Colonial Folkways

1. Colonial Folkways The Coming of the Age of Revolution

2. Focus Question • What do people mean with the phrase “unintended consequences”?

3. Religious roots of education • Grew from Protestant Reformation • Puritan institution • “Old Deluder Satan” law • Saw growth of the first college in the colonies • Harvard 1636 New England long took a lead in education

4. Slow Collapse of Puritan Structure • Puritans dispersed throughout New England • Saw influx of many non-Puritans • Difficulty in maintaining political control • “Half-Way Covenant” • Salem Witch Trials

5. Trends of the 18th Century • Colonial America was caught up in two great trends • Great Awakening • The Enlightenment • Trends helped propel the colonies to separation, though few saw it at the time.

6. Religious Revival • 1740s were a period of religious revival • Older churches seemed stale and moribund • Seemed separate from everyday life • Public found a need for change

7. Great Awakening • Wave of religious revivals throughout the colonies • Growth of a simple, personalized faith • Driven by itinerant ministers • Saw a growth in “New Light” faiths • Helped the push for religious toleration • Stressed democratic forms • Stressed role of community

8. The Enlightenment • Movement built on Reason • Shed superstition in the face of Reason and logic • Embrace science rather than tradition • Applied reason to ideas of government (Locke)

9. Additional Trends • Colonies saw a population boom • 1700 population -- 300,000 • 1775 population – 2.5 million • Growth due to childbirth, not immigration • Population doubling every 25 years • Average age of a colonist was 16

10. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?