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US History timeline & concept chart: 16th-18th centuries (to 1754) British-American colonies: Difference between revisions

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*** 1612 tribal leader '''Powhatan''' arranged peace, married daughter to Rolfe
*** 1612 tribal leader '''Powhatan''' arranged peace, married daughter to Rolfe
*** Powhatan’s successor took anti-English position, led attacks
*** Powhatan’s successor took anti-English position, led attacks
***'''Jamestown Massacre''', 1622, Indians murdered colonials
***'''Jamestown Massacre''', 1621, Indian attacks killed 400 colonials
*** peace agreements by 1627-32, but English expansion westward continued, led to war in 1644, finally Treat of 1646 turned tribes into English subjects, Virginia Colony expansion
*** peace agreements by 1627-32, but English expansion westward continued, led to war in 1644, finally Treat of 1646 turned tribes into English subjects, Virginia Colony expansion


==== General Assembly, 1619-1642 ====
* unicameral assembly, included the Governor, a "council of state" (appointed by the Virginial Company) and 22 locally elected representatives
** those representatives constituted the first democratically elected assembly in the colonies
** the Governor and Council largely ignored the assembly's powers
* when the Virginia Company charter was revoked in 1624 and Virginia became a "crown colony" assembly members were appointed, not elected
* following reorganization of the growing colony in 1634, Assembly members were elected by local vote (free white males only)
* in 1642, Governor William Berkeley proposed creation of a bicameral legislature, creating the "House of Burgesses" as the lower house
==== Council of State ====
* part of the original governing body under the Virginia Company
* became the upper house of the General Assembly of the Virginia colony in 1642
* 12 members
* also known as the "Governor's Council"
* held legislative (shared powers w/ lower body), executive (advising body to the governor) and judicial powers
* as with the governor, Council members were appointed by the king ("royal")
** except during the Commonwealth, when the lower house, "House of Burgesses" selected the Council members
==== House of Burgesses, 1642-1776 ====
==== House of Burgesses, 1642-1776 ====
* traditionally, "burgess" = a freeman from a "borough" or town in England
* traditionally, "burgess" = a freeman from a "borough" or town in England
**
* = the lower house / assembly of the General Assembly
* assembly/ legislature for Virginia colony
* met in Jamestown, moved to Williamsburg in 1699
* also called the "General Assembly" (officially renamed that after the Revolution)
* replaced the “Council of State” which operated under the Great Charter
** was the first democratically elected assembly in the colonies
* met in Jamestown
** moved to Williamsburg in 1699 (
* bicameral: collectively the "General Assembly"
** upper house: "Council of State"
*** 12 members
**** also known as the "Governor's Council"
*** held legislative (shared powers w/ lower body), executive (advising body to the governor) and judicial powers
*** as with the governor, Council members were appointed by the king ("royal")
**** except during the Commonwealth, when the House of Burgesses selected the Council
* lower house: the "burgesses"
* lower house: the "burgesses"
** = representatives from counties who were elected by free white males (and later, only property owners)  
** = representatives from counties who were elected by free white males (and later, only property owners)  
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* the House of Burgesses gained power over governors over time
* the House of Burgesses gained power over governors over time
** representation expanded w/ colonial expansion
** representation expanded w/ colonial expansion
* tension w/ British government
* tension w/ British government rose after the French Indian War (1754-1763)
* Burgess members served as training grounds for future revolutionary leaders, especially Patrick Henry (author of the 1765 "Virginia Resolves" that protested the Stamp Act) and Thomas Jefferson
** Henry gave his "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech in 1775 to a convention of Burgess members who met in Richmond in opposition to the royal colonial governor
* the House of Burgesses was dissolved in 1776 as Virginia declared independence
** it was replaced by the House of Delegates, the lower body to a new General Assembly, along w/ the upper house, the Senate.


=== Virginia "tobacco economy" ===
=== Virginia "tobacco economy" ===
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*** saw religious rules as essential, called them “Justice and Mercy” and should apply to all, rich and poor
*** saw religious rules as essential, called them “Justice and Mercy” and should apply to all, rich and poor
** historians see “City upon a Hill” as a statement of “American exceptionalism”
** historians see “City upon a Hill” as a statement of “American exceptionalism”
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