Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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The Navigation Act of 1660 forbade importing into or the exporting from the British colonies of any goods except in English or Colonial
ships. It also forbade articles such as tobacco, sugar, cotton and indigo to be shipped to any country except to England or some English
plantation. These goods had to pay heavy tariffs when shipped to England. Articles such as grain and fish were not taxed because they were
produced in England, and if the colonial production had been sent to that country, the English producer would be bankrupt.
The northern colonies produced many of the same kinds of goods that England produced and continued to do so well into the 19th century. As
a result manufacturing there suffered from the trade laws. The southern colonies which raised things such as tobacco and rice, which could
not be grown in England, suffered far less. In spite of all efforts, the Navigation Acts could scarcely be enforced at all. Colonists became
lawbreakers. Smuggling was universal and it went on regardless of the courts that were established to try and prosecute smugglers. Courts
were established in most of the colonies for this reason. The Navigation Acts were an economic and political blunder in the long run but for a
time they provided England with the wealth and power it used to create a great empire. The trade acts not only made people lawbreakers, it
made colonists hold Parliament in contempt, not able to enforce its own laws. The most significant result of the Navigation Acts upon
American history was the stifling of colonial manufacturing and increased resentment against (and ultimate break from) the mother country,
and one of the reasons leading to the American Revolution.
1. According to the reading, what was one of the lasting effects of the Navigation Acts?
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2. Why do you think the British government made the Colonial citizens follow the Acts?
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3. What does it mean to smuggle?
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4. Did the Acts make England rich?
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1. What do you think these European Colonial women are gathered doing in this
picture?
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2. What types of things do you think European Colonial Women did on a daily basis?
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3. How do you think the roles of women in America are different today?
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4. How do you think that Colonial women helped to shape the 13 colonies?
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2. What do you predict that these two people are discussing together?
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The Middle Colonies were the most ethnically and religiously diverse of the thirteen original
colonies because of the influence of their Polish, English, Dutch, French and German origins. This
influence included tolerance and cosmopolitanism, and resulted in New Netherland's success as the
commercial center of the eastern North American colonies. This was evidence by the fact that they
had more agriculture than the New England colonies. The Middle Colonies were also known as the
"bread" colonies because of their large grain export. It was also the mid-Atlantic colonies that
expanded into other areas of commerce before the others.
There were many brick buildings in the Middle Colony due to the amount of clay along the
riverbanks. The Dutch built houses that were usually two-and-a-half to three stories high with steep
roofs. The Germans were the last in the colonies to use stoves rather than fireplaces to heat their
homes. Many streets were paved, and many people had their shops and homes in the same building.
The wealthy would have their portraits painted. Homes in the country could be made of logs and
chinked with moss or mud.
Vegetables and meat were used to make soups and stews. Pies were made from gathered raspberries,
strawberries, and cherries. Since water was sometimes impure, all members of the family drank milk
and whiskey, which was made out of corn, rye, wheat, and barley. The whiskey was often mixed
with spices, milk, and sugar which many people thought improved the taste. Agriculture was not the
only profitable way to make a living. The Middle Colonies were full of fish, oysters and lobsters. In
the woods, boar was the game of choice. Wild turkeys roamed everywhere and were ripe for the
picking.
Originally, clothing in the Middle Colonies for the most part resembled the Dutch form of dress.
Quakers wore neat and simple clothing as their religion taught them. Many clothes were homemade
on the frontier. Flax produced linen and deerskin was used to make breeches, shirts, jackets, and
moccasins. Forest products were used to make a dye. Yellow came from butternut tree bark; red
came from the roots of the madder herb; blue was extracted from the flowers of indigo plants;
brown came from the hulls of black walnuts.
1. If wheat was the most profitable of products for the middle colonies, how many middle colonies were
there?
2. What was the most profitable crop for the southern colonies?
3. In what way were the New England (north eastern) colonies different than the Middle Colonies?
5. According to the reading, and in your own words, how did people from the Middle colonies originally
dress?
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3. What country ruled over the 13 original Colonies?
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4. What is one set of Laws that we discussed in class that upset the Colonists?
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5. What is one way that the philosopher John Locke influenced the American
Revolution?
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John Adams
Observations: Please list a few things you see in this picture
"Where do we find a precept in the Bible for Creeds, Confessions, Doctrines and Oaths, and whole cartloads of other trumpery that we find religion
encumbered with in these days?"
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Also Adams
"The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity."
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3. What do some people think we need to return this country to?
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4. Do you think this country is founded on Christian values?
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5. What is one Enlightenment idea that influenced the creation of our Country?
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