The 13 Colonies
The 13 Colonies, comprising British colonies on the eastern coast of North America, played a pivotal role in shaping the foundation of what would become the United States. Established primarily during the 17th and 18th centuries, these colonies were diverse in geography, economy, and governance structures. From the religious refuge of Massachusetts to the prosperous trade hub of Virginia, each colony contributed uniquely to the cultural, political, and economic landscape of colonial America. Their eventual quest for independence sparked the American Revolutionary War, leading to the birth of a new nation founded on principles of freedom and self-governance.
Questions
- What was the purpose of a Royal Governor in the original colonies?
- What policies did William Penn follow in the Pennsylvania colony?
- In the American colonies, what did a man need to have before he could vote?
- What did the colonies of Maryland and Pennsylvania have in common?
- Why did many colonies favor declaring independence?
- Which act took away Massachusetts's right to govern itself?
- Why is Roanoke named the lost colony?
- What was the first act that the Parliament passed in an attempt to raise revenue by taxing the American colonists?
- What was the first colonial industry in America?
- Why do you think colonists believed they were entitled to the rights guaranteed by the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights?
- How did women contribute to colonial economies?
- Why did soldiers fire into the crowd at the Boston massacre?
- What was the purpose of the Tea Act of 1773?
- By whose authority do the representatives at the Second Continental Congress declare the colonies "Free and Independent States?"
- What were the various classes into which colonial society was divided?
- What was the Great Awakening?
- Who was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony?
- Where did British troops hope to separate New England from the Middle States?
- What did farmers in the Middle Colonies grow?
- What are one of the grievances the colonists had about King George III?