1.  What was the traditional structure of a Puritan “godly” family?  What affect did moving to the American colonies as part of an intact family unit have on those that moved and the communities they created?  What was New England’s population by the end of the 1600s?  What enabled this impressive population growth?  How were marriages initiated in seventeenth- century New England communities?  Why did most people marry?  What was a young family’s primary goal?

2.  What was the policy of the Massachusetts General Court on public education?  What affect did this have on the population?  What roles did New England women play within the family?  Why were they often referred to as “deputy husbands”?  Why did women join churches in greater numbers than men in New England?  What political and legal rights did women have in New England?  Why did most women, and men, not object to their familial roles?

3.  Whom did most New Englanders view as natural rulers?  What was the economic status of most New England men in the seventeenth century?  Why did many New Englanders work as servants early in their lives?  Why were most of the immigrants to Virginia and Maryland young and single?  What was the ratio of men to women in the Chesapeake in the early 1600s?  What was the average life expectancy for a man in the Chesapeake region? Why?  Why was it difficult for the colonies to create a self-sustaining population?

4.  How did the high mortality rates affect families in the Chesapeake?  How did the lack of women affect their ability to marry?  How did the creation of a tobacco based economy promote inequality within society?  Describe the roles and positions of the “great planters” in Virginia’s society.  Who were the freemen of Chesapeake society and how did they come to be?  Why was life tough for indentured servants?  Why was the growth of a “creole majority” important?  What were some of the reasons for the marked differences between New England and Chesapeake colonial societies?

5.  When did African Americans first arrive in Virginia? What was their place in society?  Why did Virginians not give much thought to creating laws regulating slavery through the middle of the seventeenth century?  Why was the use of slave labour desirable to Virginia planters?  How did they rationalize the practice of owning and forcing other humans to perform manual labour?  Why did laws regarding slavery become stricter and more clearly defined as time passed?  Why was contact between blacks and whites more common in areas where whites made up a greater proportion of the population?

6.  What were the advantages and disadvantages of being a slave on a rice plantation compared with being a slave in a northern city?  What demographic change occurred within the slave population in the early 1700s?  How did the fear of slave revolts affect the white planters? Was the fear justified?  What was mercantilism?  What was the Navigation Act of 1660?  What were its stipulations regarding ship construction and cargo destination?  Why did Americans have to pay import duties in England? Was this fair?

7.  Did Americans appreciate the tight restrictions on American exports?  Why did the economy of Virginia go into decline in the late 1600s?  Who was Nathaniel Bacon?  What was Bacon’s Rebellion?  How did the rebellion end and did it really accomplish anything?  How did the enforcement of the Navigation Acts create tensions in the Massachusetts Bay Colony?  What did the Court of the Chancery do in 1684 that changed the nature of the colony?  What was King Philip’s War?  Who was Sir Edmund Andros and why did people hate him?

8.  How did England’s Glorious Revolution lead to New England’s Glorious Revolution of 1689?  What changes did the new king, William III bring in for the New England colonies?  Why did people in the village of Salem suddenly become terrified of witches in 1691?  How many people were executed as result of the witch trials?  Who were most often accused of being witches? Why?  What brought the witch hunts to an end?  Science In History Science In History  Pressed to Death! Pressed to Death!  You're a Witch!!! You're a Witch!!!

9.  What was the nature of the tension between colonists in New York?  Who was Jacob Leisler and why was he executed?  Review Exercise:  In groups of 3 or 4 go over chapters 2 and 3  Come up with 5 or 6 questions that could be used in a test  Prepare answers for those questions  Each group will have the opportunity to ask the class some of their questions and assess how well the other groups respond