1. Why did the number of English settlers coming to the colonies remain relatively small in the 18th century?

1. Where did German immigrants primarily settle and what cultural practices did they maintain in the colonies?

2. What was the relationship between German settlers and English politics in colonial America?

1. Who were the Scotch-Irish and why did they have little respect for the British?

2. Where did most Scotch-Irish settlers locate in the colonies and what percentage of the population did they comprise by 1775?

1. What groups of Europeans besides Germans and Scotch-Irish immigrated to the colonies and what percentage of the population did they represent?

1. How did religious toleration vary among the colonies and which colonies were most and least restrictive?

2. What religious groups faced restrictions on political participation even in the most tolerant colonies?

1. How did the colonial class system differ from the European system and what groups made up the colonial social structure?

1. What opportunities for social mobility existed for White colonists and how did land acquisition in the colonies compare to Europe?

1. What economic, political, and legal rights did colonial men possess and what power did the law grant husbands in the home?

1. What were the primary responsibilities of colonial women and how many children did they typically bear?

2. What legal and political rights did colonial women lack and how did shared labor with their husbands affect their status?

1. How did geography limit agriculture in New England and what alternative economic activities did colonists pursue?

1. What agricultural products did the middle colonies export and what role did cities like Philadelphia play in the colonial economy?

2. What types of labor and manufacturing developed in the middle colonies?

1. How did geography and climate create different agricultural patterns in the southern colonies?

2. What was the relationship between plantation size, slave labor, and the products grown in different southern colonies?

1. How did British control of colonial currency affect colonial trade and what problem resulted from colonies issuing paper money?

1. Why was water transportation preferred over land travel and what role did taverns play in colonial society?

2. What improvements in transportation infrastructure developed in the colonies by the mid-18th century?

1. What religious groups faced discrimination in the colonies and why did many colonists resent the Church of England?

1. What was an established church and how did increasing religious diversity affect colonial government support for churches?

1. What was the central message of Jonathan Edwards' sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and how did audiences respond?

1. How did George Whitefield spread the Great Awakening and what was his central message about salvation?

2. What did Whitefield teach about the role of ministers in helping people understand the gospels?

1. How did the Great Awakening change religious practice and what divisions did it create within denominations?

2. How did the Great Awakening affect the authority of ministers and which new denominations benefited from the movement?

1. Why was the Great Awakening significant as a shared colonial experience and how did it influence colonists' views on authority?

1. What architectural style was widely imitated in the colonies and what types of structures were built in this style?

1. How did colonial painters typically earn their living and which American artists achieved prominence in England?

1. What subjects did colonial authors typically write about and why was printing limited in the colonies?

2. Who were some notable colonial writers and what made Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack popular?

3. What was significant about Phillis Wheatley's achievement as a colonial writer?

1. How were most colonial scientists trained and what were Benjamin Franklin's major scientific contributions?

1. How did elementary education vary among the three colonial regions and what motivated New England to establish schools?

1. What was the primary purpose of the first colonial colleges and which colleges were founded by different religious groups?

2. What made the College of Philadelphia unique among colonial colleges?

1. Why was the Christian ministry highly respected in colonial society and what role did ministers play in their communities?

1. How were colonial physicians trained and what medical problems did colonists face?

2. When was the first medical college established in the colonies and who was instrumental in founding it?

1. Why did the legal profession emerge in the colonies during the 1700s and how did lawyers gain respect?

2. What role did colonial lawyers play in the lead-up to the American Revolution?

1. How many newspapers existed in the colonies by 1776 and what types of content did they provide?

1. What was the legal risk faced by newspaper printers in colonial times and what was the charge against John Peter Zenger?

2. How did the jury's verdict in the Zenger case affect colonial newspapers and freedom of the press?

1. What factors combined to create a distinctly American culture and identity in the colonies?

2. What rights and freedoms did White male property owners exercise in the colonies?

3. How did observers characterize the American colonists and what values did they display?

1. What were the main sources of conflict between colonial interests and British interests?

2. How did the ethnic and religious diversity of the colonies affect colonists' identification with Britain?

1. How did local government differ between New England and the southern colonies?

1. Who was excluded from voting in the colonies and what barriers to voting existed?

2. How did voting qualifications and eligibility for office vary among the colonies?

3. How did colonial political participation compare to political participation in Europe?

1. What evidence did some historians find to support the view that colonial Massachusetts was democratic?

1. What alternative test of democracy did some historians propose and what did they find in town meeting records?

1. How did economic change in colonial Boston affect the distribution of political power according to this historical perspective?