Colonial Culture and Tension with England Unit 1, Lesson 5

Essential Idea England and American colonies grew apart culturally and politically over time.

Women in the Colonies Women: The role of the woman was to raise and educate children and run the household when the husband was absent Married women were not supposed to work outside the home and were expected to obey husbands Unmarried women had more rights, such as property ownership

Africans in the Colonies African Slaves: Initially, colonists justified slavery because Africans were not Christians Eventually, slavery was based on RACE, and the status could be passed on to CHILDREN Slave Codes: These laws emphasized that African slaves were DIFFERENT and created racism These laws controlled slaves and kept them at a low status Slaves could not own property, testify against whites, and could not travel or assemble freely Indentured Servitude, Bacon’s Rebellion, and Racially-Based Slavery

Slave Conditions Slave Conditions: Slaves worked long days performing hard labor and sometimes were beaten Slave owners would sometimes break up families by selling off members

Slave Resistance Slave Resistance: Slaves would work slowly, pretend to be dumb, or run away Stono Rebellion- in 1739, slaves in South Carolina rebelled against their owners They killed 21 whites but were caught when they tried to escape to Spanish Florida Slave Conditions and the Stono Rebellion

The Colonies Grow Birth Rate Increases In the 1700s, the population in the colonies grew rapidly Families averaged seven children each, and even more in New England (Northern population grew faster) The population doubled every 25 years, up to 2.5 million by the American Revolution in 1776 By 1776, most colonists had been born in America, NOT England

The Colonies Grow Immigration: By 1776, over 300,000 non-English immigrants had moved to the English colonies Germans and Dutch moved to the middle colonies The Scots-Irish, who had been oppressed by England, moved to the western frontier Africans were brought as slaves, mostly to the Southern colonies

Colonial Demographics in 1776

Loyalty to England Decline Impact on Loyalty to England: By 1776, most people in the colonies had either been born in America or in a country other than England By 1776, England had passed many laws and committed actions the colonists hated Respect for England’s authority declined, which helped cause the American Revolution in 1776

English/Colonial Economics Mercantilism: Idea that a country’s power is tied to its wealth Colonies provided England with raw materials, making England self-sufficient England got wealthier because did not have to buy from other countries

The Navigation Acts The Navigation Acts: These laws exploited the colonies to help England Colonists could only trade on English ships England listed several products the colonists could ONLY sell to England

Colonies React to the Navigation Acts Colonial Reaction: The colonies felt these acts restricted their economies Colonists smuggled goods to the Caribbean (West Indies), Africa, and other European countries

England Tightens its Grip English King James II merged the New England colonies together and put a governor-general, Sir Edmund Andros, in charge This new “Dominion of New England” was meant to crack down on smuggling Andros strictly enforced the Navigation Acts and higher taxes The colonists’ relationship with England worsened

England’s Revolution Glorious Revolution: James II and Edmund Andros were both removed from power England created the English Bill of Rights, allowing free speech, jury trials, and ending “cruel and unusual punishment” The new English leaders, William and Mary, restored freedom to the colonies This foreshadowed the American Revolution and the American Bill of Rights The Navigation Acts and the Glorious Revolution

New Ideas: The Enlightenment Philosophical Movement: The Enlightenment The Enlightenment emphasized logic, science, and reasoning (rationalism) Deism: Many Enlightenment thinkers were deists Deists believed God let natural laws run the universe but had no personal relationship with humans

Enlightenment Thinkers John Locke’s Beliefs: Natural Rights- rights people are born with, including the right to life, liberty, and property. Compact theory- government exists as a compact with the people in order to protect natural rights The government rules at the consent of the governed People should abolish a government that does not protect their natural rights

Enlightenment Thinkers Baron Montesquieu's Beliefs: Separation of Powers- division of government into three branches—executive, legislative, and judicial Checks and Balances- the branches “check” each other’s power, preventing a dictatorship

The Zenger Case (1733) Zenger Case: John Peter Zenger was put on trial for criticizing the New York governor in the newspaper Zenger was ruled not guilty This related to government ruling by consent of the governed This also helped set the precedent of freedom of the press (1st Amendment)

New Ideas: The Great Awakening Religious Movement: The Great Awakening Over time, colonists had become less religious The Great Awakening was a revival of Christianity in the colonies Emotionalism was emphasized over rationalism and people were converted at large public revival meetings The movement rejected traditional church authority and stressed a personal connection with God

The Great Awakening Major Preachers: Jonathan Edwards- called on people to repent or be sent to hell by an angry God George Whitefield- preached emotional sermons with a booming voice The Great Awakening

The Great Awakening Impact: American churches split into two groups “Old Lights”- churches that maintained traditional authority “New Lights”-emphasized personal religious experience over traditional church authority

Impact of Movements on Colonies Impact of New Ideas on the Colonies: The Enlightenment led Americans to feel England had violated their natural rights and the “compact” The Great Awakening led Americans to question England’s traditional authority These two movements made Americans prone to consider independence from England in 1776