Chapter 5:The Cultures of North America

Mr. Logan GreeneAP United States History

West Blocton High School

Chapter Objectives• How did Indian America adapt to the new

conditions created by colonization?• Describe the differing social structure of

the regions of the English colonies.• How did the structure of colonial society

differ from European social structure?• What were the effects of the Great

Awakening on the subsequent history of the British colonies?

Natives• As Natives were constantly pressured by continued

colonial settlement they adapted remarkably well• However, this adaptation resulted in a consistent

reliance on the colonists for trade and items such as firearms

• Despite the constant loss of traditional land the Natives vehemently retained their sense of native independence

• As well the colonial cultures retained their basic policies toward the Natives– French: work with them through fur trading and retain

positive relations– English: Strained relations due to land infringement– Spanish: Destroyed relations due to constant enslavement

of Native peoples

The Spanish Borderlands• The modern day sunbelt of the United States

(New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of Texas) formed the upper part of New Spain

• New Spain was vast covering almost all of Mexico and large parts of South America

• As well, Spain still laid claim to Florida and fiercely defended it from Natives, the English, and the French

• Despite the successes New Spain stagnated, as did its isolated capital of Mexico City

• The Catholic Church did find relative success with its missions and Spain retained its control for centuries

French Crescent• As with Spain, France was closely tied to

Catholicism• In the “French Crescent” the French built

an empire of trade with the Natives with a relatively small number of colonists

• As opposed to the English style of taking over lands and removing Natives, the French tried to maintain a fairly harmonious relationship with the Indians while their Jesuit missionaries attempted to convert them to Catholicism

New England• New England was defined by its relationship with

the Puritan Church (except for Rhode Island)• Puritans balanced the repression of a watchful

government and church with strict rules with constant representation and democratic town meetings

• As towns grew groups would splinter off and form a new town and new church

• This expansion led to constant conflict with Natives and by King Philip’s War in the 1680’s and 1690’s the Native position in New England was destroyed

• However, by this time the New England colonies were basically at their maximum equilibrium of land and settlers

The Middle Colonies• As opposed to the basic ethnic strictness of

New England, the Middle colonies were essentially a melting pot of several different ethnicities and several different religions

• Wheat cultivation and trade flourished in this area with both Philadelphia and New York exploding in size and influence during the 1700’s

• As opposed to the communal movement mode favored by New England to expand, the Middle colonies favored individual expansion and the growing of villages

Southern Colonies• The Chesapeake and lower South colonies

featured a racial separated social structure of whites, slaves, and surviving Native communities

• Most of the population increase was due to the increase in African slaves

• By the 1700’s the specialization of colonies into specific cash crop growth had been established with the Chesapeake focusing on tobacco and the lower south focusing on rice

• Although the Church of England was the official religion of the area, there was not the strict control of the puritans seen in New England

Chapter Objectives

Typical Colonial Culture• Overall the colonies remained a fairly oral

culture transmitting most information by spoken word rather than written

• As well, the traditional communal spirit of working together to benefit the community remained

• Most colonists remained their traditional European position as agricultural workers focused on the land

• In opposition, cities were based almost entirely on commerce and trade wit socially stratified cultures of merchants, workers, and artisans

Frontier• The availability of land was the biggest

change from Europe to America• Sadly this land availability pushed

forward the assumption of the goal of acquiring forced labor, whether it be indentured servants or slaves

• The frontier pushed this forward even more as land was easily acquired making it possible to reach a financial level to acquire slaves

Social and Political Patterns• Despite some similarities English colonies began

changing drastically from the other colonies• Radical population growth is the most obvious

change between the English colonies and the French and Spanish

• The English colonies were populated mostly by family units who planned to permanently stay in the colony, this led to high birth rates. Coupled with continued immigration the population of the colonies exploded

• As well, the colonies adopted lax naturalization laws that allowed non English people to be citizens if they adopted Protestantism

Social and Political Patterns• The traditional class system of Europe did not transfer

to America• Instead of birth determining class, in the colonies land

and money determined class– At the top were wealthy landowners and prominent

merchants– Underneath were moderate landowners and artisans and

small merchants– At the bottom were uneducated workers and yeoman

farmers– Slaves simply had no class

• As well, while New Spain and New France stagnated economically, the British colonies kept improving; however, this made social mobility possible as you could improve yourself in the British colonies

Colonial Politics• Unlike the stringent rules imposed by Spain

and France on their colonies, England decided a decentralized system of allowing the colonies to largely self-govern as long as they continued to economically prosper

• This was known as salutary neglect and will have major prominence in leading to the Revolution

• However, this did not equal to colonial democracy as the higher classes still ruled with essential unilateral authority and the understood backing of the crown

Cultural Changes• The Enlightenment drastically changed the

attitude of the colonies toward learning in the upper classes

• Backed by thinkers like Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu the Enlightenment pushed for reason and logic as well as the idea of government having rules to adhere too and treating the public fairly

• Colleges were founded in the colonies and men such as Ben Franklin began sharing ideas with Europe

• Books became popular and literacy rates slowly climbed

Religious Revival• Religion was an important part of the English colonies• New England: Puritanical, Middle: No dominant

religion, South: Church of England (Anglican)• Churches had to adapt to changing forces in America• Puritans adopted the Halfway Convent which lowered

attendance requirements and allowed children of non-church members who had been baptized to be baptized

• The Great Awakening was a religious revival in the 1740s

• Charismatic preachers like George Whitefield glorified the emotional side of religion and the individual

• Evangelical converts quickly joined churches and the Baptist church exploded with membership of “New Light” Christians

Chapter Objectives• How did Indian America adapt to the new

conditions created by colonization?• Describe the differing social structure of

the regions of the English colonies.• How did the structure of colonial society

differ from European social structure?• What were the effects of the Great

Awakening on the subsequent history of the British colonies?