Period 2: 1607-1754, Colonial Period (Chesapeake and New England Colonies)

The Virginian Company

• Joint Stock Company: 

• Profit-driven, ex. Gold, fur-trade, tobacco, etc.

• Religion was not important like in maryland (Chesapeake), Rhode Island (New England), and Massachusetts (New England)

Tobacco

• Cash Crops were easily cultivated in this region

• They were the most profitable cash crop by mid-1700

Transition of Servitude to Slavery in the Chesapeake Region

• Indentured servants played a big role in the Virginia and Massachusetts colony before 1675

• A headright system was used to encourage the importation of indentured servants.

• Slave importation increased significantly in the last quarter of the 1660s.

• In the Virginia colony, slaves replaced indentured servants in tobacco fields.

Bacon’s Rebellion, 1676

• This was a struggle between the tidewater gentry and the backcountry (The established vs former indentured who wanted land. Aka Have's v. Have Not's)

• Planters began to use more slaves over indentured servants because of uprisings like Bacon's.

Growth of Plantation Economies and Slave Societies

• Tobacco and costs led to the emergence of the slave trade.

• By 1700 all colonies legalized slavery

• African Americans brought over their cultural practices.

• Rice and Indigo were important to South Carolina during the mid 1700s

• Stono Rebellion, 1739: A slave uprising in which the slaves were to escape to Florida (The Spanish promised that if they made it they would be granted freedom. However, the majority of slaves never made it as they were caught by the militia.

Key Facts about the Puritans

• They came to New England to escape political and religious persecution, they also left because of an economic recession.

• John Winthrop was their leader, they came over mainly in family units (Since they came to settle permanently)

• They lived in small villages surrounded by farmland.

• They had a close relationship between the church & state.

• They believed in a trained educated ministry, which created both Harvard & Yale College.

“A City Upon a Hill”

• Winthrop called for a model Christian society, known as the "city upon a hill"

• It’s mission: to build an ideal Christian society.

• Had a strict code of moral conduct: banned the theater (They believed that if you had time for entertainment then you had time for church).

The Puritans and Religious Freedom

• They were hypocritical: They left England to escape religious persecution, but they were not religiously tolerant.

• Anne Hutchinson & Roger Williams both questioned the church and were banished.

Anne Hutchinson

• She challenged religious doctrine & gender roles.

• She challenged clerical authority & claimed she had revelations from God.

• She was banished to Rhode Island for these ‘revelations’, eventually settling in New York and later being killed by Native Americans.

Roger Williams

• He founded Rhode Island

• He advanced religious toleration & freedom of thought.

• He believed that the state was an improper & ineffectual agency in matters of spirit.

The Half-Way Covenant

• As the religious zeal began to diminish, the church eased requirements by allowing the baptism of the children of the baptized, but unconverted Puritans.

The First Great Awakening

• Key Points: This was a wave of religious revivals beginning in New England in the 1730's, which swept across the colonies during the 1740's.

• New Light ministers advocated for an emotional approach, weakening the Old Light ministers and their established churches.

• New Light Ministers: Created & promoted Princeton, worked to convert African Slaves, and led to a greater appreciation for the emotional experiences of faith. They divided the Congregational and Presbyterian churches, but increased diversity and led to an increased number of women attending church congregations.

Pennsylvania (Founding)

• This was founded by William Penn

• This was a liberal colony, which had a representative assembly elected by the landowners (Landowners had more power than those who didn’t)

• This included freedom of religion with no state supported church

Quakers

• These were pacifists who refused to bear arms.

• They believed in freedom of worship and allowed women for roles in church services.

• They opposed slavery and were among America's 1st abolitionists.

Key Features of the Colonial Societies on the Eve of Revolution

• Northern Merchants and Southern Planters amassed great wealth. There was no hereditary aristocracy (They did not like the idea of getting rich from other people’s hard work as this was against the protestant’s work ethic)

• Scotch Irish and German immigrant numbers increased and moved into Appalachia.

• The 13 colonies were religiously diverse. Religious pluralism meant Protestantism was not the dominant denomination.

• Slavery was accepted as a labor system.

• Cities functioned primarily as mercantile centers, colonial cities collected agricultural goods and distributed manufactured goods.

Irish vs. Germans

• Irish: Mainly came as singles, came to northern cities, tended to be poor, formed close-knit communities, and they were Catholic, so they were persecuted more.

• Germans: They came in family units, they bought land and became farmers, they were more rich than the Irish, and they formed close-knit communities.

Mercantilism and Navigation Acts

• Mercantilism was the economic philosophy of England.

• Mercantilism’s goal was to create an equal balance of trade: Colonies would export raw materials and import finished goods.

• The goal of mercantilism was to protect England's industries and prosperity.

• The Navigation Acts were a part of mercantilism, which listed products that were to be shipped only to England.

• The Navigation Acts kept the colonial economy subordinate to England's economy.

• The colonists took advantage of the British policy of Salutary neglect and worked out agreements with other countries to get the good they needed.

Women in Colonial America

• Women usually lost control of their property when they married.

• Women had no separate identity apart from their husbands.

• Single women and widows had a right to own property.

Republican Government/Republicanism

• They believed that the government should be based on the consent of the governed.

• They were inspired by 18th century American revolutionaries.

• Key Principals: Sovereignty comes from the people, Representation is based on population, and the government is responsible to the people, private ownership of property is important, standing armies should be avoided, and that agrarian life is both desirable and virtuous.

Colonial Literature

• Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672), a poet and the 1st woman to be published in colonies.

• Phyllis Wheatley (1753-1784), an African American poet who helped create African American literature.