Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution

• 1775, the thirteen American colonies east of the Appalachians – population of two million whites and half a million

blacks-diverse ethnic groups, including Germans and the Scots-Irish

-Was this a melting pot?

Demographics

• -In 1790: 49% English; 19% African; 7% Scottish; 7% German; 5% Scotts-Irish; 3% Irish; 3% Dutch; 9% other European– (Why 1790?)

• “The population, although basically English in stock and language, was picturesquely mottled with numerous foreign groups.” (Pageant, p.85)

• Compared with Europe, America was a land of equality and opportunity

• Relative to the seventeenth-century colonies, there was a rising economic hierarchy and increasing social complexity

• Ninety percent of Americans remained involved in agriculture

• A growing class of wealthy planters and merchants appeared at the top of the social pyramid

• A visible lower class was forming.

Religion

• Two “established” (tax-supported) churches-– Anglican (Church of England) and Congregational

• Anglican- NY, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA• Congregational- Mass., CT, NH

Religion

• By the early eighteenth century, the established New England Congregational Church was losing religious fervor. The Great Awakening, sparked by fiery preachers such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, spread a new style of emotional worship that revived religious zeal.

Great Awakening

• Periods of religious revival (renewed enthusiasm)

• Ideas (Pietism- stressed the individual’s personal relationship with God) came from Europe and spread in the colonies

• Undermined legally established churches• Led to formation of new churches

• 1730s- Jonathan Edwards encouraged a religious revival in New England

• George Whitefield- English minister– Attracted huge crowds from Georgia to

Massachusetts– New Lights were those who followed his message

that they must seek salvation

Culture

• Colonial education and culture were generally undistinguished, although science and journalism displayed some vigor

• Enlightenment ideas, though, took hold in America– Emphasized the power of human reason to

understand and shape the world– Benjamin Franklin– Added a secular dimension to colonial cultural life

Politics

• Politics was everywhere an important activity, as representative colonial assemblies battled on equal terms with politically appointed governors from England

• Colonial legislatures gradually took control of taxation

Molasses Act

• Despite various Navigation Acts (Woolen Act, Hat Act, Iron Act, etc.) the American colonies were growing economically strong

• American merchants continued to trade with the French Caribbean despite the rivalry between England and France

• 1733 Molasses Act imposed a high tariff on French molasses. Colonists bribed officials and violated the act

Common Characteristics by the mid-18th century

P. 103

Map: Chesapeake Expansion, 1607-1700

Chesapeake Expansion, 1607-1700The Chesapeake colonies expanded slowly before mid-century. By 1700 Anglo-Indian wars, a rising English population, and an influx of enslaved Africans permitted settlers to spread throughout the tidewater.

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Map: European Settlements and Indians, 1754

European Settlements and Indians, 1754By 1754, Europeans had expanded the limits of the English colonies to the eastern slopes of the Appalachian Mountains. Few independent Indian nations still existed in the East, but beyond the mountains they controlled the countryside. Only a few widely scattered English and French forts maintained the Europeans' presence there.

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Map: Immigration and British Colonial Expansion, to 1755

Immigration and British Colonial Expansion, to 1755Black majorities emerged in much of the Chesapeake tidewater and the Carolina-Georgia low country. Immigrants from Germany, Ireland, and Scotland predominated among the settlers in the piedmont. A significant Jewish population emerged in the seaports.

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Map: The European Empires in Eighteenth-Century America

The European Empires in Eighteenth-Century AmericaThis map shows the colonization of the Americas and the Philippines by three rival powers. It is clear from the map why British colonists felt vulnerable to attack by England's archenemies, France and Spain, until English victory in the Great War for Empire in 1763.

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Some additional themes

• Influx of immigrants from non-English countries