Ch 4 Colonial LifeMs Ellzy

The Main Idea: To learn how English ideals about government and trade took root in the colonies.

MAGNA CARTA pg 102

1215 – English nobles forced King John to sign. The Magna Carta (great charter) limited the power of the current and future English Monarchs. Limited monarchs right to assign taxes without consulting

parliament. Protected the right to own property. Guaranteed the right to trial by jury.

NO monarch could raise taxes without the approval of the legislature, also known as Parliament.

Originally only applied to nobles, eventually applied to all English citizens. Disagreements between Parliament and King Charles I led to the English Civil War in

the 1640’s.

English Bill of Rights pg 103

Parliament removed King James II and replaced him with his daughter Queen Mary and her husband William. (1688)

The English Bill of Rights was signed by King William and Queen Mary in 1689. Restated many of the rights of the

Magna Carta. Maintained Habeas Corpus.

Colonial Government pg 104 By 1670 every British colony in North

America had a legislature of some kind. Voting rights extended to 50-75 % of

white male colonists. Women, Native Americans and Africans did

NOT have the right to vote. Despite property ownership.

Freedom of the Press Zenger court case. The press can print the truth.

Regulating Trade pg 106

1651 Parliament passes the first of the Navigation Acts. Shipments from Europe to English

colonies had to go through England 1st. Any imports to England from the

colonies had to come in ships built and owned by British subjects.

The colonies could sell key products, such as tobacco and sugar only to England.

Colonial Women pg 108

http://www.phschool.com/atschool/ahon/history_interactive/mvl-1042/common_player.html

Colonial Children pg 110

Began working around age 7. Work included: household chores and

farm chores. If the family was poor the children might be servants for other families.

Hopscotch, marbles, leapfrog, and jump rope were popular games played by children.

Boys learning trades began as apprentices for craftsmen.

Slave Trade pg 113

Became popular because of the need for cheap labor on plantations and racism.

Early on states such as Maryland, Rhode Island, Georgia and Virginia tried to limit and even ban slavery.

Slaves revolted in different areas, then the colonial leaders developed the Slave Codes.

Slaves could NOT meet in large numbers. Could not own weapons or leave plantations without permission. It was illegal for slaves to be taught to read and write. Masters could NOT be charged with murder for killing a slave.

African Influences

African grass baskets, used to sift rice.

African style banjo. Crafts workers used African styles to

create things like fine quilts, carved walking sticks, furniture etc.

Gullah: an African dialect that blends English and several African languages.

Education pg 118

Public school- A school supported by taxes. Originated with the Puritans in Massachusetts.

Colonial schools included religious instruction, reading, writing, arithmetic (math).

Girls often attended schools in the summer when boys were out of school. Or they attended Dame Schools.

After elementary school boys went on to grammar schools, which prepared them for college. Harvard College was the 1st college established in the

colonies by the Puritans in 1638. Colonists in Virginia established the first college in the

South, The College of William and Mary in 1693.

American Literature pg 120

Anne Bradstreet- the 1st colonial poet published The Tenth Muse, Lately Sprung Up in America in 1650.

Phillis Wheatley – An enslaved African woman who published her first poem in the 1760’s.

Benjamin Franklin- started the Pennsylvanian Gazette newspaper at age 17.

The Great Awakening pg 121 Religious leaders felt the colonies were

straying from their religious roots. Jonathan Edwards cautioned colonists to

examine their lives and commit themselves to God.

The Great Awakening led to the growing of smaller churches such as Methodists and Baptists throughout the colonies.

This also led to more religious tolerance in the colonies.

The Enlightenment pg 122

All human problems could be solved by human reasoning.

John Locke argued that people have natural rights- rights that all humans had from birth. Life , Liberty and Property! 1690 Two Treatises on Government.

Different from the idea of divine right. Barn de Montesquie declared that government

should be defined and limited. Separation of Powers Legislative to make laws. Executive to enforce laws. Judicial to make judgments based on the law.