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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The first church within the boundaries of Massachusetts Bay to be founded in the congregational manner was "gathered" on what date, according to the author in Chapter 6: “A Special Commission”?

2. How many of the previous Salem settlers had died in the preceding winter when John Winthrop arrived with his fleet, according to the author in Chapter 5: “Survival”?

3. What was the name of John Winthrop’s younger sister who married Emmanuel Downing?

4. John Winthrop worked in London as counsel to a Parliamentary committee engaged in drafting legislation, and following this, he was appointed what government job?

5. The author says of Winthrop in Chapter 3: “A Shelter and a Hiding Place” that he “did not aim at power for the sake of power, but he longed to” do what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author explain the relationship between Puritanism and government in Chapter 2: “Evil and Declining Times”?

2. What did Puritanism mean to John Winthrop in the 1610s and 1620s? How did his beliefs influence his actions, according to the author in Chapter 1: “The Taming of the Heart”?

3. How did the Puritans of the late 16th and early 17th Centuries feel about the state of the government in England, according to the author in Chapter 2: “Evil and Declining Times”?

4. How does the author describe the popular perception of colonization of the New World during the 1620s in Chapter 3: “A Shelter and a Hiding Place”?

5. What did the Council for New England do with their royal grant in order to begin a colonization effort, according to the author in Chapter 3: “A Shelter and a Hiding Place”?

6. What influenced John Winthrop to compose documents regarding the immigration effort, according to the author in Chapter 3: “A Shelter and a Hiding Place”?

7. What official statement did John Winthrop’s party pen prior to their departure, according to the author in Chapter 4: “The Way to a New England”?

8. How does the author describe the journey of John Winthrop’s fleet in Chapter 5: “Survival”? Where did the fleet cast anchor in America?

9. What arguments did the Massachusetts Bay Company make regarding settlement in the New World in Chapter 3: “A Shelter and a Hiding Place”?

10. Who was the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company when the company members met to discuss the charter in Chapter 4: “The Way to a New England”? What plans were made at this meeting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and analyze the system of elections established by John Winthrop and the other leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. What influenced these leaders to adopt a system of voting for leadership? How did these systems find their way into what would eventually become the United States system of government? What was innovative about the electoral system adopted?

Essay Topic 2

Define “Arminianism” and “Calvinism” and discuss the histories of each In what ways were these belief systems similar? How did they differ? Who was John Calvin? When did Calvin publish The Institutes of the Christian Religion? How did this publication change religion in Europe?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the social, economic, and career elements of John Winthrop’s life in London in his twenties and thirties. How does the author characterize Winthrop’s one year of marriage to his second wife? When did John marry Margaret Tyndal? Why did her family initially oppose the marriage?

(see the answer keys)

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