1700 - 1775Chapter Five

Huge population growth Shift in balance of power 90% lived in rural areas

Melting pot Mixed population (New England least; Middle colonies most)

English/Welsh; African; Scots-Irish; German; Dutch; Irish Majority indentured servants or slaves Africans were most numerous

Society structure Small Upper-class Farmers were majority Small merchants Indentured servants Slaves

1690: 15,000 blacks 1730: 80,000 1760: 325,000 or 1/5 of population

Americans = highest standard of living worldwide

IMMIGRATION GROUPS IN 1775ETHNIC AND RACIAL COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN PEOPLE, 1790

Scots-Irish• Hated British for uprooting them from Scotland• Mostly in Pennsylvanian backcountry areas• Most were poor farmers• Paxton Boys - Scots-Irish revolt protesting Quaker’s lenient policy

toward the Indians Germans

• 90,000 arrived, fleeing famine and war• Settled mainly between NY and SC, most in PE• Benjamin Franklin believed Germans were “the most stupid of their

nation.”• Warned that “unless the stream of [German] importation could be

turned from this to other colonies…they will soon outnumber us,…[and] all the advantages we have, will in my opinion, be not able to preserve out language, and even our government will become precarious.”

Increase in tribal tensions due to competition for pelts• Introduction of European weaponry made conflicts worse

Fur trade spread epidemics and depleted game animals

Change in tribal political organization• Trade, diplomatic contact and war required coordinated

policies that replace loose confederations Values didn’t change

• Indians saw their culture as superior to Europeans• Frutrated English missionaries

1750: French population = 70,000 French developed system of small forts,

trading posts and agricultural villages Male settlers arrived w/few French women

• Indians were necessary for both trade and marriage• Marital alliances cemented trade relations

1765: LA Blacks outnumbered whites

First half of 1700s, Spain had largest empire in Americas• 1745: 10xs as many English in SC as Spanish in FL

More racial intermixture and social fluidity than in English colonies

Growth of American population increased demand for British goods• British didn’t increase demand for American goods =

Americans sought out other markets Molasses Act

• 1733• British tried to stop trade w/French West Indies• Ignored by colonists

New England exported timber, fish, cotton goods to French Caribbean for molasses

New England ships brought molasses home to distill for rum

Rum from New England shipped to West Indies where slave ships took rum to Gold Coast of Africa

Slaves transported to colonies via Middle Passage

Communities of several thousand people in tight-knit farming families

Mixed economy: logging (barrels, ships, houses), fishing, farming

Middle colonies (PE, DE, NJ, NY) had much more fertile soil than New England

• Produced corn, wheat, beef and pork In North, few were very rich or very poor

• Most men had bought or inherited a farm of at least 50 acres (except indentured servants)

Problems w/farm land• Growing population made land more scarce, esp in New England• Decreasing soil fertility due to poor farming techniques• Many New Englanders were forced to the frontier

Europe vs. Colonies• Marriage

1/10 women in Europe didn’t marry whereas unmarried colonial women were very uncommon

English women married in mid-20s and colonial women married a few years earlier Average colonial family = 5 kids; English = less than 3

• Property rights Single women and widows could make contracts, hold property,

represent themselves in court and conduct business English women gave up these rights (and property) upon marriage Colonial women slowly gained right to consent to a marriage partner

Worked alongside husbands Outnumbered men in church life

Grazing animals took away ground cover in New Spain

English colonies• Demand for wood depleted forests

Summers became hotter and winters became colder• European animals (pigs, cattle) began to replace North

American animals• Native fur-bearing animals (beaver, deer, bear, wolf,

raccoon) quickly became extinct in settled areas• Consumption eliminated wild turkeys and deer in settled

areas

The Tobacco Coast• Social transformation in Upper South

Slaves replaced indentured servants Planters diversified

Shift some tobacco fields to grain, hemp and flax, increased hers of cattle and swine, and developed iron, leather and textile production

Population structure changed Increase of slaves Greater balance between women and men Became dominated by families

• 1750: Majority of families owned no slaves at all Less than 10% of slaveholders owned 20+ slaves

• Southern life marked by ritual display of wealth

The Rice Coast• 1740: slaves = almost 90% of region’s inhabitants• Centers of community gathering

Courthouse - all classes would settle debts, land claims, sue/be sued and then socialize afterwards

Church Backcountry

• Germans and Scots-Irish initially created subsistence society• Gradually acquired slaves and pursued mixed farming/cattle

raising• Filled w/poverty, lacked schools, churches and towns• Women worked alongside men

Two established faiths• Church of England or Anglican Church

Official faith in VA, MD, NC, SC, GA, part of NY Branch of royal authority Less intense than Puritanism

• Congregational Church Prominent in New England Initially supported through taxes

Others• Presbyterian Church• Quakers• Jews

First mass social movement in American history

Primary issues• Liberal ideas challenged old religion• Issues with clergy – salary, political control

Awakening was reaction against elaborate theological doctrines, emotional stagnation and liberal doctrines• Arminianism – man is not helpless in achieving

salvation

Jonathon Edwards (1703 – 1758)• Credited w/starting Great Awakening• Believed in complete dependence on God’s grace• Eternal damnation

George Whitefield (1714 – 1770)• Most influential figure in Great Awakening• Old Lights vs. New Lights

Old Lights – skeptical of emotionalism and theatrics New Lights – supported Awakening for revitalizing American

religion

Results of Great Awakening• Split denominations = more choice

Promoted idea that all denominations were equally legitimate and led to the separation of church and state

• Legitimized community diversity, especially in MA and CT• Increased faith and a subtle change in values

Created a new feeling of self-worth People assumed new religious responsibilities

• Founding of “new light” colleges: Dartmouth, Brown, Rutgers and Princeton None were controlled by an established church, had governing

bodies made up of men of different faiths and all admitted students regardless of religion

New England• Most dedicated to education

Middle colonies • Some tax-supported and some privately owned schools• Spread out population made good school system difficult

South• Educational opportunities limited

Higher education• Primary focus = training new clergy• University of Pennsylvania = first non-denominational

American college

Most Americans too busy working to spend time on art

Phillis Wheatley (1753 – 1784)• Was a slave taught to read and write• First important African American writer in America• Used by abolitionists as proof that blacks weren’t

intellectually inferior

Benjamin Franklin• May be only first-rank scientist produced in colonies

Experiments w/electricity Bifocals Franklin stove

• Wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac More widely read than any book except the Bible Emphasized thrift, industry, morality and common sense

Pamphlets were effective for airing social grievances to British

Zenger Case (1735)• Paved the way toward freedom of expression• John Peter Zenger’s newspaper had criticized the

corrupt royal governor• Charged w/libel and brought to trial• Claimed he was printing the truth• Jury ruled in favor of Zenger = newspaper editors

received some freedom

Structure of Colonies – 1775• Royal Colonies

8 colonies w/royal governors appointed by crown• Proprietary Colonies

3 colonies led by proprietors who chose governors Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware

• Charter Colonies Elected own governors Under self-governing charters Connecticut and Rhode Island

Bicameral legislature most common• Upper house or Council – normally appointed by the

crown or proprietor• Lower house or Assembly – elected by property

owners Colonial governments had more direct

representation and less corruption• New England – town hall meetings• South – county governments• Middle – combination of above

Voting restrictions• Upper class opposed democracy• Property and/or religious qualifications were imposed• As much as 50% of white males couldn’t vote

Governors• Assemblies often controlled governors’ salaries

Development of Democracy• Equal opportunities more pronounced than in Europe• Freedom of speech, press and assembly

Stressed that reason can be used to improve human conditions

Promoted liberty and equality Important thinkers

• John Locke Natural rights to life, liberty and property Natural right to rebellion

• Baron de Montesquieu Separation of power

• Thomas Jefferson Idea of natural rights Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all

men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”