2.7: Colonial Society and Culture

The Enlightenment

  • Enlightenment: movement in Europe that emphasized rational thinking over tradition and religious revelation

    • Took firm root in the colonies due to print culture

  • Popular figure: John Locke

    • Idea of natural rights

    • Humans, simply by existing, had rights to life, liberty, and property

    • Given to them by a monarch

  • Other figures introduced a 3-branch balanced government

  • Idea of a social contract between government and people

    • Power to govern comes from the people

    • Government must protect people’s natural rights

    • If it failed, people had right to overthrow it

    • Jean Jacques Rousseau

  • Conflict with Bible

    • Mvmt: What is noble comes through senses, and scientific inquiry is authority

    • Bible: What is noble comes from God, and authority comes through revelation by God

  • Enlightenment made Biblical spirits low…

The Great Awakening

  • Preachers lamenting this loss of faith were known as New Light Clergy

    • Some inspired by German pietism

      • Heart > head in spiritual matter

  • Great Awakening: massive religious revival that swept the colonies

Key Figures

  • Jonathan Edwards

    • New England minister and scholar

    • Enlightenment ideas + intense religious fervor

    • Said Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

  • George Whitefield

    • From England

    • Had been part of Methodist revival

    • Message of God’s salvation by grace and Jesus Christ

    • Traveled up and down East Coast preaching EVERYWHERE

Social Consequences

  • New light preachers tended to emphasize democratic tendencies in te Bible

    • Lack of wealth didn’t diminish God’s favor

  • Biblical ballast to resist tyranny of wealthy officials

Politics

  • British Parliament had difficulty governing increasingly complex colonies

    • ^ Population and territory

  • Many colonies formed self-governing structures

    • Participatory town meetings

    • Elected members of legislature

  • Enlightenment → spread ideas of liberty, rights, democratic government

  • Great Awakening → movement that bound American society together, resisting threats to democracy

    • Experiencing an Anglicanization in political communities

Mutual mistrust from impressment

  • Seizing men and forcing them to serve in royal navy

    • Threatening for seamen and men in colonial seaports

  • British thought reasonable for men; ships needed to sail

  • Americans didn’t agree

    • Life aboard British naval ships was dangerous

    • Battle, disease, malnutrition

  • 1747: Britain was fighting King George’s War

    • General impressment of American men

    • At the news, Americans rioted for 3 days

  • Colonists becoming more and more aware of violations to their natural rights

    • Increasingly rebelling