C R E AT I N G T H E A M E R I C A N S P I R I T

COLONIAL SOCIETY IN THE 18TH CENTURY

LIFE IN THE CHESAPEAKE

POPULATION• Life expectancy was 10 years less than home in England due to disease; 50% not living past 20 years old.

• Most immigrants were young, single men; women were extremely scarce

• Region stabilized with the increase in female settlers and increased immunities to diseases.

HEADRIGHT SYSTEM

• Headright System: Each Virginian got 50 acres for each person whose passage they paid.

• Indentured servants agreed to years of servitude in exchange for transatlantic passage (5-7 years)• Promised “freedom dues”

[land, money]• 1610-1614: only 1 in 10

outlived their indentured contracts!

BACON’S REBELLION

• VA HoB disenfranchised most landless men in 1670

• Small Virginia settlers began moving westward where land was more plentiful.

• Colonists attacked the local Susquehannock tribe for their lands, who later retaliated.

• 1626 – Nathaniel Bacon led a violent campaign against all Indians, even those that were at peace with the colony.

BACON’S REBELLION

• Governor William Berkeley ordered Bacon and his men to stop, they turned on him instead.• Rebels resented Berkeley’s close relations

with Indians.• Governor Berkeley driven from

Jamestown. Rebels burned the capital; went on a rampage of plundering.

• Bacon suddenly died of fever.• Berkeley brutally crushed the rebellion

and hanged 23 rebels.• The Powhatans lost their remaining

lands 6

EFFECTS OF THE REBELLION• It exposed

resentments between inland frontiersmen and landless former servants against gentry on coastal plantations.• Socio-economic class

differences/clashes between rural and urban communities would continue throughout American history.

• Upper class planters searched for laborers less likely to rebel BLACK SLAVES!!

THE TRIANGULAR TRADE, PART 1

8

THE “MIDDLE PASSAGE”

ROOTS OF SLAVERY

• First Africans arrived in Jamestown in 1619.• Their status was not clear perhaps

slaves, perhaps indentured servants.• Slavery not that important until the end

of the 17c.• As the number of slaves increased,

white colonists reacted to put down perceived racial threat.• Slavery transformed from economic to

racial institution.• By the mid-1680s, black slaves

outnumbered white indentured servants.

Olaudah Equiano

ROOTS OF SLAVERY

• Beginning in 1662 “Slave Codes”• Made blacks [and their

children] property, or chattel for life of white masters.

• In some colonies, it was a crime to teach a slave to read or write.

• Conversion to Christianity did not qualify the slave for freedom.

STONO REBELLION (AKA: CATO'S CONSPIRACY ), 1739

• Largest slave revolt in colonial American history

• Jemmy (AKA: Cato), a literate slave led 20 other enslaved Kongolese in an armed march to freedom in Spanish Florida.

• Killed 22–25 whites before being intercepted by a South Carolina militia. In that battle, 20 whites and 44 slaves were killed, and the rebellion was suppressed.

• In response, the South Carolina legislature passed the Negro Act of 1740 restricting slave assembly, education and movement.

LIFE IN NEW ENGLAND

• Puritan leaders were worried their religious passion was dying down• “jeremiads” (stern, old-fashioned scolding) used to corral

“wandering souls”• Half-way Covenant: Eased qualifications for joining

the church• Full membership in the Puritan church required an account

of a conversion experience, and only persons in full membership could have their own children baptized.

• The Half-Way Covenant provided a partial church membership for the children and grandchildren of church members, allowing participation in the Lord's supper, and the children of holders of the covenant could be baptized in the church.

THE HALF-WAY COVENANT, 1662

• In 1692, a few girls claimed to have been bewitched by a Caribbean woman practicing voodoo.

• Names were named, rumors spread, and innocent people were accused of being witches. Hysteria took hold and twenty people were executed.

• By 1693, the Salem residents saw the recklessness for what it was and called it off.

• Notably, this type of witch-hunting had been done on a much larger scale back in Europe.

SALEM WITCH TRIALS

AMERICA’S WITCH HUNTS

• Pequots very powerful tribe in CT river valley.• Pequot War (1637)

• Whites, with Narragansett Indian allies, attacked Pequot village on Mystic River.

• Whites set fire to homes & shot fleeing survivors!• Pequot tribe virtually annihilated an uneasy peace

lasted for 40 years.

THE PEQUOT WARS: 1636-1637

• Metacom (known as King Philip by English) tried to unite local tribes to protect themselves against attacks

• Attacked English settlements on the frontier – lasted two years

• Eventually defeated; was drawn and quartered and his head displayed on a pike in Plymouth for years

KING PHILIP’S WAR: 1675-1676

New England Confederation• Consisted of 4 Puritan colonies (MA Bay, Plymouth,

New Haven, Connecticut) for the purpose of defenseDominion of New England• Created in response to the NE

Confederation as an arm of the king• Sir Edmund Andros was put in charge, but

despised by colonists• Strengthen colonial defense against

Indians• Regain English control over the colonies

by enforcing the Navigation Acts (limited American trade to within the British Empire exclusively)

SEEDS OF COLONIAL UNITY

THE COLONIES BEFORE WAR

CHARACTERISTICS OF 18TH CENTURY COLONIAL AMERICA

• Enormous population growth• Higher fertility rate, increase

in immigrants• Largest colonies: VA, MA, PN,

NC, MD• South held 90% of slaves

• The American melting pot (1790)• 66% English• 20% African• Remaining: Scots Irish,

German, Dutch, Irish, French, Welsh, Jews, Scots-Highlanders

• Structure of colonial society (stratification emerged by 1750)• Small upper class (plantation

owners in the South; merchants, lawyers, clergymen in the North)

• Most were yeoman farmers (owned land)

• Small merchants, laborers (did not own land)

• Indentured servants and jailbirds

• Slaves

COLONIAL TOWNS• Colonial cities were organized

better than in England• NE towns had a town square

(“common” or “village green”) surrounded by homes, businesses, and the church

• Structured road patterns (e.g. Manhattan), though roads were poor

• Taverns served as inns, restaurants, and places to hear news from other towns

• More space led to longer lifespans

COLONIAL LIFESTYLE• Farmers

• Most yeoman farmers (~80%), FFV’s dominate the South

• Roles of the Family• Women wove, cooked, cleaned, and cared

for children• Men cleared land -- fenced, planted, and

cropped it; cut firewood, and butchered livestock

• Children helped with adult tasks as well as being schooled when possible.

• Highest standard of living• Generally lower mortality rates than Europe• Land was cheap, although less available in

southern plantation system • Wages were about three times that of

Europe

CLASS STRUGGLE

• Frontiers• Few class distinctions existed on the frontier• Those with upper-class pretensions were resented;

egalitarian society was desired• Upper Class

• Attempt to recreate European stratification failed• Common people too numerous to be subjugated• Emerging middle class became increasingly influential• Democratic traditions in many colonies provided a hedge

against complete upper class control.• Rebellions

• Bacon’s Rebellion• Paxton Boys

COLONIAL OCCUPATIONS

• Clergy most respected occupation

• Physicians and lawyers were looked upon with scorn – charlatans and scoundrels

• Agriculture was the dominant industry

• Politics was growing as an occupational option (local legislatures, appointed governorship)

COLONIAL ECONOMY• Land Speculation – Made many investors

wealthy (buy cheap land, sell high)• Farming – 90% of Americans by 1775• Manufacturing

• Small industries • Lumbering most important: shipbuilding • Cottage industry

• Trade• Growth of American population created

increased demand for British goods • Once British demand for American products

peaked Americans sought other markets • Transportation

• Inland transportation poor by road • Waterways most important: Population

located near rivers

The Triangular Trade that emerged in the mid-eighteenth century was not designed with the same purpose as the century before. This new triangle was used by colonists to circumvent the Navigation Acts passed by Great Britain in the 1680s.

COLONIAL RELIGION• Religious Groups

• Anglican Church: Official faith in several colonies• Congregational Church • Presbyterian Church • Quakers • Jews

• Mainly located in RI, NY, PA, MD, and SC. • Toleration

• Toleration came about in large part due to non-church members.

• Eventually, campaign for full religious rights led to separation of church and state after the Revolution (except for New England)

THE GREAT AWAKENING

• The Great Awakening was a spiritual revival that swept the colonies in the 1730s and 1740s.

• It was led by powerful “New Light” preachers who made Christianity intensely personal to the average person by appealing to their emotions, and by encouraging introspection and a commitment to a new standard of personal morality.

• Jonathan Edwards - “Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God”

THE GREAT AWAKENING• The Great Awakening

• First mass social movement in American History

• Mainly in Middle/Southern colonies

• Reaction against the elaborate theological doctrines, emotional stagnation, & liberal doctrines of established churches

• Enthusiasts saw themselves as beneficiaries of a direct inspiration from God

• New vs. Old Light• Old Lights: Orthodox

clergymen deeply skeptical of emotionalism and theatrical antics of the revivalists.

• New Lights: Supported the Awakening for revitalizing American religion and used emotionalism to move followers.

THE GREAT AWAKENING• Jonathan Edwards

• Credited with starting the Great Awakening (c. 1734) in Northampton in 1734 ; most influential theological writer and thinker of the movement.

• Blasted the idea of salvation through good works; dependence on God's grace is paramount

• Emphasized eternal damnation (“fire and brimstone” sermons)

• Style was learned and reasoned; not emotional like other "new lights"

• George Whitefield (1714-1770) • Brilliant English orator; his basic appeal was to

the Bible • Founded Methodism in GA and SC

• Results • Created schisms in other denominations which

increased competitiveness of American churches (e.g. Baptist, Methodist, Congregationalist, etc.)

• Brought religion to many who had lost touch with it

• Undermined the older clergy • Encouraged a new wave of missionary work

among the Indians and slaves

EDUCATION• New England

• Strongest• Bible Reading• Primary and secondary schools established early

• Middle• Some Public• Also had primary and secondary education

• Some tax-supported, some privately owned • Diffusion of population made establishment of effective school systems difficult

• Many well-to-do families sent their sons to colleges in England • South

• Privileged; hired tutors to teach their children• Plantation living made cities, schools, and churches spread out

• College• Primary focus on the training of new clergy, not academics • Improvement in higher education occurred with what became Univ. of

Pennsylvania • Benjamin Franklin helped establish it ;)• First American college free from denominational control ; more modern curriculum:

"live" languages, experimentation, reason • Nine important colleges emerged during the colonial period: Harvard,

William & Mary, Yale, Princeton, Pennsylvania, Columbia, Brown, Rutgers, Dartmouth

1 7 5 6 - 1 7 6 3THE FRENCH AND

INDIAN WAR

• France was late coming to the New World

• French population grew slowly

• Were the most successful in trading with Amerindians

• Jesuits played a vital role as explorers and geographers

THE FRENCH IN THE NEW WORLD

• Four world wars between 1688 and 1763• Wars originated in Europe and spilled over to the

New World• Treaty of Utrecht ended colonial wars for nearly 3

decades.

CLASH OF EMPIRES: ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND SPAIN

THE SEVEN YEARS’ WAR

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR BEGINS

British were pushing west into the Ohio Valley; wary of French influence in North America.

French needed to retain it to link Canada with the lower Mississippi valley & Caribbean.

1754 – CLASH IN THE OHIO VALLEY

British French Fort Necessity Fort Duquesne * George Washington * Delaware & Shawnee Indians

ALBANY PLAN OF UNIONBenjamin Franklin created plan for colonial home rule:

dealt with defense and Indian affairs. Adopted by delegates. Individual colonies rejected it: not enough independence. British rejected it: too much independence Albany Congress failed Iroquois broke off relations with Britain & threatened to trade with the French.

The cartoon appeared along with Franklin's editorial about the "disunited state" of the colonies, and helped make his point about the importance of colonial unity. During that era, there was a superstition that a snake which had been cut into pieces would come back to life if the pieces were put together before sunset.

The FirstPolitical Cartoon

Very popular among the British people, his successes in the war led to Ft. Duquesne being renamed Pittsburgh

Focused on defeating France in North America in order to win the war

Offered colonists a dealFor colonial loyalty &

military cooperation, Britain would reimburse colonial assemblies for their costs.

WILLIAM PITT “THE GREAT COMMONER” BECOMES FOREIGN MINISTER

Lost her Canadian possessions, most of her empire in India, and claims to lands east of the Mississippi River.

Got all French lands west of the Mississippi River, New Orleans, but lost Florida to England.

TREATY OF PARISSpainFrance Englan

dGot all French lands in Canada, exclusive rights to Caribbean slave trade, and commercial dominance in India.

North Am

erica in 1753

BritainIt increased her colonial

empire in the AmericasIt greatly enlarged

England’s debtBritain’s contempt for the

ungrateful colonials created bitter feelings

England felt that a major reorganization of her American Empire was necessary!

United them under a common enemy for the first time

It created a socializing experience for all who were involved

It created bitter feelings towards the pompous British that would only intensify

EFFECTS OF THE WAR

Colonies

Amerindians in Ohio Valley region angered at British treatment during the last years of the French and Indian War.

Chief Pontiac, Ottowa chief, refused to surrender his lands to the British although France (their ally in the war) had lost and were now gone.

Chief Pontiac led an Indian alliance against whites in the Ohio Valley & Great Lakes region in 1763

British retaliated with germ warfare: blankets infected with smallpox distributed among the Amerindians (sound familiar?)

Rebellion subdued in October, 1763

Tensions Along the Frontier:Pontiac’s Rebellion

In response to Pontiac’s Rebellion, King George III signed an Edict creating royal colonies in all newly acquired lands in the Treaty of Paris.

Proclamation of 1763 Prohibited colonials to move west of

the Appalachians; only intended to be temporary

British aim: Settle land disputes with Indians fairly to prevent more uprisings like Pontiac’s and organize eventual settlement and defense

Colonials infuriated: viewed edict as being permanent. Many veterans had fought in the

war and felt betrayed Land speculators argued that the

land was a birthright of British citizens.

Colonials generally ignored the Proclamation

BRITISH BACKLASH!

The frontier of Eastern Pennsylvania was populated by many rough-and-tumble Scots-Irish immigrants who had grown weary of the colonial assembly’s inattention to their vulnerability to Indian attack. Requests for soldiers — or guns, powder and lead at the very least — were ignored by the legislators, many of whom were Quakers with strong pacifist convictions.

A group of Paxton men took matters into their own hands in December 1763 and raided a small settlement of peaceful Conestoga Indians, killing 20.

The Paxton Boys