Colonial Culture and Tension with England Unit 1, Lesson 5

Africans in the Colonies Slave Codes: These laws controlled slaves and kept them at a low status Slaves could not own property, testify against whites, could not travel or assemble freely Slaves worked long days performing hard labor and sometimes were beaten Slave owners would sometimes break up families by selling off members 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 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 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 Navigation Acts Colonists could only trade on English ships England listed several products the colonists could ONLY sell to England Navigation Acts: series of acts from 1650-1673, beginning of Mercantilism in the English colonies The Navigation Acts established three rules: Trade to and from the colonies could only be carried on English ships All goods imported into the English colonies could only pass through English ports The colonies could sell certain “enumerated” goods (tobacco) only to England

Colonies React to the Navigation Acts The colonies felt these acts restricted their economies Beginning of American resentment of English rule Positive effects: 1) New England Shipbuilding expanded, 2) Colonial tobacco had a monopoly in England and 3) The British military protected the colonies from the French, Spanish and Indians Negative effects: 1) limited colonial manufacturing, 2) low tobacco prices and 3) colonists paid high prices for manufactured goods Beginning of American resentment/dislike of English rule

England Tightens its Grip In 1686, English King James II merged the New England colonies together and put a governor-general, Sir Edmund Andros, in charge This was meant to crack down on smuggling Andros strictly enforced the Navigation Acts and higher taxes The colonists’ relationship with England worsened Town meetings were severely restricted, the local legislatures were disbanded and a council was created to assist Andros in governing the colony. According to the book The Imperial Executive in America, it was the lack of local legislatures that became the biggest source of strife in the Dominion:

Loyalty to England Declines By 1776, most people in the colonies had either been born in America or in a country other than England England had passed many laws and committed actions the colonists hated Respect for England’s authority declined

Glorious Revolution King James II removed from power England created the English Bill of Rights, allowing free speech, jury trials, and ending “cruel and unusual punishment” This foreshadowed the American Revolution/the American Bill of Rights This foreshadowed the American Revolution and the American Bill of Rights

New Ideas: The Enlightenment The Enlightenment emphasized logic, science, and reasoning Many Enlightenment thinkers believed God let natural laws run the universe but had no personal relationship with humans

Enlightenment Thinkers John Locke: Natural Rights- rights people are born with, including the right to life, liberty, and property. Govt rules at the consent of the governed People should abolish a govt that doesn’t protect natural rights Compact theory- govt exists as a compact with the people in order to protect natural rights

Enlightenment Thinkers Baron Montesquieu: Separation of Powers- division of govt into 3 branches—executive, legislative, and judicial Checks and Balances- branches “check” each other’s power

The Zenger Case (1733) 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 Helped set the precedent of freedom of the press (1st Amendment)

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

Impact of Movements The Enlightenment led Americans to feel England had violated their natural rights The Great Awakening led Americans to question England’s traditional authority These two movements made Americans prone to consider independence from England in 1776