Life in the Colonies

A.English Parliament History

1. Magna Carta – first document to place restrictions on English ruler’s power

a.Limited right to levy taxes and protected private property, gave trial by jury

b.First – just gave rights to nobles, then to all citizens

2. Parliament – two housed legislature (group of people who have power to make laws

A.Greatest power – levy taxes

3. English Bill of Rights – signed by King William and Queen Mary after English rebellion

a.Gave right to trial by fury, habeas corpus, and prevented king from levying taxes or raising an army

B.Legal rights the Englishmen had led colonists to expect voice in their government

1. Wanted representative democracy like Parliament

2. Most colonies had legislatures that allowed white men to vote (50-75% could vote)

a.Women, natives and Africans couldn’t vote

B. Also wanted traditional rights,

B.Freedom of Press – established by Zinger case

C.Zinger was journalist who published info. about government and was sued, but won case

C.Navigation Acts – passed by King to regulate colonial trade

1. Helped and hurt colonies

2. Colonists got around them by smuggling goods

A.Family very important, extended families

1. All family members helped, but had different roles

2. Women all childcare and domestic duties

a.Expected to marry men their parents chose and be completely faithful to them in every way

b.Gave husbands all property when married

c. Could not hold office, vote or have much public life

B.Colonial children went work at age 7

1. Boys worked in fields, girls with mothers

2. Boys could work as apprentice – learn trade

C.Social classes

1. Gentry – upper class colonial society

a.Wealthy planters, merchants

2. Middle Class – small planters, artisans

a.Mostly white

3. Indentured Servants – lower class, above slaves

a.Few rights, bound to their masters

2. Free African Americans – could own property and slaves

A.Atlantic Slave Trade – more than 10 million Africans brought to Americas

1. Africans on west coast raided inland tribes and took prisoners to coast to trade Europeans

2. Middle Passage – voyage across Atlantic to Americas

a.Crammed into ship to save money, brutal unhealthy conditions

b.15-20% died or committed suicide

B.Why did slavery exist in colonies?1. Plantation system needed lot of workers

2. Slaves worked for lifetime, no wages

3. Georgia – banned slavery until 1750, ended up having it

4. Created racism

C.Slave codes written to prevent slave revolts1. Said that slaves couldn’t…

a.Meet in large groups

b.Own weapons

c. Leave the plantation

d.Be taught to read or write

e.Masters couldn’t be arrested for killing their own slaves (legal to kill your own slave)

D.Lives of slaves – varied greatly from colony to colony

1. In North – house servants, blacksmith helpers

2. In South – worked on plantations, farms

3. Southern culture – embedded with African roots

A.Puritans believed education was important

1. Every family had to teach kids/servants to read

2. Every town w/50 families had to have elementary school or pay fine

3. Every town w/100 families had to have grammar schools (high schools) or pay fine

4. These laws – beginning of public schools

5. Included religious instruction

6. Southern children harder to educate

a.Gentry hired tutors

B.Earliest forms of literature – sermons/histories

1. Anne Bradstreet – first colonial published poet

2. Phyllis Wheatley – enslaved African poet in Boston

3. Benjamin Franklin – colonial writer, inventor, diplomat, scientist, etc.

a.Started Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper at 17

1.Published Poor Richard’s Almanac every year

C.Great Awakening – period of Christian revivals and emotional re-awakening

1. Led to rise of many new churches

2. Jonathon Edwards – important minister

D.The Enlightenment – feeling that all problems could be solved by human reason

1. John Locke argued everyone has certain natural rights

2. Locke challenged idea of divine rights (monarchy)

3. Believed that if people had more rights, they had more power – big for government

4. Montesquieu – came up with idea of separation of powers