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[[American History Lecture Two|Lecture]] - [[American_History_Homework_Two|Questions]] - [[American History Homework Two Answers|Student Answers]]

[[American History Lecture Two|Lecture]] - [[American_History_Homework_Two|Questions]] - [[American History Homework Two Answers|Student Answers]]

Before we start our second lecture for American history, here are several test-taking tips for multiple-choice history exams.  Test-taking is a skill; master it and you will excel in any career you choose.  Treat a multiple-choice exam like a contest or a game.  How well do depends on two components:  how well you prepared prior to the exam, and how well you tried on the exam itself.  Everyone can improve their test-taking skills and obtain higher scores on all multiple choice exams.

Before we start our second lecture for American history, here are several test-taking tips for multiple-choice history exams.  Test-taking is a skill; master it and you will excel in any career you choose.  Treat a multiple-choice exam like a contest or a game.  How well you do depends on two components:  how well you prepared prior to the exam, and how well you tried on the exam itself.  Everyone can improve their test-taking skills and obtain higher scores on all multiple choice exams.

== Test-taking tips ==

== Test-taking tips ==

There are seven ways to improve your score while taking an exam.  Following these tips can improve your score significantly:

There are seven ways to improve your score while taking a multiple-choice exam.  Following these tips can improve your score significantly:

1. Understand the question.  The better you understand the question, the more likely you can answer it correctly.  Beware of qualifiers in the question, such as "EXCEPT":  "Each of the following was a cause of the Revolutionary War EXCEPT ...."

1. Understand the question.  The better you understand the question, the more likely you can answer it correctly.  Beware of qualifiers in the question, such as "EXCEPT":  "Each of the following was a cause of the Revolutionary War EXCEPT ...."

<br>4. Eliminate wrong answers before picking the correct one.  The more wrong answers you can cross out, the better your chances are of getting the right answer.  Examples of wrong answers would be:

<br>4. Eliminate wrong answers before picking the correct one.  The more wrong answers you can cross out, the better your chances are of getting the right answer.  Examples of wrong answers would be:

*Wrong time period

*Wrong time period

*The answer doesn't match the question – e.g., the answer is generally true, but not necessarily true with respect to the question.

*The answer doesn't match the question – e.g., the answer is sometimes true, but does not specifically answer the question asked.

*The answer violates common sense.

*The answer violates common sense.

*The answer is deceptively familiar for reasons unrelated to the question, such as an answer choice of "[[Magna Carta]]," which is not part of American history.

*The answer is deceptively familiar for reasons unrelated to the question, such as an answer choice of "[[Magna Carta]]," which is not part of American history.

|1653

|1653

|8 English noblemen (granted by Charles II)

|8 English noblemen (granted by Charles II)

|Colonized all of Carolina to grow silk, but this failed.  Colony split in 1729 into North Carolina (farms) and South Carolina (rice and indigo)

|Colonized all of Carolina to grow silk, but this failed.  Colony split in 1729 into North Carolina (farms) and South Carolina (growing rice and indigo)

|1729

|1729

|-

|-

|1664

|1664

|Duke of York

|Duke of York

|the great port of Manhattan was supposedly purchased from the Indians in 1626 for $24 worth of trinkets<ref>http://www.kb.nl/coop/geheugen/extra/tentoonstellingen/atlanticworldEN/tentoon5.html</ref>

|the great island of Manhattan was supposedly purchased from the Indians in 1626 for $24 worth of trinkets<ref>http://www.kb.nl/coop/geheugen/extra/tentoonstellingen/atlanticworldEN/tentoon5.html</ref>

|1685

|1685

|-

|-

|}

|}

Learn and remember the above chart.<ref>The terms "England" and "Britain" are used interchangeably (with the same meaning) throughout this course.</ref>  Notice how many colonies became royal colonies under the control of the King of England.  Frequently, this occurred because joint stock companies (such as the Virginia Company of London) became insolvent (went broke), or the proprietors (owners) of the colony proved unable to govern it.  

Learn and remember the above chart.<ref>The terms "England" and "Britain" are used interchangeably (with the same meaning) throughout this course.</ref>  Notice how many colonies became royal colonies under the control of the King of England.  This frequently occurred because joint stock companies (such as the Virginia Company of London) became insolvent (went broke), or the proprietors (owners) of the colony were unable to govern it successfully.  

Now let's continue with the Colonies around the turn of the century (i.e., the late 1600s and early 1700s).  Don't memorize dates, but do keep time periods separate in your mind.  In the 1600s most of the colonies were just getting started (except for [[Georgia]], which was the only colony founded in the 1700s rather than the 1600s).  In the 1700s, the colonies (except for Georgia) had long been established and were growing stronger.   

Now let's continue with the colonies around the turn of the century (i.e., the late 1600s and early 1700s).  Don't memorize dates, but do keep time periods separate in your mind.  In the 1600s most of the colonies were just getting started (except for [[Georgia]], which was the only colony founded in the 1700s rather than the 1600s).  By the 1700s, the colonies (except for Georgia) had long been established and were growing stronger.   

I should be able to mention an event and you should be able to tell me if it happened in the 1600s or 1700s.  Develop a habit of quizzing yourself:  Jamestown settlement, 1600s or 1700s?  [[Bacon's Rebellion]], 1600s or 1700s?  Founding of [[Pennsylvania]], 1600s or 1700s?  If you don't know the answers in all three cases, then please go back and reread the first lecture.

I should be able to mention an event and you should be able to tell me if it happened in the 1600s or 1700s.  Develop a habit of quizzing yourself:  Jamestown settlement, 1600s or 1700s?  [[Bacon's Rebellion]], 1600s or 1700s?  Founding of [[Pennsylvania]], 1600s or 1700s?  If you don't know the answers in all three cases, then please go back and reread the first lecture.

Events in Europe affected the American colonies.  Upheaval occurred in England in 1688.  The people there overthrew [[King James II]], who was Catholic.  His daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange took the throne and reinstated Protestantism, and adopted the [[English Bill of Rights]].  A century later this would inspire the American Bill of Rights,  One of the first American universities, "William & Mary" in Virginia, was named after King William and Queen Mary.   

Events in Europe affected the American colonies.  Upheaval occurred in England in 1688.  The people in England overthrew [[King James II]], who was Catholic.  His daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange took the throne and reinstated Protestantism, and also adopted the [[English Bill of Rights]].  A century later this would inspire the American Bill of Rights,  One of the first American universities, "William & Mary" in Virginia, was named after King William and Queen Mary.   

== The Salem Witch Trials ==

== The Salem Witch Trials ==

Before long the local jails were overflowing with witches identified by other so-called witches who had "confessed", and trials had to be held in order to free up space in jail.  Keep in mind that Puritans were running these trials, and they allowed  "spectral evidence" as a basis for convicting someone.  "Spectral evidence" is testimony by a victim that she had been visited by an image ("specter") of the accused, thereby suggesting the guilt of the accused.  This type of unreliable evidence is not allowed today.  Another flaw in the Puritans' legal system included a lack of a defense attorney for the accused, the allowance of "touching tests" as evidence, and the case did not have to be proven "beyond reasonable doubt," as it must be today.

Before long the local jails were overflowing with witches identified by other so-called witches who had "confessed", and trials had to be held in order to free up space in jail.  Keep in mind that Puritans were running these trials, and they allowed  "spectral evidence" as a basis for convicting someone.  "Spectral evidence" is testimony by a victim that she had been visited by an image ("specter") of the accused, thereby suggesting the guilt of the accused.  This type of unreliable evidence is not allowed today.  Another flaw in the Puritans' legal system included a lack of a defense attorney for the accused, the allowance of "touching tests" as evidence, and the case did not have to be proven "beyond reasonable doubt," as it must be today.

City authorities prosecuted the suspects (mostly older women but also some men), and nearly two dozen were convicted and executed for the crime of witchcraft (nearly all of them women, but at least one man too).  Some thought that the trials offered an unique opportunity to identify and expose the devil for the advancement of knowledge.  But others observed that killing all these people may itself the work of the devil.  Finally one of the accused witches identified the wife of the governor as being a witch.  That alarmed the governor himself, obviously, and he intervened to order the exclusion of spectral evidence and touching tests as evidence against the accused, and that proof be based on a higher standard of "clear and convincing evidence."  Under these better legal standards, nearly everyone was acquitted (found "not guilty") and the governor pardoned the few who were still convicted.  Tituba herself, who sparked the panic, later recanted her "confession" but remained in jail another year until someone paid the jailer money to release her and her husband.  (Note that while a few Puritans did own slaves in early times, they did not split slave families.)  Many associated with the trials later apologized, but not the Chief Judge William Stoughton.  He always insisted that he was about to "clear the land" of witches and that the governor should not have intervened to prevent this; Stoughton subsequently became governor himself of the Massachusetts colony, showing the popularity of his position.

City authorities prosecuted the suspects (mostly older women but also some men), and nearly two dozen were convicted and executed for the crime of witchcraft (nearly all of them women, but at least one man too).  Some thought that the trials offered an unique opportunity to identify and expose the devil, for the advancement of knowledge.  But others observed that killing all these people may itself the work of the devil.  Finally one of the accused witches identified the wife of the governor as being a witch.  That alarmed the governor himself, obviously, and he intervened to order the exclusion of spectral evidence and touching tests as evidence against the accused, and that proof be based on a higher standard of "clear and convincing evidence."  Under these better legal standards, nearly everyone was acquitted (found "not guilty") and the governor pardoned the few who were still convicted.  Tituba herself, who sparked the panic, later recanted her "confession" but remained in jail another year until someone paid the jailer money to release her and her husband.  (Notice that while a few Puritans did own slaves in early times, they did not split slave families.)  Many associated with the trials later apologized, but not the Chief Judge William Stoughton.  He always insisted that he was about to "clear the land" of witches and that the governor should not have intervened to prevent this; Stoughton subsequently became governor himself of the Massachusetts colony, showing the popularity of his position.

This entire episode is taught today to embarrass the [[Puritan]]s and religious authority in general.  In 1850 a classic in American literature, ''The Scarlet Letter'', described life in Puritan Boston in the 1600s and criticized its strict adherence to morality and the occasional scandals that resulted.  Yet when Puritanical morality was eventually abandoned centuries later, Boston and Massachusetts became the most liberal areas in the nation, and today Massachusetts is one of the very few states that allows same-sex marriage.  Morally, Massachusetts is now directly opposite of what it was in the 1600s.

This entire episode is taught today to embarrass the [[Puritan]]s and religious authority in general.  In 1850 a classic in American literature, ''The Scarlet Letter'', described life in Puritan Boston in the 1600s and criticized its strict adherence to morality and the occasional scandals that resulted.  Yet when Puritanical morality was eventually abandoned centuries later, Boston and Massachusetts became the most liberal areas in the nation, and Massachusetts was the first state to allow same-sex marriage.  Morally, Massachusetts is now directly opposite of what it was in the 1600s.

Historians continue to debate what the real motivation for the Salem Witch trials was.  There is much evidence that money, not religion, was the driving force.  Nearly all of the accusers were from poorer farms, which nearly all of the accused were from the newer, richer, commercial class (such as a tavern owner mentioned earlier).

Historians continue to debate what the real motivation for the Salem Witch trials was.  There is much evidence that money, not religion, was the driving force.  Nearly all of the accusers were from poorer farms, while nearly all of the accused were from the newer, richer, commercial class (such as a tavern owner mentioned earlier).

'''Debate:  Does the legal system or the Puritans -- or neither -- deserve blame for the Salem Witch Trials?'''

'''Debate:  Does the legal system or the Puritans -- or neither -- deserve blame for the Salem Witch Trials?'''

== Salutary Neglect ==

== Salutary Neglect ==

The period of "salutary neglect" was a time of prosperity in the colonies during which [[England]] did not enforce many rules or laws against the colonies.  Instead, England let the colonies do as they pleased in the hope that freedom and minimal taxation would stimulate business growth.   

The period of "salutary neglect" was a time of prosperity in the colonies during which [[England]] did not enforce many laws in the colonies.  Instead, England let the colonies do as they pleased in the hope that freedom and minimal taxation would stimulate business growth.   

This approach of "salutary neglect" was very successful.  It lasted from the late 1600s (just after all the colonies were established) until about 1760, when conflicts began and Britain changed its "hands off" policy.

This approach of "salutary neglect" was very successful.  It lasted from the late 1600s (soon after all the colonies were established) until about 1760, when conflicts began and Britain changed its "hands off" policy.

During this period, colonies differed in many ways from each other, but businesses flourished and the wealth of the colonies grew.

During this period of salutary neglect, colonies differed in many ways from each other, but businesses flourished and the wealth of the colonies grew.

== The Zenger Trial ==

== The Zenger Trial ==