The document provides a summary of key events and developments in early American history from the founding of Jamestown in 1607 through the American Revolution. It discusses the establishment of the tobacco industry in Virginia, conflicts with Native Americans, the growth of slavery and the plantation system in the South, religious dissent that led to new colonies being founded, and the political and economic tensions that emerged between the colonies and Britain in the 1700s. Major events covered include the French and Indian War, responses to new British taxation like the Boston Tea Party, and the publication of Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence.

1. #’s 1 – 41

2. • Obtain land and become rich by
making money off of the products
and raw materials the land
produced.

3. • John Rolfe saved the colony when
he discovered tobacco
• It became the colony’s chief source
of income
• Was profitable for growers; produced
large revenues from taxes
• Attracted more settlers with the
“headright system” – 50 acres

4. • Hostile at first; Powhatan led 200
followers in an attack on Jamestown
• Powhatan hoped to est. trade; helped
settlers survive the first winter
• March 1622, 300 colonists killed by
Native American attack
• 1644, colonists turned back an attack
and from then on was clear colonists
had control of the land and colony

5. • Virginia’s first elected legislative
body
• Selected directly by the people.
• Helped lay the foundation for
ideas about representative
government that would develop in
the colonies.

6. • The settlement of VA kept pushing westward
with more conflict with Native Americans
• Colonists became irritated b/c they were not
receiving protection from the Governor.
• Nathaniel Bacon raised an army to fight the
N.A.’s and his actions were condemned by
the Governor
• Bacon then turned his troops on the
Governor and burned Jamestown
• It showed that the colonists expected a
government that served more than just the
wealthy few

7. • Slavery helped est. the plantation
system which raised cash crops
on huge farms that was
completely dependent on slavery
• Slavery and the plantation system
became the backbone of the
Southern economy

8. • Religious dissent – disagreement
with the Church of England
• To est. a community built on “pure”
biblical teachings rather than the
traditions of the Church of England
• Est. a colony at Plymouth,
Massachusetts
• Mayflower Compact – est. a
legislature and the gov’t derived its
power from the people of the colony

9. • A series of wars broke out at settlers
moved further west, pushing Native
Americans off their lands
• King Philip (Metacom) united NA’s in
an unsuccessful attempt to drive out
the English settlers
• NA’s killed more than 2,000 colonists
but were eventually defeated
• The wars resulted in the English
gaining firmer control over New
England

10. • Roger Williams and Anne
Hutchinson
• Dissenters left Massachusetts b/c
of a disagreement with the Puritan
church

11. • Partial membership to Puritan church
for children and grandchildren of full
members, regardless of any
conversion experience.
• So long as they were baptized, they
were considered a church member.
• Its purpose was to attract the Puritan
youth to eventually see the value in
full membership and forsake
secularism.

12. • In 1692, commitment to protect the
Puritan faith resulted in one of the
darkest episodes in American history.
• Claiming they had been possessed by
the devil, several young girls in Salem,
Mass., accused various townspeople of
being witches.
• Colonial authorities brought the accused
to trial and condemned a number of
them to death

13. • Religious unrest eventually took its
toll and the colony lost its charter in
1684
• In 1691, Massachusetts became a
royal colony under the leadership of
the king’s appointed governor
• The Crown est. a new representative
legislature and abolished the
requirement that every colonist must
be a member of the Puritan church

14. • The area we know now as New York
was originally settled by the Dutch.
• They named their colony “New
Amsterdam” and est. it as a diverse,
wealthy, key trading post on the
mouth of the Hudson River.
• England noticed its prosperity and
took it in 1664; it was immediately
renamed New York.

15. • Under the leadership of William
Penn, Pennsylvania became a
religious haven for the Quakers.
• They did not recognize class
differences, promoted equality of the
sexes, practiced non-violence, and
sought to deal fairly with the Native
Americans.
• They made Pennsylvania a place of
religious tolerance.

16. • France’s most successful early
North American colony was
established at Quebec, along the
shores of the St. Lawrence River,
in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain.

17. • France made great amounts of
money from their fur trade.
• They obtained fur, either by trapping
animals or trading with Native
Americans, then sold their products
for great profits in Europe.
• As a result, Native Americans and
French traders came to rely on one
another for commerce.

18. • Southern Colonies: slaves and the
plantation system; cash crops –
tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton
• Middle Colonies: farming and
commerce; large, diverse
populations in the port cities – New
York, Philadelphia
• New England Colonies: shipbuilding
and lumber, trade with Europe and
other colonies, fishing in the Atlantic
Ocean

19. • Countries grow wealthier and maintain
their national security by consistently
exporting (sell) more than they import
(buy).
• American colonists began a profitable
“Transatlantic Trade” in which they
shipped many of the colonies’ products
and raw materials to England.
• The Navigation Acts required the
colonies to sell certain goods only to
England who would then use them or
trade them to other nations.

20. • The trade between three points –
Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

21. • The Middle Passage was the route
taken by ships carrying slaves from
Africa to North America – the middle leg
of the Triangular Trade.
• The captives were forced to live in
cramped quarters aboard the ships and
suffered inhumane treatment.
• Due mostly to poor sanitation and
disease, many died before reaching the
Americas.

22. • Mixed African traditions with the
English language (Gullah) and
Christianity.
• Because they shared the burden
of slavery, they developed tight
knit communities over time.

23. • Inventor, scientist, writer,
ambassador to France, and a
founding father of the United
States.
• He was the example of
individualism and social mobility in
the colonies.

24. • Social mobility is the ability to move up from one
social status to another; this was usually based
on land ownership and was difficult to achieve in
Europe.
• This was different in the colonies b/c land was
abundant – even those who came to the colonies
as indentured servants often eventually became
property owners and obtained the right to vote.
• If the colonists worked hard and be successful,
they could advance their economic status.
• A belief in the ability of each individual to achieve
success if they will simply apply themselves and
work hard is called individualism.

25. • A religious movement in the 1730s that
featured passionate evangelical
preachers. These ministers believed the
colonists had forsaken God and called
them back to a “sincere Christian
commitment”.
• It encourage colonists to think for
themselves on religious matters and
helped ensure the principles of freedom
of religion and separation of church and
state.

26. • French and Native Americans vs.
British
• Desire for resources and territory b/c
of mercantilism – Ohio River Valley
• The war began in 1754 as British
colonists moved west and clashed
with the French and their Native
American allies.

27. • Ended the French and Indian War
• France gave up its claims to Canada and all lands east
of the Mississippi River.
• In addition, Spain ceded Florida to the British as well.
• Britain stood alone as the one, true colonial power in
eastern North America.
• The American colonists lost respect for Britain’s military
b/c it was viewed as ill prepared for fighting on
American terrain.
• Great Britain was heavily in debt after fighting to
defend its colonies and felt that Americans should help
pay for the expense.
• Relations between England and its colonies
deteriorated after the war.

28. • The British gained a vast territory after
the French & Indian War they needed to
control and the first step was King
George III’s Proclamation of 1763.
• It forbade colonists from settling west of
the Appalachian Mtns., and put the
territory under military control – why
have all this land if you aren’t going to
use it!?!?!
• It was resented and ignored by the

29. • Proclamation of 1763
• Stamp Act – “no taxation without
representation”; boycott of British
goods
• Declaratory Act
• Tea Act – Boston Tea Party by
Massachusetts’ committee of
correspondence
• Intolerable Acts

30. • Groups that sprang up throughout
the colonies to support and enforce
the boycott of British goods b/c of the
Stamp Act.
• They often used violence to
intimidate any merchant or royal
official who might otherwise use the
stamps.
• Boycotts along with violent
responses to the Stamp Act caused
Parliament to repeal the law.

31. • Many colonies organized these groups
dedicated to organizing resistance
against British laws; they made sure
colonists remained discontented with
British rule.
• December 1773: Massachusetts’s
committee of correspondence led a
group of radicals, dressed as Mohawk
Indians, to Boston Harbor; they raided
British ships hauling tea and dumped
them overboard – known as the “Boston
Tea Party”.

32. • January 1776: Paine published
“Common Sense” after fighting broke
out the previous April.
• In it, he made a compelling case for
independence that won many to the
cause.
• Due to the influence of Paine and
others, the 2nd Continental Congress
eventually stopped seeking resolution
with England and chose, instead, to

33. • Drafted by Thomas Jefferson.
• He was influenced by the ideas of the
Enlightenment and asserted the principles
of egalitarianism (all men are created equal)
and proclaimed that men are born with
certain inalienable rights (John Locke &
natural rights governments cannot take
away) – “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness”.
• Formally adopted by the Continental
Congress, July 4th, 1776.

34. • Formally adopted by the
Continental Congress, July 4th,
1776.

35. • An Enlightenment philosopher that influenced Thomas
Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence
• He challenged the idea monarchs possess a God-
given right to rule with citizens obligated to obey.
• He believed that people are born with certain natural
rights that no government can take away – life, liberty,
property.
• He also advocated the social contract theory – an
implied contract b/t a gov’t and its citizens: citizens are
born with freedom and rights, but for the good of
society, give up certain freedoms and empower gov’t to
maintain order for the betterment of society rather than
for its own interests.
• He also taught citizens have the right to replace any
government that fails to serve the public good.

36. • After the victory at Saratoga, the French
finally allied with the Americans;
promised money, troops, and the
support of the French Navy that
prompted the surrender of Cornwallis at
Yorktown b/c of the blockade.
• Even before the official treaty, Marquis
de Lafayette fought for the Revolution;
he rose through the ranks and Congress
eventually gave him his own command.

37. • Shortly after the signing of the
Declaration of Independence, the
Continental Congress sent
Benjamin Franklin to Paris to try to
convince the French to form an
open alliance with the United
States.

38. • Prussian Baron Friedrich Von
Steuben helped Washington train his
undisciplined and poorly supplied
troops at Valley Forge during the
winter of 1777-1778.
• Once the warm weather returned,
Washington’s army returned to
combat, more determined and better
prepared to meet the British in battle.

39. • Following the victory at Saratoga, the
Continental Army endured a harsh
winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
• Poorly supplied and lacking warm
clothing, many of Washington’s men
proved too sick to serve. A number of
them even died.
• With the efforts of Von Steuben and
Washington, the army effectively used
their time at Valley Forge to become
better trained and prepared to fight the
British.

40. • In retreat, after a humiliating defeat by the
British at New York, Washington was
plagued by a lack of supplies, undisciplined
soldiers, and the desertion of many of his
troops – the Continental Army was on the
brink of defeat.
• In December 1776, Washington surprised
his enemy by crossing the Delaware River
on Christmas night and attacked the
Hessians at Trenton, then Princeton, NJ.
• The victories greatly lifted American morale
and gave hope that the Revolution could
actually succeed.

41. • Southern British commander who
fought the American army in the
Carolinas and ultimately
surrendered to Washington at
Yorktown.

42. • Lexington and Concord: where the first shots of the
American Revolution were fired.
• Bunker Hill: after Lexington/Concord, 20,000 Patriots
surrounded British held Boston. June 1775, British
troops launched a series of attacks on American held
positions – Bunker and Breed’s Hill; although a British
victory, they suffered far greater casualties than the
Americans.
• Saratoga: Sept. 1777, Gen. Horatio Gates’ victories at
Saratoga, NY that convinced the French that victory
was possible and formed an alliance with the
Americans.
• Trenton: Washington’s surprise attack on Hessians;
boosted morale and confidence of an American victory.
• Yorktown: site of Corwallis’ surrender to Washington
which effectively ended the American Revolution.
• Treaty of Paris 1783: treaty ending the American