AP US History

Chapter

Study
Guide

Name______________________________________

Period_________

Colonial Society on the Eve of

Revolution
1700-1775

Terms and Names: Define each term/person thoroughly, using your own words
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Scots-Irish
Triangular trade
Molasses Act (1733)
Jonathan Edwards
George Whitefield

F.
G.
H.
I.

New Lights
John Singleton Copley
Phillis Wheatley
Poor Richards Almanack

Short Answer: Carefully answer each question thoroughly, using information from the text. It is best if

you can put it in your own words. It is advisable to makes your notes more manageable and organized by
using bullet points, charts, diagrams, numbered lists and graphs. They need to make sense to you.
Customize them. Include questions in the margins to ask in class.
1. French settler de Crevecoeur observed that America in the 1770s was a strange mixture of blood,
which you will find in no other country. Explain what he means by this comment, and discuss the
origins of the major immigrant groups: Pennsylvania Dutch (Germans), Scot-Irish, and Africans.
2. Describe the various immigrant groups attitudes towards England. How did these attitudes impact
the drive for independence?
3. Describe the economy in terms of the various jobs found in colonial America. Why was agriculture
the leading industry and what impact did this have upon colonial life?
4. What impact did the trade imbalance with England have upon the colonies? How did this
foreshadow the impending imperial crisis?
5. Explain the impact of poor transportation systems upon colonial life.
6. Compare and contrast the Anglican and Congregational churches.
7. Discuss the factors that set the stage for the Great Awakening.
8. What effect did the Great Awakening have upon the colonies? How might these effects contribute
to a revolt against England?
9. Describe colonial education. Why were the Puritans particularly interested in education and how did
this impact the population? What was the purpose of a college education?
10. Why did the American colonists try so hard to imitate their English cousins?
11. Discuss the significance of the case involving printer John Peter Zenger.
12. Describe colonial political life. How might it have set the stage for revolution?

13. The text points out that the colonies were far more democratic than Europe on the eve of the
Revolution. Explain the reasons for this with specific examples.