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Colonial Society

(Up to 1750) I. Intro

II. New England vs.

Chesapeake

A. Community & Family

III. From Servants To Slaves

IV. Economics & Politics

V. Enlightenment &

Religion

A. Social Compact

B. Great Awakening

VI. Conc.

Key Terms

• Indentured Servants

• Bacon’s Rebellion

• Mercantilism

• Navigation Acts

• John Locke

• Deism

• George Whitefield

Themes

• Family and community life

in New England &

Chesapeake Bay

• Colonial economy & politics

• History of ideas:

– Enlightenment & Great

Awakening

Luxury Items: A Watch

Image Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Colonial Society


II. New England vs.

Chesapeake




V. Enlightenment &

Religion

A. Social Compact

B. Great Awakening

VI. Conc.

Key Terms



• Mercantilism

• Navigation Acts

• John Locke

• Deism


Colonizing New England (1620–1674)


New England Society

• Sailing scene in background

• Skull = brevity of human

life

• Poem: "The Eternal" would

"Crowne me (after Grace)

with Glory"


Thomas Smith

New England Society (Education)

• Towns were required to appoint teachers

• Harvard College was founded in 1636 to train

ministers

New England Society (Education & Literacy)

• About 90% of adult white men & 40% of adult

white women could sign their names

• Other colonies: it was no more than 50%

• In England: up to 33% could read and write

New England Society: Community Life

• The Meeting House was the “center”

A Meeting House (Hingham, Massachusetts)

• Built in 1681; designed

to resemble the hull of

an upside down ship

• Very simple interior


Old Ship Meeting House

New England Society: Community Life

• Homes were close to one another; plots allotted for

farming were not necessarily next to homes

• High population density:

– Many families within one mile of each other

– Created atmosphere of “watchfulness;” fit goal to

become a “City Upon A Hill” without dissent

– Easy to help each other & work together

• The Meeting House was the “center”

Convicted Criminal Exposed To

Public Ridicule


Land Divisions In Sudbury, Massachusetts (1639–1656)


New England Society: Family Life

• Family = Backbone of community

• Family Organization

– Father - Head of family

– Mother - Often became “deputy husbands”

– Children - Provided labor force

• Stability

– 80% of children reach adulthood

– Long life expectancy Thomas Smith


Chesapeake Bay


Chesapeake Society

• Tobacco cultivation

dominated the region

• Large profits could be

made, but prices

fluctuated

• Indentured Servants and

slaves were common on

plantations

Tobacco Plantation


Chesapeake Society: Community Life

• Homes were spread-out & far from one another;

usually placed along rivers & streams

Pattern of

Settlement In

Surry County,

Virginia (1620–1660)


Chesapeake Society: Community Life

• Homes were spread-out & far from one another;

usually placed along rivers & streams

• Low population density:

– 6 people per sq. mile

• Large plantation homes were the “center” of

social life

Chesapeake Society: Family Life

• Chaotic!

• High infant mortality rates

• Life expectancy in 1600s

– Men: 48

– Women: 44

• Complex households

developed with numerous

stepchildren & stepparents

• Labor Force: servants &

slaves

Virginia Planter's Family

by August Köllner


Colonial Society


II. New England vs.

Chesapeake




V. Enlightenment &

Religion

A. Social Compact

B. Great Awakening

VI. Conc.

Key Terms



• Mercantilism

• Navigation Acts

• John Locke

• Deism


Indentured Servants

Headright System:

• 50 acres was granted to those who paid a

Servant’s travel costs

• Many Servants traveled for economic

opportunity

Indentured Servants

• Between 1630-1700 110,000 migrated from

England to the Chesapeake Bay

• Up to 90% were Indentured Servants

– Most servants were male & starting families

proved difficult

• Up to 40% died within six years

Decline In Real Wages In England (1500–1700)

• Living standards

declined along with

wages

• Population increased

while land (and

opportunity) became

more scarce


Life For Indentured Servants

Indentured Servants

• Owners paid for passage across

the Atlantic

• In return servants worked 4-7

years

• They often faced very poor

treatment

• At end of service they received

supplies & land (in some cases)

Tobacco Plantation


Indentured Servants

• Indentured Servant Contract

http://www.virtualjamestown.org/wbind1.html

Bacon’s Rebellion (Background)

• Tension developed between large landowners &

former Indentured Servants

1. Growing gap between rich & poor

Luxury Items (A Watch)

• This elaborate gold and

enamel watch belonged to

female members of the

Byrd family of Virginia in

the mid-eighteenth

century


Luxury Items: A Watch





2. The price of tobacco plummeted

Tobacco Prices (1618-1710)






2. The price of tobacco plummeted

3. Conflict with Native Americans

Conflict With Native Americans (1670s)

• Settlers (often former servants) in outlying areas

encroached on land reserved for Indians

• Indians retaliated

• William Berkeley, Virginia’s Governor, did not

respond with force; settlers acted on their own

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

• Nathaniel Bacon led a militia of

about 300

• Fought to exterminate Indians on

Virginia’s frontier

• Clashed with Governor Berkeley

and burned Jamestown

• Bacon died suddenly of

dysentery

Nathaniel Bacon


Bacon’s Rebellion (Aftermath)

• Many elites in the Chesapeake were shocked by

the events

• Before the Rebellion, but particularly afterward,

planters increased importation of African slaves &

relied less on the labor of Indentured Servants

Bacon’s Rebellion

http://www.nps.gov/archive/colo/Jthanout/BacRebel.html

http://www.nps.gov/archive/colo/Jthanout/BacRebel.html

Toward Slavery In Chesapeake

• 1619: first documented

slaves arrived in Jamestown

• 1660: fewer than 1,000

slaves in Virginia and

Maryland

• 1700: at least 20,000 slaves

in Virginia and Maryland

(22% of population)

Chesapeake Bay Image Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Slavery Outside The Chesapeake

• By early 1700s slave labor was used extensively

in South Carolina

• Slavery existed in all of England’s North

American colonies

– Slaves made up 20% of New York City’s

population in mid-1700s

Colonial Society


II. New England vs.

Chesapeake




V. Enlightenment &

Religion

A. Social Compact

B. Great Awakening

VI. Conc.

Key Terms



• Mercantilism

• Navigation Acts

• John Locke

• Deism


Economics

• Trade tied the colonies & England to one another

• England purchased more American goods &

provided more imports than any other nations

• This was partly due to: Mercantilism

Mercantilism

• A nation’s power was determined by its wealth (in

gold & silver)

• Key: nations must export more goods than are

imported

• Development of colonies was influenced by this

system overall

Mercantilism (England & Its Colonies)

• Colonies provided raw materials: tobacco, rice,

sugar, lumber, furs, etc.

• Colonists purchased finished products

manufactured in England

Atlantic Trade Routes (Triangular Trade)


Navigation Acts (1651-1673)

1. All trade goods sent to the colonies had to be

transported on English ships

2. Enumerated goods, such as wool, sugar, tobacco

& indigo, had to be shipped to England

3. All foreign goods had to travel through England

before reaching the colonies

Populations Of Boston, New York, And

Philadelphia, 1690–1776


Economics & Politics

• The Crown & Parliament established regulations

for the colonies, however each colony did have its

own local government

Colonial Governments

A. Governor: appointed by the King or Proprietor

in most cases

B. Council: chosen by Governor & served as

advisors

C. Assembly: elected by voters; had the power to

pass laws, levy taxes & controlled budgets

Colonial Governments

• Royal Governors theoretically had the most

power, but by early 1700s Assemblies became

assertive

• How: Assemblies controlled the Governors’

salaries

Colonial Governments (Voting & Holding Office)

• Women & non-whites were not eligible voters

• However, most adult white males over 40 had

the right to vote

– In England: only about 33% of men could

vote

• Wealthy elites tended to dominate Assemblies

Colonial Society


II. New England vs.

Chesapeake




V. Enlightenment &

Religion

A. Social Compact

B. Great Awakening

VI. Conc.

Key Terms



• Mercantilism

• Navigation Acts

• John Locke

• Deism


The Enlightenment

• An intellectual movement associated with Europe

in the 17th and 18th centuries

• Individuals applied rational/scientific thought to

the world in which they lived

The Enlightenment (Science)

Isaac Newton

• A Mathematician & Physicist

• “Discovered” the law of gravity

• Explained how the Universe was organized by a

series of rational laws

Enlightenment (Role Of Government)

John Locke’s Compact Theory

1. All have natural rights of life, liberty & property

2. To protect rights, people establish a government

with limited powers

3. The people have the right to revolt if the

government oversteps its powers

Enlightenment (Role Of Government)

• Impact of Locke’s writings:

– Provided a philosophical justification for

colonists during the American Revolution

Enlightenment (In The Colonies)

• Ben Franklin = influenced

by Enlightenment

• Born in Boston; moved to

Philadelphia

• Founded American

Philosophical Society

From Poor Richard’s Almanac


Enlightenment (In The Colonies)

• Thomas Jefferson = Enlightened

thinker

• He and others were influenced

by Deism

• Believed in a Supreme Being

who created the universe

• Universe then operated without

Divine interference

• Supported religious freedom Thomas Jefferson


Great Awakening

• A religious fervor spread across British North

America in 1730s

• Jonathan Edwards, a New England minister, was

an example

– “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Jonathan Edwards Biography

http://edwards.yale.edu/about-edwards/biography/

Great Awakening

George Whitefield

• Arrived in 1739

• Impact = increased church membership

– Connecticut: from 630 church members to

3,200 following his visit

• An electrifying public speaker

Great Awakening (Legacy)

• Presbyterian & Baptist churches gained members

at the expense of Anglicans & Congregationalists

• Slave owners were encouraged to convert their

slaves to Christianity & improve their treatment

Colonial Society


II. New England vs.

Chesapeake




V. Enlightenment &

Religion

A. Social Compact

B. Great Awakening

VI. Conc.

Key Terms



• Mercantilism

• Navigation Acts

• John Locke

• Deism


Review

• Life in the Chesapeake colonies compared to New

England

• Indentured servants & growth of slavery

• Mercantilism & politics

• Enlightenment & Great Awakening

• Describe colonial society & determine which traits

are most important

Colonial Society


II. New England vs.

Chesapeake




V. Enlightenment &

Religion

A. Social Compact

B. Great Awakening

VI. Conc.

Key Terms



• Mercantilism

• Navigation Acts

• John Locke

• Deism


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