Colonial Society on Eve of Revolution: Chapter 5

1. Colonial Society on Eve of Revolution: Chapter 5 The Colonies, circa 1750

2. Life in the South • Short life expectancy • Disease-ravaged environment • Almost no grandparents, few adult parents • Scarce number of women • 6 to 1 in 1650 • Those there had more property rights • Weak family ties • Mono-generational • Continue to grow • By 1700, Virginia was the most populous colony (followed by Maryland)

3. Labor in the South • Tobacco crop required laborers • Indians died off too quickly • Turned to indentured servants using the “head-right system” • 1618 • Whoever paid for the passage of a laborer received the right to acquire 50 acres per person • 100,000 “white slaves” in the Chesapeake by 1700 • Majority of land in the hands of a few • No chance for incoming poor farmers to get land

4. The Institution of Slavery • Began for economic purposes • Slave laws permanently institutionalized slavery in American society • Some colonies made it a crime to teach slaves to read and write. • 1661, Virginia—Children automatically inherit their mother’s slave status for life. • 1664, Maryland—Baptism does not affect slave status & white women cannot marry black men. • The overall affect: blacks become social inferiors, racism & slavery become an integral part of colonial society • Creation of a racially hierarchical society in the South

5. Life for Slaves • Most brutal in the deep South • Rice & Indigo / Spread out • Tobacco was less physically demanding • Closer communities and families • Slaves begun to be born in the colonies

6. Life in the North • Longer life expectancy • Clean water and cooler temperatures • No hard labor like in the South • Added 10 years to their life span • Early marriage and childbearing • Average: 8 children! • Strong family ties • Obedience and guidance • Strong and active communities • Heavy emphasis on education

7. Labor in the North • Rocky soil forced them to trade • Shipbuilders • Codfish • Fur

8. Religion in the North • Religious zeal waned from the first generation. • Decline in conversions • Half-Way Covenant • Admit baptism, but not full communion, to children of existing members • Weaken the distinction between the elect and others

9. Witch Trials • Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 • 20 people were hanged (more died in jail) • Witch hunts • Often property owning women • Superstitions and prejudices • Fear of movements away from original Puritan goals

10. Colonial Society

11. Life in the Colonies • Self-government • Social mobility • Religious toleration • Colonists lived in abundance compared to their European peers. • Land was cheap, but passage cost money – most colonists were the middle class. • Population was beginning to grow more quickly

12. Members of Society • Some merchant “princes” & plantation owners • Mostly small farm owners • Clerics • Tradespeople • Physicians & Jurists not respected professions • Tenant farmers or wage laborers • Indentured servants • The poor – public charity • Ex-convicts • Slaves

13. Colonial Religion • Dominance of Protestant Religions • Two “established” denominations: Anglican (South) & Congregations Church (MA, CT) • supported by taxes • EVERYONE pays, regardless of faith • policies changed by time of Revolution • Other denominations: Presbyterians, Dutch-Reform, Lutherans, Mennonites, and Quakers • Churchgoers complained about boring sermons and too much “hell & brim fire”

14. Great Awakening

15. Movement of fervent expressions of religious feeling among masses of people Strongest in the 1730s and 1740s Initiated by Jonathan Edwards of Northampton, MA God is angry with human sinfulness, express penitence or eternal damnation Expanded by George Whitefield all over colonies in barns, tents, fields audiences up to 10,000 God is all-powerful, save only those who openly state belief in Jesus, send everyone else to hell Ordinary people with sincere faith didn’t need ministers The Great Awakening

16. RELIGION Emotionalism common in services Ministers lose authority among people who now study Bible at home New Lights (supporters): Baptists, Methodists Old Lights traditionalists Causes diversity & competition Founding of new colleges POLITICS Affects all classes and sections Experience shared by all American colonists, regardless of origin Changes how people view authority in general Effects of the Great Awakening

17. Colonial Education

18. The Colonial Press • Primary means of communication in the colonies, along with postal service • 1725—5 newspapers • 1776—40 newspapers • Typically included • European news (1 month late) • Ads for goods, services, return of runaway slaves • Essays giving advice for better living • Few illustrations • First cartoon in Philadelphia Gazette by editor Ben Franklin

19. The Zenger Case • Zenger’s lawyer argues that what he wrote was true, so it can’t be libel • English law says it doesn’t matter if it’s true or not • Jury acquits Zenger anyway • Not total freedom of the press, but newspapers now took greater risks in criticism of political figures. • John Peter Zenger, a New York publisher charged with libel against the colonial governor

20. Political Backdrop of Revolution • All colonies had bicameral legislatures • Lower House Elected • Voted on taxation (with representation—get it?) • Governors/Upper Houses chosen differently • 8 colonies (NH, MA, NY, NJ, VA, NC, SC) chosen by the crown • 3 (MD, PA, DE) appointed by proprietors • 2 (CT, RI) had elected governors • Local Government most important to people • New England: Town meetings • South: Sheriff/county administrators

21. Summary Comparison

22. http://www.ambrosevideo.com/resources/docs/112.JPG • http://www.english.upenn.edu/~bushnell/english-330/materials/introduction/elizabeth_1-g2.jpeg • http://www.millikin.edu/history/religiousviolence/images/jamestown.jpg • http://www.lewiscountyherald.com/tobacco.jpg • http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/res/smith1.jpeg • http://library.yale.edu/MapColl/britain.GIF • http://www.culturalresources.com/images/LordBaltimore.jpg • http://www.etsu.edu/cas/history/resources/Private/Faculty/Fac_To1877ChapterDocFiles/ChapterImages/Ch3hooker.jpg • http://www.poorwilliam.net/pix/salem-witch.jpg • http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/garraty8e_awl/medialib/animaps/04popul.html