Key Aspects of Colonial Life and Thought

1. Key Aspects of Colonial Life and Thought 1730-1776

2. The Stono Rebellion, 1739 • What happened? • Took place near the Stono River in South Carolina • Began when about 20 enslaved Africans killed two storekeepers and seized a supply of guns and ammunition • Rebels gathered new recruits and burned seven plantations killing 22-25 whites • Local militia finally suppressed the rebellion following a battle in which 20 whites and 44 slaves were killed

3. The Stono Rebellion, 1739 • What caused the Stono Rebellion? • Slaves were majority of SC’s population • They hoped to reach Spanish-controlled Florida where they would gain their freedom • Why should you remember the Stono Rebellion? • The SC legislature enacted strict laws prohibiting slaves from assembling in groups, earning money, and learning to read • The rebellion highlighted the growing tensions in colonial society between slaves and their owners

4. The Halfway Covenant • The first Puritans wanted a model community with a strict moral code • Churches only accepted persons who could show they were among God’s “elect” • As Puritan communities became increasingly prosperous, the focus moved away from religion • As a result, fewer adults could provide testimony to their own “election” • Halfway Covenant • Designed to respond to the decline of religious zeal among second generation Puritans • Eased requirements for church membership by allowing the baptism of children whose parents could not provide testimony of their own “election” Grandparent Baptized and “Elect” Parent • Baptized Child • Baptized and ?

5. The Great Awakening • What happened? • A wave of religious revivals began in New England in the mid-1730s • Revivals swept across all of the colonies during the 1740s • What caused the Great Awakening? • People became preoccupied with earning and spending money, not religion • By the 1730s, ministers were worried about religious decline • “Old Lights” • Puritan ministers who continued their long intellectual sermons

6. The Great Awakening • What caused the Great Awakening (continued)? • “New Lights” • Jonathan Edwards • Provided initial spark for the movement • Delivered emotional sermons warning sinners to repent • George Whitefield • Spread “New Light” fervor as he preached emotional sermons to huge crowds • Gripped by fear of divine justice, audiences from every colony promised to repent and accept Christ • “New Light” ministers stressed that individuals could attain salvation only by first experiencing a “new birth”—a sudden, emotional moment of conversion and salvation

7. The Great Awakening • Why should you remember the Great Awakening? • Led to a decline in the power of traditional “Old Light” Puritan ministers • Split the Presbyterian and Congregational (Puritan) churches into “New Light” factions that supported the Great Awakening and “Old Light” factions that opposed it • Fragmented American Protestants promoting religious pluralism and toleration • Encouraged missionary work among Native Americans and slaves • More itinerant (wandering) ministers • More women in church congregations • “New Light” colleges founded – Princeton, Rutgers, Dartmouth, Brown, and Columbia

8. Mercantilism • Britain adopted mercantilism as their economic policy • Britain acquired wealth, and thus power, by having a favorable balance of trade • Colonies existed to supply raw materials to Britain and to purchase manufactured goods from Britain

9. Mercantilism • Navigation Acts • Passed by Parliament to implement its mercantilist philosophy • Regulated colonial shipping • Certain items can only be shipped to England • Required that all colonial items be routed through English ports • Must use British or colonial vessels • Mercantilism impeded the growth of colonial manufacturing • Salutary Neglect • Navigation laws were not rigorously enforced prior to 1763 • During this period of neglect, colonists learned to work around the laws

10. Women in Colonial America • A married woman had no legal identity apart from her husband • Lost control of her property when she married • Women could own property if they were single • Women could not • Vote • Hold political office • Serve on juries or become ministers • Women comprised a majority in many New England church congregations

11. Key Colonial Authors • Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) • First published American poet • First woman to be published in colonial America • PhillisWheatly (1753-1784) • First notable African American poet • Holds distinction of being the first African American woman whose writing was published

12. Key Colonial Authors • Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) • Founded an academy that became the University of Pennsylvania • Conducted experiments with electricity • Published popular books • At 27, Franklin published Poor Richard’s Almanack • Weather forecasts • Practical household advice • Common sense sayings on success and happiness • As he got older, Franklin wrote an autobiography addressed to his son William • He was a self-made individual • Proudly noted that he “emerged from the poverty and obscurity in which I was born and bred, to a state of affluence and some degree of reputation in the world”

13. Benjamin Franklin Questions • Judging from what you have learned about Ben Franklin, how would you describe his mind? • Which of his inventions and discoveries do you think had the most impact? • How does the creation of scholarly organizations reflect the philosophy of the European Enlightenment? • How did this American Enlightenment differ from the one in Europe? • What groups of people would be most likely to adopt the ideas of the Enlightenment?