18th Century Colonial Society 1700-1775 Pageant Chapter 5
1a. Population Portrait The 13 British Colonies Rapid population growth in the 18th Century By 1775 – 2.5 million colonists live there But by today’s standards that’s not many Major cities alone have that many people The largest city in the colonies was Philadelphia and it had only 34,000 people. 28,628 people live in Griffin today, just to give you an idea of how small our country’s beginnings were
1a., b. Population Portrait 1) Germans – Settled mostly in PA 2) Dutch – Settled most in NY 3) Scots-Irish – MD, and south into VA and the Carolinas 4) Africans – VA, the Carolinas, and GA
The Original 13 - 1775
2. Colonial Social Structure 1) At the top: - rich merchants / planters 2) Wage laborers 3) Tenant farmers and indentured servants 4) Deportees from England 5) slaves
3a., b. Economics 90% of the colonies was involved in agriculture The North produced cattle and grain The Chesapeake region – Tobacco The South - rice and indigo The Triangular Trade –raw materials England from the colonies; manufactured goods Africa; Africans would trade their own people off as slaves to be taken to the colonies.
3c. Economics The colonies began making Britain a lot of money, and Britain got greedier The Molasses Act – 1733 – this kept the colonies from being able to trade with the French. The British wanted to keep the colonies under their control.
4. Religion As we all know, religion played a very important factor in the formation of the 13 colonies but in different degrees depending on the colony Some colonies were more religious than others Congregationalism – New England Anglican – GA, the Carolinas, VA, MD, and part of NY None – RI, NJ, PA, DE
4. Religion Religious revivals were the first mass movements in the colonies in the 1730s and the 1740s. George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards Leaders of the Great Awakening Dependence on God’s grace, repentance of sin, and returning to obeying God’s commands.
5. Education, Culture, and Politics Schools in colonial America were quite different 1) Religion was the main focus 2) Classical languages of Greek and Latin were learned 3) Discipline was severe; switches were used Colonial presses were at work during these times and they took advantage of the freedom It was an early defense of what would be one of our basic freedoms.
5. Education, Culture, and Politics The 13 colonies had political differences as well. By 1775: 8 colonies had governors appointed by the king 3 had proprietors that chose their governors 2 were self governing, electing their own governors Governors had it rough in some of the colonies The legislatures paid the governor, which meant they often withheld his salary if he didn’t do things the way they wanted. White adult male landowners had the most voting rights in the colonies Was it a true democracy?
Unit One Primary Source Reading HW Page 32 – “Starving Time” Page 44 – “Framing the Mayflower Compact” Page 50 – “John Winthrop’s Concept of Liberty” Page 78 – “The Conscience of a Slave Trader” Page 94 - George Whitefield Fascinates Franklin