The thirteen British colonies developed distinct patterns of life but shared several common characteristics.
Population origins and influences:
Most of the population was English in origin, language, and tradition.
Africans and non-English immigrants brought diverse influences that modified majority culture.
Self-government:
Each colony had a representative assembly elected by eligible voters (limited to white male property owners).
Governors: Rhode Island and Connecticut had governors elected by the people.
In other colonies, governors were appointed either by the crown (e.g., New York, Virginia) or by a proprietor (Pennsylvania, Maryland).
Religious toleration:
All colonies permitted different religions, but with varying degrees of freedom.
Massachusetts was the most conservative, excluding non-Christians and Catholics.
Rhode Island and Pennsylvania were the most liberal.
No hereditary aristocracy:
European-style social nobility was absent.
A narrower class system based on economics emerged.
Wealthy landowners topped the hierarchy; craft workers and small farmers formed the majority of common people.
Social mobility:
With the exception of African Americans, most colonists had opportunities to improve living standards and social status through hard work.
The Family
The family was the economic and social center of colonial life.
Population growth and economy:
Expanding economy and ample food supply led to younger marriages and larger families.
More than 90% of people lived on farms.
Coastal communities and frontier life were harsh, but overall living standards were higher than in most of Europe.
Men:
Wealth concentrated in a few, but most men worked.
Landowning was primarily restricted to men, who dominated politics.
English law gave the husband almost unlimited power in the home, including the right to beat his wife.
Women:
The average colonial wife bore eight children and performed many tasks: cooking, cleaning, making clothes, providing medical care, and educating children.
Women usually worked beside their husbands in shops, plantations, or farms.
Divorce was legal but rare.
Women had limited legal and political rights.
Despite legal limitations, shared labor and mutual dependence offered women protection from abuse and an active role in decision-making within the family.
Immigration and Ethnic Groups
Settlement patterns:
Most immigrants settled in the middle colonies (Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware) and the western frontier of the southern colonies (Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia).
In the 18th century, few immigrants went to New England where land was limited and Puritan control was strong.
English settlers:
English settlers continued to come, but their numbers were small relative to other groups due to fewer problems at home.
Germans (Pennsylvania Dutch):
Settled chiefly on rich farmland west of Philadelphia.
Maintained German language, customs, and religion (Lutheran, Amish, Brethren, Mennonite, etc.).
By 1775, Germans made up about 6% of the colonial population.
Scotch-Irish (Scots-Irish):
English-speaking, emigrated from northern Ireland; ancestors moved from Scotland to Ireland.
Settled along the western frontier (Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia).
By 1775, they made up about 7% of the population.
Other Europeans:
Included French Protestants (Huguenots), Dutch, and Swedes.
These groups comprised about 5% of the colonial population in 1775.
Africans:
The largest non-English immigrant group; enslaved Africans and their descendants were brought to the colonies, with some gaining freedom after years of servitude.
Outside the South, Africans worked as laborers, bricklayers, blacksmiths, and in other trades; some were enslaved, others free wage earners and property owners.
By 1775, the African American population (enslaved and free) totaled about NAA,1775=500,000, or roughly 20% of the colonial population; about 90% of Africans lived in lifelong bondage in the South, and African Americans formed a majority in South Carolina and Georgia.
The Economy
By the 1760s, almost half of Britain's world trade was with its American colonies.
Mercantilist framework:
The British government permitted limited colonial manufacturing (e.g., flour, rum) but restricted activities that could compete with English industries (e.g., textiles).
Rich land and mercantile policy kept the colonies largely agricultural.
Social and economic mobility:
Prosperity led to more ministers, lawyers, doctors, and teachers; land ownership remained a key path to wealth; geography created regional opportunities.
Regional Economies
New England:
Rocky soil and long winters limited farming to subsistence levels (farms typically under <100\text{ acres}).
Fertile soil produced abundant wheat and corn for export to Europe and the West Indies.
Farms commonly reached extupto200 acres; indentured servants and hired laborers were common.
Manufacturing included iron-making; urban growth around Philadelphia and New York was significant.
Southern Colonies:
Agriculture varied due to geography and climate.
Many lived on small subsistence farms; a subset operated large plantations (> 2,000 acres) relying on slave labor.
Self-sufficient plantations grew their own food and had their own slave craftworkers.
Major exports varied by region: tobacco in the Chesapeake and North Carolina; timber and naval stores (tar, pitch) in the Carolinas; rice and indigo in South Carolina and Georgia; plantations often located on rivers to ease shipment to Europe.
Monetary System
Limited hard currency (gold and silver) restricted colonial purchasing power for imports from Britain that exceeded exports.
Paper money issued by some colonies to provide currency for domestic trade, but this caused inflation.
The British government vetoed colonial laws that might harm British merchants.
Transportation and Communication
Water transportation was easier than overland travel on rough roads; trading centers developed at harbors and navigable rivers (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston).
Overland travel by horse and stage became more common in the 18th century.
Taverns served as social centers, providing food, lodging, and a venue for exchange of news and ideas.
By mid-18th century, a postal system using horses on overland routes and small ships on water routes connected the colonies.
Population Growth and Immigration (18th Century Chapter Theme)
Population growth:
At the start of the 1700s (1701): N1701=250,000 total colonists (Europeans and Africans).
By 1775: N1775=2,500,000, a tenfold increase over the century.
African American population:
1701: NAA,1701=28,000
1775: NAA,1775=500,000
Growth drivers:
Immigration of almost one million people.
Sharp natural increase due to high birthrates in colonial families.
Abundant fertile land and reliable food supply attracted thousands annually and supported large families.
European immigrants:
Newcomers came from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and also from Western and Central Europe (France and German-speaking regions).
Motives included escape from religious persecution and wars, and search for economic opportunities.
Religion and Religious Life in the Colonies
Predominant religion:
The overwhelming majority belonged to Protestant denominations.
In New England: Congregationalists (the successors to Puritans) and Presbyterians were common.
New York: Dutch-descended populations often attended the Reformed Church; many merchants belonged to the Church of England (Anglicans, later Episcopalians).
Pennsylvania: Lutherans, Mennonites, and Quakers were prominent.
Virginia and several southern colonies: Anglicans were dominant.
Problems and tensions within religious groups:
Jews, Catholics, and Quakers faced discrimination and persecution.
Congregationalist ministers were criticized by other Protestants as domineering and overly doctrinal.
The Church of England in America lacked a bishop to ordain ministers, hindering institutional church development.
Established churches:
Virginia: Anglican Church received tax support as the established church.
Massachusetts Bay: Congregational Church received tax support.
Over time, as immigration diversified the religious landscape, governments reduced state support for churches.
By the American Revolution, Massachusetts and Virginia had scaled back or ended direct tax support for established churches (with exemptions for non-established denominations in some cases); full termination of tax support occurred gradually, with many changes not completed until the 1830s.
The Great Awakening (Early 18th Century Religious Revival)
The Great Awakening and its impact:
Emerged in the 1730s and peaked in the 1730s–1740s with fervent religious revival and mass expressions of piety.
Marked a shift from earlier, more scholastic sermons to emotionally charged religious experience.