GIVE ME LIBERTY
The Struggle for Self-Government in Virginia
Thomas J. Wertenbaker
Chapter 1: The Cornerstone of Liberty
Three little vessels-the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery-left England in December, 1606, under the command of
Captain Christopher Newport, to found a colony on the distant shores of Virginia. Two decades earlier Sir Walter Raleigh had sent out a
group of settlers to what is now North Carolina, and they had disappeared mysteriously. What had happened to them?men asked. Had
they been killed by the Indians? Had they fallen victims to disease? Had they starved? Those who shared in this new venture must have
wondered if a like fate awaited them in this strange new land.
But their spirits rose when they entered Chesapeake Bay. Landing parties were delighted with the "fair meddowes ... full of flowers of
divers kinds and colors," the "goodly tall trees and the streams of fresh water. It was a smiling country which seemed to bid them
welcome. But when they entered the mouth of a broad river, which they called the James in honor of their King, and made their way up
into the country, new doubts must have assailed them. They knew that savages lived in the dense forests which lined both banks; might
not strange wild beasts live there also? Might there not be fatal diseases unknown in Europe?
Read this sentence from the text:
But when they entered the mouth of a broad river, which they called the James in honor of their King, and made their way up into the country,
new doubts must have assailed them.
What is the main point of this sentence? (5 points)
O A river entry caused much concern.
Although the river was wide, there were fears.
Even a moment of triumph held some fears.
The colonists were devoted subjects