Colonial Culture, Religion, and Developing an Identity

• As the 18th century began the colonial population developed its own identity in part as a result of the diverse nature of people that existed throughout the colonies

• Scots-Irish, French Huguenots, Jews, Irish, Swedes, and Dutch provided the colonial population with diverse make-up.

  • The colonies had one of the most diverse in the world.

• Scots-Irish, hearty Presbyterian European immigrants, settled the frontier by the thousands.

  • From western Pennsylvania down to the Georgia, the Scots-Irish established numerous settlements, each with a church

    • Animosity Toward the King of England paved the way for their participation in the American Revolution

  • Kept the Sabbath

  • Pugnacious, lawless, and individualistic, brought the Scotttish secret whiskey distilling

  • Cherished no love for the British government, or any other

    • 1764- the Paxton Boys marched on Philadelphia

    • 1771- spearheaded the Regulator movement

• As with religion, education and economics, the colonies varied in ethnic composition.

  • North- least diverse

  • Middle- most diverse (especially Pennsylvania) and was the sight of the waves of immigrants

  • South- black and white population (vast majority of colonial slave population)

• During the early 18th century, a more clearly-defined class structure developed in the colonies.

• However, unlike England, there was opportunity in terms of upward social and economic mobility.

  • The wealthy gentry were a close-knit society who wore fine clothes and lived in lavish luxury, maintained a close social circle

  • Almshouses were constructed to house the poor.

  • Urban areas boasted numerous skilled artisans and craftsmen, who made up a healthy middle class.

Professions

• Clergy- highly regarded

• Doctor- not considered a legitimate profession

• Lawyer- not a respectable profession until about the 1760s

• Tradesman- highly respected for their skill and economic potential, as were craftsman

• Agriculture was the primary activity

• Shipping allowed colonists (especially New Englanders) to sell their goods to overseas markets.

• Small-scale manufacturing provided economic opportunities for many.

• The timber industry thrived, providing a deforested England with vital wood for shipbuilding, manufacturing, and fuel.

  • Some trees (usually 100’ or taller) were reserved by royal authorities for British naval vessels, angering timber merchants

• A rapidly growing colonial America soon outpaced Britain.

  • Colonists thus sought non-British markets for their goods.

  • Britain saw this as a threat to mercantilist theory and imposed restrictions.

  • Colonial smuggling of goods began in earnest.

• Printers provided people with news and information. The most famous printer in Colonial America was Benjamin Franklin. For 25 years he printed annual editions of Poor Richard’s Almanac.

  • Almanac- a book containing calendars, weather, advice, and humorous stories.

• The Zenger Case paved the way for newspapers to print the truth about public officials

  • While complete freedom of the press did not exist, this case had a significant influence on pre-revolution publications.

Politics

• Most colonies employed a bicameral, or two-house legislature, with the lower house elected by the people.

• Royal colonies- governor’s salary paid by the legislature.

• South- county government

• North- town meeting

• Middle- mixture of both

Religion

• New England- Congregational

• New York- Anglican

• South- Anglican

• Middle- no specific “official” religion

• The Puritan Church felt the weight of changing times, and experienced a decline in influence.

• Great Awakening- a religious movement took place in the early 1700s, in the New England colonies, that aimed to draw people back to the true Puritan faith.

  • One of the earliest and most famous ministers of this movement was Jonathan Edwards.

  • Edwards and George Whitefield preached fiery sermons to crowds in an attempt to revive people’s faith in the power of God.

  • The movement gained popularity and many established ministers and itinerant, or traveling preachers reached thousands of colonists with their message.

• Good works & Free will: these two theories challenged the Calvinist theory of predestination, thus spawning the Great Awakening.

• A combination of lay liberalism and clerical intellectualism were most responsible for the changes of the Great Awakening.

  • Most important, the movement led to people discovering more religious freedom, rather than restoring their original beliefs. This was largely due to the itinerant preachers, many of whom had no formal theological training.

  • The message was simple: God was accessible through faith and sincerity.

    • This was the first mass movement in the colonies and transcended social, religious, and economic barriers. As such, a sense of commonality pervaded the colonies.

Education

• Most colonies had some elementary education. Only some schools were tax-payer supported.

• In the South, wealthy planters hired tutors to school their children.

• There was a lack of universal access to free public education as a whole, however.

Period of Salutary Neglect

• Beginning in the early 1700s, Britain chose to neglect its North American colonies.

  • England had a history of strong local government.

  • Lacked resources to enforce more stringent rule.

  • Most colonists were proud British subjects.

  • Benefited from existing economic and political colonial policy.

French in the New World

• Quebec- 1608

• Sameul de Champlain- explorer (St. Lawrence River)

• Made relations with Huron Indians, who were enemies of the Iroquois.

• Coureurs de bois- french fur trappers in the North American wilderness who hunted the beaver to near extinction.

• Control of the Mississippi allowed French trade access to the massive interior of the continent

• French rule was autocratic as compared to England’s North American colonies.

Vocabulary

1. George Whitfield: an English preacher who spread God’s word throughout the colonies. His emotional and passionate speeches inspired people to become religious and even go through conversions. He was the leader of the Great Awakening.

2. John Peter Zenger: a newspaper printer who printed an article that reflected negatively on the royal governor. He was put on trial for libel for this, but the jury decided he was not guilty. This ruling set a precedent for freedom of the press in the colonies.

3. Jonathan Edwards: a brilliant priest who inspired the Great Awakening. He believed in predestination and used emotional images to scare people away from hell and back to the church.

4. Great Awakening: a religious revival movement that inspired many Americans to grow in their religion. Pastors, led by George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards, took a very emotional approach to sermons, even describing the depths of hell. However, this movement divided the people into old lights and new lights. Most notably, it inspired missionaries, colleges, and American unity in the colonies.

5. Molasses Act: an attempt from the British government to stop colonial trade with the French West Indies. However, this attempt was not successful because traders continued to trade by smuggling goods to the West Indies around the law. The act put a tax on imported molasses.

6. Old lights: were typically orthodox clergymen who did not believe in the new, emotional approach to religion inspired by the Great Awakening. They preferred a rational approach to spirituality.

7. New lights: were people who appreciated the emotional revival to religion by the Great Awakening. These people took part in the revival movement and liked the emotional approach to spirituality.

8. Scots-Irish: were Scottish Presbyterians who had originally moved to Ireland, but they were hated there. They then moved to North America and settled just east of the Appalachians from Pennsylvania to Georgia, called the “great wagon road.” They also brought Scottish culture and a dislike for the British government. Rebellious groups, like the Paxton Boys and the Regulator movement, were made up of Scots-Irish, including future president Andrew Jackson.

9. Triangular trade: was a three-way system that traded rum, slaves, and molasses between New England, Africa, and the West Indies. A skipper would bring rum to the West Indies and exchange it for slaves. Then, he would bring the slaves to the West Indies and trade them for molasses. Finally, he would bring the molasses to New England where it would be distilled into rum and the process would continue.