Colonial Society on the Eve of the Revolution Chapter 5 By: Melissa Oguamanam ~ 1700 – 1775 ~

Conquest by the Cradle By 1775…  32 British colonies in North America  Population: 2.5 million people 90% of them live in rural lands Mostly on east coast  Average age: 16 years old

A Mingling of the Races  America was made up of many races  Main Groups –German 6 % of population (150,000 people) Lutheran (Pennsylvania Dutch) –Scots-Irish 7% of population (175,000 people) –Other European groups French, Welsh, Dutch, Swedes, Jews, & Swiss

The Structure of the Colonial Society  Hard work = rags to riches  Power was in hands of clergyman, lawyers, and farmers  Rich farmers in South owned many slaves  Slaves were positioned behind indentured servants and criminals in social ranking

Clerics, Physicians, and Jurists  Clergy – most honored profession  Physicians – least honored profession –Cured most patients by letting them bleed  Lawyers gained high status  Plagues –1/5 people affected by smallpox –Some did not want to mess with God’s Will

Workaday America  Largest Industry: Agriculture –Staple Crops Maryland and Virginia: Tobacco New York: Flour  New England depended heavily on fishing  Smallest Industry: Manufacturing

Triangular Trade  New England boat with rum goes to ->  Africa & trades it for slaves ->  Slaves traded for molasses in West Indies ->  Molasses traded for rum in New England

Triangular Trade

Molasses Act  Passed by Parliament in 1733  Prohibited American trade with French West Indies  Americans smuggled to get what they needed

Horsepower and Sail power  Roads were horrible –Families signed wills before trips  Towns built around slow moving rivers  Inter-colonial postal system created  Travelers went to bars and taverns for entertainment

Dominant Denominations Anglican  Church of England  Religion in Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, Carolinas, and some of New York  Had shorter masses and allowed more freedom Congressional  Based on Puritan beliefs  Religion in New England colonies except Rhode Island  Wanted followers to be more devout to church

The Great Awakening  Jonathan Edwards – Preached members to tears with passionate sermons on salvation  George Whitefield – a stronger preacher than Edwards  Orthodox clergyman scorned the new preachers for their emotional style

Schools and Colleges  Education was highly regarded in New England  Schools focused on the humanities such as religion, literature, and classical languages  Farming was more important in the South than schooling

Culture – Art and Architecture  Free time dealt with church  Art was not encouraged  Artists: –John Trumbull –Charles Peale – George Washington portraits –Benjamin West –John Copley  Architecture: –Swedish log cabins –Georgian red brick houses

Culture - Literature Phillis Wheatley  Former slave  Moved to England  Wrote book of poems  Exposed power of Alexander Pope Ben Franklin  Wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac  Had famous proverbs  Popular both in Europe and America  Experimented with science

Pioneer Presses  Libraries were scarce  The creation of journals & pamphlets arose as the revolution grew near  John Peter Zenger accused of seditious libel –Freedom of Press promised after this case

The Great Game of Politics  Royal governors in 8 colonies  Proprietor governors in 3 colonies  Two house legislative body –Upper house: Proprietors appoint them –Lower house: People elect them  Taxation with representation – privilege  Suffrage belonged to whites who owned land

Makers of America: The Scots- Irish  Scots suffered in Britain –Poor –Taxed by British  Moved to America –Mostly lived in Pennsylvania (open-minded)  Bonded together by religion  Highly supported Revolution from their hatred of Britain

Colonial Folkways  Early sufferings in America –Homes had no plumbing –Homes had no running water –Churches had no heat –Garbage removed had not been advanced

What they did for fun  Playing cards  Hunting fox  Racing horses  Theatre  Quilting

The End