C4: Growth, Diversity, and Conflict, 1720–1763: Study Notes
Growth, Diversity, and Conflict, 1720–1763: Detailed Study Notes
Overview: Big ideas and context
Identify the big idea: Britain’s American colonies were deeply reshaped by transatlantic events, with a population boom due to European migration and enslaved African arrivals, social and ethnic diversification, religious and intellectual ferment (Enlightenment and Pietism), and frequent conflicts with Indigenous peoples and European powers. The result was a generation of rapid growth, wars, and the seeds of new American identities and tensions.
Population and migration: From ~4 imes 10^5 (400,000) in 1720 to nearly 2 imes 10^6 (2,000,000) by 1765, spurred by Highland Scots, Scots-Irish, Germans, and others.
Enslaved Africans: Arrival of roughly 3 imes 10^5 enslaved Africans transformed life throughout mainland British North America.
Social and ethnic change: Long-settled towns crowded, ethnic and religious communities jostled, and the social landscape was altered by Celtic, German, Dutch, Scots-Irish, and other migrants.
Intellectual and religious ferment:
The Enlightenment: Advocates of rational thought, moral self-determination, and social reform.
Pietism: Evangelical emphasis on regeneration through divine grace; inflamed evangelical religion.
Conflicts and wars: Migrants and landless children moved inland, sparking wars with Native peoples and competing European powers (France and Spain), setting the stage for a new era in American history.
Structural themes in the chapter:
New England’s freehold society and its crisis (land fragmentation, inheritance, and marriage strategies).
Diversity in the Middle Colonies (ethnic, religious pluralism, economic opportunity).
The midcentury challenges of war, trade, and frontier conflict (1750–1765).
The French and Indian War, British imperial consolidation, and the consumer revolution.
Westward expansion, land conflicts, and backcountry dissent (Regulators and Paxton Boys).
Key concepts and terms (foundational ideas)
Freehold society: Landowning households as the basis of social and economic independence; land ownership as competency and security.
Household economy: The wrapping of labor between men, women, and children; the “household mode of production” and barter-like credit/debit system in New England.
Inheritance and marriage: Offspring inheritances (land, livestock, equipment); property rights favor male heirs; dowers for widows; arranged marriages tied to family strategy rather than romantic love.
Indentured servitude and redemptioners: Paths to land and status; later German redemptioner system allowed negotiated terms on arrival.
Freehold crisis: Fragmented small parcels (≈<50 acres) per generation, pressuring the ideal of independent farming; demographic growth and premarital conceptions shifting family strategies.
Natural rights and the social contract: Enlightenment ideas about rights to life, liberty, property; the political implications of Locke and Wise.
Deism and the Enlightenment: Franklin and other thinkers challenging traditional dogma with reason and empirical knowledge.
Pietism and the Great Awakening: Emotional revivalism; “New Lights” vs “Old Lights”; role of itinerant preachers; democratization of religious authority.
Print revolution: Explosion of newspapers, pamphlets, and books; transatlantic exchange of ideas; role in mobilizing opinion and shaping public discourse.
The Great Awakening figures: George Whitefield (evangelist), Jonathan Edwards (Puritan revivalist in New England), Gilbert Tennent (Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry), Samuel Davies (Presbyterian revivalist in Virginia).
Ethnic and religious diversity in the Middle Colonies: Germans, Scots-Irish, Dutch, Quakers, Lutherans, Reformed, Mennonites, Catholics; transmission of customs and settlement patterns via marriage and land distribution.
The Walking Purchase (1737): A land fraud by the Penn family affecting tract claims north of Philadelphia; example of how land policy and law could provoke Indigenous and settler tensions.
Plan of Union (Albany Plan, 1754): Benjamin Franklin’s proposal for a continental union to coordinate defense and Indian policy; highlighted tensions between colonial autonomy and imperial control.
The Great War for Empire (Seven Years’ War, 1756–1763): Global conflict that reshaped North American and global geopolitics; British victory redefined imperial borders but created debt and Native resistance.
Royal Proclamation of 1763: Regulated western expansion and reserved lands west of the Appalachians to Indigenous peoples; large-scale migration continued despite prohibition.
Regulators and backcountry politics: Western frontier movements (North Carolina, South Carolina) demanding better representation, fair taxation, and fewer court fees; conflicts with eastern elites.
The consumer revolution: Britain’s manufacturing and commercial expansion affecting colonial life and debt; greater dependence on British imports and credit.
The Ohio Company and Susquehanna Company: Land speculation and colonial expansion into western Pennsylvania and beyond; land disputes with Indigenous nations and rival colonies.
Land disputes in the East: Hudson River Valley manors (Van Rensselaer, Livingston), Westchester, Dutch vs English settlers; rising tensions and violence.
New England’s Freehold Society
Core idea: Puritans built a yeoman society of relatively equal landowning farm families, but by 1750 the best farmland had been parceled out, threatening the freehold ideal.
Farm families: Women in the household economy
Women’s roles centered on household management, spinning, weaving, dairy, food preservation, clothing production, and child-rearing.
Education and piety, but males often controlled church leadership; women held high status for domestic craft (“notable women”).
Farm property and inheritance
The Well-Ordered Family (1712) instructed women to defer to husbands; land inheritance favored sons; daughters often received a portion, but land control was limited.
Dowry/settlement rules and the widow’s dower right; the family line dictated inheritance after the husband’s death.
Arranged marriages and parental control over unions; social stability prioritized property and lineage.
The crisis and strategies to preserve the freehold ideal
Population doubling every generation (1700: ~100k; 1725: ~200k; 1750: ~400k).
Land fragmentation led to 50 acres or less per farm; many could not pass land to multiple children.
Premarital conceptions rose (≈ 10% in 1710s to >30% in 1740s for firstborn children).
Frontier land grants, migration to central MA, western CT, NH, and VT; adoption of potatoes and other high-yield crops to improve productivity.
Households and labor organization
Absent cash, New England’s economy relied on the household mode of production: spinning, weaving, barter, and local exchange; labor was shared among families and neighbors; tools and draft animals circulated informally.
Visual and documentary sources (examples cited)
Prudence Punderson embroidery (a meditation on birth, motherhood, death) as a reflection of women’s life-cycle and moral concerns.
Mary Vial Holyoke diary (1761) detailing daily domestic tasks (butchering, ironing, scouring pewter, soap making, etc.).
Hannah Breintnall and Moll Placket-Hole as windows into female prospects and gender stereotypes.
Key questions (from the Understanding Points of View prompts):
What ideas, institutions, and responsibilities shaped farm women’s lives in New England?
How did evangelical and pietistic currents influence women’s roles in church and family life?
Diversity in the Middle Colonies
Economic growth, opportunity, and conflict
The Mid-Atlantic was ethnically and religiously diverse (Dutch, German, Scots-Irish, English, Welsh; Quakers, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed, Mennonites, Roman Catholics, etc.).
Growth in wheat, corn, and flour exports; grain prices rose (1720–1770), fueling settlement and tenancy.
Public institutions strained by rapid population growth; Indian land pressures and internal conflicts rose.
The German influx
Large German migratory waves (1683 Mennonites; 1720s: southwestern Germans; 1749–56: ~40,000 more Germans and Swiss to Philadelphia).
Redemptioner system: flexible indentured servitude allowing families to negotiate terms on arrival.
German-speaking communities persisted in Lutherans, Reformed groups; marriage within communities to preserve language and custom; women often gained property rights within their communities.
Scots-Irish influx
~115,000 migrants from Ireland (mostly Scots-Irish Presbyterians) sought cheap land; faced discrimination and tariffs in Ireland and Britain; migrated for religious tolerance and economic opportunity.
Settled in central Pennsylvania and the Shenandoah Valley; strong Presbyterian identity; maintained frontier-based political and religious culture.
Religion and politics in the Middle Colonies
Religious pluralism and politics: Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey shaped governance with pacifist ideals; tensions with German Lutherans, Baptists, and others; expansion of religious commitments and political representation.
The Walking Purchase (1737) and land conflicts intensified tensions between colonial settlers and Indigenous nations, and within Quaker-led governance.
Ethnic and religious pluralism (Map 4.2 and 4.3):
By 1775, no single ethnic group dominated the population; Africans represented a substantial minority in the South; German and Scots-Irish communities formed significant pockets across the middle and backcountry.
Diverse denominational mix including Congregationalists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed, Quakers, Baptists, Catholics, Mennonites, and French Huguenots.
Key questions (Understand Points of View prompts):
What issues divided the Middle colonies’ ethnic and religious groups, and what core values did they share?
Commerce, Culture, and Identity
The print revolution and transatlantic information flow
1695 Licensing Act lapse enabled a flood of pamphlets, newspapers, and books; colonial presses and printing networks expanded rapidly.
Boston, Philadelphia, and other port cities produced newspapers and periodicals; by 1776, 37 colonial newspapers existed.
The Enlightenment in America
Four fundamental principles highlighted: lawlike order of nature, human reason, natural rights, and progressive improvement of society.
John Locke’s influence on environment and government (education, rational thought, social compacts; life, liberty, property).
Clergy integrated rational Christianity; some ministers promoted lay interpretation of religious truth (e.g., John Wise).
Cotton Mather’s inoculation advocacy linked to Enlightenment knowledge and practical science (in part via a slave’s knowledge).
Franklin and the American Enlightenment
Benjamin Franklin as exemplar: printer, publisher (Pennsylvania Gazette), deist, inventor, and public intellectual.
Autobiography and Poor Richard’s Almanack popularized practical, secular Enlightenment ideas.
American Philosophical Society (1743–present) promoted useful knowledge.
Philanthropy and public institutions (e.g., the Pennsylvania Hospital, 1753) reflected Enlightenment ideals of reasoned improvement of society.
American Pietism and the Great Awakening
Pietism arrived with German migrants; revivalist preachers (Frelinghuysen, Tennent) emphasized heartfelt devotion and personal religious urgency.
Great Awakening transformed religious life: George Whitefield’s crowds and revival campaigns; dramatic sermons; conversion experiences; printed sermons and journals circulated widely.
Old Lights vs New Lights conflict: debate over clerical authority and revivalist methods; emergence of new colleges to train ministers (Princeton, King’s College/Columbia, Brown University).
The Great Awakening’s broader impact
Democratization of religious authority; ordinary people gained voice in religious matters; questioned established churches’ authority and tax support.
In the South, Baptists challenged planter aristocracy and Anglican establishment; evangelism among enslaved Africans and free Blacks helped forge new religious identities.
The Great Awakening intersected with political ideas about equality and rights, foreshadowing republican thought.
Primary-source voices and examples (representative passages and figures)
Nathan Cole’s conversion narrative after hearing Whitefield; Sarah Lippet’s deathbed testimony; The Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry (Tennent).
The Collet painting of Whitefield’s audience, illustrating the era’s religious spectacle and its social reach.
Strategic importance of print and travel
Whitefield’s travels documented in newspapers; Franklin’s printing of sermons/news; the circulation network strengthened transatlantic religious communities.
The Great Awakening and religious conflicts in detail
North vs South and Old Lights vs New Lights
New Light revivalism spread across the colonies; Old Lights resisted sensationalism and the new forms of preaching.
Connecticut and New England saw a proliferation of Separatist churches funded by voluntary contributions rather than state-supported churches.
In the South, Anglican establishment faced challenges from New Light Presbyterians and Baptists; some parishes forcibly closed dissenting congregations.
Denominational growth and education
Presbyterians (New Light revival) and Baptists expanded, outpacing Anglicans in some regions by 1780; German and Dutch communities preserved languages and traditions yet supported expanding Protestant networks.
The establishment of colleges (Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Rutgers) reflected an investment in religious education aligned with revivalist trends.
Impact on social norms and gender
Evangelical movements redefined gender roles within many churches; women participated in revival meetings, though church leadership often remained male-dominated.
The Baptist movement’s emphasis on adult baptism and equality influenced social norms, including attitudes toward slaves and free Blacks in the South.
The Midcentury Challenge: War, Trade, and Social Conflict, 1750–1763
The French and Indian War (Seven Years’ War in Europe): 1754–1763
Prelude: French forts and territory claims in the Ohio Valley; British expansionists pressed for expansion into western lands; the Ohio Company (1748) and Susquehanna Company (1749) supported colonial settlements north and west of Philadelphia.
Albany Congress (1754): Covenant Chain with Iroquois; Franklin’s Plan of Union proposing a continental government to manage trade, Indian policy, and defense.
Key military events:
1755 Braddock’s disastrous expedition to Fort Duquesne; Washington’s leadership; heavy casualties.
1758-1760 British offensives capturing Fort Louisbourg (1758), Quebec (1759), Montreal (1760); James Wolfe and the fall of Canada; the English victory in North America.
War’s broader imperial frame: Britain’s victory redefined the empire but created debt and administrative challenges; the war extended into India and the Caribbean.
Aftermath and consequences for Native Americans
Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763) in the Great Lakes and Ohio regions; Native confederacies resisted British expansion and asserted their own political agendas.
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 attempted to stabilize relations by restricting colonial expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains, reserving lands for Indigenous peoples; colonists largely ignored it.
British industrial growth and the consumer revolution
Industrial advances in Britain (water mills, steam engines, mechanized production) enabled the mass production of textiles, iron goods, and other consumer items.
Transatlantic trade: Britain financed colonial imports via credit and subsidies; colonists bought British goods, often increasing debt; by 1763, a significant colonial trade deficit existed (exports to Britain paid for only a portion of imports).
The economic flow is summarized by balance-of-payments figures: exports and imports, debt levels, and the role of credit in sustaining consumption.
Balance of payments and debt (illustrative figures from the period)
Mainland population growth and imports:
Total British imports in the period: about £4.195 ext{ million}; total British imports (later) around £4.240 ext{ million}.
Trade deficit and debt:
Exports paid for roughly 80% of imports; the remaining 20% covered by credit and subsidies.
Average annual colonial deficit (1768–1772): about £45{,}000; cumulative deficit over five years ≈ £225{,}000.
Cumulative colonial debt by 1772: ≈ £2{,}000{,}000.
This debt-fueled consumption helped raise living standards but created economic fragility as subsidies ended after 1763.
The East Coast land boom and disputes
The Struggle for Land in the East: pressure on land near the Atlantic coastal plain; proprietors (Rensselaers, Livingstons) pursued long-standing titles; tenant farmers and smallholders contested these claims.
Wyoming Valley (Susquehanna Company) and Kent, Connecticut land schemes brought frontier violence and court clashes; Native groups (Delaware, Shawnee) and colonial settlers collided over land.
The 1760s saw widespread backcountry unrest: Paxton Boys in Pennsylvania (1763–1771) and Regulators in the Carolinas (SC) and North Carolina (1760s–1771).
Westward expansion and conflicts with Indigenous peoples
Frontier settlers moved towards the Appalachian region; conflicts with Indigenous groups increased as land speculation rose.
The 1763 Proclamation sought to stabilize relations by limiting westward expansion, but settlers continued to push westward, creating ongoing tension and violence.
Westward expansion, frontier conflicts, and Regulators
Paxton Boys (Pennsylvania) and Regulators (Carolinas)
Paxton Boys (1763–1771) attacked Conestoga Indians and later pressed Lancaster for protection and fair dealing; Franklin brokered a truce in 1764 but the underlying grievances persisted.
Regulators in North and South Carolina pressed for representation, lower taxes, and fairer laws; demonstrations and violent confrontations occurred, with governors mobilizing troops to quell uprisings (e.g., Alamance, 1771).
The Regulators showcased the tension between backcountry settlers and eastern elites, illustrating the convergence of imperial policy, debt pressures, and local grievances.
Aftermath: imperial policies and colonial autonomy
These backcountry uprisings highlighted resistance to centralized imperial control and foreshadowed wider colonial discontent that would culminate in the American Revolution.
Connections, implications, and synthesis
How these dynamics connect to earlier chapters
The South Atlantic System (Chapter 3) laid groundwork for regional specialization and Atlantic trade networks; the Great War for Empire reshaped imperial boundaries and economic relationships.
The print revolution and Enlightenment prepared colonial publics to discuss grievances and organize collective action; Pietism and the Great Awakening altered social authority and cultural identities.
Real-world relevance and ethical implications
Migration, land disputes, and debt shaped social stratification and political power; expansion often came at Indigenous expense and with displacement of Indigenous communities.
The Great Awakening’s democratization of religious authority paralleled evolving ideas about political rights and governance, foreshadowing republican values.
Key learning connections
The period demonstrates the interplay between demographic change, economic development, religious and intellectual transformations, and political conflict.
It shows how local grievances (land, taxation, representation) intersected with imperial policy to drive social and political change.
Timeline highlights (selected turning points)
1695: Licensing Act lapses in England, triggering the print revolution across Britain and its colonies.
1700–1740s: German and Scots-Irish migrations to the Middle Colonies; Pietism grows; Franklin and the print culture rise.
1720s–1730s: Puritan and New England family structures adapt to land fragmentation; rise of premarital conceptions; frontier expansion begins.
1737: Walking Purchase land deed affair (Penn family) highlights colonial land policy tensions.
1743: Benjamin Franklin founds the American Philosophical Society; Samuel Morris begins Presbyterian revivals in Virginia.
1748: Ohio Company grant of 200,000 acres; push toward Ohio Valley settlement.
1749: Susquehanna Company formed by Connecticut farmers.
1750s: Industrial Revolution in Britain accelerates; consumer goods flood into the colonies; colonial debt rises.
1754: French and Indian War (Great War for Empire) begins; Albany Plan of Union proposed.
1755: Braddock’s defeat at Fort Duquesne; Washington’s leadership emerges.
1758–1760: British victories—Louisbourg (1758), Quebec (1759), Montreal (1760).
1763: Treaty of Paris ends the war; Royal Proclamation establishes western limits; Pontiac’s Rebellion signals continued Indigenous resistance.
1767–1771: Regulators and Paxton Boys conflicts highlight backcountry tensions and governance challenges.
Visuals and sources to consult
Map 4.1: Hudson River manors and landed elites in New York—landed aristocracy vs. freeholders.
Map 4.2: Ethnic and racial diversity in British North America by 1775; German, Scots-Irish, Dutch, English, and others.
Map 4.3: Religious diversity in 1750 (denominations across the colonies).
Map 4.4 / 4.5: The Great War for Empire—the Ohio Valley, Quebec, Forts, and the conquest of Canada.
Map 4.6: Westward expansion and land conflicts (1750–1775).
Primary texts and artifacts mentioned:
The Well-Ordered Family (Puritan guidance on women’s roles)
The Prudence Punderson embroidery (embodied mortality and status concerns)
The Moll Placket-Hole pamphlet (satire on women workers and social attitudes)
The Collet painting of George Whitefield (evangelical audience and social setting)
Figures and graphs:
Figure 4.1: Transatlantic migration by origin and enslaved status (data source Engerman and Sokoloff).
Figure 4.2: Estimated European migration by region and time, 1700–1780.
Figure 4.3: Denominational growth in church membership, 1700–1780.
Figure 4.4: Mainland population vs. British imports; balance of payments, 1750–1772.
Key terms recap (for quick review)
tenancy, competency, household mode of production, squatters, redemptioner, Enlightenment, Pietism, natural rights, deism, revival, Old Lights, New Lights, consumer revolution, Regulators, Isaac Newton, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Tanaghrisson, William Pitt, Pontiac
Quick synthesis and study prompts
Compare and contrast New England’s freehold ideals with Mid-Atlantic tenancy and landholding patterns. How did inheritance, birth, and marriage strategies sustain or erode these models?
How did the Great Awakening alter religious authority and political culture across the colonies? In what ways did it empower broader social groups (e.g., yeomen, women, enslaved people) and threaten established elites?
What role did land policy and westward expansion play in shaping colonial politics and colonial-native relations from 1750 to 1763? How did Proclamation of 1763 attempt to resolve conflicts, and why did it fail to prevent further clashes?
Analyze the debt-driven consumer economy of the British Atlantic world: how did credit, imports, and Western land speculation interact to shape colonial economic vulnerability and political tensions by 1765–1772?
Reflect on the synergies and tensions between Enlightenment rationality and Pietist devotion in forming a distinctly American cultural and political sensibility.
Growth, Diversity, and Conflict, 1720–1763: Detailed Study Notes
Overview: Big ideas and context
Identify the big idea: Britain’s American colonies were deeply reshaped by transatlantic events, with a population boom due to European migration and enslaved African arrivals, social and ethnic diversification, religious and intellectual ferment (Enlightenment and Pietism), and frequent conflicts with Indigenous peoples and European powers. The result was a generation of rapid growth, wars, and the seeds of new American identities and tensions.
Population and migration: From ~$4 times 10^5$ (400,000) in 1720 to nearly $2 times 10^6$ (2,000,000) by 1765, spurred by Highland Scots, Scots-Irish, Germans, and others.
Enslaved Africans: Arrival of roughly $3 times 10^5$ enslaved Africans transformed life throughout mainland British North America.
Social and ethnic change: Long-settled towns crowded, ethnic and religious communities jostled, and the social landscape was altered by Celtic, German, Dutch, Scots-Irish, and other migrants.
Intellectual and religious ferment:- The Enlightenment: Advocates of rational thought, moral self-determination, and social reform.
Pietism: Evangelical emphasis on regeneration through divine grace; inflamed evangelical religion.
Conflicts and wars: Migrants and landless children moved inland, sparking wars with Native peoples and competing European powers (France and Spain), setting the stage for a new era in American history.
Structural themes in the chapter:- New England’s freehold society and its crisis (land fragmentation, inheritance, and marriage strategies).
Diversity in the Middle Colonies (ethnic, religious pluralism, economic opportunity).
The midcentury challenges of war, trade, and frontier conflict (1750–1765).
The French and Indian War, British imperial consolidation, and the consumer revolution.
Westward expansion, land conflicts, and backcountry dissent (Regulators and Paxton Boys).
Key concepts and terms (foundational ideas)
Freehold society: Landowning households as the basis of social and economic independence; land ownership as competency and security.
Household economy: The wrapping of labor between men, women, and children; the “household mode of production” and barter-like credit/debit system in New England.
Inheritance and marriage: Offspring inheritances (land, livestock, equipment); property rights favor male heirs; dowers for widows; arranged marriages tied to family strategy rather than romantic love.
Indentured servitude and redemptioners: Paths to land and status; later German redemptioner system allowed negotiated terms on arrival.
Freehold crisis: Fragmented small parcels (≈$<50$ acres) per generation, pressuring the ideal of independent farming; demographic growth and premarital conceptions shifting family strategies.
Natural rights and the social contract: Enlightenment ideas about rights to life, liberty, property; the political implications of Locke and Wise.
Deism and the Enlightenment: Franklin and other thinkers challenging traditional dogma with reason and empirical knowledge.
Pietism and the Great Awakening: Emotional revivalism; “New Lights” vs “Old Lights”; role of itinerant preachers; democratization of religious authority.
Print revolution: Explosion of newspapers, pamphlets, and books; transatlantic exchange of ideas; role in mobilizing opinion and shaping public discourse.
The Great Awakening figures: George Whitefield (evangelist), Jonathan Edwards (Puritan revivalist in New England), Gilbert Tennent (Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry), Samuel Davies (Presbyterian revivalist in Virginia).
Ethnic and religious diversity in the Middle Colonies: Germans, Scots-Irish, Dutch, Quakers, Lutherans, Reformed, Mennonites, Catholics; transmission of customs and settlement patterns via marriage and land distribution.
The Walking Purchase (1737): A land fraud by the Penn family affecting tract claims north of Philadelphia; example of how land policy and law could provoke Indigenous and settler tensions.
Plan of Union (Albany Plan, 1754): Benjamin Franklin’s proposal for a continental union to coordinate defense and Indian policy; highlighted tensions between colonial autonomy and imperial control.
The Great War for Empire (Seven Years’ War, 1756–1763): Global conflict that reshaped North American and global geopolitics; British victory redefined imperial borders but created debt and Native resistance.
Royal Proclamation of 1763: Regulated western expansion and reserved lands west of the Appalachians to Indigenous peoples; large-scale migration continued despite prohibition.
Regulators and backcountry politics: Western frontier movements (North Carolina, South Carolina) demanding better representation, fair taxation, and fewer court fees; conflicts with eastern elites.
The consumer revolution: Britain’s manufacturing and commercial expansion affecting colonial life and debt; greater dependence on British imports and credit.
The Ohio Company and Susquehanna Company: Land speculation and colonial expansion into western Pennsylvania and beyond; land disputes with Indigenous nations and rival colonies.
Land disputes in the East: Hudson River Valley manors (Van Rensselaer, Livingston), Westchester, Dutch vs English settlers; rising tensions and violence.
New England’s Freehold Society
Core idea: Puritans built a yeoman society of relatively equal landowning farm families, but by 1750 the best farmland had been parceled out, threatening the freehold ideal.
Farm families: Women in the household economy- Women’s roles centered on household management, spinning, weaving, dairy, food preservation, clothing production, and child-rearing.
Education and piety, but males often controlled church leadership; women held high status for domestic craft (“notable women”).
Farm property and inheritance- The Well-Ordered Family (1712) instructed women to defer to husbands; land inheritance favored sons; daughters often received a portion, but land control was limited.
Dowry/settlement rules and the widow’s dower right; the family line dictated inheritance after the husband’s death.
Arranged marriages and parental control over unions; social stability prioritized property and lineage.
The crisis and strategies to preserve the freehold ideal- Population doubling every generation (1700: ~100k; 1725: ~200k; 1750: ~400k).
Land fragmentation led to 50 acres or less per farm; many could not pass land to multiple children.
Premarital conceptions rose (≈ 10% in 1710s to >30% in 1740s for firstborn children).
Frontier land grants, migration to central MA, western CT, NH, and VT; adoption of potatoes and other high-yield crops to improve productivity.
Households and labor organization- Absent cash, New England’s economy relied on the household mode of production: spinning, weaving, barter, and local exchange; labor was shared among families and neighbors; tools and draft animals circulated informally.
Visual and documentary sources (examples cited)- Prudence Punderson embroidery (a meditation on birth, motherhood, death) as a reflection of women’s life-cycle and moral concerns.
Mary Vial Holyoke diary (1761) detailing daily domestic tasks (butchering, ironing, scouring pewter, soap making, etc.).
Hannah Breintnall and Moll Placket-Hole as windows into female prospects and gender stereotypes.
Key questions (from the Understanding Points of View prompts):- What ideas, institutions, and responsibilities shaped farm women’s lives in New England?
How did evangelical and pietistic currents influence women’s roles in church and family life?
Diversity in the Middle Colonies
Economic growth, opportunity, and conflict- The Mid-Atlantic was ethnically and religiously diverse (Dutch, German, Scots-Irish, English, Welsh; Quakers, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed, Mennonites, Roman Catholics, etc.).
Growth in wheat, corn, and flour exports; grain prices rose (1720–1770), fueling settlement and tenancy.
Public institutions strained by rapid population growth; Indian land pressures and internal conflicts rose.
The German influx- Large German migratory waves (1683 Mennonites; 1720s: southwestern Germans; 1749–56: ~40,000 more Germans and Swiss to Philadelphia).
Redemptioner system: flexible indentured servitude allowing families to negotiate terms on arrival.
German-speaking communities persisted in Lutherans, Reformed groups; marriage within communities to preserve language and custom; women often gained property rights within their communities.
Scots-Irish influx- ~115,000 migrants from Ireland (mostly Scots-Irish Presbyterians) sought cheap land; faced discrimination and tariffs in Ireland and Britain; migrated for religious tolerance and economic opportunity.
Settled in central Pennsylvania and the Shenandoah Valley; strong Presbyterian identity; maintained frontier-based political and religious culture.
Religion and politics in the Middle Colonies- Religious pluralism and politics: Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey shaped governance with pacifist ideals; tensions with German Lutherans, Baptists, and others; expansion of religious commitments and political representation.
The Walking Purchase (1737) and land conflicts intensified tensions between colonial settlers and Indigenous nations, and within Quaker-led governance.
Ethnic and religious pluralism (Map 4.2 and 4.3):- By 1775, no single ethnic group dominated the population; Africans represented a substantial minority in the South; German and Scots-Irish communities formed significant pockets across the middle and backcountry.
Diverse denominational mix including Congregationalists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed, Quakers, Baptists, Catholics, Mennonites, and French Huguenots.
Key questions (Understand Points of View prompts):- What issues divided the Middle colonies’ ethnic and religious groups, and what core values did they share?
Commerce, Culture, and Identity
The print revolution and transatlantic information flow- 1695 Licensing Act lapse enabled a flood of pamphlets, newspapers, and books; colonial presses and printing networks expanded rapidly.
Boston, Philadelphia, and other port cities produced newspapers and periodicals; by 1776, 37 colonial newspapers existed.
The Enlightenment in America- Four fundamental principles highlighted: lawlike order of nature, human reason, natural rights, and progressive improvement of society.
John Locke’s influence on environment and government (education, rational thought, social compacts; life, liberty, property).
Clergy integrated rational Christianity; some ministers promoted lay interpretation of religious truth (e.g., John Wise).
Cotton Mather’s inoculation advocacy linked to Enlightenment knowledge and practical science (in part via a slave’s knowledge).
Franklin and the American Enlightenment- Benjamin Franklin as exemplar: printer, publisher (Pennsylvania Gazette), deist, inventor, and public intellectual.
Autobiography and Poor Richard’s Almanack popularized practical, secular Enlightenment ideas.
American Philosophical Society (1743–present) promoted useful knowledge.
Philanthropy and public institutions (e.g., the Pennsylvania Hospital, 1753) reflected Enlightenment ideals of reasoned improvement of society.
American Pietism and the Great Awakening- Pietism arrived with German migrants; revivalist preachers (Frelinghuysen, Tennent) emphasized heartfelt devotion and personal religious urgency.
Great Awakening transformed religious life: George Whitefield’s crowds and revival campaigns; dramatic sermons; conversion experiences; printed sermons and journals circulated widely.
Old Lights vs New Lights conflict: debate over clerical authority and revivalist methods; emergence of new colleges to train ministers (Princeton, King’s College/Columbia, Brown University).
The Great Awakening’s broader impact- Democratization of religious authority; ordinary people gained voice in religious matters; questioned established churches’ authority and tax support.
In the South, Baptists challenged planter aristocracy and Anglican establishment; evangelism among enslaved Africans and free Blacks helped forge new religious identities.
The Great Awakening intersected with political ideas about equality and rights, foreshadowing republican thought.
Primary-source voices and examples (representative passages and figures)- Nathan Cole’s conversion narrative after hearing Whitefield; Sarah Lippet’s deathbed testimony; The Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry (Tennent).
The Collet painting of Whitefield’s audience, illustrating the era’s religious spectacle and its social reach.
Strategic importance of print and travel- Whitefield’s travels documented in newspapers; Franklin’s printing of sermons/news; the circulation network strengthened transatlantic religious communities.
The Great Awakening and religious conflicts in detail
North vs South and Old Lights vs New Lights- New Light revivalism spread across the colonies; Old Lights resisted sensationalism and the new forms of preaching.
Connecticut and New England saw a proliferation of Separatist churches funded by voluntary contributions rather than state-supported churches.
In the South, Anglican establishment faced challenges from New Light Presbyterians and Baptists; some parishes forcibly closed dissenting congregations.
Denominational growth and education- Presbyterians (New Light revival) and Baptists expanded, outpacing Anglicans in some regions by 1780; German and Dutch communities preserved languages and traditions yet supported expanding Protestant networks.
The establishment of colleges (Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Rutgers) reflected an investment in religious education aligned with revivalist trends.
Impact on social norms and gender- Evangelical movements redefined gender roles within many churches; women participated in revival meetings, though church leadership often remained male-dominated.
The Baptist movement’s emphasis on adult baptism and equality influenced social norms, including attitudes toward slaves and free Blacks in the South.
The Midcentury Challenge: War, Trade, and Social Conflict, 1750–1763
The French and Indian War (Seven Years’ War in Europe): 1754–1763- Prelude: French forts and territory claims in the Ohio Valley; British expansionists pressed for expansion into western lands; the Ohio Company (1748) and Susquehanna Company (1749) supported colonial settlements north and west of Philadelphia.
Albany Congress (1754): Covenant Chain with Iroquois; Franklin’s Plan of Union proposing a continental government to manage trade, Indian policy, and defense.
Key military events:
1755 Braddock’s disastrous expedition to Fort Duquesne; Washington’s leadership; heavy casualties.
1758-1760 British offensives capturing Fort Louisbourg (1758), Quebec (1759), Montreal (1760); James Wolfe and the fall of Canada; the English victory in North America.
War’s broader imperial frame: Britain’s victory redefined the empire but created debt and administrative challenges; the war extended into India and the Caribbean.
Aftermath and consequences for Native Americans- Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763) in the Great Lakes and Ohio regions; Native confederacies resisted British expansion and asserted their own political agendas.
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 attempted to stabilize relations by restricting colonial expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains, reserving lands for Indigenous peoples; colonists largely ignored it.
British industrial growth and the consumer revolution- Industrial advances in Britain (water mills, steam engines, mechanized production) enabled the mass production of textiles, iron goods, and other consumer items.
Transatlantic trade: Britain financed colonial imports via credit and subsidies; colonists bought British goods, often increasing debt; by 1763, a significant colonial trade deficit existed (exports to Britain paid for only a portion of imports).
The economic flow is summarized by balance-of-payments figures: exports and imports, debt levels, and the role of credit in sustaining consumption.
Balance of payments and debt (illustrative figures from the period)- Mainland population growth and imports:
Total British imports in the period: about $£4.195 \text{ million}$; total British imports (later) around $£4.240 \text{ million}$.
Trade deficit and debt:
Exports paid for roughly 80% of imports; the remaining 20% covered by credit and subsidies.
Average annual colonial deficit (1768–1772): about $£45,000$; cumulative deficit over five years ≈ $£225,000$.
Cumulative colonial debt by 1772: ≈ $£2,000,000$.
This debt-fueled consumption helped raise living standards but created economic fragility as subsidies ended after 1763.
The East Coast land boom and disputes- The Struggle for Land in the East: pressure on land near the Atlantic coastal plain; proprietors (Rensselaers, Livingstons) pursued long-standing titles; tenant farmers and smallholders contested these claims.
Wyoming Valley (Susquehanna Company) and Kent, Connecticut land schemes brought frontier violence and court clashes; Native groups (Delaware, Shawnee) and colonial settlers collided over land.
The 1760s saw widespread backcountry unrest: Paxton Boys in Pennsylvania (1763–1771) and Regulators in the Carolinas (SC) and North Carolina (1760s–1771).
Westward expansion and conflicts with Indigenous peoples- Frontier settlers moved towards the Appalachian region; conflicts with Indigenous groups increased as land speculation rose.
The 1763 Proclamation sought to stabilize relations by limiting westward expansion, but settlers continued to push westward, creating ongoing tension and violence.
Westward expansion, frontier conflicts, and Regulators
Paxton Boys (Pennsylvania) and Regulators (Carolinas)- Paxton Boys (1763–1771) attacked Conestoga Indians and later pressed Lancaster for protection and fair dealing; Franklin brokered a truce in 1764 but the underlying grievances persisted.
Regulators in North and South Carolina pressed for representation, lower taxes, and fairer laws; demonstrations and violent confrontations occurred, with governors mobilizing troops to quell uprisings (e.g., Alamance, 1771).
The Regulators showcased the tension between backcountry settlers and eastern elites, illustrating the convergence of imperial policy, debt pressures, and local grievances.
Aftermath: imperial policies and colonial autonomy- These backcountry uprisings highlighted resistance to centralized imperial control and foreshadowed wider colonial discontent that would culminate in the American Revolution.
Connections, implications, and synthesis
How these dynamics connect to earlier chapters- The South Atlantic System (Chapter 3) laid groundwork for regional specialization and Atlantic trade networks; the Great War for Empire reshaped imperial boundaries and economic relationships.
The print revolution and Enlightenment prepared colonial publics to discuss grievances and organize collective action; Pietism and the Great Awakening altered social authority and cultural identities.
Real-world relevance and ethical implications- Migration, land disputes, and debt shaped social stratification and political power; expansion often came at Indigenous expense and with displacement of Indigenous communities.
The Great Awakening’s democratization of religious authority paralleled evolving ideas about political rights and governance, foreshadowing republican values.
Key learning connections- The period demonstrates the interplay between demographic change, economic development, religious and intellectual transformations, and political conflict.
It shows how local grievances (land, taxation, representation) intersected with imperial policy to drive social and political change.
Timeline highlights (selected turning points)
1695: Licensing Act lapses in England, triggering the print revolution across Britain and its colonies.
1700–1740s: German and Scots-Irish migrations to the Middle Colonies; Pietism grows; Franklin and the print culture rise.
1720s–1730s: Puritan and New England family structures adapt to land fragmentation; rise of premarital conceptions; frontier expansion begins.
1737: Walking Purchase land deed affair (Penn family) highlights colonial land policy tensions.
1743: Benjamin Franklin founds the American Philosophical Society; Samuel Morris begins Presbyterian revivals in Virginia.
1748: Ohio Company grant of 200,000 acres; push toward Ohio Valley settlement.
1749: Susquehanna Company formed by Connecticut farmers.
1750s: Industrial Revolution in Britain accelerates; consumer goods flood into the colonies; colonial debt rises.
1754: French and Indian War (Great War for Empire) begins; Albany Plan of Union proposed.
1755: Braddock’s defeat at Fort Duquesne; Washington’s leadership emerges.
1758–1760: British victories—Louisbourg (1758), Quebec (1759), Montreal (1760).
1763: Treaty of Paris ends the war; Royal Proclamation establishes western limits; Pontiac’s Rebellion signals continued Indigenous resistance.
1767–1771: Regulators and Paxton Boys conflicts highlight backcountry tensions and governance challenges.
Visuals and sources to consult
Map 4.1: Hudson River manors and landed elites in New York—landed aristocracy vs. freeholders.
Map 4.2: Ethnic and racial diversity in British North America by 1775; German, Scots-Irish, Dutch, English, and others.
Map 4.3: Religious diversity in 1750 (denominations across the colonies).
Map 4.4 / 4.5: The Great War for Empire—the Ohio Valley, Quebec, Forts, and the conquest of Canada.
Map 4.6: Westward expansion and land conflicts (1750–1775).
Primary texts and artifacts mentioned:- The Well-Ordered Family (Puritan guidance on women’s roles)
The Prudence Punderson embroidery (embodied mortality and status concerns)
The Moll Placket-Hole pamphlet (satire on women workers and social attitudes)
The Collet painting of George Whitefield (evangelical audience and social setting)
Figures and graphs:- Figure 4.1: Transatlantic migration by origin and enslaved status (data source Engerman and Sokoloff).
Figure 4.2: Estimated European migration by region and time, 1700–1780.
Figure 4.3: Denominational growth in church membership, 1700–1780.
Figure 4.4: Mainland population vs. British imports; balance of payments, 1750–1772.
Key terms recap (for quick review)
tenancy, competency, household mode of production, squatters, redemptioner, Enlightenment, Pietism, natural rights, deism, revival, Old Lights, New Lights, consumer revolution, Regulators, Isaac Newton, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Tanaghrisson, William Pitt, Pontiac
Quick synthesis and study prompts
Compare and contrast New England’s freehold ideals with Mid-Atlantic tenancy and landholding patterns. How did inheritance, birth, and marriage strategies sustain or erode these models?
How did the Great Awakening alter religious authority and political culture across the colonies? In what ways did it empower broader social groups (e.g., yeomen, women, enslaved people) and threaten established elites?
What role did land policy and westward expansion play in shaping colonial politics and colonial-native relations from 1750 to 1763? How did Proclamation of 1763 attempt to resolve conflicts, and why did it fail to prevent further clashes?
Analyze the debt-driven consumer economy of the British Atlantic world: how did credit, imports, and Western land speculation interact to shape colonial economic vulnerability and political tensions by 1765–1772?
Reflect on the synergies and tensions between Enlightenment rationality and Pietist devotion in forming a distinctly American cultural and political sensibility.
Important People, Dates, and Events
Important People
John Locke: Enlightenment philosopher whose ideas influenced natural rights (life, liberty, property) and social compacts.
John Wise: Clergyman who promoted lay interpretation of religious truth.
Cotton Mather: Advocated inoculation, linking Enlightenment knowledge with practical science.
Benjamin Franklin: Exemplar of the American Enlightenment, printer, publisher, deist, inventor, public intellectual; founded American Philosophical Society, proposed Albany Plan of Union.
The Penn family: Involved in the Walking Purchase (1737), a significant land fraud.
George Whitefield: Prominent evangelist of the Great Awakening, known for revival campaigns and dramatic sermons.
Jonathan Edwards: Puritan revivalist in New England, key figure in the Great Awakening.
Gilbert Tennent: Presbyterian revivalist, author of "Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry."
Samuel Davies: Presbyterian revivalist in Virginia.
Frelinghuysen: Revivalist preacher emphasizing heartfelt devotion.
Nathan Cole: Subject of a conversion narrative after hearing Whitefield.
Sarah Lippet: Figure for deathbed testimony during the Great Awakening.
Conestoga Indians: Attacked by Paxton Boys (1763–1771).
General Edward Braddock: Commander of a disastrous expedition to Fort Duquesne in 1755.
George Washington: Emerged as a leader after Braddock's defeat.
James Wolfe: British general key to the capture of Quebec (1759).
Pontiac: Leader of Pontiac's Rebellion (1763), resisting British expansion.
Isaac Newton: Enlightenment figure (referenced in Key Terms Recap).
William Pitt: British statesman involved in the Great War for Empire (referenced in Key Terms Recap).
Tanaghrisson: Iroquois 'Half-King' involved in early conflicts of the French & Indian War (referenced in Key Terms Recap).
Important Dates & Events
1683: Mennonites, early German migrants, arrive.
1695: Licensing Act lapses in England, initiating the print revolution across Britain and its colonies.
1700–1740s: German and Scots-Irish migrations to Middle Colonies; growth of Pietism; rise of Franklin and print culture.
1712: Publication of "The Well-Ordered Family," instructing women.
1720: Colonial population ~4 times 10^5 (400,000).
1720s: Southwestern Germans begin significant migration.
1720s–1730s: Puritan and New England family structures adapt to land fragmentation; rise of premarital conceptions; frontier expansion begins.
1737: Walking Purchase land deed affair by the Penn family.
1743: Benjamin Franklin founds the American Philosophical Society; Samuel Morris begins Presbyterian revivals in Virginia.
1748: Ohio Company granted 200,000 acres, pushing settlement towards Ohio Valley.
1749: Susquehanna Company formed by Connecticut farmers.
1749–56: ~40,000 more Germans and Swiss migrate to Philadelphia.
1750: New England population ~4 times 10^5 (400,000).
1750s: Industrial Revolution in Britain accelerates; consumer goods flood colonies; colonial debt rises.
1753: Pennsylvania Hospital founded, reflecting Enlightenment ideals.
1754: French and Indian War (Great War for Empire) begins; Albany Plan of Union proposed.
1755: Braddock’s disastrous expedition to Fort Duquesne; Washington’s leadership emerges.
1756–1763: The Great War for Empire (Seven Years’ War in Europe).
1758: British capture Fort Louisbourg.
1758–1760: British offensives resulting in major victories.
1759: British capture Quebec.
1760: British capture Montreal.
1761: Mary Vial Holyoke diary details daily domestic tasks.
1763: Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian War; Royal Proclamation of 1763 establishes western limits; Pontiac’s Rebellion signals Indigenous resistance.
1763–1771: Paxton Boys conflicts in Pennsylvania.
1764: Franklin brokers a truce with the Paxton Boys.
1765: Colonial population nearly 2 times 10^6 (2,000,000).
1760s–1771: Regulators movements in North and South Carolina.
1767–1771: Regulators and Paxton Boys conflicts highlight backcountry tensions and governance challenges.
1771: Battle of Alamance, quelling the North Carolina Regulators.
1772: Cumulative colonial debt ≈ £2,000,000.
1775: No single ethnic group dominates population; significant African, German, Scots-Irish minorities.
1776: 37 colonial newspapers in existence.
1780: Presbyterian and Baptist denominations outpace Anglicans in some regions.