Colonial America (17th-18th centuries)

Colonial America (17th-18th centuries)

Education in Colonial North America

• Informal Education:

  • Predominantly informal on the colonial frontier.

  • Parents held the responsibility to educate children in community manners and morals.

• Dame Schools:

  • Established in more developed settlements for formal instruction.

  • Children often sent to these schools as young as three years old.

  • Focused on basics known as the "three Rs" (reading, writing, arithmetic).

  • Classes were held in the home of schoolmistresses, who also managed household duties.

• Educational Cessation:

  • Education generally ceased when children reached an age to help at home or in fields.

  • Reading received the greatest emphasis, particularly for boys.

• Female Literacy Rates:

  • Remarkably stagnant, around 33% for rural women throughout this period.

  • Education of girls considered less essential compared to boys.

  • Example of an educational approach for girls from a newspaper:

  • "Teach her what's useful, how to shun deluding; To roast, to toast, to boil and mix a pudding; To knit, to spin, to sew, to make or mend; To scrub, to rub, to earn & not to spend."

• Parental Affection:

  • Differences in demonstrations of affection noted compared to modern expressions.

  • Frontier Puritans viewed children as inherently willful, needing correction.

  • Educational experiences tied to scripture often incited fear, as illustrated by Samuel Sewall:

  • "Betty can hardly read her chapter for weeping… afraid she is gone back."

• Bible Reading for Women:

  • Women often taught to read for personal and familial religious instruction.

  • Many women indentured early were promised reading lessons, yet writing instruction was less likely.

• Fathers’ Responsibilities:

  • Cited as primary educators, fathers held ultimate authority over children's education.

  • Issac Norris remarked on the education of his daughters in a manner suggesting joy in their development.

• Quaker Educational Approach:

  • Emphasized child-centered households; preferred nurturing over punitive measures.

  • Parents encouraged reasoning over fear, as reflected in William Penn's advice to parents.

• Dutch Educational Practices:

  • Noted for a more emotionally supportive environment.

  • Anne Grant's observations indicated a nurturing and fun approach to child-caring.

  • Women's roles emphasized in religious instruction of children.

• Reform Movements for Native Americans:

  • Settlers perceived Native Americans' intellect and emotional states similarly to those of children.

  • Education efforts aimed at "improving" Native American minds initiated after the French and Indian War.

  • Reverend Eleazer Wheelock founded a school for Native Americans in 1769, leading to the establishment of Dartmouth College.

  • Iroquois resistance noted; Mary Jemison reflected on the ongoing cultural identity of educated Native American youths.

Language & Literature in Colonial North America

• Diversity of Native American Languages:

  • No unified set of characteristics could classify Native Americans; commonality assessed through language.

  • Two major linguistic stocks in Northeastern North America:

  • Algonquian

  • Iroquoian

  • In Southeastern woodlands, multiple languages spoken with the Muskhogean tongue as the most common.

  • Other regional languages include:

  • Siounan (e.g., Sioux, Winnebago)

  • Caddo (in Arkansas and Louisiana)

  • Iroquoian Tongue (of Cherokee and Tuscarora).

• Literacy Rates Among Colonists:

  • New England Puritans notably literate; anecdotes exist about illiteracy rates among frontier settlers.

  • Research indicates male literacy rates in the 17th century were about 50%, increased to 65% by the early 18th century.

  • Literacy Definitions:

  • Defined by the ability to sign one’s name; related to reading skills but distinct.

  • Variation in literacy correlated with wealth, social class, and ethnicity, with German Protestants and French Huguenots exhibiting high literacy (90%).

  • The prevalence of books as an indicator of literacy noted; libraries usually contained practical readings alongside religious texts.

  • The Bible frequently remained the most common text found.

• Captivity Narratives:

  • Renowned literary genre among colonists.

  • Captain John Smith’s General Historie (1624) provided distorted insight into Native American culture for a European audience.

  • Focusing on Christian women, many narratives became spiritual autobiographies illustrating battles of faith and survival, such as Elizabeth Hanson’s God's Mercy Surmounting Man's Cruelty (1728).

  • By the mid-18th century, narratives shifted toward secular retellings of extraordinary experiences, often weaponizing narratives against perceived enemies.

  • The threat of obscurity and extinction loomed over Native American languages in the evolving literary landscape.