Chapter Three - Mesa Public Schools



Chapter 3: Society and Culture in Provincial America

I. The Colonial Population

- nonnative population grew due to continued immigration & natural increase

- by 17th century, European & African immigrants dominated Atlantic Coast

- early English population very unaristocratic (dominant element was laborers

A. Indentured Servitude

-voluntarily bound to masters; in return, they received passage, food, shelter & land

-headright system: masters received land grants for every servant they imported

-some indentures became farmers, trades people or artisans

-other males found themselves without land, employment, family or prospects

-large floating population of single men threatened social unrest

-beginning in 1670s flow of immigrants declined due to a decrease in birth rate and increased English prosperity

-after 1700, better opportunities in mid-Atlantic colonies > PA and NY

B. Birth and Death

-non-Indian population expanded to over ¼ million

-after the 1650s, natural increase became most important source of population

-exceptional longevity > men lived to 71, while women lived to 70

-mortality rates for whites in Chesapeake region were higher than anywhere else

-white men lived to just over 40 and one in four children died in infancy

-by late 17th century, ratio of males to females in colonies was more balanced

C. Medicine in the Colonies

-many deaths attributed to infections during childbirth or surgery (unsanitary)

-midwives assisted in childbirth & dispensed medical advice; urged patients to use herbs or natural remedies

-prevailing assumptions of the time mainly derived from the theory of “humoralism” by Roman physician Galen

-principal medical techniques were purging, expulsion, and bleeding

-midwives preferred homeopathic treatments

-birth of Enlightenment led to acceptance of scientific method

D. Women and Families in the Chesapeake

-traditional male-centered family structure of England became difficult to maintain

-five out of eight children died in infancy

-many widowed wives owned land after husbands died > gained economic power

-population and life expectancy increased, indentured servitude declined, natural reproduction became main source of increase in white population

E. Women and Families in New England

-in NE, family structure more stable than in Chesapeake, hence more traditional

-longer life expectancy in the North in contrast to the South

-women lived longer, hence they were less often cast in roles independent of their husbands

-for New Englanders, family and status of women defined by religious belief

-Anne Hutchinson is an example of both the possibilities and limits of female spiritual power

-Puritanism placed high value on family and reinforced the idea of male authority and assumption of female inferiority

-women were important to agricultural economy by engaging in farming tasks

F. The Beginnings of Slavery in British America

-demand for slaves grew rapidly due to tobacco cultivation

-Portuguese dominated in 16th century > later joined by Dutch and French navigators

-Middle Passage: transfer of African slaves on terrifying journey to America

-turning point in African Americans population increased after Royal African Company’s monopoly was broken

-by early 18th century, a rigid distinction between blacks and whites was established

-slave codes were established to limit rights of blacks in law to ensure absolute authority to white masters

G. Changing Sources of European Immigration

-earliest immigrants were the French Calvinists, or Huguenots

-German Protestants suffered similarly from religious policies of their rulers

-all Germans, Catholics as well as Protestants suffered from the devastating wars with King Louis XIV

- Quaker colony in Pennsylvania became most common destination for Germans

-in NJ and Pennsylvania, Presbyterianism was an important religion in the colonies

II. The Colonial Economies

-substantial trade developed with native population of North America with French settlers in the north and Spanish colonists in the south and west

-farming dominated all areas of Euro and African settlement in 17th & 18th centuries

A. The Southern Economy

-tobacco early established itself as basis of the economy

-staple crop of the economies of SC and Georgia was rice

-SC and Georgia were more dependent on African slaves because they were much better at it than whites and had a greater resistance to malaria

-Eliza Lucas discovered an Indian plant (indigo) that could be grown on the high ground of SC

-because of cash crops, southern colonies developed less of a commercial or industrial economy

-trading in tobacco & rice handled by merchants in London & later in northern colonies

B. Northern Economic and Technological Life

-NE agriculture was harder to farm because of cold weather and hard rocky soil

-NY, PA, and CT River valley were suppliers of wheat to NE and parts of the South

-first effort to establish metals industry was ironworks in Saugus, MA after iron ore was discovered

-metal works became important part of colonial economy

-Iron Act of 1750 restricted metal processing in colonies

-biggest obstacle to industrialization in America was inadequate labor supply, small domestic market, inadequate transportation facilities and energy supplies

-fur trade was in decline; lumbering, mining, and fishing took its place

-most distinctive feature of northern economy was thriving commercial class

C. The Extent and Limits of Technology

-half the farmers in the colonies did not even own a plow

-many households had few, if any, pots for cooking, guns or rifles and candles because they were unable to afford candle molds or tallow (wax)

-the most commonly owned tool on farms was the axe

-few colonists were self-sufficient in late 17th and early 18th centuries

-few colonial families owned spinning wheels or looms, so most purchased their yarn or clothing from merchants

D. The Rise of Colonial Commerce

-shortage of currency > no commonly accepted medium of exchange

-second obstacle was imposing order on their trade

-experimented with different forms of paper currency like tobacco certificates

-vessels stayed at sea for years journeying from one market to another to earn a profit

-Triangular Trade in rum, slaves & sugar was a maze of highly diverse trade routes:

-between the northern and southern colonies, America and England, America

and Africa, and the West Indies and Europe

-by mid-18th century, a group of entrepreneurs began to constitute a distinct merchant class concentrated in port cities in the North (Boston, NY & Philadelphia)

-commercial sector remained open to newcomers because it was expanding rapidly

E. The Rise of Consumerism

-result was a growing preoccupation with consumption of material goods and association of possessions with social status

-consumerism was increasing division of American societies by class

-growth of consumerism was a product of early stages of industrial revolution

-merchants and traders began advertising their goods in journals and newspapers

-items that became commonplace household items included tea, linens, glassware, cutlery, crockery, and furniture

-Americans strove to develop themselves as witty and educated conversationalists

-18th century cities had public squares, parks and boulevards to create public stages for social display

III. Patterns of Society

-aristocracies emerged that relied less on land ownership and more on a work force

-there were opportunities in America for social mobility

A. The Plantation

-Charles Carroll of Carrollton, wealthiest man in the colonies, had 40,000 acres and 285 slaves

-on the whole, 17th century colonial plantations were relatively small estates

-plantations were far from cities, so they often became self-contained communities

-there were frequent sexual liaisons between husbands or sons and black women in the slave communities

-Southern society was highly stratified

-small farmers formed majority of the South, but planters dominated their economy

B. Plantation Slavery

-Africans developed a strong family structure as a result of increased life expectancy, gradual equalization of sex ratio, and growth of the population

-any family member could be sold at any time, so they created “surrogate” families

-African workers developed languages of their own and created a religion blending Christianity with African folklore

-most important slave rebellion during the colonial period was the Stono Rebellion

-on larger plantations, slaves learned blacksmithing, carpentry, shoemaking, spinning, weaving, sewing, and midwifery

C. The Puritan Community

-Puritan settlements drew up a “covenant” among its members, binding all residents in a religious and social commitment

-residents held a yearly “town meeting” to decide important questions and to choose a group of “selectmen” who governed

-in NE, a father divided up his land among all his sons as opposed to the English system of primogeniture

-as towns grew, many people moved out of the town center nearer their lands, but farther from the church

-fathers needed their sons, as well as their wives and daughters, as a source of labor

D. Witchcraft Phenomenon

-supposed witchcraft in NE caused widespread hysteria in the 1680s and 1690s

-most famous outbreak was in Salem, Massachusetts

-19 residents were put to death before trials ended in 1692

-research reveals that most of the accused were middle-aged women, often widowed, with few or no children in low social position

-Puritan society had little tolerance for “independent” women

-reflected the highly religious character of these societies

E. Cities

-two largest ports in the 1770s were Philadelphia and New York, followed by Boston, Charles Town and Newport

-colonial cities served as trading centers for farmers and marts of international trade

-social distinctions were most real and visible in urban areas

-cities became locations for most advanced schools & sophisticated cultural activities

-in addition, there were urban social problems: crime, vice, pollution and epidemics

-cities became places where new ideas could circulate and be discussed

-revolutionary crisis in 1760’s and 1770’s was first visible in taverns & coffeehouses

IV. Awakenings and Enlightenments

-two forces were competing in American intellectual life in18th century

-one was traditional outlook with emphasis on personal God

-other stressed importance of science & human reason

-Enlightenment suggested that people had control over their own lives & society

A. The Pattern of Religions

-settlers in America brought with them so many different religious practices that it proved difficult to impose a single religious code on any large area

-Church of England was established in VA, MD, NY, the Carolinas and Georgia

-New Englanders viewed Catholics as commercial and military rivals and dangerous agents of Rome

-Jews established their largest community in NY City

-rise of commercial prosperity created secular outlook in urban areas

-“Jeremiads” are sermons of despair deploring the signs of waning piety

B. The Great Awakening

-by the early 18th century, similar concerns about declining piety and growing secularism were emerging in other regions and among members of other faith

-the Great Awakening brought religious fervor to the colonies

-appealed to women and younger sons of the third and fourth generations of settlers

-powerful evangelists were John and Charles Wesley (Methodism), George Whitefield

-most outstanding was Jonathan Edwards who preached traditional Puritan ideas

-revivalists were associated with the “New Light” and traditionalists were associated with the “Old Light”

C. The Enlightenment

-scientists and other thinkers discovered natural laws that they believed regulated the workings of nature

-scientists argued that humans had a moral sense between right and wrong and didn’t always need to turn to God for guidance for decision making

-encouraged new emphasis on education and an interest in politics and government

-ideas borrowed from abroad form Francis Bacon and John Locke

-later Americans as Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and James Madison made vital contributions to Enlightenment traditions

D. Education

-in Massachusetts, a 1647 law required every town to support a public school

-by the Revolution, more than half of white men could read and write

-in their early years colonial girls often received the same home-based education as boys and their literacy rate was higher than that of their European counterparts

-slaves had virtually no access to education

-most Indian tribes educated their children in their own way

-Harvard, the first American college, was est. in 1636 as training center for ministers

-later William and Mary (VA), Yale (CT), and Princeton (NJ) were founded

-despite the religious basis of colleges, the curricula included logic, ethics, physics, geometry, astronomy, rhetoric, Latin, Hebrew, and Greek

-Penn was a completely secular institution and became first medical school

E. The Spread of Science

-most early colleges introduced advanced scientific theories of Europe, including Copernican astronomy and Newtonian physics

-leading merchants, planters, and theologians became members of the Royal Society of London, the leading English scientific organization

-Benjamin Franklin won international fame with lightning and electricity

-Cotton Mather introduced smallpox inoculation, or the practice of deliberately infecting people with mild cases of smallpox to immunize against the deadly disease

-by the mid-18th century, inoculation was a common medical procedure in America

F. Concepts of Law and Politics

-changes in the law resulted in part from the scarcity of English-trained lawyers

-American legal system adopted many of its elements from the English system, like trial by jury

-John Peter Zenger won an important case that removed restrictions on freedom of the press

-in most colonies, local communities ran their own affairs with minimal interference from higher authorities

-in 1763, the English government began tightening its control over American colonies (SALUTARY NEGLECT!!!

V. Conclusion

-the North was dominated by small farms, growing towns and cities, a thriving commercial class, and an urban culture

-the South was dominated by plantations, relied on African workers, and had little other commerce than crops

-most white Americans accepted racial inequality

-most white colonists believed in basic principles of law and politics

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