Overview: Life in the 13 Colonies before the Revolution

1. Overview: Life in the 13 Colonies before the Revolution

4. By 1700, most colonies relied on agriculture to prosper. • Many significant towns appeared: • New York • Philadelphia • Boston • Charleston • The colonies were a major contributor to the wealth and prosperity of the British empire; • They were an integral part of the Atlantic trade economy; • Colonies faced steady immigration, making them an increasingly diverse society

5. TRADE AND ECONOMY • The colonies profited from their relationship with the British empire, and Britain’s prosperity depended on the colonies, through MERCANTILISM.

6. WHAT IS MERCANTILISM? • An economic theory and system that advocated the establishment of colonies to provide raw materials and markets for the mother country. • The idea behind it was that a nation’s power was directly related to its wealth • Success of this system depended on the heavy government regulation of economic activity in the colonies, which would later become a major source of tension and conflict.

8. As the colonies flourished, they became increasingly important markets for the manufactured goods from Britain. • the advantage to this was that both Britain and the colonies could be come a self-sufficient empire. • The PROBLEM with this was that the colonies might develop trading patterns that did not depend on Britain. • Britain needed to prevent its colonies from trading with other nations to maintain a balance of trade.

9. Balance of Trade = a goal of mercantilism; • the colonists could supply raw materials to Britain and could buy British goods • Britain only wanted certain American products, such as fur and timber. • Colonists produced other products like wheat and fish that the British did not want. • Problem: colonists often could get higher prices for their goods from the French, Spanish, or Dutch. • Problem: any goods imported to the colonies had to go through Britain first, and colonists were forced to pay import taxes. • SOLUTION: Britain passed the Navigation Acts.

10. The colonies were a source of: • Fish and meat (New England); • Grain, meat and dairy products (middle colonies of Pennsylvania and New York); • Tobacco and grain (Virginia); • Rice and indigo (southern colonies). for Britain. • Britain only wanted certain American products, however the colonists produced other products that the British did not want.

11. THE NAVIGATION ACTS (1751) • A series of British laws passed to control colonial trade • Provisions: • Only British ships with British crews could take goods to Britain. • Prevented inter-colonial trade (trade between the colonies) by limited the products that could be shipped to Britain or British colonies; • All shipments to colonies had to go through Britain, resulting in customs duties. These duties would make the goods more expensive than British goods, and therefore not worth buying. • Merchants had to pay a tax on certain goods; tax collectors were sent to the colonies. • These acts appear to penalize the colonies, however: • Not all goods were subject to customs duties, only the “important” ones. These were called “enumerated articles”, such as sugar, tobacco, furs, naval stores, cotton, indigo, etc. • The colonies actually benefitted from the acts because they gave them a reliable and protected market for their exports. • The acts were not always strictly enforced – the British ruled by a policy called SALUTARY NEGLECT, whereby the British government chose to interfere very little in colonial affairs which effectively encouraged economic growth.

13. THE NAVIGATION ACTS - Effects • Effects: • Increased English profits, but also increased law enforcement in America • Lumber and shipbuilding business was up in the colonies; England needed more ships for trade. • Many colonists ignored the laws and smuggled. • New England colonists did not want to be governed in such a way that it hurt their own economies. • Their industries began to compete with those in England.

14. How was Slavery Introduced to the Colonies? • In 1619, the first recorded introduction of African slaves into what would become the United States was in the settlement of Jamestown……Only 20 slaves were purchased…. • Indentured Servants • Indentured servants became the first means to meet the need for labor. • In return for free passage to Virginia, a laborer worked for four to five years in the fields before being granted freedom. • The Crown rewarded planters with 50 acres of land for every inhabitant they brought to the New World. • Naturally, the colony began to expand. • Slaves were cheaper, so plantation owners turned away from indentured servants to slavery.

16. SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES • Contributed the most to the prosperity of the Atlantic economy. • Was essential to the cultivation of tobacco, rice, indigo, and sugar in the Caribbean and southern colonies. • Because of their value as an investment by the plantation owners, politicians ensured that laws governing the ownership and treatment of slaves were codified. • Major component of an economic system called “TRIANGULAR TRADE”

17. Triangular Trade • First leg of triangle, ships carrying European goods to Africa to be exchanged for slaves • Second leg, Middle Passage, brought Africans to Americas to be sold • Third leg carried American products to Europe

22. Government in the Colonies • The Dominion of New England, 1686 • King James created a supercolony of New England, New York, and New Jersey • Revoked all the state charters due to "non-English pracitces. • Sir Edmund Andros was governor. • He wanted colonial charters returned. • There was no elected assembly. • Andros enforced Navigation Acts • In 1688 the “Glorious Revolution” takes place, and the monarchy in Britain changes. • The new monarchy accept the English Bill of Rights which limits their power. • 1689: Dominion of New England overthrown, Andros is imprisoned. • In 1643 several colonies joined forces in the United Colonies of New England. • The monarchs and their officials made most colonial policy. • In 1660, the monarchy restored its power over the following colonies, making them royal colonies: • Carolina • Georgia • New York • New Jersey, • Pennsylvania • Delaware • When war with Spain broke out, colonial governments gained some independence. • Salutary neglect: referred to the fact that many English officials made colonial policies, but they did not rule the colonies very strictly.

23. Colonial Governments in 1700s • Local governments more influential in colonists’ lives • Colonial assemblies were bicameral like Parliament. • Governor’s council was the upper house. • Elected Assembly was lower house like Parliament. • Each colony had a governor. • 1775: 8 colonies had royal governors, 3 under proprietors (MD, PA, DE), and 2 under self-governing charters (CT, RI) • Used bicameral legislatures – upper house (council) chosen by king, lower house by elections • Self-taxation through elected legislatures was highly valued • Conflicts between Governors & colonial assemblies: withheld governor’s salary to get what they wanted, had power of purse

24. The Great Awakening (1740s) • The Great Awakening was a spiritual renewal that swept the American Colonies, particularly New England, during the first half of the 18th Century.  It began in England.  • The Awakening's biggest significance was the way it prepared America for its War of Independence.  • In the decades before the war, revivalism taught people that they could be bold when confronting religious authority, and that when churches weren't living up to the believers' expectations, the people could break off and form new ones.  • Through the Awakening, the Colonists realized that religious power resided in their own hands, rather than in the hands of the Church of England, or any other religious authority.  • After a generation or two passed with this kind of mindset, the Colonists came to realize that political power did not reside in the hands of the English monarch, but in their own will for self-governance

25. Problems Faced by the New Colonies Relationship with Native Americans led to problems with France French settlers along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers were a threat to the colonies • The British economy was based on agriculture, consequently the colonists/merchants needed land and they proceeded to clear native land for farming; • The Natives were a threat to the colonies because they had the support and weapons of the French; • New France’s economy was based on fur trading, not agriculture, and they established trading partnerships with the Natives. • In 1682, the explorer La Salle, sailed down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico and claimed the Mississippi Valley to be called “Louisiana”, in honour of King Louis XIV of France. • Louis wanted to build a chain of forts along these rivers to enable the French to trade with the Natives and control the entire continent. This plan would prevent the British from being able to expand west.

26. War with France becomes inevitable • For decades France and Britain engaged in a battle for supremacy in North America, with a series of wars punctuated by periodic truces. • The fight for control of North America had 2 phases: • 1689-1713: King William’s War and Queen Anne’s War • By the end of this phase, Britain had gained Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Hudson’s Bay Territory • 1742 – 1763: King George’s War (1742-48) and the French and Indian War , or Seven Years’ War (1754-1763) • In addition to Europe and North America, the British and French fought in India, West Africa, and the Caribbean.

28. The Albany Plan of Union • The main goal of the Americans was to end the Native raids on their colonies and open the Ohio River Valley to settlement. • In June 1754, representatives from 7 northern colonies met with representatives of the Iroquois nations to persuade the Iroquois to ally with the British against the French. • Many delegates, including one Benjamin Franklin, hoped to create a union of the colonies • Called their plan the Albany Plan of Union, the intent of which was to form a council with the power to levy taxes, raise troops and regulate trade. • British officials realized that, if adopted, the plan could create a very powerful government that His Majesty's Government might not be able to control. • The plan was rejected by the Crown and by the legislatures in several of the colonies. • As a result, individual colonies asserted separate claims in the Ohio River Valley and organized their own military expeditions and settlements.

29. by Benjamin FranklinCartoon in the Pennsylvania GazetteMay 9, 1754 This cartoon shows a snake cut into eight pieces, each labelled with the name of one of the colonies. The position of each colony in the snake corresponds to the geographic position of the colonies along the American coast, with the snake's tail pointing south and the head pointing north. The colonies, from tail to head (south to north), are: South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and New England (New England referred to the colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire). The caption reads, "JOIN, or DIE."