66 The American Colonies Take Shape

Step-by-Step InstructionSE

CTIO

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ION

WITNESS HISTORYWITNESS HISTORY AUDIO

ColonialPopulation,

1700sScotch-Irish

arrive

Mostimmigrants are

English

Immigration and SlaveryObjectives• Explain how European immigration to the

colonies changed between the late 1600s and 1700s.

• Analyze the development of slavery in the colonies.

• Describe the experience of enslaved Africans in the colonies.

Terms and Peopleindentured servanttriangular trade

Middle PassagePhillis Wheatley

Reading Skill: Identify Main Ideas As you read the section, use a concept web to list main ideas about population in the colonies.

Why It Matters As the colonies developed, Europeans began toarrive in greater numbers. At first, most immigrants were English,but during the 1700s larger numbers of Germans and Scotch-Irisharrived. Enslaved Africans were taken unwillingly from their home-lands and forced to work in a distant land. These newcomers wouldreshape American colonial society. Section Focus Question: Which majorgroups of immigrants came to Britain’s American colonies in the 1700s?

Europeans Migrate to the ColoniesAfter a difficult start, England’s American colonies grew steadily. By

1700, approximately 250,000 people of European background lived inthe colonies. That number would rise tenfold during the next 75 years.Much of this growth came as a result of emigration from Europe.

Migration From England During the 1600s, about 90 percentof the migrants to the English colonies came from England. About halfof these immigrants were indentured servants—poor immigrantswho paid for passage to the colonies by agreeing to work for four toseven years. Instead of receiving a wage, indentured servants receivedbasic food, clothing, and shelter—generally just enough to keep themalive. At the end of their term, they were supposed to receive clothes,tools, food, and sometimes land.

Developments in England caused the percentage of immigrants todrop dramatically. Prior to 1660, many English left their homeland

New ArrivalsIn the 1700s, thousands of European immigrants crossed the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to acquire land, earn a good living, and enjoy the freedoms that existed in colonial America. In 1739, a German immigrant noted that “Liberty of conscience [thought]” was the “chief virtue of this land. . . . But for this freedom, I think this country would not improve so rapidly.”

Yet, there were others who crossed the Atlantic under drastically different circumstances. These were Africans, who were forced from their homeland and crammed onto slave ships. Thrust into a hostile world, they were expected to work from sunup to sundown under terrible conditions. Their experiences in North America were different in every way from that of European immigrants.

� James Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia, greets Scottish immigrants.

ObjectivesAs you teach this section, keep students focused on the following objectives to help them answer the Section Focus Question and master core content.

• Explain how European immigration to the colonies changed between the late 1600s and 1700s.

• Analyze the development of slavery in the colonies.

• Describe the experience of enslaved Afri-cans in the colonies.

Prepare to Read

Background KnowledgeAsk students to recall the difficulty the English encountered in founding colo-nies along the Atlantic coast. Using the Idea Wave strategy (TE, p. T22), have students discuss how continued migra-tion of people from several parts of northern Europe, as well as Africa, might affect the development of these outposts in the wilderness.

Set a Purpose� WITNESS HISTORY Read the selec-

tion aloud, or play the audio.

Witness History Audio CD, New Arrivals

Ask Why did many Europeans choose to migrate to America? (They came to make a better living, to become landowners, to enjoy freedom, or to escape persecution.) How did immigration to America differ for Africans? (Most Africans were brought forcibly as enslaved people.)

� Focus Point out the Section Focus Question and write it on the board. Tell students to refer to this ques-tion as they read. (Answer appears with Section 1 Assessment answers.)

� Preview Have students preview the Section Objectives and the list of Terms and People.

�

Using the Paragraph Shrinking strategy (TE, p. T20), have students read this section. As they read, have students use a concept web to list main ideas about population in the colonies. Reading and Note Taking Study Guide

Use the information below and the following resource to teach students the high-use word from this section. Teaching Resources, Vocabulary Builder, p. 11

High-Use Word Definition and Sample Sentence

status n. legal position or condition of a person, group, country, etc.Often, immigrants were able to improve their social status through hard work and thrift.

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Chapter 3 Section 1 67

L. Erie

L. Ontario

Atlant ic Ocean65°W

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Boston

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Newport

Hartford

Portsmouth

Salem

Perth Amboy

New Castle PhiladelphiaHarrisburg

Williamsburg

Winston-Salem

Camden Wilmington

Richmond

New Bern

Pennsylvania

NewYork N.H.

Mass.

Conn.R.I.

Maine

(part of

Mass.)

N.J.

Delaware

Maryland

Virginia

SouthCarolina

North Carolina

Georgia

1000 200 mi

1000 200 km

Conic Projection

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EnglishAfricanScotch-IrishGermanScottishWelshDutchFrenchSwedish

because of religious and political turmoil. High unemployment and low wagesin England added to the troubles. After 1660, however, the English economyimproved and political and religious conflicts diminished. Increasingly, Englishpeople chose to stay in England.

The Scots and Scotch-Irish While English emigration shrank, Scottish emi-gration soared. Generally poorer than the English, the Scots had more reasonsto seek their fortunes elsewhere. They also gained easier legal access to thecolonies after 1707. In that year, Great Britain was formed by the union ofEngland, Wales, and Scotland.

After the formation of Great Britain, many Scots became colonial officials.Some became royal governors. Scottish merchants also captured a growing shareof the colonial commerce, especially the tobacco trade from the Chesapeake Bay.

The Scots immigrated to the 13 colonies in threestreams. The first stream came from the Scottishlowlands. The second came from the Scottish high-lands, and the third came from the province of Ulsterin Northern Ireland. In the colonies, the Ulster Scotsbecame known as the Scotch-Irish.

Nearly 250,000 Scotch-Irish people came to thecolonies in the 1700s. They were descendants ofProtestant Scots who had settled in Northern Ire-land. The Scotch-Irish arrived in the Americancolonies in search of land. Many moved west tothe mountainous “back country” that stretchedfrom Pennsylvania to the Carolinas. There, theybuilt farms on the frontier lands recently takenfrom the Indians.

The Germans Germans were second only to theScotch-Irish as eighteenth-century emigrants fromEurope to British America. Most of the 100,000 whoimmigrated to the colonies were Protestant. Almostall came from the Rhine Valley in southwestern Ger-many and northern Switzerland.

What factors explain the flood of German immi-grants? They felt pushed by war, taxes, and reli-gious persecution. During the 1700s, Germanywas divided into many small principalities, fre-quently involved in wars. To build palaces and towage war, German princes heavily taxed theirpeople and forced young men to join the army.Most princes also demanded religious conformity.Germany also lacked enough farmland for itsgrowing population.

In 1682, William Penn recruited a few Germansto settle in Pennsylvania, where they prospered.In letters to relatives and friends, immigrantsreported that wages were high while land andfood were cheap. In Pennsylvania, an immigrantcould obtain a farm six times larger than a typicalpeasant holding in Germany. Pennsylvaniademanded almost no taxes and did not force itsyoung men to become soldiers.

Diversity in the 13 Colonies

For: Interactive mapWeb Code: ncp-0302

Map Skills Seeking land and liberty, Europeans from a number of nations immigrated to the 13 colonies during the 1700s. Hundreds of thousands of Africans were forced to migrate to the colonies.1. Locate: (a) Pennsylvania, (b) Massachusetts,

(c) South Carolina

2. Region Which colonies have the largest concentrations of people of African descent?

3. Compare and Contrast How does the diversity of the populations of New England and the Middle Colonies compare?

Teach

Europeans Migrate to the Colonies

Instruct� Introduce Explain that the origins

of American colonists began to change after 1700, with fewer com-ing from England and more arrivals from other northern European coun-tries or from Africa. Have students predict possible reasons for this shift.

� Teach Display Color Transpar-ency: The Colonies Grow. Discuss the increased diversity of national origins in the colonies during the 1700s. Explain that immigrants are motivated by push factors that drive them from their homelands and by pull factors that attract them to a new place. Ask Why did English migration slow in the late 1600s? (The English economy improved and fewer political and religious conflicts existed.) Where did most immi-grants come from during the late 1600s and early 1700s? (Scot-land, northern Ireland, and Germany) Ask What push and pull factors motivated German immigrants? (push factors: taxation, religious per-secution, required military service, lack of land; pull factors: land, few taxes, no required military service) Color Transparencies A-9

� Analyzing the Visuals Have stu-dents study the map and write a paragraph describing the ethnic makeup of one of the colonies.

Independent PracticeTo enrich and extend the lesson, have students access Web Code ncp-0302 to use the Geography Interactive map.

Monitor ProgressAs students fill in their concept webs, circulate to make sure that they iden-tify the section’s main ideas, rather than just details. For a completed ver-sion of the concept web, see Note Taking Transparencies, B-23.

Answers

Map Skills

1. Review locations with students.2. South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina,

Virginia3. The Middle Colonies were more diverse

than New England.

Scotch-Irish in America The 4 million Americans who claim Scotch-Irish ancestry are descendants of a wave of immigrants whose impact on modern society is still significant.

Many of the earliest Scotch-Irish settlers followed the valleys of the Appalachian Mountains southward from Pennsylvania through Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. For genera-tions, they have formed the cultural backbone of the Appalachia region.

Appalachia is a rugged, isolated area, and settlers there are proud of their ability to live, and often pros-per, in difficult circumstances. Appalachia’s rich cul-tural heritage has been the subject of much recent study, and its traditional music, crafts, and folklore are preserved in museums, as well as by musicians, authors, and artisans. For example, the motion picture O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), with its emphasis on American roots music, brought worldwide attention to the musi-cal styles of Appalachia. Among these is bluegrass, a twentieth-century form of music based on Scotch-Irish ballads and folk tunes.

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68 The American Colonies Take Shape

Africans Are Transported to America

Instruct� Introduce: Key Terms Point out

the key terms triangular trade and Middle Passage (in bold) in the text. Ask students what a trian-gular trade route might be. Also ask how the Middle Passage might relate to such a trade route. Have students read to check their ideas.

� Teach Remind students that enslaved people were acquired along the coast of Africa where they had been sold to white slave traders by Africans who had captured them in wars and raids. By the mid-seventeenth century, the status of blacks in the colonies began to change. Ask How did the status of Africans who were brought to America change? (In the early 1600s, it is thought that not all Afri-cans were enslaved; some may have been indentured servants. However, by the middle of the century, most colonies had passed laws that enslaved Africans for life.) Why did this come about? (The demand for labor could not be met by indentured servants, so the colonists found a way to justify the enslavement of Africans.) Discuss the eyewitness account of Alexander Falconbridge. Ask Why do you think slave traders wanted to force the captured African people to eat? (Possible response: Because they were valu-able, the traders did not want them to die.) What part did the trans-portation of enslaved Africans play in the triangular trade? (On the first leg of the triangular trade, manufactured goods were brought to Africa from Europe to exchange for African captives. On the middle leg, or “middle passage,” enslaved Afri-cans were brought from Africa to the Americas, and on the last leg, colo-nial goods, such as tobacco and sugar, were brought to Europe.)

Answer

Many Scottish immigrants were poor and came to the colonies to make a bet-ter living; many Scotch-Irish came in search of land. Germans came to Amer-ica to escape wars, high taxes, and reli-gious persecution.

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Special Needs L2

English Language Learners L2

Less Proficient Readers

Organize students in pairs. Have partners create Venn diagrams that compare indentured servitude and slavery in the American colonies. First, tell stu-dents to skim the section for information and then write the characteristics of both in separate columns on a sheet of paper. To determine overlapping char-acteristics, instruct students to look for factors that appear in both columns. You may have to review

making a Venn diagram with students. Tell them to draw two circles that overlap. In the non-overlapping area of the first circle, they will list the characteristics of indentured servitude. In the non-overlapping area of the second circle, they will list the characteristics of slavery. Finally, they will list characteristics com-mon to both in the area where the circles overlap.

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INFOGRAPHIC

From the 1400s to the 1800s, more than 10 million enslaved Africans made a forced journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. Called the Middle Passage, Africans endured horrific conditions as they were crammed onto ships “like herring in a barrel” and sent to unfamiliar lands. The drawing below shows enslaved Africans shackled together and jammed into spaces just 3 feet and 3 inches high.

AUDIO

� The pie graph shows where slave traders sent captured Africans.

41%

37%

15%

4.5% 2.5%

Destinations of Enslaved Africans, 1500–1870

Non-SpanishCaribbean islands

Portuguese Brazil

Spanish America

British America

Europe and Asia

SOURCE: World Civilizations, Albert M. Craig

Immigration Brings Diversity Immigration brought changes to the colonies.In Pennsylvania, for instance, new waves of Scottish and German immigrantsmade the Quakers a minority in that colony. Although the different groups oftendistrusted one another at first, no group was large enough to impose its beliefs orto drive the others out of the colony. Instead, they all gradually accepted that adiverse society was an economic boon and the best guarantee for their own faith.

Why did Scots and Germans emigrate from their homelands?

Africans Are Transported to AmericaDuring the 1600s, landowning colonists in the Chesapeake region needed

workers to raise crops. Indentured servants filled this need, and most early inden-tured servants were English. Yet, as English immigration began to decline in thelate 1600s, the demand for labor in the colonies grew. As a result, many colonistsbegan to turn to another source of labor: enslaved Africans.

Slavery in the Colonies Begins Early in the 1600s, colonists often treatedAfrican workers just as they treated indentured servants, giving them theirfreedom after several years of service. Freed blacks could own land, vote, andeven buy enslaved Africans of their own.

By the mid-1600s, however, most colonies began to pass laws that supportedthe permanent enslavement of Africans. In 1705, Virginia’s General Assembly

WITNESS HISTORY DVDWITNESS HISTORY DVD

Watch The Atlantic Slave Trade on the United States Witness History DVD to explore the transatlantic slave trade.

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Chapter 3 Section 1 69

� Shackles

� Crossing the Atlantic The voyage from West Africa to the Americas could take from three weeks to three months depend-ing on the winds and the weather. The map shows where the enslaved came from and where they were going.

� Chains

A Forced MigrationBorn in West Africa, Olaudah

Equiano (1745–1797) was captured

when he was 11 years old. In his

memoir, he vividly described the ship

that would take him across the Atlantic.

“I was soon put down under the decks, and

there I received such a salutation in my nostrils

as I had never experienced in my life: so that,

with the loathsomeness of the stench, and crying

together, I became so sick and low that I was

not able to eat, nor had I the least desire to taste

anything. I now wished for the last friend,

death, to relieve me…”

—The Interesting Narrative of the

Life of Olaudah Equiano,

by Olaudah Equiano

declared that “All servants imported . . . who were not Christians in their nativeCountry. . . shall be accounted and be slaves.” Other laws stated that the childrenof enslaved African Americans were also enslaved. This change in legal statuspromoted the racist idea that people of African origin were inferior to whites.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade Once established, slavery expanded rapidly.During the 1700s, the British colonies imported approximately 1,500,000 enslavedAfricans. The great majority went to the West Indies, but at least 250,000 came tothe 13 colonies to labor on plantations and in homes.

Traders purchased slaves from African merchants and chiefs in the coastalkingdoms of West Africa. Most of those enslaved were kidnapped by armedmen or taken in wars between kingdoms. Although they did not directly seizeslaves, Europeans promoted the trade by offering high prices for captives.

Enslaved Africans came to the Americas as part of a three-part voyage called thetriangular trade. Slave traders sailed from Europe to Africa, where they tradedmanufactured goods for enslaved Africans. Then, in the Middle Passage, shipperscarried the enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to the American colonies. Afterselling the slaves for colonial produce, the traders returned to the mother country.

The brutality of the Middle Passage was extreme. On a voyage that lasted twomonths or more, enslaved Africans suffered the psychological trauma of separa-tion from their families and villages—as they sailed toward a strange land andan unknown future. Slave traders branded their cargo with hot irons, placedthem in shackles, and jammed them into dark holds so crowded that the slaves

Thinking Critically1. Compare Points of View How might Equiano’s memoir

compare with the journal of the captain of a slave ship?

2. Synthesize Information Based on the map and the pie graph, from what region of Africa did most enslaved Africans come? To what region did most go?

Vocabulary Builderstatus–(STAT uhs) n. legal position or condition of a person, group, country, etc.

� Analyzing the Visuals Have stu-dents study the Infographic “The Middle Passage.” Refer students to the circle graph. Note that most enslaved people were not taken to the mainland colonies. Discuss why this was the case. Then, discuss the quotation from Olaudah Equiano. Ask What characteristics would Africans on the Middle Passage have had to possess to survive? (Samples: mental and physical strength, a will to live, courage)

Independent Practice� For more information on Equiano,

have students read Biography: Olaudah Equiano and answer the questions on the worksheet. Teach-ing Resources, p. 15

� Have students write a short essay on the effect of the slave trade on African societies. Have them con-sider the breakup of families, the loss of able-bodied men and women, the loss of children, and the broken social structure.

Monitor ProgressAs students write their essays, circu-late to make sure that they understand the implications the slave trade had for Africa and the development of the African continent.

Answers

Thinking Critically1. Possible answer: Equiano’s memoir

describes the awful smells and sounds below decks on slave ships. A slave ship’s captain might have described much better living conditions, and have been con-cerned with matters such as navigation, weather, and the condition of the human “cargo.”

2. According to the map, most enslaved Afri-cans originated from the Congo and Angola regions. According to the pie graph, most enslaved Africans went to the non-Spanish Caribbean.

The Start of Slavery in the Colonies Histori-ans cannot be certain when slavery first began in England’s American colonies. What is known is that in 1619, a Dutch ship sailed into the port at Jamestown, Virginia, carrying about 20 Africans. The Dutch had just plundered a Spanish ship and had taken the Afri-cans on that ship as prisoners during the raid.

Some historians believe that this ship carried the first enslaved Africans to the English colonies, but sla-very was not as strongly established in Virginia in 1619 as it would be later in the century. Records dat-ing from 1623 and 1624 list these same 20 African

people as servants. However, some historians are doubtful about this servant status because there is no year of service next to their names; perhaps no year was listed because these servants were meant to serve for life.

Historians think it is likely that, at least at first, some Africans were enslaved and others were ser-vants. However, by the time England officially began to take part in the slave trade, in 1672, slavery had become established firmly enough in the colonies that any ship carrying Africans was probably carrying slaves, not servants.

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70 The American Colonies Take Shape

Africans in the Americas

Instruct� Introduce Ask students to con-

sider what life must have been like for the newly enslaved Africans in the American colonies. Have stu-dents predict some of the results of the development of widespread sla-very in the colonies.

� Teach Using the Think-Write-Pair-Share strategy (TE, p. T23), have students discuss the reactions of Africans on their arrival in America. Then, discuss how slavery differed in the North and the South. Ask In which American colonies did most enslaved Africans live? Explain. (Most lived in the Southern Colonies where their labor was needed for the region’s cash crops of tobacco, rice, sugar, and indigo.) Have stu-dents describe the new culture enslaved Africans developed and explain the methods that some Afri-cans used to gain their freedom.

� Analyzing the Visuals Tell stu-dents to study the painting on this page. Discuss how enslaved Africans retained aspects of African culture and tradition and how these activi-ties might have affected their lives.

Independent PracticeHave students read the HISTORY MAKERS feature about Phillis Wheatley on the next page. Instruct them to write a paragraph that explains why it might have been difficult to publish the poetry of a former slave in the colonies, but not in London.

Monitor ProgressTo check understanding of this section, ask students to summarize the factors that brought each main group of immi-grants to the colonies: English, Scots, Scotch-Irish, Germans, and Africans.

Answer

Some Africans who arrived in the early 1600s may have been servants, not slaves, and could own land after their term of servitude. By the mid-1600s, most colonies had passed laws that sup-ported the permanent enslavement of Africans, and by the 1700s it was firmly established.

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Advanced Readers L4

Gifted and Talented Students

Each racial and ethnic group that migrated to the American colonies brought a unique cuisine from its homeland. Africans did as well, and African Ameri-can cuisine today—with staples such as rice, yams and sweet potatoes, okra, black-eyed peas, hominy grits, greens, and chitterlings—is in part a product of that early American heritage.

Each aspect of African American cuisine has a unique origin. Foods such as rice and yams were staples in Africa. Hominy grits (made from corn) were plentiful

in the colonies, and dishes such as chitterlings (hog intestines and hind quarters) became part of the diet of enslaved people because they were made from the parts of the animal that plantation owners discarded.

Have students research African American cuisine to answer questions such as these: What foods, spices, and cooking styles characterize it? How did it develop? What are the origins of the recipes? Have students research one or two popular recipes. Encourage students to make one and bring it in to share with the class.

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could hardly move. The foul air promoted disease, and the ill might be thrownoverboard to prevent the spread of disease. Some Africans, hoping for death,refused to eat. One ship’s surgeon witnessed the following shocking scene:

“Upon the Negroes refusing to take sustenance [food], I have seen coals of fire, glowing hot, put on a shovel and placed so near their lips as to scorch and burn them. And this has been accompanied with threats of forcing them to swallow the coals if they any longer persisted in refusing to eat.”

—Alexander Falconbridge, 1788

Slave traders had an interest in delivering a large and healthy cargo. However,due to the conditions, at least 10 percent of those making the Middle Passage inthe 1700s did not survive.

How did the laws concerning enslaved Africans sent to the 13 colonies change in the 1700s?

Africans in the AmericasFollowing the ordeal of the Middle Passage, enslaved Africans faced a bleak

future in America. At slave auctions, colonial buyers often broke up families tomake it more difficult to plot escape or rebellion. The newly enslaved wereordered about in an unfamiliar language and put to work beside strangers whoshared only their skin color. Arriving with distinct languages and identities asAshantis, Fulanis, Ibos, and many others, the enslaved forged a new culture asAfrican Americans.

Slavery in the North and the South Slavery varied considerably by region.In 1750, enslaved African Americans were small minorities in New England andthe Middle Colonies. In those two regions, most enslaved African Americanslabored as farmhands, dockworkers, sailors, and house servants.

Many more enslaved African Americans lived in the Southern Colonies, wherethey raised labor-intensive crops of tobacco, rice, indigo, or sugar. In the Chesa-peake, they comprised 40 percent of the population. In coastal South Carolina,

enslaved African Americans outnumbered thewhite population. To maximize their profits, mas-ters demanded as much work as possible whileminimizing the cost of feeding, clothing, and hous-ing slaves. Most of the enslaved lived in crudehuts with dirt floors, no windows, and few furnish-ings. Their work was long and hard: at least 12hours a day, 6 days a week under the close super-vision of a white overseer, who whipped those whoresisted.

Developing a New Culture In the colonies,African Americans developed a rich culture basedon African traditions and their circumstances inAmerica. These traditions represented a blend ofAfrican cultures, as plantations, farms, and cities con-tained Africans from many different ethnic groups.Most African Americans adopted the Christianityof their masters, blending it with some African reli-gious traditions. They modified African instru-ments, crafting banjos, rattles, and drums to createa music that emphasized rhythm and percussion.

This watercolor, painted on a South Carolina plantation in the late 1700s, shows a dance form and musical instruments that have their roots in Africa.

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Chapter 3 Section 1 71

Assess and Reteach

Assess Progress� Have students complete the Section

Assessment.

� Administer the Section Quiz. Teaching Resources, p. 20

� To further assess student under-standing, use Progress Monitoring Transparencies, 31.

ReteachIf students need more instruction, have them read the section summary.

Reading and Note Taking Study Guide

Adapted Reading and Note Taking Study Guide

Spanish Reading and Note Taking Study Guide

ExtendIn the colonial period, the journey across the Atlantic was difficult and dangerous. Have students conduct research to locate a primary source account of a trans-Atlantic voyage at this time, such as that of the Pilgrims in 1620, the Middle Passage, or that of Gottlieb Mittelberger in 1750. Have students share the main points of the account in the form of an oral report to the class.

Answer

In the North, there were fewer slaves and they tended to work at more skilled jobs, such as those of dockworkers, farmhands, sailors, or house servants. Many more enslaved people lived in the South, where they worked as laborers on huge plantations.

Section 1 Assessment

1. Answers should demonstrate students’ understanding of the relationship between the terms and people and the development of the population of the 13 colonies.

2. During this period, the main immigrant groups included the Scots, Scotch-Irish, Germans, and Africans.

3. Students’ lists should organize informa-tion that would support an essay that discusses one of the problems of the period.

4. European immigrants came to the colo-nies to escape poverty, to acquire their own land, and to avoid wars and reli-gious persecution. Africans were brought against their will as enslaved people.

5. Laws were first changed to support the permanent enslavement of Africans when a decrease in English immigration caused a labor shortage in the mid-1600s.

6. Possible response: Most enslaved Africans were concentrated in the South, and because of the labor needs of the planta-tion economy, there were often large

numbers of them living permanently together in one place. Under such condi-tions, they were collectively able to pre-serve African traditions and use them to create an African American culture.

For additional assessment, have students access Progress Monitoring Online at Web Code nca-0303.

11SECTION

Assessment Progress Monitoring OnlineFor: Self-test with vocabulary practiceWeb Code: nca-0303

Comprehension1. Terms and People What is the

relationship between each of the following terms and people and the population of the 13 colonies?• indentured servant• triangular trade• Middle Passage• Phillis Wheatley

2. Reading Skill: Main Ideas Use your concept web to answer the Section Focus Question: Which major groups of immigrants came to Britain’s American colonies in the 1700s?

Writing About History3. Quick Write: Define a Problem

Choose one topic from this section that you could use to write a problem-and-solution essay. For example, you could write about the experiences of Euro-pean immigrants, indentured servants, or enslaved Africans. Make a list of details, facts, and examples that define the problems one of these groups faced.

Critical Thinking4. Understand Cause and Effect

Based on the description of European immigration to the American colonies, what were the main causes of immigra-tion to the Americas?

5. Analyze Why did slavery become a permanent condition in the colonies?

6. Draw Conclusions Why do you think enslaved African Americans living in the South were able to preserve parts of African culture as well as build a new African American culture?

Phillis Wheatley(1753?–1784)Phillis Wheatley was the first African American to publish a book of poems. Captured at about age seven in West Africa, she was sold to John Wheatley, a Boston tailor. The Wheatleys allowed Phillis to learn to read, write, and study. She had her first poem published in 1767 in a Rhode Island newspaper. She won praise in the colonies and in Britain for her 1770 poem about the preacher George Whitefield. However, colonial publishers refused to publish a book of her poetry. Phillis and the Wheatleys found a London publisher to print her volume of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, in 1773. That year the Wheatleys granted Phillis her freedom. She married in 1778 but lived in poverty until her death.

Rebels and Runaways Slaveholders could neverbreak enslaved African Americans’ longing tobe free. In the South and especially in the WestIndies, some enslaved African Americans rebelled.On the mainland, the largest uprising erupted in1739 at Stono in South Carolina, where about100 slaves killed 20 whites before suffering defeatand execution.

Running away was more common. In the WestIndies and the Carolinas, enslaved African Ameri-cans became maroons, a name for those who hid inforests or swamps. Other runaways fled to remoteNative American villages or to Florida, where theSpanish welcomed them with food, land, and free-dom. The Spanish sought to weaken the Britishcolonies and to strengthen their own frontier mili-tia with freed African Americans. In the Chesa-peake and northern colonies, runaways tried to fitinto the small free black communities.

Many more of the enslaved, however, opted fora more subtle form of rebellion. They stayed onthe plantations, but they resisted by working slowly,feigning illness, pretending ignorance, or break-ing tools.

Free African Americans Although most African Americans remainedslaves for life, a few did obtain their freedom. For example, an enslaved AfricanAmerican might manage to earn money and purchase his or her freedom or mightbe set free by a slave owner.

Free African Americans tended to live in cities, where they faced discrimi-nation. A rare few managed to overcome enormous obstacles to distinguishthemselves. One example was Phillis Wheatley of Boston (see the HistoryMaker on this page).

How did slavery differ in the North and the South?

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