Chapter 4 Focus Questions

What were the meanings of British liberty in the eighteenth century?

Despite the slavery of the empire, eighteenth-century Great Britain prided itself on being the world's most advanced and freest nation. Britons believed that wealth, religion, and freedom went together. Central to this sense of British identity was the concept of liberty. British liberty was simultaneously a collection of specific rights, a national characteristic, and a state of mind.

What factors led to distinct African-American cultures in the eighth century?

In the Chesapeake, the slave population began to reproduce itself making possible the creation of family-centered slave communities. Slaves were continuously exposed to white culture and soon learned English. On rice plantations, slaves lived in very harsh conditions and had a low birth rate. Northern slaves developed a culture more slowly due to the concentrated population, but they had more mobility and access to the mainstream of life.

What was the impact of the Seven Years' War on imperial and Indian-white relations?

Indians were constantly being pushed into a "middle ground" between European empires and Indian sovereignty. With the removal of the French, the balance of power diplomacy that had enabled groups like the Iroquois to maintain a significant degree of autonomy was eliminated. The war deepened the hostility of western Pennsylvania farmers toward Indians.

What concepts and institutions dominated colonial politics in the eighteenth century?

Ownership of property was a common standard for voting in the colonies. Suffrage was much more common in the colonies than in Britain. During the first half of the eighteenth century the colonies were largely left to govern themselves. Elected assemblies became dominant and assertive in colonial politics. Freedom of speech was a relatively new idea and freedom of the press was generally viewed as dangerous.

How did the Spanish and French empires in America develop in the eighteenth century?

Spanish North America wasn't as vast as it seemed on paper. Despite establishing religious missions and presidios, the population in Spanish North America remained low. The French empire expanded in the early eighteenth century. The French tended to view North America as a place of cruel exile for criminals and social outcasts.

How did the Great Awakening challenge the religious and social structures of British North America?

The Great Awakening enlarged the boundaries of liberty and inspired criticism of many aspects of colonial society. A few preachers explicitly condemned slavery, but most masters managed to reconcile Christianity and slave holding. It expanded the circulation of printed material in the colonies.

How did African slavery differ regionally in eighteenth century North America?

There were three distinct slave systems in the colonies: tobacco-based plantations in the Chesapeake, rice-based plantations in South Carolina and Georgia, and no plantations in New England and the Middle Colonies. In the Chesapeake, it was a slave society. In the South, slavery was big and the discrimination between blacks and whites increased during the eighteenth century. In New England, slaves had certain rights that were unknown in the south.