Colonial Culture and Tension with England

1. Colonial Culture and Tension with England Unit 1, Lesson 5

2. Essential Idea • England and American colonies grew apart culturally and politically over time.

3. Women in the Colonies • Women: • The role of the woman was to raise and educate children and run the household when the husband was absent • Married women were not supposed to work outside the home and were expected to obey husbands • Unmarried women had more rights, such as property ownership

4. Africans in the Colonies • African Slaves: • Initially, colonists justified slavery because Africans were not Christians • Eventually, slavery was based on RACE, and the status could be passed on to CHILDREN • Slave Codes: • These laws emphasized that African slaves were DIFFERENT and created racism • These laws controlled slaves and kept them at a low status • Slaves could not own property, testify against whites, and could not travel or assemble freely • Indentured Servitude, Bacon’s Rebellion, and Racially-Based Slavery

5. Slave Conditions • Slave Conditions: • Slaves worked long days performing hard labor and sometimes were beaten • Slave owners would sometimes break up families by selling off members

6. Slave Resistance • Slave Resistance: • Slaves would work slowly, pretend to be dumb, or run away • Stono Rebellion- in 1739, slaves in South Carolina rebelled against their owners • They killed 21 whites but were caught when they tried to escape to Spanish Florida • Slave Conditions and the Stono Rebellion

7. The Colonies Grow • Birth Rate Increases • In the 1700s, the population in the colonies grew rapidly • Families averaged seven children each, and even more in New England (Northern population grew faster) • The population doubled every 25 years, up to 2.5 million by the American Revolution in 1776 • By 1776, most colonists had been born in America, NOT England

8. The Colonies Grow • Immigration: • By 1776, over 300,000 non-English immigrants had moved to the English colonies • Germans and Dutch moved to the middle colonies • The Scots-Irish, who had been oppressed by England, moved to the western frontier • Africans were brought as slaves, mostly to the Southern colonies

9. Colonial Demographics in 1776

10. Loyalty to England Decline • Impact on Loyalty to England: • By 1776, most people in the colonies had either been born in America or in a country other than England • By 1776, England had passed many laws and committed actions the colonists hated • Respect for England’s authority declined, which helped cause the American Revolution in 1776

11. English/Colonial Economics • Mercantilism: • Idea that a country’s power is tied to its wealth • Colonies provided England with raw materials, making England self-sufficient • England got wealthier because did not have to buy from other countries

13. The Navigation Acts • The Navigation Acts: • These laws exploited the colonies to help England • Colonists could only trade on English ships • England listed several products the colonists could ONLY sell to England

14. Colonies React to the Navigation Acts • Colonial Reaction: • The colonies felt these acts restricted their economies • Colonists smuggled goods to the Caribbean (West Indies), Africa, and other European countries

15. England Tightens its Grip • English King James II merged the New England colonies together and put a governor-general, Sir Edmund Andros, in charge • This new “Dominion of New England” was meant to crack down on smuggling • Andros strictly enforced the Navigation Acts and higher taxes • The colonists’ relationship with England worsened

16. England’s Revolution • Glorious Revolution: • James II and Edmund Andros were both removed from power • England created the English Bill of Rights, allowing free speech, jury trials, and ending “cruel and unusual punishment” • The new English leaders, William and Mary, restored freedom to the colonies • This foreshadowed the American Revolution and the American Bill of Rights • The Navigation Acts and the Glorious Revolution

17. New Ideas: The Enlightenment • Philosophical Movement: • The Enlightenment • The Enlightenment emphasized logic, science, and reasoning (rationalism) • Deism: • Many Enlightenment thinkers were deists • Deists believed God let natural laws run the universe but had no personal relationship with humans

18. Enlightenment Thinkers • John Locke’s Beliefs: • Natural Rights- rights people are born with, including the right to life, liberty, and property. • Compact theory- government exists as a compact with the people in order to protect natural rights • The government rules at the consent of the governed • People should abolish a government that does not protect their natural rights

19. Enlightenment Thinkers • Baron Montesquieu's Beliefs: • Separation of Powers- division of government into three branches—executive, legislative, and judicial • Checks and Balances- the branches “check” each other’s power, preventing a dictatorship

20. The Zenger Case (1733) • Zenger Case: • John Peter Zenger was put on trial for criticizing the New York governor in the newspaper • Zenger was ruled not guilty • This related to government ruling by consent of the governed • This also helped set the precedent of freedom of the press (1st Amendment)

21. New Ideas: The Great Awakening • Religious Movement: • The Great Awakening • Over time, colonists had become less religious • The Great Awakening was a revival of Christianity in the colonies • Emotionalism was emphasized over rationalism and people were converted at large public revival meetings • The movement rejected traditional church authority and stressed a personal connection with God

22. The Great Awakening • Major Preachers: • Jonathan Edwards- called on people to repent or be sent to hell by an angry God • George Whitefield- preached emotional sermons with a booming voice • The Great Awakening

23. The Great Awakening • Impact: • American churches split into two groups • “Old Lights”- churches that maintained traditional authority • “New Lights”-emphasized personal religious experience over traditional church authority

24. Impact of Movements on Colonies • Impact of New Ideas on the Colonies: • The Enlightenment led Americans to feel England had violated their natural rights and the “compact” • The Great Awakening led Americans to question England’s traditional authority • These two movements made Americans prone to consider independence from England in 1776