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Chapter 5: Colonial Society on the Eve of the Revolution (1700-1775)

Conquest by the Cradle Although England had other colonies in North America, only the thirteen original ones rebelled The total population of the thirteen colonies doubled every 25 years, mostly by reproduction, so by 1775 the average age was 16, and there were only three Englishmen for every one American colonist In 1775, there were only four cities, and 90% of the population lived in rural areas

A Mingling of Germans made up about 6% of the 1775 population, were fleeing from religious persecution of Protestants, economic oppression, and war, and settled mostly in Pennsylvania the Races Scots-Irish made up about 7% of the 1775 population, wanted out from the Catholic Irish's resentment of the transplanted Presbyterian Scots and from English economic restrictions, went mostly to Pennsylvania then spread into the frontier, and readily rebelled French Huguenots, Welsh, Dutch, Swedes, Jews, Irish, Swiss, and Scots Highlanders together made up 5% of the 1775 population None of the non-English nationalities, besides the Scots Highlanders, felt loyalty towards the English crown Africans made up 20% of the 1775 population The South contained the most Africans, New England was the least diverse, and the middle colonies were the most diverse American society in the 1700s was more equal and mobile compared to European society, but The Structure was more limited and stratified than American society in the 1600s of Colonial War had caused merchant princes to profit from being military suppliers and had created a Society class of widows and orphans In New England, a growing population caused a shortage of land that caused farms to shrink, younger would-be inheritants to hire out or to go into the frontier, and growth in the population of homeless people In the South, whites that owned the most slaves grew more and more wealthier The lower classes grew with the continued immigration of indentured servants and involuntarily shipped paupers and criminals Black slaves were at the bottom of society, and whites feared the possibility of them revolting 1600s fled from the Scottish Lowlands to Ireland because were impoverished by the spread of Makers of America: The commercial farming and subsequent rack-renting landlords and because were persecuted as Presbyterians by the English Scots-Irish 1700s fled from Ireland to America because Irish landlords also rack-rented Most landed in Pennsylvania, then spread into Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia Were independent, united by Presbyterianism, and strongly opposed to religious government Clerics, Physicians, and Jurists Clerics, though by 1775 held less power than before, still held the most honorable position Physicians were poorly trained and poorly regarded, and epidemics of such diseases as smallpox and diphtheria were deadly and not uncommon

Those in the law profession were seen as noisy windbags or troublemaking rogues Workaday America The Chesapeake area produced much tobacco and some wheat, and the middle colonies produced great quantities of grain All the colonies, especially those in New England, pursued fishing Commerce was bustling, ex. the profitable triangular trade in which seamen sailed from an American port with rum, exchanged rum for slaves in Africa, exchanged slaves for molasses in the West Indies, and return to America with molasses to be distilled into rum Manufacturing was secondary but still needed, ex. distilling, hat making, forging, spinning, weaving, carpentry, and esp. lumbering for shipbuilding England reserved resources for and encouraged the manufacture of some goods, ex. tar, pitch, rosin, turpentine, and timber, in order to maintain naval dominance Starting in the 1730s, there was a trade imbalance; American colonists wanted more British goods than they could afford by exporting American goods only to Britain, so sought nonBritish markets, esp. the French West Indies 1773 the Molasses Act was passed that prohibited trade between America and the French Indies, but American traders found their way around it

Horsepower Had transportation and communication problems because was sprawling and sparse and Sailpower Roads were late-coming, dangerous, and of poor quality, so more dependence on travel by water Taverns emerged along travel routes, where all social classes mingled, disseminated ideas, and gossiped By 1775, the two main tax-supported churches were the Anglican and the Congregational, but Dominant Denomination a significant amount of people did not belong to them s The Church of England was official in the Chesapeake and the South and helped prop up the crown's authority in America, but fell short in religious intensity and clerical quality The Congregational Church, an offshoot of the Puritan Church, was official in all of New England except Rhode Island As revolution began, the Congregationalist and Presbyterian Churches supported it while the Church of England opposed it, ex. when the Church of England wanted to establish a bishopric in America and non-Anglicans opposed because feared increased royal control Generally, people could worship or not worship as they pleased, unless they were Catholic The Great Awakening Religion was less intense by the early 1700s because of questioning of predetermination, ex. teachings of Jacobus Arminius, so some churches allowed membership without conversion So 1730s and 40s, the Great Awakening started in Massachusetts by pastor Jonathan Edwards, ex. his fiery Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, was picked up by gifted orator Greoge Whitefield and subsequent others, and caused a wave of confession and conversion But orthodox clergymen were skeptical of the emotion and theatrics of the revivalists The Awakening caused: undermining of orthodox authority, increase in number and competitiveness of churches, revival of missionary work with Indians and black slaves, and establishment of new light universities The Awakening was the first American mass movement

Schools and Colleges

The traditional English opinion of education was that it was reserved for elite males in preparation for leadership, but the American colonists were slowly going against this Puritan New England was the most interested in education, mostly for religious reasons and mostly for boys, but farm labor was tiring and time-consuming In the middle colonies and the South, elementary schools were established and supported privately and non-privately, but students were reluctant and the population was spread out in the South Emphasis was placed in religion, the classics, dogma, and obedience Art in the colonies was mostly European and especially British, because the colonists generally did not have the money or time to patronize artwork Architecture was imported and modified as needed Literature was generally European, except for the poetry of slave girl Phillis Wheatley and Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac Science lagged, but Benjamin Franklin's work was again an exception Most colonists were too poor and busy to read books, but by 1776 public libraries were not uncommon Newspapers often reported news weeks late, esp. news from overseas, but helped to spread and rally anti-British sentiment The legal case of newspaper printer John Peter Zenger was a milestone for democracy and freedom of the press; he was charged with libel for printing the truth that New York's governor was corrupt, but the jurors decided that he was not guilty Eight colonies had royal governors, three had proprietors that chose the governor, and two elected their own governors Almost every colony had a two-house legislative body with the upper house being chosen by the crown, proprietor, or voters and the lower house being elected by people with the property qualifications; gave Americans the privilege of self-taxation through representation The royal governors varied in quality, ex. the incompetent Lord Cornbury, and the colonial assemblies could manipulate their governor by withholding their salaries, so persistent strife that helped lead to revolt Locally, the South employed county government, New England the town-meeting, and the middle colonies a modification of the two But only those who met the religious and/or property requirements, or about half of all adult white males, were eligible to vote; but was still more democratic that England and Europe Work was hard and constant, food plentiful, heating sparse, running water and plumbing absent, sources of light flickering, and garbage disposal primitive Amusements, time permitting, included militia musters, house-raisings, various bees, funerals and weddings, winter sports in the North, dancing and stage plays and horse racing and others in the South, lotteries for charity, and holidays esp. Thanksgiving The colonies were diverse ethnically, religiously, and commercially Social classes were beginning to become more distinct

A Provincial Culture

Pioneer Presses

The Great Game of Politics

Colonial Folkways

Summary

The colonies still had cultural, religious, and political ties with Britain and the rest of Europe, but they were slowly developing their own identities in the aforementioned areas

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