Colonial Geography
Which colonial region had rocky soil, small farms, and relied on fishing and shipbuilding?
New England
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
What was the main goal of British mercantilism?
Make money for the mother country
What was the first representative assembly in the colonies, formed in Virginia in 1619?
Virginia House of Burgesses
The Southern Colonies’ economy was based mostly on what type of farming?
Plantations or Cash Crops (indigo, rice, tobacco)
What is the main purpose of the Declaration of Independence?
To explain why the colonies were breaking away from Britain.
What war left Britain in debt, leading to new colonial taxes?
French and Indian War
What was the Mayflower Compact an example of?
Self-government or an early democratic agreement.
The Middle Colonies were known as the “breadbasket” because they produced large amounts of what?
Grain or wheat
Which Enlightenment thinker influenced Jefferson’s ideas about natural rights?
John Locke
What was the British law that required colonists to house soldiers?
Quartering Act
Which colony was founded as a place for religious freedom by the Puritans?
Massachusetts
The Appalachian Mountains acted as a natural barrier to what?
Westward expansion or settlement
What are the three “unalienable rights” mentioned in the Declaration?
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
What was Britain’s response to the Boston Tea Party called?
The Intolerable Acts
How did the experience of colonial self-government influence later U.S. government ideas?
Colonists learned to govern themselves and value representative democracy.
How did geography influence settlement along the Atlantic Coast?
Colonists built ports and towns near rivers and harbors for trade.
According to the Declaration, what can people do if a government abuses its power?
They can change or abolish it.
Why did many colonists chant “No taxation without representation”?
They had no voice in Parliament but were still being taxed.
What was indentured servitude, and how did it shape colonial society?
It was a system where people worked for several years to pay for passage to America, creating a labor force before slavery expanded.