COLONIAL SOCIETY ON THE EVE OF REVOLUTION

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Chapter 5

• COLONIAL SOCIETY ON THE EVE OF REVOLUTION

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Common Features Of Colonies

• Populations were growing dramatically
• Between 1700 -1775 colonies doubled their
  population every 25 years.
• Reasons for population growth.
• Change in the ratio of blacks to white
• 90 of population lived in rural areas.

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Population Location

• Most of population cooped up between Atlantic and
  Appalachian,
• Vanguard of settlers across mountains and as far
  as Tenn. and Kentucky.
• Va., Mass., Pa, NC and Maryland were the biggest
  colonies, in that order.
• Philly the biggest city with 34,000.

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• Colonial America was a melting pot by 1775.
• Germans (6) (150,000)
• Scots-Irish (7)
• Other Europeans (5)
• Africans (20)

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Structure Of Colonial Society

• Compared to Europe, America was a land of
  equality and opportunity except for slavery.
• Most remarkable feature was the ease with which
  could go from rags to riches on the social scale.

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Structure Of Colonial Society

• By 1776 social stratification beginning to set
  in.
• Raised some barriers to upward mobility and fears
  that America becoming Europeanized.
• Reasons?

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Workaday America

• Agriculture was the leading industry 90 of the
  people
• Tobacco the Staple crop in Maryland and Virginia
• Grain the primary crop in the Middle colonies.

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Workaday America

• Colonist standard of living compared to rest of
  world.
• Major Industry in New England?
• Fishing/whaling
• Trade
• Quintessential Yankee Trader

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Nature of Trade

• What was being traded to Europe?
• From Europe?
• What is the Triangular Trade?

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Map 5.3 Colonial Trade Patterns, c. 1770
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Colonial Manufacturing

• Manufacturing was limited and only of secondary
  importance.
• Reasons
• 1)partly due to lack of money to invest
• 2) partly due to lack of laborers and
• 3) partly due to mercantilism.

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Lumbering

• Lumbering was the most important manufacturing
  activity.
• Why were British so hungry for American timber?
• British Navy and merchant marines needed wood
• 1/3 of British merchant marine (Ships) was
  American-built.
• Rosin, pitch, tar and turpentine were also highly
  valued by shippers

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Economic Problem in the 1730s

• What economic problems faced US in 1730s?
• England saturated with American products.
• Americans need cash and the only way to get cash
  is through sale of American goods.
• Thus, Americans want to tap other markets to sell
  their goods.
• Are shipping a lot of timber and food to the
  French West Indies, which is providing cash for
  Americans to buy from England.
• But

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Molasses Act of 1733

• What did it say?
• What was the intent of the act?
• How do Colonists react?

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Dominant Denominations

• Two established (tax supported) churches were
  dominant in the colonies
• Anglican (Church of England)
• Congregational (Puritan)
• Many colonists did not attend church.

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Anglican Church

• Official church in Ga., North and South Carolina,
  Va. and Maryland.
• Strongest in the south
• Why did Britain want to increase its power?
• Not very fervent.
• Clergy was poorly trained.
• Anglicans lacked a bishop in America, thus all
  ministers had to train in England.
• Colonists resisted idea of an American Bishop.
• Why?

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Congregational Church

• Congregational church formally established in all
  NE colonies except RI.
• Was a hotbed for rebellion, and as rebellion
  neared ministers often preached sedition from the
  pulpit.

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The Great Awakening

• Causes
• People less fervent.
• Puritan churches struggling. Why?
• Dead dog ministers.
• Ministers worried that the people had grown soft.
• Liberal ideas began to challenge old time
  religion.

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The Great Awakening

• A religious revival in 1730-40s
• Spread like wildfire.
• Was a reaction against the rationalism and
  enlightenment of the period that put reason above
  God.
• Reaction against complacency of religion.
• First North American Mass Movement

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Jonathan Edwards

• Jonathan Edwards
• Started Great Awakening.
• Deep thinker burned with righteousness
• Views on Salvation.
• Famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry
  God.
• George Whitefield
• More eloquent.
• Tried to lead people back to God through the
  passion of his rhetoric.
• Revival meeting.
• His message.

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Results of the Great Awakening

• People split off to new churches
• Undermined older clergy
• New denominations
• Increased missionary work
• Founding of new colleges
• Broke down sectional boundaries and contributed
  to sense of Americans as one people.

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Schools and Colleges

• English view of education.
• New England schools
• Middle Colonies
• South-Field System
• Universities in America

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Pioneer Presses

• Most people could not buy books.
• Only a few libraries based.
• Colonial newspapers.
• Newspapers typically contained dull essays and
  commentaries.
• Zenger Case

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Government In The Colonies

• Originally
• 8 were royal colonies.
• 3 were proprietorships ( Maryland, Pennsylvania,
  and Delaware)
• 2 had self-governing charters (Connecticut and
  Rhode Island.)
• By time of Revolution, most were royal.

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Common Features in Governments

• Almost all the colonies used a two-house
  legislature.
• Powers of Legislatures
• Ability to Control the Governors
• Religious and/or property-owning requirements for
  vote existed in all colonies.