Slavery, Enlightenment and The Great Awakening

African Slaves Brought to the Colonies as plantation labor Came from many different West African cultures and were then thrown together on the plantations, forcing them to adapt and develop new, American- specific cultures

Some plantations were extremely lenient on their slaves. Others were very harsh. Why is this?

South Carolinian Slavery Slaves dramatically outnumbered whites on the plantations, so order was maintained through harsh punishments – whippings, brandings, mutilations, executions Maintained night watches to prevent rebellion, and regularly patrolled for runaway slaves

Virginian Slavery Ratio of slaves to whites was much smaller and working conditions were less unpleasant than in SC Planters were less watchful and demanding of their slaves, allowing them to move around unchecked and often rewarding them with time off or extra rations for completing jobs ahead of schedule or unusually well Slaves were still severely punished for disobedience and other transgressions

How did slaves show resistance?

Slave Resistance Slaves sometimes ran away to join the Native Americans Often used passive resistance techniques: refused to work hard, worked slowly, broke or lost tools or other supplies, deliberately made mistakes

Stono Rebellion 1739: 75 South Carolinian slaves attacked their overseers and seized a supply of weapons The slaves made for Spanish Florida, which had promised freedom to any runaways The local militia caught up with the slaves and ended the rebellion by killing most of the runaways Resulted in much harsher laws in SC regarding slaves

The Enlightenment

European philosophers began to stress the importance of human reason (and deemphasize the role of religion) in solving all manner of social problems Argued that man could come to understand all social, economic, and political relationships because these things were bound by natural laws

John Locke Author of Two Treatises on Government (1689) The right of a monarch to rule is not divine, but rather comes from the people All people have the natural right to life, liberty, and property Government exists to protect those rights, not to threaten them; if the government fails to protect people’s natural rights, then the people are entitled to overthrow that government

John Locke Essay on Human Understanding (1690) People are not born sinful, but rather they are blank slates ( tabula rasa ) that are shaped by society and education People can, and should, improve themselves by improving their society

Locke and America Locke’s writings were popular in the Colonies because it backed up their belief that they had protected rights as English citizens and re- enforced their belief that they were building a new and better world than what existed in Europe

Baron de Montesquieu Author of The Spirit of the Laws (1748) Argued for separation of government power into three branches (executive, legislative, and judicial), where each branch limited the power of the other two through a system of checks and balances

The Great Awakening

Religious counterpoint to the Enlightenment A new idea, called piety, emphasized the need for people to engage in a more personal and emotional relationship with God

Jonathan Edwards 1703 – 1758 New England preacher who wanted to revive the spiritual fervor of the early Puritans Gave “fire and brimstone” style sermons with vivid images of Hell and called for his fellow Christians to repent and become “born again”

George Whitfield 1714 – 1770 Best known and most influential of the Great Awakening ministers Anglican minister who openly challenged the authority of ministers who had not been “born again,” leading to serious tensions, and even splits, within many American congregations

Consequences of the Great Awakening New religious beliefs stressed an independent relationship with God Older Puritan churches declined in number, while revivalist churches such as Baptists and Methodists surged Baptist churches grew especially strong in the South, where its message of social equality before God struck a chord with poor farmers and slaves Colonists were convinced that religious power resided in their own hands, rather than in the hands of the Church of England, or any other religious authority. The chain of authority no longer ran from God to ruler to people, but from God directly to the people