FRONTIERS OF EMPIRE: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

AMERICA

America: Past and PresentAmerica: Past and Present

Chapter 4Chapter 4

Experiencing Diversity

1700-1750--colonial population rises from 250,000 to over two million

Much growth through natural increase Large influx of non-English Europeans

Forced Migration

Transportation Act of 1718 allows judges to send convicted felons to American colonies

50,000 convicts to America 1718-1775– Some felons were dangerous criminals– Most committed minor crimes against property – Life difficult for transported convicts

British praise system, colonists deplore it

Ethnic Cultures of the Backcountry

800 miles along Appalachian Range from western Pennsylvania to western Georgia

Already populated by Native Americans and African-Americans

Large influx of European immigrants in the eighteenth century

Scotch-Irish Flee English Oppression

Many from Northern Ireland Concentrate on the Pennsylvania frontier

and Shenandoah Valley Often regarded as a disruptive element

Germans Search for a Better Life

Fled from warfare in Germany Admired as peaceful, hard-working farmers Tried to preserve German language, customs Aroused the prejudice of English neighbors

Native Americans Define the Middle Ground

Many eastern Indians moved into trans-Appalachian region– a "middle ground" where no colonial power

was yet established Remnants of different Indian peoples

regrouped, formed new nations European trade eventually weakened

collective resistance to European aggression

Spanish Borderlands of the Eighteenth Century

Spain occupied a large part of America north of Mexico since sixteenth century

Range from Florida Peninsula to California Indian resistance, lack of interest limited

Spanish presence Never a secure political or military hold on

borderlands

Conquering the Northern Frontier

1692—final establishment of Spanish rule in New Mexico after Popé’s revolt (1680)

18th-century St. Augustine a Spanish military outpost unattractive to settlers

1769—belated Spanish mission settlements in California to prevent Russian claims

Peoples of the Spanish Borderlands

Slow growth of Spanish population in borderlands

Spanish influence architecture, language Spanish influence over Native Americans

– Spanish exploit native labor– Indians live in proximity to Spanish as despised

lower class– Indians resist conversion to Catholicism

British Colonies in an Atlantic World

Change in eighteenth-century colonies Growth of urban cosmopolitan culture Aggressive participation in consumption

Provincial Cities

Urban areas included Boston, Newport, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston

Economies were geared to commerce Inhabitants took lead in adopting new

fashions, the latest luxuries Emulated British architecture Cities attract colonists seeking opportunity

American Enlightenment

An intellectual movement stressing reasoned investigation of beliefs and institutions – Optimistic view of human nature– View cosmos as orderly result of natural laws– Belief in perfectibility of the world– Search for practical ways of improving life

Mixed reception in America

Benjamin Franklin

Franklin (1706-1790) epitomized provincial, urban culture

Became a writer by emulating British literature Achieved wealth through printing business Dedicated to practical uses of reason, science

Economic Transformation

Rising demand for English, West Indian goods Colonists paid for imports by

– exporting tobacco, wheat, and rice – purchasing on credit

Dependence on commerce led to colonial resentment of English regulations

England restricted colonial manufacture or trade of timber, sugar, hats, and iron.

Birth of a Consumer Society

English mass-production of consumer goods stimulated rise in colonial imports

Wealthy Americans began to build up large debts to English merchants

Intercolonial, West Indian trade earn colonists the surplus needed for imports

Inter-colonial commerce gave Americans a chance to learn about one another

Religious Revivals in Provincial Societies

The Great Awakening a series of revivals– revival: a phenomenon among Protestant

Christians characterized by large meetings where large numbers experience religious conversion in response to gifted preaching

– Awakening occurred at different places at different times

Revivals encouraged participants to question values of themselves and society

The Voice of Popular Religion

George Whitefield symbolized the revivals Whitefield preached outdoor sermons to

thousands of people in nearly every colony Itinerants disrupted established churches Laypeople, including women and blacks, gain

chance to shape their own religious institutions The Awakening promoted a democratic,

evangelical union of national extent

The Awakening, Education, and Patriotism

Most revivalists well-trained ministers Revivalists found Princeton, Dartmouth,

Brown, and Rutgers Revivalists held optimistic attitudes toward

America's religious role in world history Fostered American patriotism

Clash of Political Cultures

Colonists attempted to emulate British political institutions

Effort led to discovery of how different they were from the English people

The English Constitution

The British Constitution universally admired– Not a written document, but a system of

government based on statute and common law Believed to balance monarchy, aristocracy and

democracy Balance believed to guarantee liberties

The Reality of British Politics

Less than 20% of English males could vote Members of Parliament notorious for

corruption and bribery “Commonwealthmen” criticized corruption,

urged return to truly balanced constitution

Governing the Colonies: The American Experience

Colonists attempt to model England’s balanced constitution

Royal governors– Most incompetent – Most bound by instructions from England– Possessed little patronage for buying votes– Little power to force their will

Governors’ councils steadily lose influence

Governing the Colonies: Colonial Assemblies

Elected officials depended on popular sentiment Assemblies more interested in pleasing

constituents than in obeying the governor Assemblies controlled all means of raising

revenue Assemblies jealously guarded their rights Assemblies held more popular support than

governor

Broader Horizons, Tighter Bonds

Commerce, communication, religion broaden colonists’ horizons by 1754

Colonial law courts increasingly adopt English usage

Growing awareness of ideas, institutions, problems shared with England, each other

Century of Imperial War

British Americans increasingly drawn into European conflict during eighteenth century

Main opponents: France and Spain Wars led to greater inter-colonial

association and cooperation

King William's and Queen Anne's Wars

King William’s War (1689-1697): French frontier raids on New York, New England

Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713): French frontier raids on North, Spanish South

Wars settled nothing France subsequently extended her American

empire from Canada into Louisiana

King George's War (1743-1748) and Its Aftermath

Embroiled colonists more extensively than earlier wars

1745--New England troops captured Fort Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island

1748--Louisbourg returned to France by Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle

1750s--fresh conflict over Ohio Valley

Albany Congress and Braddock's Defeat

Albany Congress, 1754--Benjamin Franklin propose plan for a central government

Albany Plan disliked by English and Americans, fails

1755--General Edward Braddock leads force to drive French from Ohio Valley

Braddock’s army ambushed, destroyed

Seven Years' War

1756--England declares war on France Prime Minister William Pitt leads English

to concentrate on North America 1759--Quebec captured 1763--Peace of Paris cedes to Great Britain

all North America east of Mississippi

Perceptions of War

Colonists realize how strong they could be when they worked together

English learn that Americans took forever to organize, easier to command obedience

A Century of War

DATES EUROPEAN NAME COLONIAL NAME

1689-1697 War of the Leagueof Augsburg

King William’s War

1702-1713 War of theSpanish Succession

Queen Anne’s War

1739-1748 War of theAustrian Succession

King George’s War

1756-1763 Seven Years’ War French and Indian War

Rule Britannia?

Most Americans bound to England in 1763 Ties included

– British culture– British consumer goods– British evangelists – British military victories

Empire seemed bound by affectionate ties