Chapter Five

Colonial Society on The Eve of Revolution

1700-1775

Great Britain

Ruled 32 colonies in North America by 1775 Canada Florida Caribbean

An American Way of Life

A distinct American way of life begins to emerge

Population in colonies begins to grow 1700 – 300,000 (20,000 slaves) 1750 – 2.5 million (1.25 million slaves) The colonies were doubling their population

every 25 years

Population

Highest Pop Colonies 1-Virginia 2-Massachusetts 3-Pennsylvania 4-North Carolina 5-Maryland

Highest Pop Cities 1-Philadelphia 2-New York 3-Boston 4-Charleston

Foreign Populations

Numerous foreign groups moved to the colonies

Germans – 6% of pop settled in PA Scots-Irish – 7% of pop

12 future Presidents were Scots-Irish

Other Foreign Pops

French Huguenots Jews

Welsh Irish

Dutch Swiss

Swedes Scot-Highlanders

*African slaves made up 20% of colonial pop.

Structure of Colonial America

18th century – America was a land of equality and opportunity (except slaves)

No titled nobility No pauper underclass RAGS TO RICHES POSSIBLE & COMMON Almshouses – built in Philadelphia and Boston for

poor and orphaned

Structure cont…

South – wealth was concentrated by those who owned large numbers of African slaves.

HUGE gap between the very rich and the very poor

The Working Class

Indentured servant – one whose passage to the New World was paid for by someone to whom the servant would owe years of his life to pay back the cost of passage

“Jayle Birds” - 50,000 English prisoners were dumped on the American colonies, including rapists, murderers and thieves.

Slavery

No equity with whites No dream of

ascension in society Oppressed Downtrodden

Professions

Most honored position was within the church or Christian ministry – high prestige

Physicians – looked down upon, poorly trained. 1765 – first medical school in colonies (bleeding common treatment)

Lawyers – not held in high regard, “noisy, windbags, or trouble makers”

Disease

Medicine was not very advanced in the 18th century

Smallpox – affected 1/5 of colonists (George Washington was heavily pox marked)

Diphtheria – affected younger people and children

American Living

Americans enjoyed a relatively high standard of living because of the fertility of the soil

90% of population involved in agriculture NY – exported 80,000 barrels of flour/yr.

Triangular Trade

New England (rum)

$ Profits on every leg of trip $

West Indies Africa(molasses) (slaves)

Manufacturing

Not many people were involved in manufacturing because it was easier to get ahead through agriculture

Rum was distilled in RI and MA Beaver hats were produced, despite British

regulations against it.

Household Manufacturing

Primary manufacturer - households. Spinning and weaving had impressive output

for each family Carpenters would be released from prison for

murder because their skills were so badly needed in the colonies

Lumber

Most important manufacturing activity in colonies

Timber consumed by shipbuilders

1770 – 400 ships produced/yr.

1/3 of British merchant-marine were American made

Trade Imbalance

Britain was saturated with colonial goods. Large demand for British goods in the

colonies This created a trade imbalance; the colonist

looked to overseas markets to sell the excess supply of goods

Tobacco

Colonial tobacco filled the pipes of many French gentlemen

But, the tobacco was forced to go through British customs where they received a tariff (re-exported)

The Molasses Act of 1733

Parliament passed the Molasses Act with the intention of limiting American colonial trade with the French West Indies.

Resulted in Americans bribing or smuggling their way around the law.

Roads

By the 1700s, roads began to connect major cities in the colonies to one another.

Roads during the Roman Empire were better built for travel than American colonial roads.

Summer – dusty dirt roads Winter – muddy, impassable roads Travelers often drafted wills!

Taverns

Popped up on roadways and in large cities

Bowling alleys, bars, pool tables, gambling tables

Cradle of democracy Samuel Adams – owned

famous brewery and tavern, Green Dragon Tavern

Postage

Intercolonial Postage System – established around 1750 – service was slow and infrequent

Secrecy was not guaranteed (some postal carriers would read the mail)

The Great Awakening

A religious awakening that spread throughout the colonies

Jonathan Edwards Northampton,

Massachusetts – 1734 -tall, intellectual, delicate Preached dependence on

God’s grace…

Jonathan Edwards

Edwards preached a bold message that hell was very real, and literally scared his congregation

“hell is paved with the skulls of unbaptized babies”

George Whitefield

1738 – orator of rare gifts

Ex-alehouse owner Magnificent voice Human helplessness Divine Omnipotence Many imitated him

The Great Awakening

Revivals – sinners professed conversion into Christianity, they were “saved.”

Believers in religious conversion formed the Baptist Church

Lasting Effects of the Awakening

Undermined the “Old” clergy Increased competitiveness in American churches Encouraged a fresh wave of missionaries Led to the founding of “new light” centers:

Princeton, Brown, Rutgers, and Dartmouth First mass movement – broke sectional and

denominational lines

Education in The Colonies

Education was a time honored English tradition

Many colonists sent sons back to England to study at Cambridge

Schools in the Colonies

New England – tax supported and private schools both primary and secondary

South – wealthy families hired private tutors for their children’s education

Schools focused on religion, Latin, and Greek.

Art and Culture

Colonists, with a frontiersman spirit, typically were uninspired by arts and culture

Colonist preferred English and European arts and culture.

John Trumbull

1756-1843

From Connecticut

Forced to move to London to finish his training in art.

Washington by Trumbull

Charles Wilson Peale

1741 – 1827 Famous portrait artist of 18th century Painted famous early Americans Ran a museum and practiced dentistry

Washington by Peale

Benjamin West

1738 – 1820 The Death of Nelson

John Singleton Copley

1738-1815 Watson and the Shark

Poor Richard’s Almanack

Published by Benjamin Franklin from Philadelphia 1732-1758

Famous quotes on thrift, morality, industry, and common sense

Libraries and The Press

Byrd Family of Virginia had the largest private library in the colonies numbering 4,000 books

Ben Franklin est. first public library in Philadelphia.

1776 – 50 public libraries 40 colonial newspapers (mostly weekly readers;

news was late)

John Peter Zenger

Trial 1734-1735 Printed story about

corrupted royal governor of New York

Arrested and tried in to royal court

Jurors defy the judge and find Zenger not guilty

Banner achievement for freedom of the press

Politics In The Colonies

The 13 Colonial Governments

8 with royal governors

3 with proprietors that appointed the governor (MD,PA,DE)

2 with elected governor by popular election (RI,CT)

Politics cont…

All colonies had a two-house legislature Upper House – (Council) – appt. by Crown

or proprietor Lower House – popular elections for

representatives Raise taxes for colonial expenditures through

self taxation (precious privilege)

Colonial Life

Life was drab/tedious Labor heavy/constant Food was plentiful Diet course and plain Church and homes – no

heat, running water or plumbing

Colonial Life

Candles or oil lamps used for light Hogs in the street would serve as garbage

disposal Buzzards were legally protected

Amusement

Watching militia drills House-raisings Quilting bees Weddings and funerals strong liquors were

distilled for get togethers…

Amusements

Cockfights Card playing Horse racing Fox Hunting Dancing, jigs, square

dance Lotteries also popular