Chapter 5 - Colonial “American” Society
Proprietors
- ^^If colonists were friends of the King or did exceptional service, they were given large tracts of land in the New World^^
- Social reformers created sanctuaries for religious minorities (Quakers + Catholics)
- Settlements created gov’ts + attracted colonists
- Private property rights
Coastal Plain
- Stretched from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean
- Contained fertile soil + rivers
Geographical Mobility
- Freedom of westward movement
- ^^Once indentured servants completed their contracts, they moved west for their own land^^
- Many indentured servants escaped before end of contract
- Huge opportunity to climb social ladder + get rich with hard work
Social Mobility
- Fluid social ladder
- With geographical mobility + colonists’ intelligence, they were given many opportunities to prosper
- However, if mistakes were made, fortunes could be reversed quickly
Demographics
- Study of populations
- ^^Rapid growth during colonial era^^
- Ethnic blend of colonists (60% English)
- Young, mostly male, rural
Capital
- Crucial to grow American society
- London banks + joint-stock companies established American economic networks
Diversified Economy
- 1700 - Settlements mostly concentrated in middle colonies + New England
- ^^Prevented unhealthy dependence on cash-crop economy^^
- Economy consisted of furs, lumber, fish + whales, shipping
- Flexibility to market trends
Middle Passage
- Expanded colonial American economy
- Trading in the African slave market resulted in traffic across Atlantic Ocean
- Slave ships had very bad conditions + high death rate among slaves
Cash-Crop Economy
- Middle colonies mostly grew grain
- ^^1614 - Southern colonies committed to cash crops (tobacco, sugar, indigo, rice)^^
- High dependence on chattel slavery
- Uncooperative climate, little flexibility, market prices
- CANNOT DIVERSIFY!
- Northern colonies had more capital
Triangular Trade
- 1632 - Provided licenses to transport African slaves
- New England merchants built ships with lumber
- Raw materials from Boston, New York, Baltimore were sold in England or traded for slaves
- Slaves from Africa were brought to the Caribbean
- Molasses from Caribbean was sold in Boston for rum
- Benefited North (South depended on North)
Soil Depletion
- Because tobacco + corn strip nitrogen from soil, it lost its fertility quickly
- ^^Colonists needed to clear more and more land to farm, resulting in conflicts w/ Native Americans^^
- Legumes (alfalfa, clover, beans, peas) fix nitrogen into soil + helped restore it
- Modern fertilizers
Franchise
- Right to vote
- Required land ownership
- Higher % of males can vote in America than England
Anglican Church
- Church of England founded by Henry VIII
- ^^Because of the English Reformation, Protestantism increased in England^^
- Composed of Loyal Anglicans dedicated to Roman Catholicism
- America was influenced by religious orthodoxy
- After changing its name to Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church’s power decreased
High Church vs. Low Church
- Liturgy was a style of worship
- The Anglican Church was a High Church that ritualized worship
- Puritans + evangelicals believed in simpler worship (preaching + singing) + egalitarian practices
Congregational Church
- ^^Descended from original Puritan churches^^
- Believed in self-gov’t apart from influence of Anglican Church
Acts of Toleration
- Passed in 1649
- When the number of Protestants increased, the Acts of Toleration were passed
- Religious toleration led to higher diversity + less religious conflict
- Path to complete religious liberty
Half-Way Covenant
- 1662
- Compromise in Puritan churches
- ^^Even if believers wanted church membership BUT lacked faith, they were still able to join church^^
- Resulted in churches filled with unbelievers
Jeremiad
- Puritan ministers modeled after Jeremiah
- Warned against worldliness of New England society
Scots-Irish
- Presbyterian Scots fled persecution to Ireland
- ^^1717 - Migrated to + welcomed into American colonies^^
- Independent-minded + disliked Anglicans and revolutionaries
- Settled in Appalachian Mts.
Germans
- Because there were German kings on English throne + English is Germanic language, they were easily assimilated into colonies
- “Pennsylvania Dutch” in Western Pennsylvania
First Great Awakening
- Declining devotion to God
- Revival of Christianity
- ^^Widespread conversions + missionary activity among Native Americans^^
- 1730s-1740s
- 1st unifying event among colonists
Arminianism
- Counterpoint to Calvinism
- Man’s free will, not divine decree, is key to salvation
- Became more and more popular
Jonathan Edwards
- ^^Huge influence in 1st Great Awakening^^
- 1737 - Publishes book during 1st Great Awakening
- “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
- Believed in rationality of faith + philosophy, mysticism
- Missionary work of Native Americans, writing, Princeton University
George Whitefield
- Arrived in America to preach in 1738
- Huge influence in 1st Great Awakening
- Evangelical + Calvinist Anglican
- Urban + open-air gatherings
- Popular
BIG PICTURE
Natural resources, geographical space, advantageous climate → American prosperity
Poor people found opportunities in America
Diversified Northern economy surpassed agrarian Southern economy
2 intertwined colonial economies → War b/w Britain + America
Religious society w/ religious diversity + religious experiments
Georgia
- Founded by James Oglethorpe
- Provide defense against encroaching Spanish
- Penal colony
Mercantilism
- Backbone of British empire
- Exclusionary - Only British ships + no foreign competition
- Challenged by colonists → Groundwork for Revolution