Notes on Becoming American: Enlightenment, Governance, and Religion (Transcript Summary)
Demographics and the making of American identity
Proprietary colonies and influx: William Penn and others recruited colonists from the continent, leading to a large influx in the late 1600s–early 1700s.
By the time of the American Revolution, the colonial population was ethnically diverse:
roughly half were English
about 10% were Scots and Scots-Irish
about 20% of African descent
about 20% other European (the largest single group among these were Germans; in Pennsylvania Germans comprised roughly one-third of the population)
Population dynamics in English-descended vs other groups:
Initially, there were about 20 English for every American in 1700
By around 1750 (near the Revolution), that ratio shifted to about 3 English for every American
This rapid demographic change contributed to Americans becoming a distinct group, often without conscious awareness (e.g., differences in food, housing like log cabins among Germans, shingled roofs vs thatched, rum vs wine)
Revolutionary dynamics:
The revolution was not simply English vs non-English; the driving force among English-descended colonists was a demand for traditional English rights (lingo and rights) rather than a wholesale break from English identity
Many people of other European descent were disengaged or ambivalent about whether resisting English rule mattered to them
The outcome: a civil-war-like dynamic with ~40% revolutionary, ~20% loyalist, and ~40% fence-sitting, who had to be convinced one way or the other
Becoming American before the term existed:
People were already behaving like Americans: adapting to local culture (food, housing, technologies), forming communities, and sharing experiences across colonies without a formal national identity
The Enlightenment and the American mindset
The Enlightenment in Europe followed the Scientific Revolution and asked whether there are laws for society, economy, and politics that can be discovered through reason and observation
In the colonies, the Enlightenment fit the New World context: observation, experimentation, and willingness to change to survive in North America
Benjamin Franklin as a representative American (though not necessarily perfectly typical):
Born in 1706 in Boston to a candle-maker
At 17 apprenticed with his printer brother; at 24 moved to Philadelphia to start his own print shop
Founded the Pennsylvania Gazette and published Poor Richard’s Almanac
Established a subscription library to buy and lend books
Founded a fire company and organized fire wardens to reduce city fires
Formed a debating club that grew into the American Philosophical Society
Experimented with electricity, inventing the lightning rod and the Franklin stove
The Franklin-Jeffersonian ethos: individuals can do or be anything they choose by learning and making deliberate choices; aligns with the New World ethos of experimentation and self-improvement
The Enlightenment’s political and social impact: ideas that helped shape culture and the revolution, especially ideas about government, rights, and the role of citizens
John Locke and the political theory that influenced America
The Glorious Revolution (1688) in England set the stage for constitutional changes: Parliament gains real power, including the right to levy taxes; kings cannot suspend laws without Parliament
John Locke’s Two Treatises on Government (philosophical justification for resisting tyrannical power):
In the state of nature, there is pure liberty, but power tends to corrupt and the strong may oppress the weak
People form a social contract and transfer a portion of liberty to a centralized authority to protect rest of liberties
Government is voluntary and limited; its purpose is to defend the rights and property of the people and to act for the common good; power tends to expand, so the people retain the right to rebel when the government fails
Everyday analogy: traffic laws illustrate the trade-off—giving up a little liberty (speed limits, stop signs) yields greater overall safety while preserving core freedoms
Colonial uptake and the library effect: Franklin’s library included copies of Locke’s Two Treatises; colonists encountered Lockean ideas and saw them reflected in their own experiences as Englishmen living in the colonies
Important political implication: Lockean thought helped justify revolution as a legitimate response to government overreach, while the colonists often framed their cause as defending traditional English rights
Locke’s core premise applied to colonial contexts: government is not absolute; it exists to protect rights and can be legitimate only if it serves the people
In practice: Lockean ideas contributed to debates about representation and the legitimacy of taxation and governance in the colonies
Social structure and elite power in colonial America
Social structure generally became more like Europe in terms of wealth concentration, but with notable differences:
The wealthiest 20% owned a large share of land across regions (illustrative figures not meant to be exact):
New England: about two-thirds of land owned by the top 20%
Chesapeake: about 70%
Middle Colonies: about 53%
Overall, there was no rigid hereditary elite like in England; status was more fluid and wealth-based
There were individual success stories (rags-to-riches and sometimes the reverse due to mismanagement) but social mobility did exist
In New York, four founding elite families emerged, built from backgrounds such as candle making, baking, carpentry, and military service; these four families dominated politics and landholding
The elite’s power was not purely hereditary; land ownership, wealth, and networks mattered more than birthright
Despite mobility, a real elite still held substantial influence over local economies and governance
Colonial governance and the politics of representation
Governance structure across the colonies:
11 of 13 colonies had royal governors or governors appointed by proprietors with king’s approval
Connecticut and Rhode Island retained charters with elected governors; these were the two charter colonies and stood apart
Governors typically had extensive formal powers on paper, including veto authority over colonial decisions
The power of the purse in practice:
Parliament funded governors’ salaries; but colonial assemblies controlled funding and could remove governors by withholding pay
Assemblies could effectively check governors’ power by controlling finances and by summoning or dismissing the legislature
Colonial assemblies as “mini parliaments”:
Each colony formed assemblies and elected delegates who could tax and legislate within local constraints
The assemblies often dated to earlier colonial history and functioned as real representatives of local interests
The English model vs colonial representation:
The House of Commons had fixed seats and regions (Rotten Boroughs) that did not reflect demographic changes; representation was not proportional to population growth
Rotten boroughs allowed landowners to control representation, even if the population had long since moved away
The English justification: every member of the House of Commons represented the empire as a whole (virtual representation)
American counter-claim: actual representation
In the colonies, assemblies represented real people, towns, and local interests; new towns gained seats as populations grew
A majority of free white men could vote in many colonies (roughly 50% to 80% in some areas), with property requirements such as ownership of land or income thresholds (e.g., 40 shillings annual income from a freehold estate or £50 in real estate) making voting accessible to many more than in England
This led to a belief in actual representation: a representative who directly speaks for a local constituency, not a distant empire-wide MP
The famous maxim and its contradictions:
"No taxation without representation" is often cited as a foundational American idea, but it originates in a British context ( Magna Carta-era principle of consent and representation)
Americans insisted on actual representation (not virtual) for taxation decisions; they did not accept Parliament’s claim to represent them without local, direct representation
The practical outcome: colonists saw their assemblies as the legitimate basis of political power, while the English legal and political theories emphasized empire-wide representation
Exchange between local governance and imperial authority: assemblies could resist or constrain governors; the colonists believed they were exercising traditional English rights in a new context
The Great Awakening: religious renewal and its role in American identity
The Great Awakening time frame and scope:
A series of religious revivals from the 1730s to the 1750s that touched all 13 colonies
Before the Awakening, people identified with regional affiliations (German, English, Scots, etc.) rather than an American identity; 1750 was before a strong sense of being American existed
Core idea and significance:
It was a crucial step toward forming an American mindset by creating a shared religious experience across regions
It established a framework for questioning authority and thinking independently about faith and life choices
The Enlightenment parallel in religion:
The Great Awakening paralleled the Enlightenment in emphasizing individual action, choice, and self-interpretation of religion
It promoted an emphasis on personal engagement with scripture rather than reliance on clergy or Latin sermons
Religion in the colonies before the Awakening:
Established churches tied state power to religious establishment in each colony
Tensions between order and survival as colonists navigated material concerns (e.g., food, winter survival)
New England’s context included guilt and failure to live up to original Puritan ambitions ( Salem witch trials as a historical touchstone)
Regional religious landscapes:
New England: strong Puritan heritage, concern about materialism, and desire for reform; Salem witchcraft trials loomed as cautionary tales
South: Church of England (Anglicans) was the official church but priest shortages limited reach; in backcountry, religious practice was more varied (less centralized control)
Middle Colonies: diverse religious landscape due to proprietor recruitment; practical religious toleration to attract settlers; worship often informal due to scarcity of ministers; people worshipped in homes, read sermons, sang, and prayed together
Pietism as a catalyst within the Awakening:
Pietism: a revolt against formalism in worship, emphasizing personal Bible reading and individual interpretation of scripture
Contrast with formalism: traditional preacher-centered, Latin-laden worship with a distant hierarchy
Pietism gained traction among Scots, Irish, and German settlers and fed into the broader movement toward individual religious experience
William Tennant and the leadership of the Awakening:
Tennant emerged as a key leader promoting Pietist-inspired reform across the colonies
The Great Awakening’s long-term impact:
Helped to shape a shared colonial identity and a common way of thinking about authority, individual conscience, and liberty
Set the stage for later revolutionary ideas by encouraging questioning of established authority and fostering networks across regional lines
Regional religious landscapes in context and their impact on later politics
New England:
Continuity with Puritan roots; concern with moral order, discipline, and community ideals
Witchcraft trials illustrate social anxieties about religious and moral failure
South:
Strong Anglican presence; church establishment but limited capacity in frontier areas; religious practices often adapted to frontier conditions
Middle Colonies:
High religious toleration (to attract diverse settlers: Scots, Scots Irish, Germans, etc.); worship often decentralized and communal when ministers were scarce
Overall religious establishment and reform:
Each colony had an established church, tying church to state; tension between state governance and colonists’ desire for reform and religious liberty
The Great Awakening helped dissolve rigid denominational integration by highlighting individual spiritual experiences
Key takeaways: becoming American and the road to revolution
Becoming American was a process shaped by: demographics, Enlightenment ideas, religious renewal, social mobility, and evolving political power
Core factors that defined an emerging American identity:
Embrace of Enlightenment ideas (reason, observation, and a belief in self-improvement) as applicable to society and government
Locke’s social-contract ideals and the emphasis on natural rights and limited government
Growth of actual representation through popular assemblies and the power of the purse to check governors
The Great Awakening’s unifying effect across colonies and its challenge to established authority
The political result was not immediate independence but a gradual shift toward an American political culture grounded in local representation, individual rights, and a challenge to centralized imperial control
Quick reference: notable numerical and definitional points
Demographic snapshot (circa pre-Revolution):
ext{English} o 0.50,
ext{Scots/Scots-Irish} o 0.10,
ext{Africans of African descent} o 0.20,
ext{Other Europeans (largest group: Germans)} o 0.20.
Population English-to-American ratios:
rac{ ext{English}}{ ext{American}} = 20:1 ext{ in }1700,
rac{ ext{English}}{ ext{American}} = 3:1 ext{ by }1750.
Political concepts:
Power is limited and government is voluntary (Locke’s framework) and exists to defend rights and property
The legitimacy of rebellion when the government violates the social contract
Actual representation (colonial assemblies elected by local constituents) vs virtual representation (Parliament’s claim of empire-wide representation)
Great Awakening timelines:
Major revival movement from the 1730s to the 1750s across all 13 colonies
Pietism as a religious theory opposing formalism and encouraging personal Bible study and interpretation
Notable terms and people to remember
Four elite New York families: candle maker, baker, carpenter, soldier
Benjamin Franklin: printer, publisher, inventor, civic organizer, library founder, and proponent of Enlightenment ideals
John Locke: Two Treatises on Government; social contract; limited government; right to rebel
William Penn: representative of proprietary colonial model and influx of colonists
William Tennant: leader associated with Pietism within the Great Awakening
No taxation without actual representation: core American claim rooted in English rights but interpreted via colonial assemblies
Virtual representation vs actual representation: key political debate about how representation works in practice