UNITED STATES HISTORYUNIT 2: THE AMERICAN COLONIES

Life in the Colonies

Education in the Colonies

Greater emphasis on education in New England. Puritans founded Harvard College in 1636 and were the first to require tax-supported public education with the “Old Deluder Satan” Act of 1647.

In the Middle Colonies families and churches started private schools for those who could afford tuition.

In the Southern Colonies, wealthy Southerners hired private tutors to teach their children at home. The poor rarely received any formal education.

William & Mary College (1693)

Religion in the Colonies

Massachusetts Bay known as the “Bible Commonwealth”

Pennsylvania was founded by? The vast majority of American

colonists were deeply religious and worked to maintain their churches.

On the frontier, people would often travel for miles to attend services.

The Great Awakening Overview

Religion in the Colonies

The Great Awakening (1740-1750) was one of the first national events in colonial history. It worked to promote religious toleration and acceptance; all were welcome to attend revival services.

It made people responsible for their individual salvation.

It also worked to promote democratic ideals. Why?

Preachers George Whitefield (Philadelphia to Savanna) and Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God swept audiences off their feet and won many souls over to Jesus Christ.

Women in the Colonies

Unmarried women were recruited by the London Company and husbands paid for voyage upon marriage.

They also came as indentured servants.

Marriage was more for practical reasons than romance.

American men treated women better and with more respect than European men.

Women in the Colonies

Married women were often not permitted to own property, they couldn’t vote, and divorce was next to impossible.

Women were the “Jills-of-all-trades!” They often learned to use guns and run

the family farm out of necessity – this was virtually impossible for women in Europe.

Martha Dandridge Custis was one of the wealthiest women in the Colonies as she inherited much land while in her 20s when her husband died. She would later become famous through her second marriage. Who did she marry?

Life on the Frontier

1750 – an est.1.2 million people lived in the 13 colonies. By 1770 it was 2.1 million!

The frontier had reached the eastern slopes and valleys of the Appalachian Mts.

Conflicts existed over land (Mason-Dixon Line-1760s), Easterners vs. Western Frontiersmen, representation in the legislatures, and local politics.

Life on the frontier was hard and dangerous.

What famous frontiersmen blazed the trail into KY?

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

Virginia settlers killed 24 Susquehanna Indians in a retaliatory attack. The Indians then killed 36 settlers.

Nathaniel Bacon, a tobacco farmer, raised a volunteer militia and wiped out an Occaneechi settlement that had no part in the rebellion.

Governor Wm. Berkley ordered him to put down arms and he marched on Jamestown, burned the town, and drove the governor out.

When Bacon died in Oct. 1676, the rebellion collapsed.

Was Bacon a hero or villain? There had not been an election for seats in

the House of Burgesses for 15 years and Governor Berkley had an interest in the fur trade.

Scenes of Life in the Colonies

Vocabulary

Rights Magna Carta Parliament English Bill of Rights

Exit Slip – Life in the Colonies

1. The first colonists to require tax-funded public schools for communities with at least 100 people were the __________.

A. Quakers B. Puritans C. Dutch D. New Yorkers

2. The religious movement that helped promote democracy and religious tolerance while encouraging the individual to be more responsible for his or her salvation was called the

A. Great Awakening. B. Great Schism. C. Starving Time. D. Reformation.

3. Which of the following could married women usually Not do in the colonies?

A. get a divorce B. own property C. work on the farm D. vote

4. Who did Virginia colonist Nathanial Bacon rebel against in 1676?

A. tobacco farmers B. wealthy merchants C. slave owners

D. the governor and House of Burgesses