Colonial America and the Road to Revolution

Colonial America and the Road to Revolution

Southern Colonies

• Economy and Society:
  • Transition from indentured servitude to slavery after Bacon's Rebellion.
  • Most southerners did not own slaves and were not wealthy but aspired to be.
  • Slaves had diverse cultures and religions from various parts of Africa.
  • Slave culture was a combination of African and American elements.
  • Society was divided into:
    • Gentry: Wealthy slave owners with plantations growing cash crops.
      • They were educated and spent money on large homes and education for their children (overseas or private tutors).
    • Poor: Lived in the backcountry on small, subsistence farms.
      • They faced poverty and had limited interaction with others due to the distance between towns.

Northern Colonies

• Economy:
  • Relied on shipping and mercantile enterprises rather than agriculture due to the climate not being conducive to cash crops.
  • Farming was mainly for sustenance.
• Significance:
  • The economic differences between the North and South set the stage for future divisions.

Salem Witch Trials

• Context:

  • In 1689, King William's War (between England and France) led to refugees fleeing to Salem Village, Massachusetts, straining resources.
  • Controversy surrounded Reverend Samuel Paris, the unpopular and rigid first ordained minister of Salem Village.

• Events:

  • In January 1692, Reverend Paris's daughter Elizabeth (9) and niece Abigail (11) began having fits.
  • They screamed, threw things, made strange sounds, and contorted themselves.
  • The local doctor blamed the supernatural.
  • Another girl, Anne (11), exhibited the same behavior.
  • Town magistrates pressured the girls to identify who afflicted them.

• Accusations:

  • The girls accused Tituba (the Paris' Caribbean slave), Sarah Goode (a homeless beggar), and Sarah Osborne.

• Background of the Accused:

  • Sarah Osborne: Her husband died, leaving land to her with the provision it would go to their sons when they came of age. She hired an indentured Irish immigrant, paid off his indenture, lived with him, and married him. She also tried to take over her children's legal inheritance, leading to legal battles supported by the Putnams.
  • Sarah Good: She was widowed and remarried to William Good. They were homeless, rented rooms, and lived a life of beggars. Sarah Good had a reputation for being socially unpleasant.
  • Tituba: She was the slave of the Parises.

• Aftermath:

  • Paranoia spread, leading to numerous accusations based on grudges.
  • Convictions were based on "spectral evidence" (visions or dreams).
  • 19 people were hanged on Gallows Hill.
  • One 71-year-old man was pressed to death with heavy stones.
  • Several died in jail.
  • About 200 people were accused.

• Possible Explanations:

  • Bored adolescents seeking excitement.
  • Local feuds and property disputes.
  • Accusations against women who defied traditional roles.
  • Unlikely explanation: Food poisoning causing hallucinogenic behavior.

The Enlightenment

• Focus: Reason and science over the supernatural.
• Belief: God gave mankind reason to improve society with scientific knowledge.
• Key Developments:
  • Newton's theory of gravitation: F = G \frac{m1 m2}{r^2}
• American Enlightenment:
  • Benjamin Franklin epitomized the American Enlightenment.
  • He loved experiments and science.
  • He was one of 17 children and only attended school for two years but was self-educated.
  • At 17, he ran away to Philadelphia and met 15-year-old Deborah Reed. He proposed, but her mother declined due to his lack of prospects.
  • Deborah married John Rogers, who took her money and ran away. Ben and Deborah had a common-law marriage because she could not legally remarry.
• Inventions and Contributions:
  • Lightning rod
  • Bifocals
  • Iron stove
  • America's first circulating library

The Great Awakening

• Context:
  • Religious apathy and declining church attendance in the early 18th century.
  • Emergence of Deism (God created the universe but does not interfere) and skepticism (questioning religious beliefs).
• Revivals:
  • Ministers like Jonathan Edwards preached revivals, emphasizing hell for sinners.
  • George Whitfield, an English minister, was the catalyst of the Great Awakening.
• George Whitfield's Impact:
  • He held open-air revivals from Georgia to New England.
  • He emphasized individual salvation and emotional conversion experiences.
  • He criticized college-trained ministers as too intellectual.
• Results:
  • New religious denominations emerged, such as Baptists, Presbyterians, and later Methodists.
• Significance:
  • It prepared America for independence by:
    • Demonstrating that people could leave a church if it didn't meet their needs.
    • Realizing that religious power was in their hands.
    • Translating this realization to political power, leading to a desire for change from Great Britain's rule.