1. In what way(s) is the Virginia (Va.) colony different than Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania?
2. What are "headrights?"
3. How was Va. society similar to English society? How was it different?
4. Define "freeholder."
5. How did an aristocracy develop in Va.?
6. What's problem did planters in Va. have with soil when planting tobacco?
7. What was synonymous with "sour land," and how did it get that way?
8. Why was/is that Va. did not develop a center of commerce (like a Philadelphia or a Boston)?
9. Explain the voting procedure in Va.?
10. What role did the Va. gov't play in aiding people such as George Washington in acquiring new land?
11. How was the "church of Va." different than the Church of England?
12. What role did the church of Va. play in society and politics?
36 comments:
1. In what way(s) is the Virginia (Va.) colony different than Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania?
Virgina was vastly different from georgia in the fact that Virgina did not have one master plan and did not recieve the massive advertisement as Georgia recieved. Also Virginia was different because unlike other colonies Virginia wished to go along with the English ways and not escape them.
2. What are "headrights?"
Headrights as Boortin states is the right for anyone to recieve 50 acres of land just for bringing one person to the colony, headrights also gives the possibility for land to everyone who comes into Virginia and there are no other requirements for getting land like in georgia where the white mulberry trees were needed on ever 50 acres of land.
3. How was Va. society similar to English society? How was it different?
In Virginia any free white man could vote and there was not large competition to get into power. People could start a new community in order to get into power if the old community was filled up. In Virginia there was large oppurtunities for gaining wealth and hence gaining power, if you posessed a great talent for a field there was nothing stopping you from becoming what Boorstin calls a "country gentlemen"
4. Define "freeholder."
A freeholder was a person who owned land without question, Boorstin describes this as a man who either has 100 acres of unsettled land or 25 arcres of already set up land with a house and plantation. These people had sufferage like in England for people who gave back to the community through economical means.
5. How did an aristocracy develop in Va.?
An aristocracy in Virginia developed when the importation of black slaves became a new way to make more profits off of large plantations, replacing the indentured white servants. This created a rift between the small farmer to the large plantation owner. This also interfeared with the white indentured servants climbing the social ladder after his time of service was up, because he would be givin land in that colony but soon after land became scarece and therefore the colony could not provide every indentured servant land after their services.
6. What's problem did planters in Va. have with soil when planting tobacco?
Tobacco in Virginia posed a problem because the Virginia soil did not replenish the nitrogen and potash which Tobacco needs to thrive. After the 4th season of growing the land would need to traded off to either corn or wheat wich could grow. Because of this risk of tobacco only growing on virgin soil most farmers wouldnot risk the lost of profit and only grew around 10 percent of his fields to tobacco at any one time.
7. What was synonymous with "sour land," and how did it get that way?
Well to answer that question I will start out by saying how that tobacco land and new land had the same meaning of virgin land where nothing had grown prior, and concequently "sour land" became synonymous with old land which had produced all that it could produce from agriculture and would eventually provide land for schools and churches. Because of this loss of land everywhere the new planters had to become land inspectors making sure that the land was suitable for growth.
8. Why was/is that Va. did not develop a center of commerce (like a Philadelphia or a Boston)?
Virginia did not create a center of commerce like philadelphia and boston because it was an agricultural area that was wide spread and therefore plantations stopped the growth of large cities of those standards.
9. Explain the voting procedure in Va.?
In Virginia it was mandartory that everyone vote, they had a law about compulsory voting. The concequences for not voting is unclear but boorstin states "if the ordinary voter was required to cast his ballot, men of greater substance were expected to carry heavier burdens" this eludes to giving the men of greater wealth more pull in the government voting system.
10. What role did the Va. gov't play in aiding people such as George Washington in acquiring new land?
George Washington took the oppurtunity to get land in the fertile piedmont and pushed towards the west as a smart man he knew that he had to aquire good land early.
11. How was the "church of Va." different than the Church of England?
The main difference between the Church of Virginia and the church of England was that in Virginia there was no bishops. Ministers in England were chosen by the bishops but because of having no bishops the church of Virginia let each parish choose their own minister and to let them be minister until he no longer was a good rightous minister.
12. What role did the church of Va. play in society and politics?
The role of the church was important in bringing the people togeather because afterall there were no large cities of commerce because of the highly plantational (i dont know if thats a word) society. The clergy men were paid in 16 thousand pounds of tobacco a year and that was focused around how the role of the church and its economy were intertwined. The parish also took a good role in the polititcal standings of virginia, because the parish was the only gathering of peoples they elected the people who would both represent and make decisions in politics.
1. Virginia, in stark contrast to the other colonies, was not formed from any ideal such as religion or philanthropy. In fact, Virginia grew in much an opposite fashion. While Georgia's, Massachusetts', and Pennsylvania's parent ideals slipped away in the stream of necessity and practicality, Virginia in fact developed ideals where there had not been any. The idea of being an English Gentleman in the American countryside became an overriding ideal in Virginia, as did the chance of social mobility and a chance to become influential based on one's wealth rather than one's birthright.
2. "Headrights" stated that a man could receive 50 acres of land for each man besides himself he transported to America to work said land. This allowed anybody in England who owned a ship to gather a group of people to go with him to Virginia, where he would already be set with a workforce of indentured servants to work land, and an amount of land proportional to the number of those indentured servants he brought. It was the perfect venture for the middle- and upper-class Englishman.
3. Virginia became very similar to England by the 18th century. Just like in England, land was owned in a majority by aristocratic, maybe even dynastic, families who considered themselves the upper class and were the only ones who voted for government. There were also the small land-owners who subsisted, but hardly got by because it was difficult to compete with the upper classes stranglehold on the land. However, the main difference between England and Virginia was that Virginia had neighbors. Non-land-owners who lived in Virginia and didn't like its social system could simply leave and try to find prosperity in another colony.
4. A freeholder was someone who owned land completely. He wasn't just leasing the land, or even a temporary lifetime owner of the land. As Virginia slowly became more English and turned into an aristocracy, its suffrage laws tightened until only freeholders could even vote. And then it went even further, only allowing freeholders of 25 acres or more of land to vote.
5. Aristocracy developed as land became scarcer. As land in Virginia dwindled, the vast majority of it had fallen into the hands of the upper class who had been there since its early years and had amassed most of its wealth by having indentured servants and purchasing more land. Also leading to the development of an aristocracy was that as land dwindled, fewer men were coming overseas as indentured servants, which meant less labor to work Virginia's land. Ultimately, Virginians had to turn to slavery, which turned Virginia into a colony run by the wealthy owners of slave plantations.
6. Tobacco consumes the nitrogen and potash contained in the soil as it matures. Therefore, tobacco could only be grown for 4 successive years before the land was useless for tobacco growing and had to be set aside for less profitable corn and other crops. Once these crops had used up the remaining nutrients, the land was completely useless agriculturally. This forced plantation owners to remain on their toes at all times and always be prospectors searching for new land to snatch up. Even despite the capitalist endeavours forced upon them by the tobacco situation, they remained the aristocratic upper class.
7. "Sour land" was also called "old land." It was land whose nutrients had been completely used, first by tobacco, then food crops, and was no longer useful to a farmer or plantation owner. This led plantation owners to the wasteful practice mentioned in number 6. This useless land became the site of many public functions such as churches, schools, and government buildings.
8. Centers of commerce never developed in Virginia because of a combination of geographic and social reasons. Virginia is lined with rivers that flow all the way out to the Atlantic. This allowed ships from England trading with plantation owners to trade directly with them, even if they didn't live on the coast, so long as they had a dock on a wide enough river. This direct trade meant lower prices for any English goods traded for by the plantation owners; they didn't have to worry about trading with a merchant in a town market whose prices were higher since he needed to make a profit off of what he had originally paid for the goods.
9. In Virginia, government was seen as a duty and burden of the upper class. In fact, voting was compulsory for all those who were able to vote based on the suffrage laws. In addition, any individual voted into office had to fill it and could not resign. The requirements to be eligible to be elected into the House of Burgesses was the same as eligibility for voting: white freeholder. However, the candidates were usually members of the upperclass. Candidate campaigning was not based on oration or debate of issues. Instead, the fitness of someone to govern was based on their generosity in hosting public events for their constituents. Also, voting was public, and if voted for, the candidate thanked the voter who had chosen him.
10. Washington manipulated his position in the Burgesses to acquire large tracts of land for himself. Firstly, in the early eighteenth century, he was able to acquire land in western Virginia by acts passed by the Burgesses. In addition to that land, he also received even more land for being veteran, and had obtained over 150,000 acres of land. His logic in obtaining so much land, more than he could ever cultivate himself, was investment. He knew the prices of his land would skyrocket once tobacco planting had moved west and demand grew for the tracts of land he owned.
11. The Church of Virginia was much more integrated into the society of Virginia than was the Church of England in the society of England. Also, the Church of Virginia had a Catholic flavor that the Church of England, and the enforcement of Theological ideals was much less rigid and more pragmatic and flexible. The important thing of the Virginian Episcopal Church was to believe in its Theology, be an upstanding, moral citizen, and be reverent of the Sabbath. This is in contrast to the more ceremonious Church of England. Also, for fear of becoming dependent on the English papal system, the Church of Virginia did not have any bishops until the late 18th century after it was completely free from England.
12. The Church served an integral role in Virginian society. The clergy was regarded as upperclass and ministers could marry the daughters of Virginian Gentlemen. However, ministers had tenure on one-year terms. At the end of each term, they would either have to leave their post and replaced, or remain the minister for their region. This decision was the prerogative of the vestrymen. This was called the "year-to-year" system. The vestrymen, who were elected every three years, served as the decision-makers of the Church. In addition to choosing the clergy, they were also the go-to's for non-criminal offenses against the church, such as adultry, fornication, and irreverence to the Sabbath.
1. The colony of Virginia is vastly different than Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania in the way that the Virginians were not seeking to build a different world for themselves in America. They sought only the refinment of English ideas, and looked toward the possibility of being an "English gentleman" in a very different country. Also, the Virginia colony was different because they chose to ignore many signs that told them England could not be born into the Americas. While Georgia was taken advantage of by the British, the Virginians looked to thew English for inspiration.
2. "Headrights" enabled a wealthier man to gain social and economic status, by making each additional person a man "rounded up" to be worth 50 acres of land. This was unlike the other colonies in which people were not able to move as freely on a social ladder, and it allowed slightly poorer people to grow a business better in America than in England.
3. Virginia society was different than England because men could grow in status more easily than in England. Also, wages for labor were much higher in Virginia, making Virginia liveable for more people than England. Another point in which Virginia was different was that any white man could vote for members of the house, as opposed to England where there was a property qualification. At the end of the 17th century, Boorstin states that it was apparent that not everyone could be a "gentleman", and this creates a similar situation in England.
4. A "freeholder" was someone who owned their land absolutely. As time passed, it was only the freeholders that could vote for the house, and later, only the richer freeholders that could.
5. An aristocracy developed in Virginia when imported slaves began replacing the white laboring class. With the induction of cheaper labor, it became less necessary to have "small farmers" around. Only the richest land-owners were able to sneak by this, and it was now almost impossible for a laboring man to climb the social ladder because of the huge seperation between the upper and lower classes. Also, the landowning families intermarried, so they would remain a small percentage on the top. These problems, with less land available, gave rise to an aristocracy.
6. When growing tobacco, planters in Virginia had to plant on "virgin land" because they would not replentish the soil with potash and nitrogen. This would make land unusable for tobacco after 4 years,because it was these nutrients that were key to growing a sucessful tobacco crop. After the 4 years, they retired the land to less profitable plants like corn. So, planters were constantly moving to new areas, and trying to find a balance between planting tobacco and other plants.
7."Sour land" was, as Boorstin states, synonymous with "new land", and it got this way because of the land-grabbing style of farming tobacco, in which "new land" would always end up being "sour land" after only 4 harvests. When land was no longer suitable for planting, churches and schools would be built on this unusable land.
8. Virginia did not have a center of commerce like other colonies because there were no large towns, partially because most landowners had private docks, and engaged in commerce over the sea. There is also an argument that the vast number of rivers really seperated the inhabitants, and therefore made it impossible for a large town to be set up. Also it is pointed out that there was a deficit of culture that could contribite to a loss of towns. Without the unification that churches and unique culture gave, there was no reason to join together.
9. In Virginia, voting was an institution in which everyone was expected to participate. Boorstin stated that "government was a duty." Although there was no unification in towns, the Virginians placesd great emphasis on everyone being intertwined in th government. Burgesses were elected from a choice of gentlemen, and it was stated that the freeholders really had the ultumate decision of deciding the winner. Issues wee not the deciding factor. Rather, it was almost a popularity contest in which the most charismatic and rich were to be elected. At the elections, it was customary for the candidates to be there and personally thank each voter.
10. The Burgesses held much power over the land, and were able to deny land, give it, and decide the best place to farm (and therefore inhabit) next. George Washington was one man that was greatly helped by the government. The burgesses knew where they would be going next, and George Washington looked at the government's trends in land-grabbing and bought land early. What was "useless land" became invaluable.
11. The church of Virginia was different than the church of England in many ways, including that it combined the earlier seperated sects of Catholicism and The Church of England. Also, the (Virginian) church of England did not stress ceremonies as much as its brother in England. Also, there were no bishops, which made the church in Virginia more open and less focused on hierarchy. Because there was no bishop, the church was different in the way in which it was run.
12. In society and politics, the Church played a large role. Angelicans were the leading political and social leaders. Politically, they controlled much law and held the position of "sheriff." Also, they accused and presented those guilty of many Ten Commandments-based laws. They also made borders of property. Socially, they monitered poverty and orphans, and levied taxes on some of the less fortunate.
1. In what way(s) is the Virginia (Va.) colony different from Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania?
Virginia was different from other colonies because Virginians wanted to be a miniature England. Boorstin explains that other colonies such as Pennsylvania and Massachusetts were founded on utopian ideas while Virginia was founded to fulfill the English way of life. Virginia was used by Englishmen to improve their status within the English hierarchy. Boorstin states, "A middle-class Englishman was to find space in Virginia to become a new kind of English country gentlemen." Over all, the other colonies such as Massachusetts, Georgia and Pennsylvania were created to escape English rule and the oppression of ideas. While in contrast Virginia was created to further the English ideal.
2. What are "headrights?"
Headrights created incentives for people to come to Virginia. These headrights granted an Englishman 50 acres of land for every person he brought with him to the colonies. Therefore, if a wealthy middle-class man took his family as well as a servant or two to Virginia he would have more land and a better possibility of success in the New World than a man who came alone.
3. How was Va. society similar to English society? How was it different?
In the beginning of the Virginia colony, there was no competition for land or power. All men were allowed to vote even if they did not hold any land. Virginians were able to move up and down on the social ladder easily. This was different from English society at this time. In England, everyone was born into their class. There was little social mobility between classes. As time went on, more and more settlers took Virginia’s landEventually there was no more land to take. This caused competition and led to a class system much like England. In addition, voting rights changed. Only landowning males could vote.
4. Define "freeholder."
A freeholder is a landowner. In order to vote after 1699, one had to own one hundred acres of unsettled land or own a plantation and a house on 25 acres of land. A freeholder was someone who could vote after 1699.
5. How did an aristocracy develop in Va.?
An aristocracy developed in Virginia because of the use of black slaves. The use of black slaves caused poor whites to be out of work. This caused the poor whites to move to other colonies where they could make a living rather than competing with slave labor. Farmers could not compete with the large plantations. This left most farmers in debt with no way to pay it off. Prospective farmers no longer went to Virginia. By the 18th century, only 5% of immigrants were becoming landholders. This meant that there was a small percentage of landowners in the Virginian population. Thus an aristocracy formed.
6. What's problem did planters in Va. have with soil when planting tobacco?
The major problem with growing tobacco is that it sucks nitrogen and potash out of the soil. These two nutrients are essential to most plant life and certainly to all crops. Colonists had no way of replacing these nutrients. Instead of using up all the nitrogen and potash in one field, farmers planted tobacco in only 10% of the field.
Farmers used the remaining 90% for other crops such as wheat. After four seasons, a field was typically abandoned because of its lack of nutrients. This forced farmers to buy more land in order to continue farming.
7. What was synonymous with "sour land," and how did it get that way?
"Sour land" is another name for an old field. Old fields become "sour" once they stop yielding crops. This happened when tobacco or other crops sucked all of the nutrients out of the soil. These lands were sometimes used for useful things such as schools or even churches.
8. Why was/is that Va. did not develop a center of commerce (like a Philadelphia or a Boston)?
Virginia did not develop a center of commerce like other colonies for many reasons. One reason was that plantations and farmers were always on the move because of the relatively fast depletion of crop fields. This kept every farmer from staying in the same place for more then four seasons. In addition, plantation owners all had their own docks and ports for transporting their goods. Therefore, they did not need a large center for transporting their goods from place to place..
9. Explain the voting procedure in Va.?
The voting procedure of colonial Virginia was very different from the voting procedure of today. Each voter would be required to publicly declare their vote in front of both the candidates and the constituents. This person’s vote was then recorded. If one candidate was losing, then the candidate or his supporters could simply send for more voters. Sometimes votes were taken by a show of hands. This made voting a public matter rather than, as we believe today, a private matter.
10. What role did the Va. gov't play in aiding people such as George Washington in acquiring new land?
Being part of the government in Virginia gave someone an "inside track" into buying new land. When new areas of land were opened, the people who were in the government were the first to buy them. For example, William Byrd bought land from North Carolina when he was surveying the dividing line between Virginia and North Carolina. Sometimes the government actually gave land to veterans of wars, such as in the case of George Washington and the veterans of 1754.
11. How was the "church of Va." different than the Church of England?
The Church of England and the Church of Virginia had the exact same Anglican doctrine. The only major difference between these two churches was that every church in England had a bishop governing it. While every church in Virginia had no (zero) bishops. In addition, the churches of Virginia were very independent from one another while the churches in England were tied together through a hierarchy.
12. What role did the church of Va. play in society and politics?
The Churches of Virginia played a role in their communities. The wardens of the church acted as sheriff, district attorney, and as a grand jury for the community. The church was also "the main social welfare agency," according to Boorstin. The vestry of the church would find care for orphans and help people out of extreme poverty. The church helped floundering members of the community from completely sinking under. The church also created justice in the community when a crime was committed.
1. Virginia differed from the other colonies because Virginia was a free territory, inviting anyone who wanted to come to do so. Virginia didn't have any direct course of action set to propel itself into a planned future.
2. Headrights was the right for any man traveling to Virginia to automatically recieve 50 acres of land on which to work. He also was titled to additional land if he brought more men with him to work. The amount of extra land gained was determined by the number of additional men brought.
3. Virginia differed from England in the fact that white males could climb the social ladder far easier than in England. All white men in Virginia could vote, but only those with deep pockets could run for a position in the government. In Virginia, a man could earn himself a name if he worked hard enough and obtained enough money.
4. A "freeholder" was a white man who undoubtedly owned his land (25 acres of settled land w/ a plantation and house) or 100 arces of unsettled land). After 1699 in Vigiania, in order to vote, one had to be a freeholder, and later on, only the wealthiest of freeholders had the right to vote.
5. Viginia developed its aristocracy when slaves were imported from Africa to replace the endentured servant workforce. The slaves were owned by the most wealthy of men, and the number of slaves you owned determined your social standings. Endentured servents were initially granted their own land after the introduction of slaves to Virginia, but the scarsity of land soon ended this practice.
6. The planters had problems with the soil because tobacco drains the soil of potash and nitrates without replenishing them. A field being sewn with tobacco had to be used for the growing of other, less profitable, cash crops after four years because the soil couldn't offer enough nutrients to grow the tobacco.
7. "Sour land" was called sour because it was land that had been used to grow crops until it was completely drained of all nutrients and nothing could be grown there. The land was then retired and used to be built upon.
8. Virginia didn't develope a center of commerce because it was a colony used almost exclusively for agricultural purposes and thus had a low population density and didn't have a large enough population to build massive social centers which attract outsiders and traders.
9. Virginia required all white men who were "freeholders" to vote. The rich men who voted obviously had a larger say in the functioning of the government than the poor who couldn't vote.
10. George Washington bought massive areas of land thought to be unusable from the Burgesses very early on in Virginia's history. As land became more scarce and tobacco growing became much more popular, Washington's land increased exponentialy in value.
11. The Church of Virginia had no bishops, contrary to the Church of England. Also, each church in Virginia elected its own minister based on who the community thought would make a pious relgious leader.
12. The Church of Virginia intervened in the lives of the struggling (in a possitive way) and helped to pay taxes of those who couldn't afford to. The Church united those who went to masses in in lieu of a major social places due to the smaller population size of the colony. Members of the clergy were posted in the possitions of sheriff.
1. Virginia was different from Georgia, Massachusets, and Pensylvania because Virginia was not created from the idea of religious freedom from England, and it was not the product of a master plan as was Georgia. Virgina, unlike the other colonies, continued to use the ideas of the British, by essentially creating a second England in America.
2. A headright was a system of granting land to settelers in virginia. A person would recieve 50 acres of land for every person they brought to the colony to settle.
3. Much of Virginian society was similar to English society. The Virginian government used a similar system of government, and eventually a similar system involving the Anglican church. In the early period of the colony, Virginia was the most different from England. Virginia had a more flexible social structure and had few restrictions on the right to vote. As time progressed, the social structure became more rigid and the right to vote was restricted further.
4. Freeholders were people who had a good portion of land. To be a freeholder, one must had to hold 100 acres of undeveloped land, or 25 acres of developed land. By 1700 only freeholders could vote.
5. Virginia became an aristocracy when less people could hold land and vote. Most of the small farmers of virginia were forced into debt by the large plantation owners, and had to give up their land. Also most of the people coming to Virginia were poor people who had no opurtunity when they came to virginia. Of the few landholding, wealthy families, they intermarried and only about 100 families controled Virginia.
6. Farmers had difficulty with growing tobacco in virginia because of the wasteful system they used for growing it. The farmers planted tobacco on every part of land every year. This sucked all of the nutrients out of the soil, creating poor crops several years after the first crop. Had they used crop rotation, they would have had a good crop every year.
7. Sour land was used and now useless tobacco land. It could no longer produce tobacco and instead was used as a lot for a school or a church.
8. Cities were not built in VIrginia because every so often planters had to find new land that could produce crops. Also, Virginian plantations relied on using slaves and often imported slaves. Without cities, the slaves could be delivered directly to the plantation,and crops could be shipped directly out of the plantations.
9. In virginia, landholders voted for represantives. Anyone who was a registered voter was required to vote or be punnished.
10. The Virginian government helped people get new land by allowing current land holders to move westward into the wilderness to develop the land there into more plantations.
11. Unlike the Anglican church in England, the church of Virginia had no bishops.
1. The main difference between the colony of Virginia and the colonies of Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania was that the latter three colonies were established in order to set up systems that, although close to those of the English, included fundamental changes. The aim of the Puritans was to “dazzle the world with a City upon a Hill,” that of the Quakers was to “inspire by a commonwealth of brotherly love,” and that of the Georgians was to “encourage with a vast humanitarian experiment.” The Virginians wanted precisely what the title of this part of the book suggests; they wanted to transplant England to America. Along the way there would be changes because America was not an exact replica of England, but the basic ideas and virtues remained the same.
2. “Headrights” was the term used for the tradition of granting a colonist 50 acres for each man he transported to the colony. In this way, the colony promoted bringing in more people to the colony, because more people meant more labor which meant more profit for the colony.
3. Virginian society was much like English society mostly because the founders of the colony wanted Virginia to resemble England. For example, the main goal for a tradesman or artisan was to rise up through the ranks of society and gradually earn a leadership role and more responsibility in both societies. However, because no upper-class was defined or in place in the early years of the Virginia colony and there was land to spare, social mobility was more easily achieved than in England. There were also more and more black slaves being imported to Virginia after 1680 unlike in England where indentured white servants were still more common. Also, any free white man could vote for the House of Burgesses. As time wore on, though, Virginian society grew to be more like English society in some ways. To vote meant that one had to be a freeholder, and social mobility became more difficult as society rules became as rigid and strict as they were in England.
4. A “freeholder” was someone who owned his own land; after 1699 it became necessary to be a freeholder if one was to vote.
5. An aristocracy developed in Virginia when the social mobility and democracy of the earlier years abated. Land was no longer available to the industrious artisans; a group of wealthy, land-owning families who intermarried more or less ran the colony by being the only ones who could vote and having exclusive privileges, like the right to race horses.
6. The problem with planting tobacco was that it wore out the soil after only four seasons of harvesting. Potash and nitrogen were drawn from the soil and not replaced, so planters had to constantly be on the look-out for new land to keep up their tobacco business.
7. “Sour land” was synonymous with “old fields,” or land that had already been used to harvest tobacco and so was only good for crops such as corn or wheat.
8. One of the reasons that Virginia did not have a center of commerce or many towns at all was that new ground was always being sought after to plant tobacco on and so fixed towns did not really fit their need. The special geography of the area also played a role. Virginia was covered with rivers, inlets, and tributaries, making water transportation quite efficient. In fact, many of the larger plantations were situated on these rivers in such a way that they had their own private docks where ships could come bringing them whatever goods they required and taking tobacco as payment. This was a cheaper and much more direct alternative to having to ship the tobacco to a town over a road system that was not yet fully developed and from there ship the tobacco across the ocean. Each large plantation was therefore much like its own little town and did not need a center of commerce.
9. To vote for representatives to the House of Burgesses, one had to be a freeholder, and if that was the case, voting was compulsory. Boorstin describes the elections as being somewhere between the English system of voting for members of Parliament and a system in which any politically-minded freeholder could ascend the ranks to become a Burgess. The Virginian election process was less corrupt and more open than the English, but to be elected one basically had to be a member of the gentry class. The way in which candidates attracted followers was through shows of their generosity and wealth: simply put, free food. Differing greatly from the election procedures in America today, each vote was public and announced right in front of the candidate and other voters, accompanied by both boos and shouts of approval. There were no set times for the polling place to be open, either. Instead, the sheriff, who was appointed by the gentry, had the right to open and close the polls as he saw fit.
10. The aristocracy that had all the political power of Virginia relied on new land in order to retain their wealth and status. Each of the Burgesses was in the same boat when it came to this matter, and so they helped one another, thorough the Virginian government, in acquiring fertile lands in the unsettled areas of the colony. In the process of completing “public services,” George Washington saw new opportunities for land and so worked to gain that land for himself and his friends. He went about doing this by passing bills in the House, writing letters to the Governor, and addressing different councils. These entities were the ones who had the power to grant Washington and others land, and they did, seeing as they deemed them deserving by being such loyal workers for the good of the colony. These grants of new land were essentially just the perks of being part of the ruling upper-class, but in order to get them, one needed to be politically minded and know how to go about getting them.
11. The “Church of Virginia” did not differ at all from the Church of England in terms of doctrine or theology; however, they did differ quite substantially when it came to the practical applications of this Anglican religion. For example, there were no bishops in Virginia, meaning there was no religious authority above the parish level. This made each parish quite independent and self-governing, quite the opposite from the system in England, which operated as a hierarchy. Without regulation, parishes started to develop different traditions (such as allowing dogs in church), which also deviated from the English emphasis on rituals. Ministers in Virginia were also kept on a stricter watch as they were never inducted and subjected to “viz,” avoiding the English minister problems of absenteeism and pluralism. One difference that had more to do with the economy of Virginia than anything else was the fact that ministers were paid in tobacco. Lastly, Virginians were willing to accept almost anyone from different Christian sects into their church, which was unthinkable in the days when dozens of sects were splitting off from the Anglican Church of England.
12. The Church of Virginia acted as the largest social welfare agency in the colony at this time. Using the taxes levied by the vestrymen, the most in need of the colony were taken care of, such as the extremely poor and orphans. The church not only had a social influence in Virginia, but also a political one. Many prominent political figures of the time, such as George Washington, also served as vestrymen of their local parishes, and close to all politicians considered themselves to be Anglicans. Their common Anglican morals and values therefore played a very significant role in which laws were passed and how the colony operated as a whole, and even how the young federal government was run, seeing as two-thirds of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were part of the Church of Virginia.
1. Virginia differed from the other colonies due to the fact that they made no attempt to rule by an idea. Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania all looked for ideals that the English did not have, but Virginia instead chose accept English ideals. For example, both Pennsylvania and Massachusetts chose to break away from England to rebuild a Zion community, but Virginia left England to spread its beliefs instead of stopping them. The Virginians didn't want a "city upon a hill" like the Puritans. They didn't want to stand out like the other colonies they wanted to stay under their mother's wing.
2. "Headrights" was a system of giving out land where anyone (only white men) would be given 50 acres of land per every person he brought over to the colony. The purpose of "headrights" was to expand Virginia as a colony, and spread English ideals, as well as increasing the number of people available to work. Unlike Georgia, nothing was required to be accepted into this colony.
3. In both England and Virginia, the main objective was to rise up through the ranks and earn more power. As a result, both wealthy Virginians and wealthy Englishman earned large amounts of land and the right to vote. Thus an aristocracy was formed. Voting in Virginia was different than that in England. In Virginia ANY white man could vote, where in England you had to be a wealthy, white, and land owning man. Another major difference was the rate of commerce was much faster in Virginia. According to Boorstin, "Virginia earned in a day what his English counterpart earned in a week".
4. A "Freeholder" was a man who owned land outright. Meaning they did not have a lease or temporary ownership. A freeholder had to be a man who had at least 100 acres of land that was unsettled or had at least 25 acres with a plantation and house. As Virginia began to break away from England, the suffrage rights got stricter. Once they officially broke apart only freeholders could vote for the House of Burgesses.
5. An Aristocracy in Virginia developed when a young man would rise up through the ranks of society and attain land. Once another person did this the previous was not booted from power. As a result, Virginia began to run out of land, and as a result, fewer people came over as indentured servants which brought a loss of labor. With lost labor the Virginians began using black slaves to ring up the profits from the plantations.
6. The problem the Virginian planters faced was the fact they planted all of their tobacco at once for four seasons in a row. As a result, the tobacco sucked out all of the nitrogen and potash out of the soil which was required for the growth success of tobacco. Because the soil was completely depleted of the nutrients required for the growth of tobacco planters had to turn to the less desirable crops such as corn and wheat. After the land was no longer usable, the aristocrats would have to quickly seize another plot of land.
7. The term "old land" was synonymous with "sour land". The term sour land refers to the land planters used for planting tobacco. Once the land was completely depleted of its nutrients the land was "sour" and no longer "virgin" land. Eventually this sour land was used for the building of hospitals and schools.
8. Virginia never developed as a major center for commerce for a couple of reasons. For one thing, Virginia had four major rivers running through it with little fingers branching out deep into the heart of Virginia. As a result, each plantation owner owned his own dock for export. Thus there was no commercial export of tobacco. Another reason Virginia never developed for commerce was due to the fact that the planters of Virginia were constantly looking for more land, so there was not enough land for factories.
9. The members of the House of Burgesses were voted into office only by the freeholders of Virginian society. Voting in Virginia was compulsory, and everyone had to vote. Unlike today, the ballots for voting were public instead of private. You simply had to raise your hand to be counted.
10. If you were part of the aristocracy or the upper-class in Virginia, you were the first to be offered land. Plantation owners could take out cash loans to pay for slaves and new equipment. Upper-class people such as George Washington could take out large cash loans to by new houses and land. Often these loans were not paid off.
11. The church of England was different from the church of Virginia in several ways. The main difference was that the churches in Virginia did not have any Bishops. The ministers were chosen by the parishes and the church was run better because the focus was not on the hierarchy. Another difference was the English church was much more "traditional" than in Virginia. It was more ceremonial and it participated in the society much less than Virginia.
12. The church played a significant role both politically and socially in Virginia. The clergy helped out the people in need by providing a system of welfare. The church was unbiased in a sense that it replaced its officers often so no member would end up with too much power. The ministers were replaced every year with the "year to year" system, and the vestrymen, who were the "go to guys" when there was a crime committed, were replaced every three years.
1. The colony of Virginia provides a blatant contrast to the colonies of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. The most prominent difference resides in the fundamental reasons for the foundation of the colony. While the Puritans and Quakers were running from English persecution and laws, and the Trustees of Georgia attempted to create a colony based on charity, the Virginians held true to English fundamentals and sought British ideals such as becoming the coveted country gentleman. While the other three colonies were based on fantasies of a perfectly rigid society, Virginia was founded on reality and fluidity.
2. “Headright” was a structured process of granting land under which 50 acres of land were given to any person the transporter could bring to the colony. This system gave rise to the white indentured servant which was the original labor force of Virginia.
3. While Virginia was very similar to English society in many ways, incidences in the new land gave Virginian society distinctiveness as well. In contrast to Britain, up until the 1700s, the Virginian immigrant was better off as shortage of work swelled their wages and had the added bonus of more social mobility…for a while at least. Comparably, the settlers of Virginia hunted the comfortable life of the English country gentleman. Many longed for, and achieved the impressive home nestled within sprawling acres of land along with the achievements of the gentleman, such as sitting as justice of the peace. There was however, a difference in the system of achieving gentleman status. Poor or middle class men in Virginia enjoyed social mobility which allowed them to rise to this position. This did, however create the problem of fairly uneducated men in higher positions in society. In conjunction with the English gentleman, the Virginian gentleman also pursued gentleman activities. The activities, however, were modified, where in such cases as the deer hunt; deer in Virginia were so prosperous that the privilege of hunting them was undermined. In the end, Virginia also undertook an aristocracy extremely similar to that of England as “The American Planter, The Negro, and the White Overseer” took on the roles of “The English Country Gentleman, The English Peasant, and The Steward” respectively.
4. A “freeholder” was a term applied to a man who owned land absolutely. After 1699, unless one was a freeholder, one was denied suffrage to vote for members for the House of Burgesses.
5. With the Virginians original pursuit of ideal English life, it became inevitable that they would adopt the English means of social structure as well. The transformation began with the right to vote. Originally, every free white man could vote and no property qualification was in place. Eventually, however, as complaints of incompetence of the “mean education” of the voters interfered, property requirements were established and eventually one had to own 100 unsettled acres of 25 acre with a plantation in order to vote. In this manner, the Virginian right to vote greatly resembled the requirements of England. By the beginning of the 1700s, less than 5% of new Virginians became landowners. Only a few wealthy and established families were in control, and adopted the aristocratic social rigidity of intermarrying. Boorstin estimates that less than 100 families controlled the colony. Additionally, the social structure of an aristocracy was employed, as lower social classes were not allowed to partake in activities with those of higher social ranking.
6. Virginian planters ran into an agricultural problem many farmers are still struggling with today, the disastrous effects of monoculture. The planters did not rotate crops which would restock nutrients such as nitrogen and potash which tobacco would deplete the soil of, but was also necessary for its growth. After only the fourth season, the infertile land had to be abandoned to less profitable crops of corn and wheat and eventually turned back to the wild. Because of this unending cycle, the planters minimized their tobacco profits as they feared planting more than 10% of their land with the crop. Additionally, this inspired a vicious market for “tobacco land” since they were “using it up” every year.
7. “Sour land” was synonymous with “old fields.” These sour lands had turned infertile and thus unprofitable by the rape of the land of planters sowing too much tobacco. Sour land was then transformed into areas for schools and churches in Virginia.
8. Two major factors contributed to Virginia’s lack of a center of commerce. The first was the strong hold which plantations held over the colony. Each land owner’s private interest resulted in self-content ness which did not inspire centers of trade. It was this devotion to self interest which led to the frank question “Why should the planter-merchant…wish to change his life or invite the competition of town merchants?” The second factor which discouraged large centers of trade in Virginia is her geography. Virginia has an obscene amount of interwoven rivers. Ships carrying goods such as clothing, furniture, and slaves could drop off by a private dock, and pick up that plantation owner’s harvest of tobacco. This private port side system encouraged by the plentiful rivers “is one of the chief Reasons why they have no Towns.”
9. The first requirement of voting in Virginia was to be a freeholder. Although the requirements to become a member of the Burgess were identical to that of a freeholder, the candidates were normally of the highest class in the colony. Debates on issues or plans for the colony were rarely addressed, and the election was more of a popularity contest and display of wealth. While no candidate was allowed to directly give money or food to the voters, the law was hardly ever enforced. The candidates would spend a great deal of money to please the voters, often splurging more than the cost of a house and land in the area. This unwritten requirement, of being wealthy to run for candidacy and office, has remained throughout elections in the US to this day. While, technically, anyone could run for president, most lack the funds and connections to do so. However, unlike the elections of today, the voting process of Virginia was shockingly public. The freeholders announced their votes publicly and the vote was quickly recorded. The voter’s choice was met by shouts from others either supporting or expressing their discontent, as well as a personal thank you from the candidate. The sheriff was in control of the elections, and could open and close the polls at his discretion.
10. The House of Burgesses and the Governor’s Council held the extreme power of control of the land in Virginia. In order to be successful in Virginia, one had to own a great deal of land, and not only that, but continue to expand one’s holdings (the tobacco depletion of soil necessitated this). Important investors such as George Washington were always on the lookout of opportunities to increase their holdings. In order to secure land, however, one had to have connections to the Virginian government, or better yet, belong to it. During one of Washington’s terms in the House of Burgesses, his activity gave the government 200,000 acres of virgin land, 24,100 of which were conveniently allotted to him. It was Washington’s connections with the Virginian government which allowed him to achieve this enormous chunk of land.
11. Similarly to the applied religion of the Puritans, the Church of Virginia was to become a more “practical and compromising” church than that of England. By coming to a new land, the religious settlers of Virginia were unmarred by spirited controversies over religious theology, and were thus more concerned with the application of the church to leadership and society. The spirit of free will in America also led to the lack of bishops in the Virginian church, as opposed to the hierarchal system of Bishops in the English church. It was not until America’s separation from England that the Virginia church became Episcopal. This lack of bishops caused every clergyman candidate for the Church in Virginia to go to England in order to be ordained. This perilous and expensive trip caused further separation of the Virginia Anglicans from the English. Additionally, in Virginia the parishes were more independent, with ministers less in control being held to yearly contracts. Clergymen, in a stark contrast to those in England, were paid based on the quality of the tobacco crop.
12. The Virginian Anglican Church had a vice-like grip on social and political aspects of Virginian life. Socially, they enacted a welfare system in the colony, providing almshouses for those in extreme poverty. Many vestry men saw to it that orphans were looked after and housed. Many destitute citizens were housed in the homes of citizens of the church. While the church of Virginia aided the poor, it also held a strong force with the wealthy. Socially active citizens could not hope to quit the church without being ostracized from their civic duties. Before the Revolution, some parishes had bigger budgets than even the government of the county. The Church also held a great deal of power politically. Although it did not directly rule the colony, its members did. Churchwardens acted as sheriffs, attorneys, and part of the grand jury. It was the duty of vestrymen to levy taxes and assess property. The members of the Virginia constitutional convention were overwhelmingly Anglican, and two-thirds of the signatures on the Declaration of Independence belonged to members of the Church as well.
1. Virginia was a different colony than that of Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, because Virginia wished to fill English virtues rather than run away from them. They wanted to create “a rural England.” They did not seek to establish something new, but something they had already experienced. Virginia did not have huge plans and did not receive much promotion of hype such as Georgia had. Virginia wished to create England in the colonies rather than escape the life like most colonists.
2. “Head rights” was the system of land grants where 50 acres of land were granted to each person that transferred to the colony. Head rights were given to a person if they “recruited” a person to come to the colony. This helped distribute land and was helpful because this gave the possibility for everyone to receive land, rather than specific requirements (like in Georgia with the silk industry/slave ownership).
3. Virginia’s society was different than that of England because white immigrants until 1700 were better off there than in England. Scarce labor made wages higher and in addition to found everyday, people were also given a pound of tobacco. Numerous amounts of men could and owned 20-500 acres. The system of head rights made it easier to obtain land. The standards of gentility along with almost everything else, were modeled on those of England, but were less strict. For a time, every free white man could vote. Until 1700’s, there was no racial barrier.
4. A “freeholder” was the only person that could vote after 1699. A freeholder was someone who owned land, 100 unsettled acres or 25 with a house and plantation. Suffrage had become the same as in England.
5. Aristocracy grew due to a number of things. The most fertile lands were taken up, along with the richest partners. Slavery also grew at an accelerated rate, replacing servants, which made large plantations more profitable. The” small man” became constantly in debt due to the Navigation Acts. Members of council and government had taken large grants of land, leaving little for anyone else. The aristocracy developed due to land being scarce. The upper class, council, and government had taken the largest amounts, and had the most wealth and indentured servants. As more and more land was taken, less men came to become indentured servants, which resulted in less labor in Virginia, and ultimately, turning to slavery.
6. The problem planters had when planting tobacco was that Virginians had not replenished the soil. They needed to replenish the nitrogen and potash that tobacco drained from the fertile soil. Thus, they had to use new land for farming tobacco. Tobacco could only be grown for 4 successive years before the land was useless. After Tobacco was grown on a plot, the land had to be set aside to grow other less profitable crops such as corn. After this, any remaining nutrients in the soil were drained and land became virtually dead and useless.
7. The new land was used for tobacco growth, as all the nutrients would be used up by the tobacco. The “sour land” or old fields were used as sites for schools and churches. After tobacco production, land was used for corn and other crops, and then once nutrients were depleted, it was used for sites such as schools.
8. Virginia did not develop a center of commerce because all the towns were spread far apart and there were no large cities or towns. The tobacco growers could keep profit close to home. Commerce dwelt on private depots. The reasons for not having a center of commerce were mostly geographic, such as towns being far spread and rivers that allowed trading at docks. Trade meant income and profit as well as lower costs on goods. A center of commerce simply was not needed in the eyes of the colonists.
9. There was a law of compulsory voting. Government was a duty. And ordinary voter was required to cast a ballot, men of “greater substance” carried heavier burdens. The men with more duties and money had more responsibilities. Eligibility to vote was only that you had to be a white freeholder. Major decisions rested on those with more land and power. This was burdensome to the upper class. Also, any person voted into office had to hold the position. They couldn’t resign.
10. The Virginia government held power over already settled land. Land was held in courts. Through the Act of the House of Burgesses, aiding people in acquiring new land was accomplished. Washington received land first in this way, after speaking and manipulating the Burgesses in order to acquire large plots of land. Washington also received more land due to being a veteran. Washington realized that prices of land would keep climbing and demand would be much higher. Land was investment for Washington.
11. The church of VA was different than the Church of England because the religion of England became part of the lives of “English gentlemen.” The church, a catholic church, was coexistent with the community. It was an essential part of life. It was referred to as “warm quiet devotion.” The theology remained the same as in England, but was less enforced and more flexible. There were no bishops in Virginia until after the 18th century because they did not want to become dependent on the English “PayPal” system. The church in Virginia was much more entwined in the lives of the people than in England.
12. The church was a part of the community. The ministers could marry daughters of Virginian gentlemen. The clergy was looked upon as upper class. Ministers had one year terms, and would have to be replaced or remain the minister in that region. This was a “year-to-year” system. Vestrymen were elected every 3 years. The Vestrymen were the decision makes of the church. Taxation and representation was the same as support and election of ministers. People in the community also played a role. No one could decently withdrawal from t he church because being involved in the church were civic duties.
2. A headright is a ship captain. He was encouraged to bring over people to Virginia, and in doing so, he would gain fifty acres for each person he brought over.
3. Virginians brought over text and dramas found on England’s stage. However, unlike in England, colonists in Virginia were able to rise in status more easily and vote. This was at least until 1699 when only freeholders were allowed to vote. Virginians earned as much in a day as the English did in a week. For awhile a colonist could vote if he were a free white man. This didn’t occur in England; on land owning men could vote.
4. A freeholder is someone who owns land outright. There also became land size amounts to be considered a Freeholder. If you owned 100 unsettled acres of land or 25 acres of plantations plus owned a house, you would then be considered a freeholder. By 1699, only freeholders had the right to vote.
5. An aristocracy developed with the idea of freeholders. Only people with large plots of land were able to vote for representatives in the House of Burgesses.
6. Virginian planters didn’t replenish there fields with nitrogen and potash. This meant that all the nutrients were used up but the planters were still attempting to grow more tobacco on the land.
7. Sour land was land that had stopped being profitable from tobacco. It meant that it could be a site for construction whether it was a church, school, etc.
9. In Virginia, there was a law stating everyone must vote. If you were a rich man, you were required to have more tasks in the government like becoming a member of the House of Burgesses. Virginians had the belief that government was a duty that everyone needed to partake in. The House of Burgesses had very strict attendance policies as well. Burgesses’ members must attend all meetings or pay a large fine in the form of tobacco.
11. The Virginian church didn’t have a central authority to define uniformity. Each minister was independent from other parishes. The Church of Virginia actually accomplished what the Church of England tried to do. They were able to purify the church because there wasn’t a central authority.
1. Virginia was different because it let things happen. Instead of having a planned course of action, Va. let anyone who wanted to in.
2. Headrights gave a man 50 acres of land when he went to Va. He could get more land by pringing more men, a reward for having people settle in Virginia.
3. Any free, white man in Virginia could vote. Since there was space, if a community was full then people could start a new one, where anyone could get into power if they had talent and money (and if you had talent you could get money without a harsh struggle)
4. If you owned 100 acres of unsettled land or 25 acres of settled land then you were a freeholder, or someone who owned the land without question.
5. An aristocracy developed with the introduction of slaves. Now, land competition was there between the indentured servents, who would work for their freedom and then need to be paid, or the slaves who would work (unwillingly) for free. Now that the number of slaves improved social standing, the plantation owners wanted more slaves as well.
6. Tobacco didn't grow well in Virginia because it uses the potash and nitrates without replenshing them. After years other crops, that yeilded less money, would need to be grown to replenish the fields for tobacco.
7. "Sour land" is land that had been used up of all its nutrients from farming, and then was built upon.
8. Va. was a largespread agricultural area, so instead of large cities there were small plantations, with less people.
9. Everyone HAD to vote in Va., However, it was a public vote and those that were the most popular normally won. Each candidate thanked, in person, whoever voted for them.
10. Washignton bought land that was thought of as unsusable, but once land became scare it increased in value.
11. Compared to England, the church in Va. had no bishops. since there were no bishops, leaders in Virginia were chosen by the community until they stopped being good.
12. The church brought people together. With public elections and the fact that religious leaders were elected (therefore publically) then the community worked together and thought together to decide on religious matters.
~Chris Sogge~ :)
1.) The major diffrence between Virginia and the other colonies in New England was that first Virginia ws not as planned out as Georgia or other colonies and was not built with a strict purpose (Georgia was a money maker for England, Pennsylvania and Massachussets were founded by religious groups, etc.). Additionally, Virginia was fine with mantaining English ideals, which the other original colonies strongly opposed.
2.) Headrights is the right for Virginians to recieve 50 acres of land for every new immigrant they bring to America to work. An additional headright was the right for any immigrating person to have land with no requirements whatsoever.
3.) Virginia was similar to England in many ways. First, there were a few upper class families in charge of most of the land who made alot of the decisions for the group. Additionally,there were many citizens who just lived off of subsistence farming in Virginia, similar to in England. However, there were also major differences, including the fact that while in England there was minimal social mobility, Virginian citizens had the ability to move up in society. Also, while in Virginia there was a large african slave populatin, there were much fewer in England.
4.) A Freeholder was a person who completely owned land. They didnt rent or just partially own the land, but rather were in total control of the land. This became important for citizens later because a law was passed that allowed only freeholders to vote.
5.) An aristocracy in Virginia developed when a few of the richer Virginian families began buying the majority of the land from the other citizens. These families quickly became looked at as the "upper class" much like it was in England. The aristocracy strengthened even more when large amounts of slaves were brought to Virginia, which the upper class families used to tend their land and make them even wealthier, strenhtening the heirarchy.
6.) The problem with planting tobacco in Virginia was that after a few years, the land used to grow the tobacco on became infertile and useless because the tobaccco drains the nitrogen from the land. Each farmland that grew tobacco was abandoned after 4 years due to lack of minerals, and landowners were forced to buy new land to grow their tobacco on.
7.) "Sour land" was the world used for land where all of the useful minerals had been drained by tobacco. This land was often later used as building areas for public buildings like schools or churches.
8.) Virginia did not develop a center of commerce mainly because of the individual docks landowners set up along the rivers. Because the landowners had their own docks which they used to reach all the way to England, there was no reason for a large commerce center to develop.
9.) Voting in Virginia was for the most part solely for the upper class citizens. The criteria for being able to vote was simple: to be a white freeholder, and the same criteria applied for being in the House of Burgess. Another interesting aspect of Virginia voting was the publicity of it. Voters went up to the candidates and voted in front of everybody.
10.) The government of Virginia was entirely in charge of land distribution, and Washington was able to manipulate the House of Burgess into giving him large land grants. Washington gained additional land for being a veteran. This land, he knew, would later become very valuable as more and more land became "sour" due to tobacco growth.
11.) The church of Virginia was different than that of England because wile the church of England had a bishop in charge, the Virginian church did not and therefore was more flexible and practical, much like the earlier Puritan churches.
12.) Church leaders were a vert important part of Virginian politics. They sometimes acted as sheriff if need be and also were in charge of keeping jstice in the community when certain crimes were commited. In society, the Church took care of many of the poor and orphaned children, and also occasinally modified taxes for some of the poorer families.
1. Virginia is different than Massachusetts in that they weren't trying to escape England, and in many ways simply brought the culture of an English country gentleman over to Virginia. They also weren't out to dazzle the world with an example of what was good and right, nor were they trying to set up a charitable colony.
2. "Headrights" enabled a man to gain 50 acres of land for every person he transported to the colony. This is a rather interesting way to gain land... it doesn't make the people they brought seem very human, more of a business venture.
3. The society of Virginia was similar to England in that their once lax social hierarchy became strict like England's. Their laws of suffrage were similar. They still had a strong separation between rich and poor and they still lived the life of a country gentleman. However, there were more oppertunities in Virginia for a man to move up the social hierarchy than there was in England.
4. A freeholder was a man who owned their land outright.
5. The social structure began to freeze up and people began to have to own land to vote. The labor classes changed as more black slaves were brought in, but still the poor farmers couldn't afford to keep up with the larger farmers and were often in debt.
6. When planting tobacco in Virginia, the planters didn't replenish the soil after it was grown in and the soil would be depleted of its nitrogen and potash, making the land nearly useless for growing in.
7. Sour land was another term for old fields that had been depleted to the point where nothing could be grown in them anymore. They had been overused to the point where the soil was useless for growing so they would build on it instead.
8. Virginia didn't develop a center of commerce because the land was continually being broken up to make new farmlands and the rivers that crisscrossed Virginia were so numerous that a center a commerce wasn't needed. Individual farmers would make their own platforms on the rivers. A center of commerce would just compete with them, and they didn't see the point with all the river traffic.
9. In Virgina, voting was carried out on the lawn in front of the courthouse, or inside depending on the weather. The candidates were all gentry and they often treated the voters to elaborate foods and such, despite laws preventing bribery. Votes were cast publicly. The candidates were usually present and would thank each voter (or could hold that against them). If the candidate could not be present, they would often have a close friend e in attendance to do that for them. Since the votes were out in the open, a candidate could send for last minute support and bring in more voters if they weren't winning.
11. The Church of Virginia didn't have bishops, the parishes were independent, the parish could chose to appoint or remove its own ministers. Even the lower clergy were considered among the ranks of the gentlemen in the Church of VA.
12. The church was responsible for helping the poor. The political leaders were also the church leaders. They were also the district attorney, the Grand Jury, and the sheriff.
1) The Virginia Colony varied from the others in that the Virginians had one goal in mind: recreate a little England, uphold the customs and traditions of the motherland. They focussed on achieving the status of "Gentleman", and as time progressed, the society in Virginia morphed more and more into what they tried to escape: English Society. Because of this, there seemed to be more cooperation amongst the Virginians with the British compared to any of the other colonies.
2) Head Rights were granted to mainly land-owners who brought (if "brought" is the same as "forced") indentured servants or slaves into their own colony. Any landowner who did so was given a certain parcel of land, 50 acres, for every 1 slave or servant he brought with him.
4) A "free-holder" was someone, more specifically a MAN, who owned, in his own right, without question, at least 100 acres of land. However, should he have less than 100 acres, but more 25 acres of land that had already been "settled", along with a house and a developing plantation, he would be granted the title of "free-holder" and thus gain suffrage.
5) Aristocracy developed in Virginia much the same way that it did everywhere else: the desire of one selfish man to get ahead of everyone else by making almost everyone else subservient to him by various means because he believed that he deserved the higher position or rank or title or what-have-you. Therefore, one became an Aristocrat by having the good fortune to procure enough land for a plantation, being powerful and dangerous enough to throw the poorer white workers off your land, and being wealthy enough to purchase slaves to work your plantation, which would cause the owner to reap high enough profits to essentially buy himself into the upper-class.
6) Virginia planters had problems with the soil because they were unaccustomed to how much the tobacco consumed the soil's nutrients, namely the nitrogen and potash. Because of this, they could only use the land for a few years before they had to let it rest and reabsorb the nutrients essential for tobacco growth. During this time they would instead plant less profitable crops.
8) Virginia did not develop a center of commerce because it was a rural-agricultural based society. There also seemed like little need for one because they already had church. (*note the sarcasm in the last sentence*)
9) The voting procedure in Virginia literally forced any man with the right of suffrage to vote. From their prospective, if a lower-class man had the right to vote, then any upper-class man MUST vote because his was the more important. (this was a way of keeping the aristocrats in the government)
11) The Chuch of Virginia was different from the Church of England in that only bishops could choose the ministers. Due to lack of Bishop-ness in Virginia, anyone who was part of the church's parish could "vote" for the minister they thought suitable enough to do the job for a one-year term. The minister could be re-voted into the high-ranking office the following year should the parishioners feel that the minister fulfilled their spiritual needs and was God-honoring.
12) The Church played a HUGE role in Virginian society, mostly because the uneducated, unenlightened, peeps were superstitious and couldn't bear the thought that they could think for themselves. The Church also held a great deal of political power, especially because it was the central meeting place of all the local people.
Virginia
1) Virginia was different from Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania by the fact that is simply tried to replicate England. There was no mass plan or idea that the place was founded on other than creating a replica of England.
5) An aristocracy developed so easily in Virginia because of the mass emigrations by poor white immigrants from England. People would come into Virginia simply for the purpose of heading right on out, north or south. This caused no more than 5 percent of Virginia’s population to be landowners. Those landowners became wealthy aristocrats, fueled by the labor of the new English peasant, or the slave.
6) The soil in Virginia was not reusable when tobacco was grown. Nitrogen and potash were taken from soil when tobacco was grown, so only two or three tobacco crops could be grown before the land could be used for a fourth and final non-tobacco crop. Then the land, deprived of nutrients, was considered sour and could not be used for farming.
8) A center of commerce was never formed in Virginia because there simply was never the formation of towns by Virginian citizens. Because most owners of property owned plantations, all plantations were built around docking points by a river or the Atlantic Ocean. Plantation owners would then simply ship their goods to England in return for whatever goods were needed. This foreign dependent commercial system had no need for a local commercial center.
11) The Church of England in Virginia differed in several ways from the authentic Church of England. One was its sense of being church of the majority. In England there were many denominations and sects different from the Church of England, whereas in Virginia it simply became the main, catholic church. Because of this singularity, the church in Virginia was able to but a higher emphasis on Anglicanism, which caused the formation of institutions. Another difference from England in the Virginian church was that the concept of bishops was completely dropped. This caused congregations to govern themselves instead of being lead by bishops.
1. Virginia differed from Georgia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania mainly because Georgia was a colony where the british sent their criminals, and Pennsylvania and Massachusetts were attempts to create new religious orders in their colonies. Virginia was just a place british settlers would come over to live in the new world, so being like a british noble was embraced in virginia where it was shunned in the others.
2. Headrights were rights for people to recieve land in the colonies for coming over, as a bid to increase population. Every colonist had the right to 50 acres of land.
3. Due to new communities springing up all over Virginia when old one's filled up, unlike in britain, power was not difficult to obtain, so there was not much of a race for power. Also, due to Headrights, all white males owned land, and therefore could vote.
4.A freeholder is a person who could vote, and unquestionably owned at least 100acres of undeveloped property, or 25 of farmland, so as to aid the economy.
5. How did an aristocracy develop in Va.? Aristocracy developed due to new world slavery arising, and african slaves being shipped across the middle passage. the farmers who could afford to purchase slaves started an economic boom due to increased productivity on plantations in comparison to slave-less farms, where the farmers could not produce as much, so became the lower class.
6. The soil in Virginia lacked the nutrients that tobacco needs to develop (mainly potash and nitrogenous substances) so, only unused soil could support the growth of tobacco. most farmers had to give up and grow new world crops, such as maize, which would grow.
7. Sour land was old land that had already used up its supply of nutrients to grow in-demand corps such as tobacco, and could only grow new world crops that were used to the soil. eventually, this land was forsaken for crops and buildings for the community were built on it, like churches and schools.
8. Virginia was almost entirely a farming colony, filled with plantations. with a lack of industrialized or urban areas, there was no opportunities for a commerce center to crop up.
9. Virginia wanted to have everyone vote equally, for a real aristotelean republic, so there was a compulsory voting law, with a punishment left unstated.
10. Headrights gave men like Washington land in the first place, and due to the cheapness of the land, it became imminent to expand westward, in ored to obtain farmable land for plantations.
11. The church of England was simply a less-strict version of the Catholic Church, whereas the colonial influence on virginia reformed it religiously. The position of Bishop was removed from the system, and ministers were then chosen for their religious devoutism instead of their connections to corrupt bishops.
12. The church played a major role in Virginian life due to the major agricultural roots in the colony. There was no economic community center for the people to gather at, so the church was the only place for people to gather. clerymen were actually the most paid colonists at 16,000lbs of tobacco anually.
2. Headrights was a term used to describe the allottment of at least 50 acres of land to a man who brought one person to the colonies. It was a way that america rewarded immigraton. they used it to inspire more people to bring immigrants and new colonists to this wonderful new place we now call america.
3. As in England, Verginia was really ruled by large numbers of white aristocrats. They conrolled everyhting, just as they did in England. Unlike England, however, wealth was readily available in early Virginia. Also, anyone could become a ruler ofhis own little community. You went off and started your own little township and filled it with people you liked that would keep you in office.
4. A freeholder was a man that had land that was his and no one questioned him. he owned the land, it was his. He either gained it via headrights or from his father in his will.
5. An aristocracy developed relatively easily in Virginia. Only white land owners had a say in anything. Therefore, these aristocrats had the last laugh in every decision. They used this to their advantage and made it so that all the decisions went in the favor of their businesses and platations and did not necessarily reflect the views of the Virginians.
6. The soil in virginia is not very full of nutrition. The plantation owners would have one crop of tobacco and then they would run out of nutrients in the soil. The one successful crop of tobacco used all of the necessary nitrogen that tobacco nees to survive. then, the soil doesn't replenish those nutrients.
8. Virginia did not develop a center of commerce because it was more focused on the agricultural aspects of the new colony, and not the commercial.
9. The people of virginia were required to vote. If you did not vote, there were consequences, but the way boorstin explains it, the consequences aren't clear.
1..VA was different because unlike Georgia, MAssachusetts and Pennsylvania, VA based most of its ideals off of England also allowing anyont in who wanted to be a part. Georgia was trying to create a colon based on charity, Virginia held the desire to become a true English Gent.
2..Headrights was a system in which 50 acres of land was given out for every person brought to the colony. This system did only apply to the white male. It was used so that the VA colony could expand and attract more people.
3..English society held much less slack when it came to social mobility, you were born into a class and unlike Va society were moving up and down the social ladder was much easier and more likely to happen. Regardless of VA allowing more room to rise up they were similar because both colonies held the want to rise in the social ladder despite the trouble.
4..A man who owned his own land. At least 100 acres. As time passed rights became more strict and in order to vote you had to be a freeholder.
5..Black slaves started being used, this decided many social standings. If you owned slaves you were considered upper class. Land became scarce and eventually an aristocracy was formed.
6..THey only thoughts of tobacco for the moment, not the soil in the long run. The soil had no time to recooperate and over time depleted. Tobacco could no longer be grown in the ruined soil.
7..Sour land was the land which was no longer useable, very much like the land where the tobacco was grown and over time depleted.
8..THere was no center of commerce due to the many rivers and coastline which provided a trading source. Trading was still occuring even without a center of commerce to regulate it and encourage it.
9..Voting was seen as a duty, as something everyone was expected to participate in, disregarding the poor. all freeholders were expected to vote simply because it was a duty.
10..The gov't provided George with land that was seen as useless, however he went around this and made it useable. It eventually gained value as more and more land became sour and no longer useable. Land was scarce and each little bit of land became valuable.
11..main difference was that the churches in England had bishops governing them, churches in VA didnt. Another difference was that churches in England were all tied together with roots at a heirarchy however VA churches were much more independent from eachother.
12..The church took a role in the small problems in society, for example they assisted the poor when things became too rough. In the sense of politics, the church had members of clergy take the duty of being sherrif.
1. While the colony of Georgia was build upon a vast and detailed plan and both Pennsylvania and Massachusetts were founded on previous ideals and hopes for the Truth, Virginia was focused on transferring English ideals and virtues. The Puritans were concerned with creating a City upon a Hill, the Quakers were focused on creating a peaceful society, and Georgia was based on upon humanitarian dreams, but Virginia only wanted to model their community off of England while still not focusing on seeking something but rather just accomplishing it.
2. Since Virginia had a small number of colonists coming over they set up the system of “headrights” among other things. With “headrights” a person could gain a whole other 50 acres of land for every person they brought over to the colony which encouraged people to buy followers into the colony.
3. Because Virginia was transferring the institutions from England over to their new colony several aspects of their society mimicked that of England’s. For one, the ideas of a country house that gentlemen could own to show their wealth and retreat to was set up in Virginia. However, it became much easier to become a gentleman when the prices of labor were increased in Virginia which allowed Virginia to have a much higher population of gentry than that of England’s. But, as Virginia’s land was quickly eaten up and less people could be offered that opportunities that their gentleman class had Virginia created property qualification just like the English had. Also, as Virginia’s poor population increased while their society turned into an aristocracy, “The English Country Gentleman—Lord Effingham Blank or Squire Brown of Ancient Acres—was now played by The American Planter; The English Peasant, by the Negro Slave…” By the late 1600’s Virginia had even picked up on entertainment like horse riding and hunting deer and elk for their gentleman class.
4. A “freeholder” was basically someone who owned their land outright. By the 1670’s Virginia wasn’t as prosperous as it had been in the beginning for hopefuls wanting to rise up in society, and because there were no restrictions on land and the power that the owner had creating the system that only “freeholders” could vote helped put a check on the society.
5. After land qualifications were set in Virginia the Navigational Acts constricted the profit that the colony could make which started to snowball into an aristocracy. Until the Navigational Acts had been set in place servants and slaves could start their own land plots and try to gain their own status in society, but since the land became scarcer the poor population skyrocketed and people started seeking land in other colonies. By the 18th century only five percent of new colonists became landholders while the richer families who had set up land grants before the 1700’s started intermarrying and soon controlled all of Virginia’s wealth.
6/7. The problem that faced tobacco planters in Virginia was to do with the fact that they planters never refueled the land with nitrogen and potash. Since the tobacco depleted the land of these things only new land could grow tobacco successfully which meant that planters always had to keep buying and selling land. “New land” could now also be called ‘tobacco land” for this reason, and the term “sour land” was a phrase for the old farm land, or “old fields,” that couldn’t yield any more profit from tobacco. The “sour land” then turned into areas for people to build schools and churches on.
8. Two of the main reasons, according to Boorstin, that were responsible for the lack of a center of commerce in Virginia was the constant moving of the planters and the fact that there were no real towns, or if there were they were too far spread out. Because of the “sour land” the planters were always moving from land plot to land plot with groups of enslaved laborers which also contributed to the reason why there were no real towns or villages. The planters found it easy to use small rivers that divided the land to their advantage so they build their own docks and shipped their slaves and goods to their fields and then sent away tobacco on the same rives. Because the planters were so spread out, each plantation was like its own town with labors, overseers, and craftsmen which shows how the gentry class and owners had to “acquire the town talents,” or stay constantly involved with their profit and loss and new opportunities.
9. Like Virginia’s system of “freeholders” there were other procedures for voting enforced. Their law of compulsory voting stated that a qualified voter could be punished if they did not show at the polls and the “freeholders” were allowed to vote for members of their House of Burgesses, which controlled the price of their cash crop of tobacco, education, religion, and their interactions with the Indians. From there the House of Burgesses was in charge of selecting the governors, council members, judges, officers, and any delegates. The actual voting took place in the county courthouse, and it was expected for the candidates to be present at the polls. The voters would then come up one by one and tell their choice which was recorded. The voters were checked out by the sheriffs, that were present, to make sure they were qualified, and after voting they were personally thanked for their votes by the candidates. A “freeholder” could vote in any county he held land in/was qualified in, and the gentry class in the House of Burgesses could represent any county where they could vote in.
10. Even though profitable land in Virginia grew scarcer as time went on there were still people, mostly aristocrats and members of the different offices, like Washington that were considered “land hunters.” While a “land hunter” could acquire land from the wilderness, the government made it much easier for people to place a private Act of the House of Burgesses. These Acts let land that was left to be inherited to be taken without all the complicated paper work and allowed the planters to move his labor force and begin working on them. Washington also profited from a proclamation in 1754 that awarded veterans 200,000 acres which he later revised to allot thousands of acres depending on rank.
11. Although Virginia was very similar to their mother land of England, when it came to religion the two churches were rather different. For one, Virginia’s church was Catholic and stayed that way even with the other changes around it were as the Church of England Catholic surrounded by an array of several different sects. As well the Virginia church’s congregations were more independent and the church wasn’t considered Episcopalian because they had gotten rid of bishops. The churches also differed when it came to their system of parishes and ministers because in England the minister held property over the parish and could only be forced to give it up if ordered so by a council of bishops, were as in Virginia the minister was chosen by its parish and would stay there until the parish became dissatisfied.
1. Virginia is different from Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania because first of all it was not founded for religious freedom (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania) or as a charity effort (Georgia). It was simply created to embrace English ideas in a place where they could maybe refine them; they were still English just thousands of miles away.
2. Head rights were incentives for rich English gentlemen to go over to Virginia. The basically said that anyone that brought over people to Virginia would receive 50 acres per person, similar to Georgia’s system except that the transporter gained the land rather than the transported. Also the Georgia system had more restraints (maximum of 500 then 2000 acres.)
3. The Virginian political system was very similar to England’s because it was basically the same system in a new land, however this new system did adapt. Because of the lack of many skilled laborers, they were in high demand were as in England they usually would be forced into a guild. Also unlike England, there was open unclaimed land so that any adventurous man could move up in the world by grabbing his land and reaping the benefits.
4. Freeholder describes someone who had control over land, undeniable control. This could be a settled family, a settlement, or just a large amount of land. Over the years however it began to mean someone who controlled atleast the minimum amount of land to gain the right to vote (25 acres.)
5. Virginia became an aristocracy when its one available resource began to disappear, land. After most of the unstaked land was gone, the control began to shift to the wealthy families which had brought over more indentured servants which equaled more land. After the need to bring over indentured servants went down (available land) the rich upper class needed a cheaper source of labor that they found in slaves. The slaves greatly increased the gap between the rich landowners and the poor white farmers, giving the rich all the power and making the system an aristocracy.
6. The Virginians didn’t fully understand farming, and didn’t release that what made the tobacco grow was the nitrates in the soul. After these were drained the land was practically worthless and given to non cash crops, usually after four seasons of growing tobacco.
7. Sour land was synonymous with new land because if new land tobacco would be planted and the nutrients would be stolen, making the land useless. Thus sour.
8. Virginia didn’t turn into a commerce center for a couple of reasons: most importantly was that a system of rivers made trade easy and cheap. So going to a commerce center and going through a middleman would just be economically wasteful. Also almost the whole state was almost always moving (every four years) to follow the growing of tobacco.
9. Virginia was a forced democracy, meaning that everybody needed to vote. This system was useful because everyone, regardless of wealth (if they had the land requirement), had a say. Also it was open elections so basically the most intimidating of most popular of the whole region won.
10. George Washington shows the corruptness of the Virginia government, he openly gained land under new laws that the burgesses (which he was a part of) passed. He also gained land for being a veteran, showing the importance and respect of military service and heroes.
11. The Church of Virginia was basically a combination of Catholic ideals and ideals from the Church of England. The church had no bishops and more focus on being a good person and leading a Christian life, rather than giving money to the church. Both are catholic ideals. It also focused on less ceremonious sermons, which differed from the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church.
12. The Church of Virginia was basically the law of the land (because the laws were heavily based on the ten commandants.) they also enforced land issues and helped the poor and orphaned. It was basically everything the government does today.
1. Virginia is different from Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania because first of all it was not founded for religious freedom (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania) or as a charity effort (Georgia). It was simply created to embrace English ideas in a place where they could maybe refine them; they were still English just thousands of miles away.
2. Head rights were incentives for rich English gentlemen to go over to Virginia. The basically said that anyone that brought over people to Virginia would receive 50 acres per person, similar to Georgia’s system except that the transporter gained the land rather than the transported. Also the Georgia system had more restraints (maximum of 500 then 2000 acres.)
3. The Virginian political system was very similar to England’s because it was basically the same system in a new land, however this new system did adapt. Because of the lack of many skilled laborers, they were in high demand were as in England they usually would be forced into a guild. Also unlike England, there was open unclaimed land so that any adventurous man could move up in the world by grabbing his land and reaping the benefits.
4. Freeholder describes someone who had control over land, undeniable control. This could be a settled family, a settlement, or just a large amount of land. Over the years however it began to mean someone who controlled atleast the minimum amount of land to gain the right to vote (25 acres.)
5. Virginia became an aristocracy when its one available resource began to disappear, land. After most of the unstaked land was gone, the control began to shift to the wealthy families which had brought over more indentured servants which equaled more land. After the need to bring over indentured servants went down (available land) the rich upper class needed a cheaper source of labor that they found in slaves. The slaves greatly increased the gap between the rich landowners and the poor white farmers, giving the rich all the power and making the system an aristocracy.
6. The Virginians didn’t fully understand farming, and didn’t release that what made the tobacco grow was the nitrates in the soul. After these were drained the land was practically worthless and given to non cash crops, usually after four seasons of growing tobacco.
7. Sour land was synonymous with new land because if new land tobacco would be planted and the nutrients would be stolen, making the land useless. Thus sour.
8. Virginia didn’t turn into a commerce center for a couple of reasons: most importantly was that a system of rivers made trade easy and cheap. So going to a commerce center and going through a middleman would just be economically wasteful. Also almost the whole state was almost always moving (every four years) to follow the growing of tobacco.
9. Virginia was a forced democracy, meaning that everybody needed to vote. This system was useful because everyone, regardless of wealth (if they had the land requirement), had a say. Also it was open elections so basically the most intimidating of most popular of the whole region won.
10. George Washington shows the corruptness of the Virginia government, he openly gained land under new laws that the burgesses (which he was a part of) passed. He also gained land for being a veteran, showing the importance and respect of military service and heroes.
11. The Church of Virginia was basically a combination of Catholic ideals and ideals from the Church of England. The church had no bishops and more focus on being a good person and leading a Christian life, rather than giving money to the church. Both are catholic ideals. It also focused on less ceremonious sermons, which differed from the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church.
12. The Church of Virginia was basically the law of the land (because the laws were heavily based on the ten commandants.) they also enforced land issues and helped the poor and orphaned. It was basically everything the government does today.
1. One of the main ways in which Virginia colony was quite different from Georgia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, is that Virginia was neither created for some large and overly-complicated and thought out scheme, as was Georgia, nor was it created by a religious sect to be their new Zion as was Massachusetts, nor was it a haven for a sect which found strife and turmoil in most other areas of the world, especially in England from which the settlers came, as was Pennsylvania.
2. Headrights were the system by which a landowner would be granted 50 acres of land per every person they brought over into the colony. This served to create large entourages, increasing population and the control of the wealthy. It must also be noted that the way of gaining land in Virginia was quite different to that of Georgia, there is no mentioned limit to holdings, and one must not have certain crops or plants on their land to maintain it (such as Mullberry trees in Georgia)
3. In the beginning of the colony, the society in Virginia was starkly contrasting to that of England for the simple reason of social mobility. Men could rise to prominence with ease, due to the fact that there was no longstanding order of the lower and upper classes in the region. Similarly, all free white men could vote, regardless of standing, or property. Later this was changed as the society began to rigidify, and the classes became more stratified, causing mobility to lessen.
4. In short, a freeholder is one who’s land is not leased to them, nor one who is a tenant upon another mans property. Though both of those aforementioned categories house “freemen” they do not own the property and land which they work, meaning they are leaseholders, or tenants, not Freeholders, which is restricted to those who own the land they work.
5. As the colony started, several families began to create huge estates, with large plantations worked by slaves or indentures. These families then became the powerhouse, controlling the majority of the land, production and trade of Virginia. As the land from the grants ended and all was under control, the large plantations began to seek to gain control over smaller plantations, which couldn’t compete with the vast land and work force available to the families in power. This in turn caused a mass exodus of the poorer whites from Virginia colony to other colonies which offered ex-indentures or poor free whites more social mobility, or at least, more land. As this exodus began, the families which controlled the largest of the plantations began to intermarry, create a social latticework, a new-world aristocracy bespoken to Virginia colony. n
6. The issue of growing tobacco in Virginia was that of the quickly used natural nutrients in the soil there. Had the farmers known how to re-inseminate the soil with nitrogen and potash, they might not have had to go through the mad dash to gain “virgin soil” every few years to keep their Tobacco yields high. However, this process was not known, meaning that the farmers could only grow tobacco on a field for a few years, four on the outside. Due to this, most only had about 10 per cent of their capital invested in growing tobacco, as it was a volatile market, good for short term yields, but ruinous for long term investments with the possibility of ruining the soil.
7. “Old land/fields” Because the farmers didn’t know or use methods of returning nitrogen and potash to the soil, growing tobacco quickly robbed the soil of the nutrients which were needed for further tobacco production. This led to “sour land” or “old land” being used either for other crops such as corn or wheat, or as being dedicated to churches or schools.
8. Due to the fact that the aristocracy of Virginia lived on rural, though nonetheless massive, estates of plantations, cities became superfluous. The land was continually being expanded into, as each man tried to find some viable fields to make his harvest, thus commercial centers failed to appear. From this, the large plantations compensated by creating their own ports, meaning that they could ship out their tobacco and receive their imported goods without need of a large port town or commercial center.
9. In Virginia, government was not seen as something taken lightly, moreover, it was seen as a mandate. A requirement for all of those who could vote, and from this belief, they had a law which required all of those whose status permitted them to vote to cast their votes. It was not as it is today, where only those who are particularly interested or feel like expending the effort vote, if you could vote, it was your legal obligation to do so.
10. The seemingly corrupt governmental officials such as Washington were able to gain land in the colonies by being in control of the divvying of the land up to the persons to whom it was being gifted. In Washington’s case, he appropriated over 21,000 acres of land for himself when the land was being portioned out to the veterans.
11. As Boorstin said, the doctrine of the ‘church of Virginia’ changed not one iota, however it did undergo changes in that they did not stress the ceremonial side of worship, and until after the separation from England, they did not have a Bishop. Due to this, there was a lessened stress upon church hierarchy within Virginia and the churches were accordingly less interconnected.
Virginia
1. Virginia was different because it was established with an earthly effort- not religious or as charity. It wanted to represent England not escape it. However it was very possible for common people to rise into the gentry-class. The colony of Virginia wished to show things by their actions and experience.
2. Head rights meant that for gentleman seeking gentry it was possible to receive an additional 50 acres of land for each person that was brought to the colony. In this system it became easier for men to gain position with an entourage in Virginia rather than England.
3. Both Virginia and England had a parliament legislature, the same laws on suffrage, and many of the simple trends of Europe. They differed in social fluidity and the different gentry classes. In Virginia it was easier to move up in class than in England which was an enticing factor for people considering immigration to America.
4. A freeholder in 1699 meant that you had to own land completely to vote. This became almost identical to the laws of suffrage in England. This encouraged free white men to work their way up and own enough land to play a part in the government.
6. Planting tobacco sucked out the nitrogen and potash out of the soil so that a constant need for new soil was crucial. However after tobacco, farming for corn was possible, although it was not as profitable as the tobacco industry. This is the problem with the soil in Virginia from tobacco farming.
7. Sour lands are the same as “old fields” and were the grounds left after tobacco and corn farming. This land usually became the foundations of schools and churches due to the inability for its other uses.
8. Virginia did not develop a center of commerce because its economy did not allow for it. New land was always needed and focus on private depots near riversides was needed. Also lots of rivers cut the land and gave easy ways to trade instead of a center of trade in a town.
9. In Virginia voting was reserved to freeholders. Due to the narrowness of the rights to suffrage it was very important that everyone who could vote did vote. It became the responsibility of the upper-class to run the voting and encourage all voters to attend the polls.
10. The Virginian government aided people such as George Washington in acquiring New Land by passing acts that allowed certain people to get land by being in relation to the Burgesses or getting land by being a veteran.
11. The Church of Virginia had no bishops and applied more practical Anglicanism than the Church of England. This form of religion was much more useful to Virginia in its society of living in the New World. They became less focused on ceremonies and more focused on morals and devotion to god through regular hard life in Virginia.
1. The Virginian colony differed from the rest of the colonies in that it was not advertised, not planned out, did not seek to sever themselves from recreating England in America, and didn't want to be staunchly practical, but more imaginative in creation. Living as an English gentleman in Virginia seemed to the Virginians a respectable and pleasant goal. Where the Puritans wanted to be a "city upon a hill," the Quakers wanted to “inspire by a commonwealth of brotherly love,” and the Georgians wanted to “encourage with a vast humanitarian experiment", the Virginians just wanted to "transplant" England to America pure and simple, instead of editing it fundamentally like the other colonies.
2. Virginian "headrights" granted a man 50 acres of land for every "head" he brought with him to the colony. This created incentive for people to move from England, where land was scarce and poverty rampant. Headrights also allowed social mobility in a world where land = power, because it allowed near unlimited grants of land for bringing people overseas. Therefore, if a poor man brought his large family from England to Virginia, he would be granted a large piece of land where he could establish and make a good living for himself and his family, a future impossible in England.
3. Virginia society was drastically different from English society in the fluidity and easiness of their social mobility. As explained, a man could become rich on land acquisition quite easily because of head rights. However, most other aspects were the same: ‘universal’ suffrage and structure of legislature (parliamentary) as well as other social stratifications, even if the boundaries between them were initially easier to cross in Virginia. However, later on, they began to become harder to cross. I’m thinking the Virginian government eventually ran out of land to hand out.
4. Freeholders in Virginia were men who completely owned their land, not leased it or rented as a tenant, the latter two of which were considered “free men”. In 1699, it became that only freeholders could vote or participate in parliament, prompting men to acquire their own land to move up the social ladder and be able to voice their opinions in government. This also made Virginia’s suffrage system more similar to England’s, where only free, white, landowning men could vote.
5. The aristocracy in Virginia was a result of the head rights. The first families in Virginia managed to amass massive plantation estates, taking up most of the land. When all the land was taken, the plantations still desired more land and they started to push out smaller farms of settlers that arrived later. Being unable to compete with the larger plantations, the poorer farmers sold their land and left Virginia. Eventually Virginia was left with a plethora of “old families”, the first to arrive, with huge, rich plantations, intermarrying each other and creating a network of non-blooded aristocracy.
6. Virginian soil was high in nitrates, which was what made tobacco grow. However, after the abundant tobacco crops sucked the nutrients and nitrates from the soil, the tobacco could no longer grow. Since the farmers didn’t know about nitrates, even less about modes of nitrogen fixation in farming, the tobacco industry was a short-term investment, with high risks of ruining the soil.
7. “Sour land” was the result of aggressive tobacco cash-cropping. A land robbed of its nutrients and nitrates was useless for further planting, and thus “sour”. The farmers didn’t know how to refix nitrogen or potash, and therefore the land was then used for building schools or churches, or the planting of less nitrogen-dependent plants like corn.
8. Virginia failed to develop a center of commerce because of the easy access to trade already offered by the rivers that coursed the area. Because of this, there was no need to a center where to concentrate trade. Also, because of the massive plantations that constantly expanded in search of new land, there were no cities anyways. By building their own depots, the plantations could ship out their products via the rivers, thereby making the existence of a trade center further redundant.
9. “Never did a governing class take its political duties more seriously,” states Boorstin. “Thus, while Virginia had a restrictive suffrage throughout the colonial period, it also had a law of compulsory voting.” This means that voting was not a choice: it was mandatory for those who met the conditions for suffrage. There were even charges and punishments for those who were qualified to vote but did not show up to do so. This strict responsibility on even the voter caused the responsibility of the upper government to be taken with the utmost seriousness. As Boostin explains, “If the ordinary voter was required to cast his ballot, men of greater substance were required to carry heavier burdens.”
10. Because Washington was part of the Virginian government, he was part of those responsible for the granting of land. He was part of the burgesses that passed the land laws, as well as one who divided up the land and gifted it away, as well as being a veteran. All three of these conditions he took advantage of when he handed over to himself 20,000 acres of land during the division of such to veterans. This shows the corrupt nature of the Virginian government.
11. The Church of Virginia was Catholic Church and non-Episcopalian. They had no bishops, did not participate in overly formal ceremonious sermons and did not regularly donate to the Church, instead focusing on living a morally correct path. The congregations were also significantly less attached to the Church, and could chose their own minister instead of having one assigned who didn’t have to leave unless ordered by a council of bishops like in England.
1. In what way(s) is the Virginia (Va.) colony different than Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania?
The settlers of Virginia attempted to bring the aristocratic system that had existed in Europe to the New World whereas Georgia was founded for purely economic purposes and Pennsylvania was founded for religious reasons.
2. What are "headrights?"
Headrights were promise that for every person (head) someone is able to recruit to go and settle down in the colonies, the said recruiter is to receive a parcel of land as a reward.
3. How was Va. society similar to English society? How was it different?
Virginian society resembled and was based off the aristocratic organization of society; rich land owners at the very top and poor farmers/slaves/indentured servants at the bottom and merchants/business owners spread throughout the middle. The difference, however, was that the Peninsulares of Europe looked down on the Creoles of the New World as inferiors for the mere fact of being born in the New World.
4. Define "freeholder."
A freeholder was an individual or family who controlled 100 acres of unsettled land or 25 acres of settled land.
5. How did an aristocracy develop in Va.?
The formation of the aristocracy within Virginia was directly correlated to the importation slaves/indentured servants.
6. What problem did planters in Va. have with soil when planting tobacco?
The primary problem that faced plantation owners with regards to the production of tobacco was primarily because, much like cotton, it required large amounts of nitrogen in the soil to sustain the plant’s life. This caused the land to be depleted of nutrients within four years, thus the plantations had to continually grow in size by absorbing smaller farms around it.
7. What was synonymous with "sour land," and how did it get that way?
Sour land was land that had run out of the nutrients required to grow tobacco.
8. Why was/is that Va. did not develop a center of commerce (like a Philadelphia or a Boston)?
The main reason why a commercial center was not developed is mainly because each individual plantation acted as a center of commerce. This occurred primarily because nearly every plantation owner preferred to load and offload goods from barges using privately owned docks and using their own hired workers. This method was preferable for all involved since it did not require a middleman.
9. Explain the voting procedure in Va.?
The voting procedure in Virginia was anything but a secret ballot. Voters would, rather than go into a booth and punch holes in a slip of paper, would stand on a stage or a grassy field and announce for all to hear whom they would be voting for.
10. What role did the Va. gov't play in aiding people such as George Washington in acquiring new land?
The Burgesses could grant or take away tracts of land as they saw fit, thus those who were members of the Burgesses or had good connections with them could get the land they wanted.
11. How was the "church of Va." different than the Church of England?
The “Church of Virginia” unlike it’s Anglican counterpart did not focus so much on ritual and did not have bishops.
12. What role did the church of Va. play in society and politics?
The “Church of Virginia” held much political power, going so far as being able to appoint sheriffs, and also did much charity work helping people pay off their taxes/debts.
1. Virginia was different from Georgia, Massachussets, and Pennsylvania in that the settlers of Virginia didn’t have idealistic visions of forming a utopian society that had never before existed, whether it be religious, as was the case of the Puritans and Quakers, or altruistic, such as Georgia. Instead, Virginians simply transported the English model of gentry and aristocracy, and the desire to be a gentleman, to America, where it was easier to achieve status and wealth than in England.
2. Headrights stated that anyone had the right to 50 acres of land for each person that they brought to Virginia.
3. Originally Virginian society had much looser and vaguer ideas of social classes, and there was more upward class mobility. Along the same lines, in Virginia if money was available, it was possible to become an aristocrat. In England there was no possibility to be of the upper class if one wasn’t already, because social class was based on what family one was from, instead of their own wealth or merits. However, as Virginia progressed, its society became more like England’s. A distinct aristocracy formed, and equivalents of English social roles arose. Suffrage, which had previously been granted to a larger amount of people, was restricted to only land owners, as it was in England.
4. A freeholder was someone in Virginia who owned land. Freeholders enjoyed more priveleges than others: in order to vote, one had to own either 100 acres of undeveloped land, or 25 acres of developed land.
5. With more colonists coming to Virginia, the amount of land available diminished. More indentured servants, once free of their servitude, sought land but found none available to them. Also, because of unhealthy agricultural habits, landowners who already possessed money and land needed to continue to find more land, because tobacco crops quickly made old land infertile. Also, the mercantilism-enforcing Navigation Acts of 1660 established a smaller margin of colonial profit. This lack of land and profits meant that those who already were rich became richer, and an aristocracy became apparent. Those who were poor had no means to become wealthy, further showing Virginia’s incipient social stratification.
6. Tobacco planters did not resupply their tobacco fields with nitrogen or potash, two substances that the tobacco plants removed from the soil. By the 4th season of tobacco,
these fields had become infertile.
7. “Old fields” was synonymous with “sour land.” These were infertile fields that had yielded all their profit, because Virginian tobacco planters failed to replenish the soil with essential nutrients that tobacco sapped from them. These lands were sold to others to build upon.
8. Each plantation had its own dock, due to the intricate system of tributaries and rivers that ran through Virginia. Delivering to individual docks was cheaper, as merchants or planters did not have to pay for overland transportation of goods. This meant that there was no real need for any commerce centers.
9. The Virginian voting procedure was much more public and personal than today’s voting. Candidates, who were from the gentry, would treat the voters to food and drink, which was often very costly. Each voter came up and said their choices aloud. It was customary for the candidate whom they voted for to personally thank them, and there would be cheering and boos from the spectators. The rules regarding voting were flexible, in that often the polls would be held open by the sheriff until a certain candidate that the sheriff favored had acquired enough votes.
10. The Virginian House of Burgesses held immense power over land matters, and had the ability to grant or take away land, or pass private Acts that secured people’s claims to land. They also held control over western land, and Washington, being a member of the gentry and House of Burgesses, took opportunities to attain land, owning over 179440 acres by his death. He justified this by also securing land for veterans that he had fought with.
11. One main difference between the churches was that the church of Virginia was more involved in Virginian society than the chuch of England was involved in English society, and was also more flexible in terms of theology, holding just a few basic tenets that church members had to observe. In contrast, the church of England had a much more extensive and formal belief system. The church of Virginia also did not have any bishops until the 1800s, which meant there was less focus on hierarchy within the church, and was a mixture of both Catholicism and the Church of England, showing more signs of their flexibility.
12. The church of Virginia was very involved in Virginia’s communities. They were a predominant social benefactor, and provided care and resources for poor people and orphans. Politically, wardens of the church held positions such as sheriff, district attorney, and grand jury.
1. In what way(s) is the Virgina (Va.) colony different than the Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania?
Virgina was different was different than the other colonies for a few reasons. For example, Unlike the other colonies it was not planned out at all and these people actually followed the English law and did not modify it. Plus people did not go there inorder to escape Europe.
2. What are "headrights"?
Headrights were basically a claim for 50 acres of land for bringing someone to live in Virgina without any catch.
3. How was Va.society similar to English society? How was it different?
White men could vote in Virgina even if they didnt own land. Although they could get land through headrights. But only men with money could aford to run for any goverment positions. At First it was easier to move up in the social class in Virgina. Although it was much hard to do this in English society.
4. Define "freeholder."
A freeholder are men that owned their land in Virgina. It was either 25 acres of land that was worked on or 100 arces of undeveloped land. They did not rent it. In 1699 you had to be a freeholder in order to do certain thinks like voting.
5. How did an aristocracy develop in Virgina?
The aristocracy was formed in Virgina after families like the Bryds and Carters moved into the colony. Families like this already came from aristocratic counties in Europe. This cause a big gap between the people already living in Virgina and these people in the colonies social class. Then the Upper class was formed because these families started to buy everything up from the lower class men.
6. What's problem did the planters in Va. have with soil when planting tobacco?
Tobacco requires soil that replenishes nitrogen and potash because for every crop this stuff is sucked out of the soil. The reason why tobacco farms were unsuccessful in Virgina is because the soil there did not replenish at all.
7. What was the synonymous with "sour land," and how did it get that way?
Old land is the synonym od Sour land. What this land is is old tobacco land that was used for four seasons. After these seasons all the nitrogen and potash did not replenish so that soil would be used for crops like corn.
8. Why was/is that Va. did not develop a center of commerce (like a Philadelphia or a Boston)?
Virgina did not develop a center of commerce because there were plantations every where. So this made Vigina a very rual area during this time period. So there was not really a big need for a center of commerce.
9. Exaplain the voting procedure in Va.?
It is madatory for everyone to vote in Virgina. This is because of a law the goverment past. People that were wealthy had more of a say when it came to voting.
10. What role did the Va. gov't play in aiding people such as George Washington in acquiring new land?
The Vigina Burgesses were the people that controled land in Virgina. So they could take land and then give it away to people they chose too. This is how Washington aquired more land.
11. How was the "church of Va." different than the Church of England?
The church of Virgina did not have any bishops and they did not carry out all the traditional rituals like the Church of England. the Church of England was generally more traditional than the Church of Virgina.
12. What Role did the Church of Va.play in society and politics?
This church appointed sherrifs. They also were extremely involved socialy. For example, The provided to the poor. They also provided other sevices to orphaned children
1. The Virginia colony was different than the others because it was not planned out what the colony was going to be like, "no attempt to rule by an idea" (97). It was also more of a place for middle class englishman.
2. Headrights were rewards given out for those bringing others to the colonies. Basically a bribe saying hey bring you friends and we will give you free land. Kind of today like teh direct Tv advertisement refer a freind, where you refer a friend to Direct Tv and you and the friend recieve 100.
3. Virginaia society was better for the working class male than that of English society. There were more oppurtunties to advance and there was a higher pay wage. For example a virginian earned in a day what a man in england would earn in a week. (100) The societies were similiar in the fact that they had similiar laws.
4.A freeholder was someone who had complete control and "ownage" of their land. Or owned the land outright. Like having no more payments on your car or house.
5. Aristocracy developed in Virginia when slavery became a common practice. Slaves eliminated the working class man in some cases which led to an upper class/aristocracy.
6. Tobacco planting used up all of the nitrogen in the soil. Because of this there was the need for crop rotation wich led the farmers to planting other crops, less proffitable crops, like corn. Tobacco was their cash crop so it was unfortunate that it could only be grown healthily every four years.
7. Sour land was bad old lan that could no longer be used for farming
8. Virginia did not develop a center of commerce because its trade was too spread out. This wsa because of the "great number of rivers" and how spread out the population was (107)
9. The voters would walk up to a pannel of people,the sherrif, the canditates, and a pannel, and would state aloud who they would like to vote for. I also found it almost humurous how then the candidate that was voted for would stand up and thank the voter.
10. The government could choose who got what land and how much. George washington was given very fertile land and a large quantity of it(which he proceeded to plant his cherry trees on :) )
11. The church of Virginia was different than the church of england because there were no bishops.
12. The church played a large role polotically and economically in the virginian society and polotics. They had large control over taxes and where they went, like to the poor, kind of like todays food stamp system. Many members of the church were also large parts in the government there.
1. In what way(s) is the Virginia (Va.) colony different than Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania?
While the colonies were originally founded to differ from Britain, Virginia set out to replicate it. It was not founded for religious freedom, but rather to allow English gentleman to become a new breed in the countryside of America. Virginia wanted to transplant England to America, hence the name of this section.
2. What are "headrights?"
In Virginia, headrights were put in place to encourage people to bring other men to America. 50 acres of land were given for every man who was brought over to America. This was done because the increase in population equaled an increase in profit for Virginia.
3. How was Va. society similar to English society? How was it different?
As mentioned previously, Virginia society was made to be as close to English society as possible. Most facets of social life were similar, but there were some notable differences. Because of the newness of the colony, it was much easier to rise through the social ranks. This contrasts with English society where one is born into (and stays in) their social class. Over time, this mobility was slowed, particularly with the introduction of laws in 1699 that made it impossible to vote if one was not a land owning white male (freeholder).
4. Define "freeholder."
A freeholder was anyone who personally owned land. In 1699, laws made it so only freeholders were allowed to vote. This became even stricter later, when the laws were tightened so only freeholders with at least 25 acres could vote.
5. How did an aristocracy develop in Va.?
As mentioned previously, there was originally no upper class in Virginia due to the continual development of the colony and the large amounts of available land. Over time, however, the more wealthy Virginians bought almost all of the land, thereby giving themselves a monopoly and the means to begin controlling people. As the land dwindled, less and less people wanted to come to America. Therefore, there were less indentured servants coming over. This meant there was a scarcity of labor, and Virginia turned to slavery. Virginia became controlled by wealthy slave plantation owners.
6. What's problem did planters in Va. have with soil when planting tobacco?
Tobacco is damaging to the soil it is planted in. it robs the earth of necessary nitrogen, and therefore after approximately 4 years the planters had to move to different soil.
7. What was synonymous with "sour land," and how did it get that way?
Sour land is any land that had been damaged by growing tobacco on it, then using it for more crops like corn. Sour land is completely useless agriculturally.
8. Why was/is that Va. did not develop a center of commerce (like a Philadelphia or a Boston)?
Virginia was a primarily agricultural state, and the farmers were constantly moving because of the damaging effects of tobacco on their land. In addition to that, Virginia has many rivers, so plantation owners can easily ship their goods without a major center where they could exchange them.
9. Explain the voting procedure in Va.?
Voting was only possible if one was a freeholder. Voting was for representatives for the House of Burgess, and to elect someone who was not gentry was nearly unheard of. Candidates would attempt to bribe the public, generally with free food. Voting was done loudly and in public—there were no secret ballots.
10. What role did the Va. gov't play in aiding people such as George Washington in acquiring new land?
Anyone in the government serving in the House of Burgess could manipulate laws in order to acquire land. George Washington did this to get land in western Virginia. Although Washington was not planning on working all 150,000 acres that he obtained—he was simply planning on selling it later when the price of land had risen.
11. How was the "church of Va." different than the Church of England?
Both of these churches shared the same Anglican religious policies. The Virginian church differed from the English one in that there were no bishops. In England, every church had a bishop, while Virginia had none. Also, the “Church of England” is a common way to refer to all the Anglican churches together, because they are tied together as a hierarchy. However, the phrase “Church of Virginia” should not be used, because the churches in Virginia were all separate and independent.
12. What role did the church of Va. play in society and politics?
The Church enjoyed good status in society. Clergy was regarded as gentry. They also took charge of orphans and helped to reduce poverty. Generally, members of the church were the main political leaders, almost always holding the position of sheriff.
1. In what way(s) is the Virginia (Va.) colony different than Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania?
Virginia was different from the other colonies because the new colony wanted to be a version of England and Virginia wanted to rule with the same fundamental and theological ideas that England had prior. Whereas Georgia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania wanted to rebuild their ideas and values because they were free and they had the chance to.
2. What are "headrights?"
Headrights was the right for any man going to Virginia to receive 50 acres of land on which he would need to work on, and he could be entitled to more land if he brought more men to work on said plot of 50 acres.
3. How was Va. society similar to English society? How was it different?
Va. Society was similar to English society because they had the same fundamental and theological ideas. That all white males could become more rich and more powerful then women, or colored people. Men with money could govern and vote. Mostly men where copies of those in England
4. Define "freeholder."
A freeholder was a white man who owned land, either 50 acres of developed land or 100 acres of undeveloped land, and after 1699 a man would have to have land to vote.
5. How did an aristocracy develop in Va.?
It developed because they right to vote in 1699 when only white men who owned land could vote, so less people could vote, and more plantations popped up so more rich white men owned everything leading to an aristocracy.
6. What's problem did planters in Va. have with soil when planting tobacco?
Planters only planted tobacco for years on end so all the nutrients in the soil lead to erosion and nutrient deficiency.
7. What was synonymous with "sour land," and how did it get that way?
Sour land was synonymous with old fields, or land that had already been used to harvest tobacco. So the Sour land was just useless plot of property.
8. Why was/is that Va. did not develop a center of commerce (like a Philadelphia or a Boston)?
Because Virginia had plenty of rivers and waterways each tobacco plantation owner had their own dock for export. Because of the laws and only having rich white man voting plantation owners had their own center of commerce on their plot of land.
9. Explain the voting procedure in Va.?
The members of the House of Burgesses were voted into office only by the freeholders of Virginian society. Voting in Virginia was simple, the ballots for voting were public instead of private. You simply had to raise your hand to be counted. but you had to be a freeholder in the court so you could vote.
10. What role did the Va. gov't play in aiding people such as George Washington in acquiring new land?
The government was quite corrupt, because they could decide when taking away land and giving land was fit needed. You would have to be well known with a member of the Burgess to get land when you wanted.
11. How was the "church of Va." different than the Church of England?
The church of Va. didn’t have bishops and didn’t worry that much about having rituals.
12. What role did the church of Va. play in society and politics?
The Church of Va. Had plenty of power where they could play county sheriff and they could appoint police and sheriff when they wanted.
2. What are "headrights?"
The headrights system was a system in Virginia that gave 50 acres of land to each person who settled there. It attracted lots of settlers, as there were many poor people in England who were attracted to Virginia by the promise of land.
5. How did an aristocracy develop in Va.?
The aristocracy in Virginia developed to resemble the English aristocracy. There were wealthy landowning families, middle class families, and slaves. The people who became the aristocrats were those who came to Virginia before the 1700s because they were the settlers who had been given a lot of land. After many people began moving to Virginia, there was less and less land to give to settlers, so many people who became indentured servants had no land once they became free again. After the importing of slaves from Africa began, they developed a new, even lower class similar to the peasantry of England. Slaves also highlighted the differences in wealth of the aristocrats and the middle class, because those who had more money could afford to buy more slaves to work on their land.
6. What problems did planters in Virginia have with the soil when planting tobacco?
The problem with planting tobacco was that it was very harsh on the soil. The tobacco plants absorbed all of the nitrogen and other nutrients out of the soil, and the soil was unable to continue supporting the tobacco plants for very long.
7. What was synonymous with "sour land" and how did it get that way?
"Sour land" was synonymous with "old land," or land that could no longer support tobacco. It got that way after tobacco had been growing on it for a while and had sucked all the nutrients out of the soil. The opposite was "tobacco land," which was synonymous with "new land" that still had nutrients in it that would help the tobacco grow.
Mira Schlosberg
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