Download British Colonial America Study Guide

British
Colonial
America
Study Guide
SS4H3 The student will explain the factors that shaped
British colonial America. a. Compare and contrast life
in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern
colonies. b. Describe colonial life in America as
experienced by various people, including large
landowners, farmers, artisans, women, indentured
servants, slaves, and Native Americans.
British Colonial America
Study Guide
1. There were 13 original colonies.
2. The soil in the New England colonies was a thick and rocky soil and was difficult to
farm. The soil in the middle colonies was rich and fertile, great for growing crops.
3. The soil and climate made for a long growing season in the Southern Colonies.
4. Puritans were found in the New England Colonies.
5. Artisans made their own goods and crafts with their hands.
6. The Middle Colonies or the Mid-Atlantic colonies were known as the breadbasket.
7. Shipbuilding was one of the main industries in the New England. colonies
8. The main crops grown in the southern colonies were indigo, rice, and tobacco.
9. Large landowners were very wealthy and usually owned huge tracts of land with
many slaves.
10. Farmers worked thier farms with the labor of their own families - fathers,
mothers and children all worked together on the farm.
11. Artisans were skilled in a single trade. They often depended on the labor of
indentured servants
12. Women worked a lot in British Colonial America. They did not vote, had children and
took care of the home and children.
13. Indentured servants were men and women who signed a contract binding them for a
certain number of years as a servant, in exchange for transportation to the New World.
14. Slaves were taken from their homes and forced to work primarily on southern
plantations.
15. Native Americans were displaced in many cases with the colonization of North
America.
16. Price incentive: A cost motivates a decision or action by consumers, workers, and
businesses in the economy.
17. Specialization: When workers focus on performing separate tasks and as a result
workers perform fewer tasks more frequently. Specialization leads to improved standards
of living because the economy works more efficiently.
18. Voluntary exchange: Act of buyers and sellers freely and willingly engaging in market
transactions.
19. Indentured servants: Indentured servants signed a contract agreeing to work for
someone for a specified length of time. They were not free to leave their job before the
time was up, thus giving up personal freedom.
20. Opportunity cost: An economic term for what you must give up to obtain something
else. It is always your second-best alternative.
New England
Puritans
Middle
Bread Baskets (Mills and
Grains)
Southern
Indigo
Fishing
Quakers
Slaves
Whaling
indentured servants
Farming
Shipbuilding
Trading
Tobacco
Thick Rocky Soil
Shipping
Plantations
Short Growing Season
Rivers
Rice