Period II, 1607-1754: Colonial America Part 2: Society and Culture

Life in The Colonies

!   Most considered themselves to be English

!   Defined by regional differences !   Developed

independently of one another

Indentured Servitude

!   System of temporary servitude !   Masters paid for passage, food, shelter

!   Many became unemployed and landless after terms of service !   Potential for instability – i.e. Bacon’s Rebellion

!   Led to growth of slave trade

The Beginnings of Slavery

!   Supply of slaves went mostly to the West Indies at first

!   Supply grew over time, especially in the Southern colonies !   Chesapeake Region – labor intensive tobacco

Reasons for Growth of Slave Trade

1)  Reduced Migration •  Increases in wages in England reduced supply of

immigrants to the colonies

2)  Dependable workforce •  Slavery would provide a stable labor force totally under

the control of large plantation owners

3)  Cheap labor •  Cash crops required lots of land and cheap, relatively

unskilled field hands

The Middle Passage !   The Royal African Company

!   Often captured by rival tribes and sold on the coast

!   Crammed as many as possible onto ships for journey to Americas

!   African population grew tenfold between 1700-1760

Slave Conditions in the Colonies

!   Status was unclear at first – some treated like indentured servants

!   No contractual obligation to free – condition changed in early 18th century !   Colonies passed “slave codes” to limit rights of blacks in

law – color alone determined whether a person was subject to slave codes

Changing Sources of Immigration

!   French, German, Swiss, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, and Scandinavian immigration grew as English immigration slowed !   Huguenots

!   Pennsylvania “Dutch”

!   Scots-Irish were most numerous

!   Massive population growth: !   1700: <250,000

!   1775: >2 million

Southern Economy

•  Chesapeake Region: Tobacco

•  Carolinas and Georgia: Rice, Indigo

•  Did not develop commercial economy, cities

Northern Economic and Technological Life

!   Agriculture on a smaller scale !   Subsistence farming in New England

!   NY, PA, CT River Valley chief supplier of wheat

!   Logging, ship-building, fishing, trading

!   Industry – small and large scale

!   Commerce

Saugus Iron-works

Colonial Commerce

•  Obstacles: •  No commonly accepted currency

•  Unstable system

•  Triangular Trade •  Linked trade between the colonies, West Indies, Europe,

and Africa

•  Emerging merchant class

•  Rise of consumerism

Society: the Colonial Family

!   People married younger and raised more children than in Europe (average of 8!)

!   Men: English law gave the husband almost unlimited power in the home

!   Women: fulfilled “domestic” duties – limited legal and political rights

Society - The Plantation

!   Rough and relatively small

!   Became self contained communities

!   Stratified Society !   Great landowners controlled workers and nearby small

farmers

Plantation Slavery

!   Developed unique society and culture on larger plantations

!   Treatment often depended on the plantation – some treated kindly, others brutally

Stono Rebellion

!   South Carolina – 1739

!   100 Africans armed themselves, killed several whites, and attempted to escape into Florida

!   Whites crushed the uprising and executed most participants

The Puritan Community – New England

!   Social unit was the town !   Drew up “covenant” among members – tight knit social

structure

!   Highly religious – witchcraft controversies

Cities

!   Served as trading centers for farmers and markets for international trade !   Economies vulnerable to fluctuations in trade

!   Centers of industry

!   High social distinctions

!   Centers for new ideas – newspapers, books, publications

Pattern of Religions

!   High religious toleration in the colonies !   Required because of diversity

!   Exceptions: shared disdain for Catholics, Puritan Massachusetts

!   Religious lifestyle threatened by the Enlightenment and expansion westward

The Enlightenment

!   Focus on human reason and scientific inquiry

!   Believed answers to societies problems could not be answered by God !   Influential figures: John Locke, Francis Bacon

The Great Awakening 1730’s-1740’s

!   New religious fervor in Europe and the colonies

!   Spread by evangelists !   John and Charles

Wesley

!   George Whitefield

!   Jonathan Edwards

Colonial Governments

!   Americans created institutions that gave them a large measure of self-government !   Local communities accustomed to running affairs with

little to no interference from higher authorities

! Salutary Neglect

!   Provincial governments grew accustomed to acting independently of Parliament !   Royal governors were relatively weak !   Assumptions and expectations took hold that England

did not share

Salutary Neglect

!   Tradition of Neglect !   Lax enforcement of Navigation Acts

!   Decentralized colonial administration

!   Resistance to authority by colonial legislatures

Divided Colonies

!   Few ties between the colonies – little reason to unite

!   The Albany Plan !   Proposed federation for defense against Indians – none

approved

The Struggle for North America

!   French and Indian War a.k.a. The Seven Years War

!   Primary players in North America: !   French

!   British

!   Iroquois

Tensions Between the Empires

!   French explored Mississippi River Valley to Rocky Mountains !   Claimed continental interior for France – Louisiana

!   Shared interior with native tribes, English traders and settlers

!   Key region: the Ohio Valley !   Natural resources, trading opportunities

Causes of the War

!   History of Anglo-French conflict

!   Iroquois granted trading concessions to English in the interior

!   French constructed forts in the Ohio Valley

!   British interpreted as a threat and built own forts

!   Fort Necessity incident (1754)

Preparing for the Test

!   “traditional” multiple choice: !   Content based: chapters 1-3 plus ch.4 up to outbreak of

French and Indian War

!   “new” multiple choice: !   Questions based on a stimulus

!   Long Essay Question: !   Traditional five paragraph essay

Stimulus Based MC “To oppose those hordes of northern tribes, singly and alone, would prove certain destruction. We can make no progress in that way. We unite ourselves into one common band of brothers. We must have but one voice. Many voices makes confusion. We must have one fire, one pipe and one war club. This will give us strength. If our warriors are united they can defeat the enemy and drive them from our land; If we do this we are safe…

“And you of the different nations of the south, and you of the west, may place yourselves under our protection, and we will protect you. We earnestly desire the alliance and friendship of you all…”

- Chief Elias Johnson, Legends, Traditions, and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, and History of the Tuscarora Indians, 1881

1)  According to Johnson, which of the following ws the primary reason for the tribes to unite? A.  To increase trade

B.  To provide for self-defense

C.  To gain additional land

D.  To make the Tuscarora leaders

2)  Which of the following factors best explains why Native American efforts to unite were rare? A.  Most tribes were isolated from each other

B.  Europeans discouraged tribes from uniting

C.  People had different foods and cultures

D.  Tribes had traditions of independence