule in 1663 by giving them land. North Carolina originated as an extension of Virginia and South Carolina came from planters from Barbados, who founded Charleston in 1670.

John Locke, Fundamental Constitution
: Intricate constitution written by Cooper and John Locke in 1670, meant to stabilize the government of Carolina by basing the social rank on one’s "landed wealth." It formed the three orders of nobility with the proprietors at the top, the caciques in the middle, and the landgraves at the bottom.

Charleston:
City that became the fourth largest city in North America. It was a place where the upper class could pass their time so they could stay away from the heat of their plantations. Many whites were lured to Charleston in hopes of reducing the black majority. These job seekers usually ended up competing for jobs with the black slaves.

staple crops of the South: The major staple crop of the south was rice, which was picked by African-American planters who were imported by the Dutch in 1616. Other crops were tobacco, indigo, various grains, wood, and skins. All of these products were exported to Europe and the west Indies. Most of the colonists’ profit came from farming.

Middle Colonies: The middle colonies were Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, all of which produced iron, grain, flour, wood, and tobacco which were exported to Britain, Europe and the West Indies. Pennsylvania was built on the basis of being a religious haven for Quakers. New York was built upon the rule of James Duke of York who sent out John Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret to be the first two proprietors of New Jersey.

Restoration Colonies: Colonies created following the Stuart restoration in 1660 when England again took interest in America. The colonies enabled England to control the East Coast, Carolina, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. These colonies had governments that made a social hierarchy geared toward a dominant wealthy class.

Primogeniture, entail: The practice of passing on land to a son, usually the eldest, when no will was left for the land. This practice became came over with the colonists and was introduced into common law, but it did not take long for the practice to die out in the colonies.

quitrents: Federal payments that the freeholders had to pay the people who were getting the land from proprietors. With the Restoration and the creation of Restoration Colonies, the dues were still enforced, with the money no longer going to the proprietors but instead to the king or queen as royal revenue.

SPG, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel: An organization founded in 1701 to serve the spiritual welfare of the colonists. After a visit to Maryland, Thomas Bray received a royal charter from King William for overseas missionary work. It was seen as a conspiracy, thus showing a fear of tyranny of the church and state.

Pennsylvania, William Penn: Pennsylvania was founded as a refuge for Quakers by William Penn in 1681. The Quakers believed that an "inner-light" allowed them to be on a personal level with God. Penn and his people did not experience a starving time which was very common for starting colonies. They started with a strong government.

Quakers: Religious movement founded in 1600 by a religious belief that divine revelation is immediate and individual and that all persons may perceive the word of God in their soul. They rejected a formal creed and regarded every participant as a potential vessel for the word of God. They were based in Pennsylvania.

George Fox: Preacher of the "inner-light" doctrine who spoke against formalized religion, mainly Presbyterianism, and advocated divine communion as he practiced it. He objected to political and religious authority, opposed war and slavery, and believed that all human actions must be directed by inner contemplation.

George Keith:
Member of the Quaker church who told the Quakers that they needed a formal doctrine. His ideas were not accepted among the Quaker majority, so in 1692 he joined the Church of England. With his heresy conviction the Quaker population in Pennsylvania dropped, and the Anglican population and political power rose.

liberal land laws in PA: Laws that were set up by William Penn which were very liberal because that was his nature. The 1701 Frame of Government stated that the proprietors had no power to do mischief. Penn himself carefully oversaw land sales in the colonies to avoid improper disputes. This liberal planning ensured no starving time.

Holy Experiment: The main part of this theology that George Fox taught was that people had an inner light that could spiritually inspire their souls. He objected to political and religious authority, opposed war and slavery, and believed that all human actions should be directed by inner contemplation and a social conscience inspired by God.

1701 Frame of Government:
The first set of laws set up in Pennsylvania which were written by William Penn. In his constitutional type document Penn preached "that the will of one man may not hinder the good of the whole company." The document was revised seven times and held a strong executive, and a limited lower legislative chamber.

New York: Dutch, 1664 English: Charles II gave his brother James title to all the Dutch lands in America in 1664. James became King in 1685 and appointed Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret as the first proprietors of New Jersey. For years to come there were conflicting claims to the territory and finally in 1702 it became a royal colony.

East/ West Jersey: They were colonies that resulted from the sale of the Jersey territory to Quakers. English settlers resisted the original proprietors’ authority, so in 1674 Berkeley sold his half to a union of Quakers. East Jersey then became dominated by Scottish Quakers whereas West Jersey became the home to many English Quakers.

patroon system: The system of feudal estates created by large New York landowners in the early 1700s. The estates were created in order to raise revenue by collecting tenant rents. Later, by about 1750, the patroon owners emerged as a class of landed elite, almost like the British landed aristocracy.

Peter Struyvesant: Dutch governor who was attacked by Charles II in 1664 so that the British could control North America. Struyvesant, whose army was already hurt from Indian attacks, peacefully surrendered and gave New Netherlands to Charles II, forming the New York and Jersey colonies with a large remaining Dutch population.

the middle colonies as a religious haven: William Penn founded Pennsylvania originally as a religious haven for Quakers who were not accepted elsewhere in 1681. Similarly, Maryland was founded by George Calvert in 1632 and served as a refuge for English Catholics. Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams in 1644 for dissenting Puritans.

crops in the middle colonies: The middle colonies rich level lands produced lengthy growing seasons and gave good bumper crops. The middle colonies were major exporting colonies because of their accessible sea ports. Their exports were rice, iron, grain, flour, wood, and tobacco which were shipped to Europe and the West Indies.

New York City and Philadelphia as urban centers:
Both cities were the two biggest exporting cities in America thus making them rapidly growing urban centers. High population and bad sanitation allowed many of the people to catch viruses and diseases. Recessions hit frequently and the job force was very unstable.

Leisler’s Rebellion: Anti-Stuart rebellion in which Captain Jacob Leisler took command over New York in hopes of protecting it from Andros and other supporters of James II. In 1691, Leisler denied the passing of English troops to important forts, leading to his arrest and death when his enemies gained control of the government.

Benjamin Franklin:
A notable American printer, author, diplomat, philosopher, and scientist, his contributions epitomized the Enlightenment. In 1731 he founded what was probably the first public library in America. He first published Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1732 and played a crucial role in the American Revolution and community.

John Bartram:
Botanist who was known as the father of American Botany. Bartram traveled extensively through the colonies, observing wildlife, writing, collecting plants, and making maps. He performed important experiments involving plant hybridization and in 1728 he founded the first botanical garden in America near Philadelphia.

Frontier
: Area of land important in the development of a distinctly American culture and political life, as explained by Fredrick Turner’s Frontier Thesis. The frontier also offered limitless land, which democratized America by elimating the significance of voting property requirements. Finally, the frontier represented a raw environment that helped mold American civilization by giving it coarseness, strength, acuteness, pragmatism, and inventiveness.

North-South economic differences:
The North was much more concerned with shipping, fishing, and industry whereas the South was based on an agricultural society. Also, the North had more towns, cities, and ports. In contrast, the South was characterized by cash crops, an aristocracy, and plantations.

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