PRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS ON COLONIAL AMERICA
Directions: Download and read the primary source documents and answer 20 of the following 40 questions (you
can choose which ones) using specific evidence from the documents to support your answers. Most questions
require that you provide supporting quotations from the documents as a part of your response. All questions require
you to think critically about what you read as well as what you have learned from reading The American People. As
such, it is highly recommended that you read textbook chapters 1-4 before you begin working on these primary
documents. Carefully read the introduction to each document as those brief paragraphs provide critical context for
understanding what you are reading. If you are having difficulty figuring out just how to do all of this check the
APUSH Edmodo for an example.
Richard Hakluyt Calls for an Empire (1582)
1. What reasons does Hakluyt give in his call for English colonization of the Americas? There are at least five
distinct reasons…
2. Which reason do you think was likely the most effective at motivating the English government—and Sir Philip
Sydney, specifically—to colonize?
Hakluyt Sees England’s Salvation in America (1584)
3. What social and economic problems does Hakluyt identify as existing in England?
4. How does Hakluyt believe colonization of the Americas will resolve those problems?
The Starving Time (1609)
5. According to Smith, what factors led to the Starving Time? Which does he seem to think was the most
significant cause?
6. What sort of desperate acts did the colonists in Jamestown undertake during the Starving Time in order to
survive?
7. What led to its immediate end?
The Baconite Grievances (1677)
8. Summarize the grievances of the Baconites.
9. Did the grievances of the Baconites against Governor Berkeley justify the defiance of his authority and their
actions in the rebellion? Explain.
Framing the Mayflower Compact (1620)
10. According to the Mayflower Compact, for what purpose were the Pilgrim separatists colonizing the New
World?
11. What were the signatories of the Mayflower Compact agreeing to do?
Abandoning Communism at Plymouth (1623)
12. Based on what you know of the goals of the Pilgrims, how would a communal society without private property
have helped to achieve their spiritual goals?
13. How did private ownership of land change the effectiveness of the colony? What benefits came to the colony as
a result of private ownership of land?
The Intolerant Act of Toleration (1649)
14. How was the Act Concerning Religion (sometimes known as the Act of Toleration) a method of securing social
stability and order?
15. Who was protected from persecution by the Act Concerning Religion? By exclusion, then, who was not
protected? If the law had been strictly enforced, what would have happened to these groups?
Puritan Mistreatment of Quakers (1660)
16. What do you think was the most egregious action taken against or punishment enacted upon Quakers by the
Puritans in Massachusetts?
17. In general, what sorts of punishments seemed to be the norm (most common)?
18. How do you suppose the Puritans justified the actions taken against the Quakers?
The Blue Laws of Connecticut (1672)
19. Why would Blue Laws have been more common in the colonies of New England than elsewhere in the New
World?
20. How could the Blue Laws of Connecticut, despite their repressive nature, have contributed to the development
of a stable colonial society?
Plymouth Officials Justify the War (1675) and A Rhode Island Quaker Sympathizes with the Indians (1675)
21. Compare the two accounts. How do they differ in terms of English settlers grievances against the Indians and
the Indian grievances against the English settlers?
22. According to the first document, what led the two sides to war? According to the second document, what action
led the two sides to war?
23. What actions did the colonists in Plymouth say Philip had taken to force them into war?
24. Why do you think John Sassamon is referred to as “a faithful Indian” in the first account?
25. How does John Easton’s passage reflect his Quaker values?
26. What grievances does Easton say that the Native Americans had about their treatment by the Plymouth
colonists?
27. How do you account for the differences between the two accounts of the causes of King Philip’s (or
Metacom’s) War?
Early Settlers in Pennsylvania (1682)
28. What was the primary goal for the Quaker settlers in Pennsylvania?
29. Why were relations between the Quakers and Native Americans markedly better than relations between other
groups of colonists and Native Americans?
A Contract for Indentured Service (1635)
30. In exchange for his servitude, what does the master have to provide the servant with during his servitude?
31. At the end of the contract what must the master provide the servant with? How might this pose a problem in
the future?
A Young African Boy Is Taken into Slavery (c.1735)
32. Who did the Europeans use to capture Venture Smith and his tribesmen?
33. What jobs did Smith perform for his master?
34. How did Smith eventually obtain his freedom?
The Stono River Rebellion in South Carolina (1739)
35. Why did the slaves plan to flee to Florida?
36. What motivated the slaves to revolt?
37. What ultimately happened to the rebellious slaves from Stono, SC?
Slavery is Justified (1757)
38. On whom else besides his fellow Virginians does Rev. Fontaine blame for the institution of slavery in the
colonies?
39. How does Rev. Fontaine justify slavery as a practice “agreeable to Christianity”?
40. What economic conditions does Rev. Fontaine say make it impossible to use anything but slave labor?