The Cultures of Colonial North America

The French Crescent Early French colonies were predominately Catholic and spread by Jesuit missionaries French relied on their trading alliances to grow their colonies in N. America Colonies sprung up around the St. Lawrence River, Quebec, New Orleans and the Great Lakes Colonies relied on farming and trading

New England Most English colonists were Puritans and their church played a key role in their everyday lives Puritans worked communal land, adult males were freemen and they controlled their local community Many towns were restricted by the Puritan faith Puritans persecuted Baptists, Anglicans and even Quakers

John Locke argued that the state should not have legitimate concern with religious belief (Separation of church and state) Toleration Acts- passed by Parliament in 1661 to stop the religious persecution by the Puritans in Massachusetts Gradually over time other denominations were allowed to practice in New England colonies

The Middle Colonies Were more ethnically diverse than the New England colonies Puritan, Baptist, Quaker, Catholic and Jewish churches all existed Community leaders (men) ran the colonies and they were loosely bound together Land was distributed into individual lots rather than communal ones

The Backcountry People moved along the Appalachian Mts. In Pennsylvania and Virginia Considered the first frontier movement in N. America Most had no legal claim to the land and became squatters and resented the belief in “rank” Most were farmers and hunters

The South Chesapeake and Lower South were tri-racial (whites, slaves and natives) Largest population growth was from the importation of slaves to the region Specialized in rice, tobacco, and other commercial crops Consisted of few villages and towns Church of England was the dominate religious order Plantations were the dominate social institution

Culture in the New World Family, kinship, local community and the church were the most significant factors of everyday life. Most colonists continued to work the land they lived on and commercial agriculture did emerge Colonial cities were centers of commerce and organized by the European craft system (cities specialized in certain crafts)

Labor was the key to prosperity but was often limited Settlers preferred to work the land for themselves rather than work for a wage Landowners would often have to use forced labor to secure a workforce More than half the immigrants from Europe were indentured servants Acquiring land was important and often led to warfare amongst the Native Americans

Diverging Social and Political Patterns England was the only colonial power to encourage immigration and sent recruiting agents throughout N. Europe British eased citizenship requirements to encourage migration More than 600,000 slaves came to the British colonies before the ban on the slave trade

Social Classes French used the Encomienda System as the social structure for their colonies Landownership in the British colonies determined a persons social status British social structure was more opened and allowed for social mobility British colonies had a large middle class British colonies had a higher standard of living

Economic Growth British colonies experienced more economic growth than the French and Spanish colonies More economic growth did lead to social inequality or a large gap between the rich and the poor As the population grew the competition for land grew

Colonial Politics Spanish and French colonies were highly centralized while the British were not The right to vote was restricted to white males who owned property Males dominated their families Gradually their was a shift towards a representative government that collected revenue Assemblies controlled the “Purse Strings” so royal governors had to be good politically

The Enlightenment Challenge Enlightenment- thinkers in Britain and France who argued that the universe was governed by natural laws John Locke- said govt. must protect our natural/inalienable rights and if they failed to do so then the people can overthrow the govt. Harvard, William and Mary and Yale taught these new ideas to their students

John Locke

Conservatives and old order defenders did not like the new ways of governing Poor Richard’s Almanac ( ) published by Benjamin Franklin used traditional literary form to promote the ideas of the Enlightenment As British colonies became more complex the people became more educated and their was a higher demand for written works

Benjamin Franklin

Decline in Religious Devotion As Enlightenment ideas began to spread religious devotion was declining Church membership and attendance was declining Half-Way Covenant eased baptismal restrictions on people in New England Congregationalists- began to question Calvin’s theology of predestination

The Great Awakening Movement that began to gain strength in the 1730s led by Rev. Jonathon Edwards Edwards sermons were more emotional and drew many followers Great Awakening- N. America’s religious revival in the mid eighteenth century People going through hardships found relief in the enthusiastic services

Disagreements emerged between revivalists and the old guard Many congregations were divided amongst its members Great Awakening led to more churches and increased attendance at services especially with young people Revivalism offered people the chance to participate in public debates and impacted politics

Conclusion Colonies were shaped by religion, economics and their mother country Enlightenment began to change people’s thought process Great Awakening played a major role in changing the influence of religion in the colonies.