us history dbq #2: english colonies, north and south historical … · 2018-10-24 · 45 us history...

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US History DBQ #2: English Colonies, North and South Historical Context: The sixteenth-century English intellect had plenty of fare for imaginative rumination. Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, translated into English in 1551, beckoned with its perfect society in Paradise, a small island somewhere in the New World. Richard Hakluyt interviewed many of the sailors and adventurers to those new lands and his edited travelogues of the 1580’s sparked expectations of wealth and plunder beyond anyone’s dreams. Even William Shakespeare contributed to this romantic geography with the captivating beauty of Prospero’s island in The Tempest. The fantasy of far-away visions had a particular appeal to the residents of a troubled, turbulent England. The British Isles (and most of Europe) had rebounded from the catastrophic social and economic effects of the Black Death two centuries earlier and land was at a population-boom premium. Increased prosperity brought increased trade, and worldwide mercantile networks and commercial expansion were underway. A primary English contribution to this new market system was wool, a commodity that made the conversion of formerly open feudal farmlands to the enclosed pasture profitable. Displaced peasants left the countryside and moved to major cities like London in search of livelihood, and the ranks of the urban poor swelled. Also in the sixteenth century, Henry VIII broke his country’s ties with the Catholic Church and established the Church of England with himself as head. Although this English chapter of the Protestant Reformation had more to do with dynastic succession and Henry’s hope for a son than theological dispute, his actions nonetheless loosed religious dissent and sectarianism in his kingdom. The eventual ascension of his Catholic daughter, Mary, re-established Catholicism in England for a time until Elizabeth I severed ties with Rome a second time in 1558 and rekindled religious differences anew. Social, economic, and religious disjunctions pried up a population from its old traditions and ties. When the time for English settlement of North America came, there was no shortage of candidates. Some came for wealth and some came for adventure. Some fled poverty while some others fled religious discrimination and persecution. Their reasons for immigration were as different as the new lands they claimed and the communities they founded. What precious little they shared in common, beyond English origins, was the fragile hope of a better life in a better world. They were, as Captain John Smith of Jamestown tells us, people with “great spirit, but small means.” Directions: The following essay question is based on the accompanying documents in Part A. As you analyze the documents, take into account both the source of the document and the author’s point of view. Be sure to:

• Carefully read the document based question. o Consider what you already know about the topic o How would you answer the question if you had no documents to examine?

• Now, read each document carefully, underlining key phrases and words that address the document based question.

o You may also wish to use the margin of your paper for notes o Answer the questions that follow each document

• Based on your knowledge of the topic and on the information found in the documents, formulate a thesis that directly answers the question.

• Organize supportive and relevant information using the attached 5 paragraph outline worksheet. o Completely write out your thesis statement in the appropriate place o Completely write out each paragraph topic sentence o The outline should be able to prove your thesis o The information in the outline should be logically presented o The outline should include both information from the documents and from your outside

knowledge of the subject

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Terms and concepts that do not appear in the documents but could be used in the final essay: Essay Question: Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Why did this difference in development occur? Use the documents AND your knowledge of the colonial period up to 1700 to develop your answer.

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DBQ #2: British Colonies: North and South - Documents and Main Points Essay Question: Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Why did this difference in development occur? Organize your evidence: Which documents have the evidence?

Document Numbers Reason for North-South difference

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Document 1 Source: John Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity (Written aboard the Arbella on the Atlantic Ocean, 1630) God Almighty in his most holy and wise providence hath so disposed of the condition of mankind, (that) in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity, other mean and in subjection….(Yet) we must be knit together in this work as one man. We must entertain each other in brotherly affection, we must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities for the supply of others’ necessities. We must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience, and liberality. We must delight in each other, make others’ conditions our own, rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same body. So shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace…..We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God,….shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us. What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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What is the bias of the author, as it relates to this essay question? What might account for this bias?

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What is Winthrop’s overall message in this sermon? _______________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

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What argument does he use to convince his listeners? ______________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

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Document 2 Source: Historical Society of Southern England. Ship’s List of Emigrants Bound for New England. John Porter, Deputy Clerk to Edward Thoroughgood Weymouth, England. 20th of March, 1635 1. Joseph Hull, of Somerset, a minister, aged 40 years 2. Agnes Hull, his wife, aged 25 years 3. Joan Hull, his daughter, aged 15 years 4. Joseph Hull, his son, aged 13 years 5. Tristram, his son, aged 11 years 6. Elizabeth Hull, his daughter, aged 7 years 7. Temperance, his daughter, aged 3 years 8. Grissel Hull, his daughter, aged 3 years 9. Dorothy Hull, his daughter, aged 3 years 10. Judith French, his servant, aged 20 years 11. John Wood, his servant, aged 20 years 12. Robert Dabyn, his servant, aged 28 years 13. Musachiell Bernard, of Batcombe, clothier in the county of Somerset, aged 24 years 14. Mary Bernard, his wife, aged 28 years 15. John Bernard, his son, aged 3 years 16. Nathaniel, his son, aged 1 year

*********************** 21. Timothy Tabor, in Someret of Batcombe, tailor, aged 35 years 22. Jane Tabor, his wife, aged 35 years 23. Jane Tabor, his daughter, aged 10 years 24. Anne Tabor, his daughter, aged 8 years 25. Sarah Tabor, his daughter, aged 5 years 26. William Fever, his servant, aged 20 years

27. John Whitmarke, aged 39 years 28. Alice Whitmarke, his wife, aged 35 years 29. James Whitmarke, his son, aged 5 years 30. Jane, his daughter, aged 7 years 31. Onseph Whitmarke, his son, aged 5 years 32. Rich Whitmarke, his son, aged 2 years

*********************** 74. Robert Lovell, husbandman, aged 40 years 75. Elizabeth Lovell, his wife, aged 35 years 76. Zacheus Lovell, his son, aged 15 years 77. Anne Lovell, his daughter, aged 16 years 78. John Lovell, his son, aged 15 years 79. Ellyn, his daughter, aged 1 year 80. James, his son, aged 1 year 81. Joseph Chickin, his servant, 16 years 82. Alice Kinham, aged 22 years 83. Angell Hollard, aged 21 years 84. Katheryn, his wife, 22 years 85. George Land, his servant, 22 years 86. Sarah Land, his kinswoman, 18 years 103. John Hoble, husbandman, 13 104. Robert Huste, husbandman, 40….

What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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What overall observations may be made about this list of immigrants? _________________________________

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Document 3

Source: Historical Society of Southern England. Ship’s list of immigrants bound for Virginia July 30, 1635 These underwritten names are to be transported to Virginia, embarked in the ship Merchant’s Hope, Hugh Weston, Master, per examination by the minister of Gravesend touching their conformity to the Church discipline of England, and have taken the oaths of allegiance and supremacy. Edward Towers 26 Henry Woodman 22 Richard Seems 26 Vyncent Whatter 17 James Whithedd 14 Jonas Watts 21 Peter Loe 22 Geo. Brocker 17 Henry Eeles 26 Jo. Dennis 22 Tho. Swayne 23 Charles Rinsden 27 Jo. Exston 17 Wm. Luck 14 Jo. Thomas 19 Jo. Archer 21 Richard Williams 25 Francis Hutton 20 Savill Gascoyne 29 Rich. Bulfell 29 Rich. Jones 26 Toh. Wynes 30 Humphrey Williams 22 Edward Roberts 20 Martin Atkinson 32 Edward Atkinson 28

Wm. Edwards 30 Nathan Braddock 31 Jeffrey Gurrish 23 Henry Carrell 16 Tho. Tyle 24 Gamaliel White 24 Richard Marks 19 Tho. Clver 16 Jo. Kitchin 16 Edmond Edwards 20 Lewes Miles 19 Jo. Kennedy 20 Sam Jackson 24 Allin King 19 Rowland Sadler 19 Jo. Phillips 28 Daniel Endick 16 Jo. Chalk 25 Jo. Vynall 20 Edward Smith 20 Jo. Rowlidge 19 Wm. Westlie 40 Jo. Smith 18 Jo. Saunders 22 Tho. Barcherd 16 Tho. Dodderidge 19

Richard Williams 18 Jo. Balance 19 Wm. Baldin 21 Wm. Pen 26 Jo. Gerie 24 Henry Baylie 18 Rich. Anderson 50 Robert Kelum 51 Richard Fanshaw 22 Tho. Bradford 40 Wm. Spencer 16 Marmaduke Ella 22 Women Ann Swayne 22 Eliz. Cote 22 Ann Rice 23 Kat. Wilson 23 Maudlin Lloyd 24 Mabell Busher 14 Annis Hopkins 24 Ann Mason 24 Bridget Crompe 18 Mary Hawkes 19 Ellin Hawkes 18


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What overall observations may be made about this list of immigrants? _________________________________

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How does this list compare to the list in Document #2 and how does this information help answer the essay

question?

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Document 4 Source: Articles of Agreement, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1636 We whose names are underwritten, being by God’s providence engaged together to make a plantation….do mutually agree to certain articles and orders to be observed and kept by us and by our successors…

1. We intend by God’s grace, as soon as we can, with all convenient speed, to procure some Godly and faithful minister with whom we purpose to join in church covenant to walk in all the ways of Christ.

2. We intend that our town shall be composed of forty families…..rich and poor. 3. That every inhabitant shall have a convenient proportion for a house lot, as we shall see (fit) for

everyone’s quality and estate….. 4. That everyone shall have a share of the meadow or planting ground….


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What is the overall goal of this document? _______________________________________________________

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What kind of society do these writers hope to create in Springfield, Massachusetts? ______________________

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Document 5 Source: An Ordinance for Wage and Price Regulations in Connecticut, 1676

Whereas a great cry of oppression is heard among us, and that principally pointed at workmen and traders, which is hard to regulate without a standard for pay, it is therefore ordered that….(prices and wages) be duly set at each of our General Courts annually…All breaches of this order to be punished proportional to the value of the oppression…This court….in the interim recommends (that) all tradesmen and laborers consider the religious end of their callings, which is that receiving such moderate profit as may enable them to serve God and their neighbors with their arts and trades comfortably, they do not enrich themselves suddenly and

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inordinately by oppressing prices and wages to the impoverishing (of) their neighbors….live in the practice of that crying sin of oppression, but avoid it. What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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What is the overall goal of this document? _______________________________________________________

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Looking at the goal of this document and the arguments used to make its point, what may be deduced about the

society in Connecticut? ______________________________________________________________________

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Document 6 Source: Captain John Smith, History of Virginia, 1624

When the (large ship) departed,…those of us that had money, spare clothes, credit to give bills of payment, gold rings, fur, or any such commodities, were ever welcome to purchase supplies. The rest of us patiently obeyed our vile commanders and (bought) our provisions at fifteen times the value…yet did not repine but fasted, lest we should incur the censure of (being) factious and seditious persons…Our ordinary food was but meal and water so that this little relieved our wants, whereby with the extremity of the bitter cold frost…more than half of us died.

The worst (among us were the gold seekers who) with their golden promises made all men their slaves in hope of recompenses. There was no talk…but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold…Smith, perceiving (we lived) from hand to mouth, caused the pinnance (a small ship) to be provided with things fitting to get provision for the year following.

(Two councilors) Wingfield and Kendall…strengthened themselves with the sailors and other confederates (and planned to go) aboard the pinnance to alter her course and to go for England.

Smith had the plot discovered to him. Much trouble he had to prevent it, till with store of saker and musket shot he forced them to stay or sink in the river, which action cost the life of Captain Kendall.

These brawls are so disgustful, as some will say, they are better forgotten. What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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What was life like for the first settlers of Jamestown? ______________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

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What type of society does Smith describe? _______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

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What might account for the development of this society? ____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

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Document 7 Source: Governor Berkeley and his Council to King Charles II on Their Inability to Defend Virginia Against a Dutch Attack, December 1673 We thought it our duty…to set forth in this our Declaration, the true state and condition of this country in general and our particular…disability to… (engage in) war at the time of this invasion (by the Dutch)…(We) therefore do most humbly beseech your majesty and your most honorable council to consider that Virginia is intersected by so many vast rivers as makes more miles to defend than we have men of trust to defend them. For by our nearest computation we leave at our backs as many servant (besides Negroes) as there are freemen to defend the shores and all our frontiers (against) the Indians…(This) gives men fearful apprehensions of the danger they leave their estates and families in, while they are drawn from their houses to defend the borders. Also at least one third (of the freemen available for defense) are single freemen (whose labor will hardly maintain them) or men in much debt,…(whom) we may reasonably expect upon any small advantage the enemy may gain upon us,…(the defect) to them in hopes of bettering their condition by sharing the plunder of the country with them. What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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What manpower problems are faced by Berkeley and his government in defending Virginia against the Dutch? __________________________________________________________________________________________

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What does this indicate about the social structure and distribution of wealth of Virginia?

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Document 8 Source: Bacon’s “Manifesto,” justifying his rebellion against Virginia Governor Berkeley in 1676 We cannot in our hearts find one single spot of rebellion or treason or that we have in any manner aimed at subverting the settled government…All people in all places where we have yet been can attest our civil, quiet, peaceable behavior far different from that of rebellion…Let truth be bold authority and favor to whose hands the dispensation of the country’s wealth has been committed. Let us observe the sudden rise of their estates… compared with the quality in which they first entered this country. Let us consider their sudden advancement. And let us also consider whether any public work for our safety and defense or for the advancement and propagation of trade, liberal arts or sciences in any (way) adequate to our vast charge. Now let us compare these things together and see what sponges have sucked up the public treasure and whether it has not been privately contrived away by unworthy favorites and juggling parasites whose tottering fortunes have been repaired and supported at the public charge. What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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What is Bacon’s major complaint? _____________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

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What does this indicate about the social structure and distribution of wealth of Virginia? __________________________________________________________________________________________

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Document 9 The Puritan Migration to America, 1620–1640 Forty-five thousand Puritans left England between 1620 and 1640, but they created religious societies only in the New England colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, and Connecticut. Within New England, migrants from the three major centers of English Puritanism—Yorkshire, East Anglia, and the West Country—commonly settled among those from their own region. They named American communities after their English towns of origin and practiced their traditional regional customs. Thus settlers from Rowley in Yorkshire transplanted their system of open-field agriculture to Rowley in Massachusetts Bay.


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Document 10 (3 Documents, analyze together) Environment, Disease, and Death in Virginia, 1618–1624 Early Virginia was a deadly place. Historians estimate that at least 28 percent of the population died each year, most of typhoid fever and dysentery (the “bloody flux”). Only a constant stream of migrants allowed the population of the colony to grow at all. Most settlers lived along the James River estuary during this period. Zone of the James River

Estuary Population of Colony Annual Mortality Rate Proportion of all Deaths

in Colony Freshwater 28.5% 16.7% 6.9% Freshwater/Saltwater 49.3% 27.1% 64.6% Saltwater 22.2% 23.3% 18.4%

River Plantations in Virginia, c. 1640 The first migrants settled in widely dispersed plantations—and different disease environments—along the James River.

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What trends are evident from these figures and what might account for them? ___________________________

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How might these trends affect the development of the Jamestown colony? ______________________________

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What kind of economy does the map suggest might develop in this area? Why?

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Document 11 Brief as it is, the Mayflower Compact of 1620 set an important precedent for the constitutions that would later be written in America. The Puritans, a group of English religious separatists who believed that the Church of England was corrupt and who desired religious freedom for themselves, headed to Virginia in a ship named the Mayflower. They landed off course in what is today Massachusetts, where the patent they had been issued in England had no legal effect. Fearing that some of those in the group would use that circumstance as an excuse to ignore all authority, the 41 men agreed among themselves to "Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic," and to promise "due submission and obedience" to "such just and equal Laws" as should prove necessary by signing the Mayflower Compact onboard ship on the night of November 21, 1620. Although the Puritans primarily looked to the idea of a Biblical covenant in formulating their agreement, the Mayflower Compact also foreshadowed less religiously based contracts and constitutions that have become the hallmark of government in the United States. It is particularly significant that, whereas England operates according to an unwritten constitution, the Puritans, like later Americans, thought it was important to put their compact into writing. In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in

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the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the 11 of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domine 1620. What type of document is this? (Primary/Secondary and what IS it?)

What is the bias of this Author, as it relates to this topic? What might account for this bias?

What is the purpose of this document?

What is its importance at the time? What is its' importance to the development of American history?

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Essay Question: Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Why did this difference in development occur? Use the documents AND your knowledge of the colonial period up to 1700 to develop your answer. Introduction Paragraph: Background- No more than two sentences. (What was going on at the time and the historical significance of the period-as it relates to the question) _________________________________________________________________________________________

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Main point #1- No more than one sentence.

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Thesis (must directly answer the question and tie the main points together) _________________________________________________________________________________________

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Body Paragraph #1 Topic sentence (Same as main point #1, limits paragraph to ONE idea and must directly support the thesis)

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Evidence (specific person, law, treaty, development…)

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Transition (Connects to the next paragraph in a complex manner using a connecting sentence)

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Conclusion paragraph Very brief review of the essay. Sum it up in no more than two sentences.

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Importance of the topic during its time

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Long term historical importance of the topic

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US History DBQ #3: Democracy in Wethersfield Historical Context: The eighteenth century has often been thought of as the dawn of the modern era. Thanks to the Enlightenment, educated people in Europe and North America thought in more scientific, secular terms, as they searched for the laws of society that might correspond to Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of motion. Using the vocabulary of John Locke and of pamphleteers such as Gordon and Trenchard, they debated questions of individual rights, the “social contract” between government and people, and the “right of revolution.”

At the same time, partly as a reaction to these trends, religion enjoyed a resurgence, as the Great Awakening of the 1730’s and 1740’s stirred people—particularly those of the “middling” and “meaner” sort—to explore eternal questions once again. Significantly, the Awakening’s emphasis on the value of each soul and its insistence on the possibility that many might be saved, instead of the few, reinforced many of the themes emerging from the more elitist (and more secular) Enlightenment.

Throughout all these developments, everyday people lived their everyday lives. Those lives were directly affected, if rarely dominated, by the arguments of the ministers and politicians and scientists. Although they lived in a remote corner of a small colony, the people of Wethersfield, Connecticut, were caught up in important historical crosscurrents, some of which they were only dimly aware of, others of which they debated and participated in vigorously. Population trends, landholding patterns, religious fragmentation, changing patterns of voting and office holding, all affected their lives and their destinies, whether they realized it or not. Although they would not have put it the same way, they would have known what John Lennon meant when he said that life is what happens when you’re making plans. Directions: The following essay question is based on the accompanying documents in Part A. As you analyze the documents, take into account both the source of the document and the author’s point of view. Be sure to:

• Carefully read the document based question. o Consider what you already know about the topic o How would you answer the question if you had no documents to examine?

• Now, read each document carefully, underlining key phrases and words that address the document based question.

o You may also wish to use the margin of your paper for notes o Answer the questions that follow each document

• Based on your knowledge of the topic and on the information found in the documents, formulate a thesis that directly answers the question.

• Organize supportive and relevant information using the attached 5 paragraph outline worksheet. o Completely write out your thesis statement in the appropriate place o Completely write out each paragraph topic sentence o The outline should be able to prove your thesis o The information in the outline should be logically presented o The outline should include both information from the documents and from your outside

knowledge of the subject Essay Question: Was American society, as evidenced by Wethersfield, Connecticut, becoming more “democratic” in the period from the 1750’s to the 1780’s? Discuss this with reference to distribution of wealth, social structure and political power (including religion).

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DBQ #3: Democracy in Wethersfield - Documents and Main Points Essay Question: Was American society, as evidenced by Wethersfield, Connecticut, becoming more “democratic” in the period from the 1750’s to the 1780’s? Discuss this with reference to distribution of wealth, social structure and political power (including religion) Organize your evidence: Which documents have the evidence?

Document Numbers Reason for more or less democracy

Develop your Main Points: Group your reason for more or less democracy by similarities. Use this to develop the three main points of your essay.

Reason for more or less democracy Unifying Main Point for the Essay 1.

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Document 1 Approximate population distribution of Wethersfield village in 1756 and 1774. Total: 1756 Percent: 1756 Total: 1774 Percent: 1774 Whites 1120 93% 1727 95% Free Blacks 40 3.5% 62 3% Slaves 40 3.5% 35 2% What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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What overall trend may be observed? ___________________________________________________________

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How does this information relate to the development of democracy? ___________________________________

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Document 2 Approximate Distribution of Taxable Property in Wethersfield Village in 1756 and 1773. (Based on a representative sample of 100 adult white males) Adult White Males Ranked In Deciles According to Value

of Assessed Property

Average Tax Assessment of Property In Pounds Sterling (£)

Per Cent of Total Value of All

Assessed Property

1756 1773 1756 1773 Highest 10% £127 £163 35.0% 50.9% 2nd 10% £71 £65 19.5% 20.4% 3rd 10% £57 £35 15.7% 10.9% 4th 10% £45 £24 12.4% 7.5% 5th 10% £29 £16 8.0% 5.0% 6th 10% £20 £11 5.6% 3.5% 7th 10% £10 £5 2.6% 1.5% 8th 10% £3 £1 1.0% 0.2% 9th 10% £1 £0 0.1% 0.0% Lowest 10% £0 £0 0.0% 0.0%

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Document 3 Distribution of Land holdings in Wethersfield Village in 1756 and 1773

Number of Acres in Holding

Per Cent of Total Land Holdings 1756 1773

1,000 acres or more 0% 2% 999 to 200 acres 2% 2% 199 to 100 acres 3% 11% 99 to 50 acres 13% 12% 49 to 10 acres 42% 19% 9 to one acre 23% 21% No land 17% 33% What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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Document 4 Wealthiest adult white males in Wethersfield Village and their tax assessments in 1756 and 1774* Year Name Assessment in Pounds Sterling 1756 John Chester, Sr. £320 Thomas Belden £300 Ebenezer Belden £290 Josiah Grizwold £213 Samuel Buck £188 1774 John Chester, Jr £491 Ebenezer Belden £323 Josiah Buck £231 Thomas Belden £217 Silas Deane £208 *Based on a representative sample of 100 adult white males. What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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How does this document relate to documents #2 and #3? ____________________________________________

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Document 5 The pictures below are relatively modern photographs of Wethersfield Village houses built between 1750 and 1775. The name of the original owner and the original owner’s tax assessment of his total property in 1775 are indicated. (Note: these houses were chosen for this DBQ because their layouts in these photographs are relatively unchanged from their original construction)

Joseph Webb, £178 Thomas Harris, £52

Charles Bulkley, £30 Titus Buck, £17


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What social class(es) might be represented by these houses? _________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

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What may be concluded about social status, economic status and living conditions? ______________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

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Document 6 Source: Silas Deane, Wethersfield merchant and a Connecticut delegate to the First Continental Congress, to Patrick Henry, a Virginia delegate to the First Continental Congress; written from Wethersfield, January 2, 1775.

Reflecting on the conversations passed between us at Philadelphia, I am inclined to think that a number of inhabitants from this Colony (Connecticut) would venture on a settlement on the Ohio (River)….(The Connecticut man’s) first principle is to possess a disencumbered freehold, be it ever so small, in preference to the largest under quit rents and landlords….The lands given should be divided into lots of about two or three hundred acres to each family and not more, for a Connecticut farmer with two hundred and fifty or three hundred acres of good lands, is a rich man, that is, as rich as he wishes to be, for this Colony is now so full of inhabitants that there is not more than twelve acres to a person…..

I could procure a number (of settlers), sufficient for one town, who would incline to settle a little (or rather as many as possible), on the New England plan….I will describe the method of settling and governing one of them, from which sample you will be acquainted with the whole. All lands in New England (except in New Hampshire) are absolutely in the disposal of the General Assembly….The Assembly grants on the following conditions: seventy families settle within such and such a time, four or five years perhaps. They, being settled, shall support a minister or clergyman, of some of the protestant professions (i.e., denominations). Dissenters (i.e., Congregationalists) to be preferred; also a school master. When they become more numerous and are desirous of it, they may send deputies to the general assembly, but when they do this and to before, they are liable to be taxed by the Assembly, for the support of the government….All their domestic (concerns are) under their own regulation; they meet at least once in each year, and make choice of a number of the more steady of their number for selectmen, as they are called. These are officers…conducting all the public affairs of the town, in which they are accountable to no one but to the inhabitants in full meeting… their power expires within the year, when new ones (are chosen), or they are re-chosen they are in short a sort of censors on the manners of the people. They summon the people together as they judge proper….Thus each town is in some degree a distinct republic with power even of passing what they call by-laws no repugnant to those of the Colony passed in General assembly, where all are united by a representation chosen by each annually (or twice each year as is the case with us in Connecticut.” What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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According to Dean, what would be the economic motive for people from Connecticut to settle the Ohio River

valley? ___________________________________________________________________________________

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What kind of government structure does Dean describe in this “New England Plan?” _____________________

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Document 7 APPRXIMATE DISTRIBUTION OF ADULT WHITE MALES BY POLITICAL STATUS IN WEHTERSFIELD VILLAGE IN THE PERIODS 1751-1756 AND 1771-1776

Political Status Percentage of Adult White Males 1751-1756 1771-1776

Able to meet freeman (voter) requirements 65% 67% Taking freeman’s oath (i.e., registering to vote) 40% 62% Actually voting 30% 53% Elected to all town offices (including major offices such as Selectmen and militia officers and minor offices such as jurors and surveyors

32% 52%


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What overall trend may be observed? What might explain this trend? __________________________________

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Document 8 Distribution of major town offices among assessed white males in Wethersfield Village: 1751-56 and 1771-76.

Adult White Males Ranked in Deciles According to Value of Assessed Property

Percent of Adult White Males Elected to Major Town Office 1751-1756 1771-1776

Highest 10% 67% 40% 2nd 10% 15% 37% 3rd 10% 7% 3% 4th 10% 7% 5% 5th 10% 4% 2% 6th 10% 0% 0% 7th 10% 0% 8% 8th 10% 0% 5% 9th 10% 0% 0% Lowest 10% 0% 0%

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Document 9 Source: Rev. Ebenezer Frothingham, letter sent from the Hartford jail tot eh Rev. James Lockwood, minister of the First Church of Christ, Wethersfield, April 25, 1745. Note: The following letter was written by the Rev. Ebenezer Frothingham, a so-called Separatist minister, who had been jailed under Connecticut law for preaching in Wethersfield without the consent of the Rev. James Lockwood, the minister of the officially established Congregational church in Wethersfield parish. Lockwood has initiated legal proceedings against Frothingham with the civil authorities.

I (write) this paper to Let you know this time perhaps you have a prejudice in your heart against me…(in) taking me from my Business that God in his providence Called me to…You had no warrant from the word of God to do, nor no authority under heaven—as Civil authority has no Right to meddle with Ecclesiastical affairs (if I had transgressed it was to the Church to which Christ the great shepherd has Committed all the power….) Let me Entreat & warn you not to touch them (Separatists) in matters of Religion to Carry them before (civil) authority for in so doing you touch the apple of Christ’s Eye, and these Lives will be a swift witness against you…. What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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What is the connection between church and civil authority? _________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

How might the actions of the local government affect the development of democracy? ____________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

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What modern ideal is being expressed in this letter? ________________________________________________

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Document 10 Source: Rev. James Lockwood, minister of the First Church of Christ, Wethersfield; an Election Sermon preached before the Connecticut General Assembly, May 9, 1754

In a civil community there is a necessary subordination of persons; some are entrusted with authority and power to rule over others, and to manage and conduct the public affairs: whilst others are in places of inferiority and subjection: and the health and prosperity of the community very much depends on the faithful discharge of the duties incumbent on the various members of it, resulting from the stations they hold in, or relations they bear to the state…..

As rulers are raised up by God, not for their own sakes, but for the people’s; there is the highest reason they should be treated with respect, honor, and submission. For people to treat their persons or characters with rudeness and disrespect; to slight or vilify their laws or rashly censure their administrations; to cherish uneasy or mutinous dispositions, or give into seditious and riotous practices, is very inexcusable. What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?) _________________________________

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How would you describe the social and political order being advocated in this document? _________________

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Note the topic of the sermon and the audience. What can be determined about the structure of social and

political power in 1754? ______________________________________________________________________

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Hint: To help with determining bias

Home of Rev. James Lockwood, Wethersfield’s Congregational minister from 1738 to 1772

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Document 11

Source: Jared Ingersoll1; account of the “Wethersfield Affair,” Connecticut Gazette, September 27, 1765. NOTE: This is Ingersoll’s account of his detention in Wethersfield by a crowd of men who hoped to subvert the Stamp Act by forcing him to resign his position as a distributer of stamps for Connecticut. After some little Time, I dismounted and went into the House with persons who were called the Committee, the main Body continuing out doors. And here I ought not to omit mentioning that I was repeatedly told that they had no intention of hurting me or my Estate; but would use me like a Gentleman; this however I concluded they will understand was on condition I should comply with their demands. .. This Committee behaved with moderation and civility; and I thought seemed inclined to listen to certain Proposals I made, but when the body of the People came to hear them they rejected them, and nothing would do but I must resign [as a distributer of stamps]. The Commandant [of the Committee] told me with seeming concern in his countenance that he could not keep the People off me any longer; and that if they once began, he could not promise me where they would end. I thought now it was time to submit… Upon this I looked out a front window, the beckoning People and told them, I had consented to comply with their desires; and only waited to have something drawn up for me to sign… Outside when I had done, a person who stood near me told me to shout, “Liberty and Property” with three cheers, which I did throwing my hat into the air; this was followed by loud “Huzzas,” and then many of the People were pleased to take by the hand and tell me I was restored to their former friendship. I went with two or three to a neighboring House [Joseph Webb’s2] where we dinned. What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?)


How was Ingersoll convinced to resign his position as a Stamp tax collector? What does this indicate about

how democracy operated in this case?

Observe what happened after Ingersoll resigned his position. What does this indicate about positions of

leadership in colonial America?

1 See CDD 7-1 for more background on Ingersoll 2 See Document #5 in this DBQ!

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Document 12 Source: The following two laws were enacted by the Connecticut Assembly in 1770 …no person in this colony, professing the Christian protestant religion, who soberly an conscientiously dissent from the worship and ministry established by the laws of the colony and attend public worship by themselves shall incur any of the penalties…for not attending the worship and ministry so established on Lord’s day or on account of their meeting together by themselves on said day for the public worship of God in a way agreeable to their consciences. …all ministers of the gospel that nor or hereafter shall be settled by the colony, during their continuance in the ministry, shall have all their estates …exempted out of the lists of polls [i.e., poll taxes] and rateable estates [property tax]. What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?)


What is the purpose of this law? How will it operate?

How is this different from earlier American laws about religion?

Document 13 Source: Agreement of the Wethersfield Company of Volunteers under the command of Captain John Chester, Jr.3, April 23, 1775, signed by all volunteers prior to their engagement in the battle of Bunker [Breed’s] Hill. To all Christian people believing in, and relying on that God to whom our enemies have at last been forced to appeal, Be it known…Driven to the last necessity and obliged to have recourse to arms, in defense of our lives and liberties and from the suddenness of the occasion deprived of that legal authority whose dictates were ever a pleasure to obey, we find it necessary, for preventing disorders, irregularities and misunderstandings, in the course of our march and service, solemnly to agree to, and with each other, on the following Orders and Regulations, binding ourselves by all that is dear and sacred, carefully and consistently to observe and keep them… So long as we continue in our present situation of a Voluntary Independent Company, we engage to submit on all occasions to such decisions as shall be made and given by the Majority of the officers we have chosen; and when any difference arise between man and man, it shall be from the officers aforesaid, and their decisions shall be final…

3 See Document #4 in this DBQ!

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Scorning all ignoble motives, and superior to the low and slavish practice of enforcing on men their duties by blows4, it is agreed that when private admonition for any offence, by any of our body committed, will not reform public warning shall be made and if that should not have the desired effect, after proper pains taken, and the same repeated, such incorrigible person shall be turned out of the Company as totally unworthy of serving in so great and glorious cause, and be delivered over to suffer the contempt of his Countrymen… In witness whereof, We have hereunto set our hands this 23 April, 1775 What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?)


How does this document fit the American tradition of government?

How will officers be chosen and decisions made? Is this usual for a military organization?

Explain how discipline will be maintained. What does this indicate about the state of democracy?

Document 14 Source: Reverend Samuel Peters, Anglican clergyman, from England who visited much of Connecticut; A History of Connecticut, 1782. A stranger in the colony, upon hearing the inhabitants talk of religion, liberty and justice, would be induced to believe that the Christian and civic virtues were the distinguishing characteristics; but he soon finds his mistake on fixing his abode among them. Their laws grind the poor, and their religion is to oppress the oppressed. The poll tax is unjust and cruel. The poor man is compelled to pay [the poll tax], work four days on the highways, serve in the militia four days, and pay three shillings for his hut without a window in it. The best house and the richest man in the colony pays no more! The law is pretended to exempt Episcopalians, Anabaptists, Quakers, and others from paying rates to Sober Dissenters [Congregationalists]; but at the same time gives the Sober Dissenters power to tax them for minister, school and town rates [property tax] by a general vote; and no law or court can put asunder what the town has joined together. The law also exempts [all members of the other Christian churches who attend their

4 Whipping troops for disciplinary violations was a common practice in most European armies at this time.

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own church] from paring to the Sober Dissenters… But hence, if a man is sick, and does not attend more than 26 Sabbaths in a year, he becomes legally a Sober Dissenter… What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?)


What is the overall message in this document?

What evidence from earlier documents in this DBQ can support this claim?

Document 15

Source: Timothy Dwight, a prominent Connecticut poet and later President of Yale; “The Greenfield Hill” (a poetic description of the typical Connecticut town) 1794. How bless’d the sight of such a numerous train [people] In such small limits, tasting every good Of competence, of independence, of peace And liberty unmingled; every house Beholding no superior, but the laws, And such as virtue, knowledge, useful life, And zeal, exerted for the public good, Have rais’d above the throng. For here, in truth, Not in pretense, man is esteem’d as man. Not here how rich, of what peculiar blood, Or office high; but what of genuine worth, What talents bright and useful, what good deeds, What piety to God, what love to man, The question is. ******* Beneath their eye And forming hand, in every hamlet rose, The nurturing school; in every village smil’d, The heav’n-inviting church, and every town A world within itself, with order, peace, And harmony, adjusted all its weal [well-being]

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What type of source is this? (Primary or secondary and WHAT is it?)


What is the overall sentiment of this poem?

Using specific examples from the poem, describe the author’s views of:

Democracy and politics

Economic life

Religion

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Essay Question: Was American society, as evidenced by Wethersfield, Connecticut, becoming more

“democratic” in the period from the 1750’s to the 1780’s? Discuss this with reference to distribution of wealth,

social structure and political power (including religion).

Introduction Paragraph: Background- No more than two sentences. (What was going on at the time and the historical significance of the period-as it relates to the question) _________________________________________________________________________________________

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Conclusion paragraph Very brief review of the essay. Sum it up in no more than two sentences.

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Importance of the topic during its time

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