Ch. 3Society and Culture in Provincial

America

Assess the validity of the following:By the 1750’s, the British North American

Colonies had created a separate identity and society.

(remember your gripes)

Colonial Population

• In less than a century, the European and African population outnumbered the Native American.

• Reasons: Natural causes and immigration

European Immigrants

• England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland

Africans• By far the largest single group of non-English

immigrants who came against their free will.• By 1770’s 20% of population, and 90% lived in

the south

General Characteristics

• Dominance of English culture• Self-government• Religious toleration• No hereditary aristocracy• Social mobility

The Colonial Economies

• By the mid 1700’s, almost half of England’s world trade was with its American colonies. England permitted limited manufacturing—making of flour and rum-but forbade competition with the English industries such as textiles.

The Economy

• New England: rocky soil and long winters-subsistence farming-small farms, under 100 acres. Money from logging, shipbuilding, fishing, trading and rum-distilling

• Middle Colonies: rich soil-an abundance of wheat and rye and corn. Indentured servants and hired laborers worked the farms of about 200 acres.

• A variety of small manufacturing efforts developing-iron making—trade led to the growth of large cities like Philadelphia and New York.

• Southern Colonies: varied geography and climate, farming ranged from small subsistence family farms to large plantations of over 2000 acres.

• Cash crops in the Chesapeake and North Carolina colonies was tobacco and rice and indigo in South Carolina and Georgia.

• On large plantations, a shortage of indentured servants led to the increase use of slaves. Mainly located near rivers so as to easy shipping

Monetary System

• A major English strategy in controlling the colonies economy was to limit the use of money.

Transportation

• Transporting goods over water was much easier than by land, making cities such as Boston, New York, Philly and Charleston –with good harbors and navigable rivers –important.

• News, ideas, and political thought were exchanged in Taverns

• Postal system using horses and overland routes were in full operation by mid 1700’s

The Colonial Mind of the 18th Century• Two powerful forces:• --traditional outlook of the 16th and 17th c

emphasizing a personal god keeping watch-stern moral code—intellect was less important than faith VS

• --new spirit of Enlightenment—stressing the importance of science and human reason-people had control over their lives, the world could be explained.

• Religion was brought from Europe but took on new and distinctive patterns

The Decline of Piety—Why?

The Decline of Piety—Why?

• A rise of denominationalism• Western movement• Growing increasingly secular and materialistic• Enlightenment thought from Europe

The Great Awakening1730-1740’s

• A religious movement characterized by fervent expressions of religious feeling among masses of people. The movement fulfilled people’s need for direction and meaning which was missing.

• Jonathan Edwards• George Whitefield

Impact of the Great Awakening

Impact of the Great Awakening• Emotionalism became a common part of Protestant

services• First shared experience-profound effect-• Ministers lost some of their authority (Rebellions

were made easier)• Divided many congregations• Perpetuated the idea of freedom of religion in

America—many new churches were formed-350 new churches, over 50,000 new converts

• Formation of new colleges—Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, Princeton-founded for training of ministers

The Enlightenment

• John Locke: 2 important writings• --Essay Concerning Human Understanding• --Two Treaties of Government• Both advanced the revolutionary theory that

political authority was not given by God to monarchs. Authority is derived from social compacts that people make—to preserve their “natural rights”

• Americans who will make their mark as Enlightened thinkers are Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and James Madison

Education

• Basic education was limited and varied among colonies. Formal efforts were directed to males-females were trained only for household work.

• New England: Puritans emphasis on learning the Bible led to the first tax supported schools.

• Middle Colonies: church sponsored or private—only the wealthy

• Southern Colonies: Wealthy had tutors

Concepts of Law and Politics and the Press

• Lawyers often viewed as talkative troublemakers, during the 1700’s became necessary as trade expanded and legal problems became more complex.

• John Adams, James Otis and Patrick Henry—lawyers whose legal arguments would provide the basis for the American Revolution.

Newspapers

• John Peter Zenger: jailed for printing true but unfaltering truths about the Governor of New York. Defended by a powerful lawyer, the courts ruled that criticisms of the government were not libelous if factually true.

• This case perpetuated the concept of the freedom of the press in America