1. Chapter 3

2. 3.1: England and Its Colonies
It is clear that many colonists benefited from the trade with England, however it is especially important to understand that the trade set up was specifically to enrich Britain through a system of mercantilism.
Mercantilism – an economic system where nations seek to increase wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and finding a favorable balance of trade.

3. Colonial Regions The 13 Colonies were divided into 3 regions:
New England Colonies
Middle Colonies
Southern Colonies
Each region was specifically assigned to produce different things as they continued to serve as a major market for British goods.
See Map for more details…

5. Navigation Acts
Colonists insisted on pursuing global markets to export goods to as a way to increase independence and wealth.
England viewed the colonists acts as an economic threat.
England passed the Navigation Acts in reply – restricting colonial trade.

6. Navigation Acts Examined
Looking at the Acts, what in particular would most hurt the colonies?
Which of these acts, would you predict as being a great source of future conflict?

7. Nav. Acts Continued
These Acts did not sit well with most colonists, in fact many continued to smuggle or trade illegally despite the trade restrictions.
Question: Were the colonists in the wrong to continue to trade and violate the Navigation Acts? Explain…
If you consider that England supported the colonists as a parent would support a child, does your opinion change?

9. 3.2: The Agricultural South
This region included: Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.
Early on the Southern Colonies had staked their livelihood on the fertile soil of their region.
They often specialized in raising a single cash crop grown primarily for sale rather than the owner’s own use.
Examples of cash crops included: indigo, tobacco, rice, (and later) cotton.

10. As these colonies developed around their crops, often plantations would develop in the place of towns.
The South was largely rural though self-sufficient as a society.
Note however, that not all groups benefited equally from the South’s prosperity.

11. Role of Women
Women in both Southern and Northern society shared the common trait of being second class citizens. They had few legal or social rights including not being allowed to vote or preach.

12. Indentured Servants
Indentured Servants were mostly, young white men who had traded their life of poverty or prison in Europe for a limited term of servitude (slavery) in North America.
Eventually word got out of the struggle for survival after one’s “service” was up, and this led to a depleted labor force, as Europeans made the decision to stay home rather than come to the colonies.
(pause)

14. Slavery Becomes Entrenched
As the labor shortages increase (Native Americans dying of diseases as well as possessing knowledge to escape, and indentured servants refusing to come to the colonies), the colonists turn to the use of African slaves – considering slaves property – in effort to meet the labor needs.
Prior to slaves being traded in the colonies, slaves had been traded in the West Indies (Caribbean), leading to the development of the triangular trade.

16. Triangular trade refers to a three way trading process where goods were exchanged for people between Africa, England, Europe, West Indies and the colonies of North America.
The voyage that brought Africans to the West Indies and later to North Am. Was known as the middle passage – as it was the middle leg of the transatlantic trade triangle.

17. Triangular Trade & Middle Passage

18. Read:
“Sickening cruelty characterized this journey. In the bustling ports along West Africa, European traders branded Africans with red-hot irons for identification purposes and packed them into the dark holds of large ships.”
“On board a slave ship, Africans fell victim to whippings and beatings from slavers as well as diseases that swept through the vessel.”
“The smell of blood, sweat, and excrement filled the hold, as the African passengers lived in their own vomit and waste.”
“Whether they died from disease or from cruel treatment by merchants, or whether they committed suicide, as many did by plunging into the ocean, up to 20 percent or more of the Africans aboard each slave ship perished during the trip to the New World.”

19. Slavery in the South Most slaves – 80 - 90% worked in the fields.
On plantations, they worked under the direction of labor bosses on smaller farms worked alongside their owner.
% worked as domestic slaves, cooking, cleaning and raising the master’s children.
Slave owners whipped and beat slaves who were thought to be disobedient or disrespectful, and the courts did not consider slave owners guilty of murder for killing slaves during punishment.

20. Read: “The Africans who were transported to North America came from a variety of different cultures and spoke varied languages. Forced to labor in a strange new land, these diverse peoples bonded together for support and fought against their plight in numerous ways. Enslaved people wove baskets and molded pottery as they had done in their homeland. They kept alive their musical traditions and retold the stories of their ancestors. Because slave merchants tore apart many African families, slaves created new families among the people with whom they lived. If a master sold a parent to another plantation, other slaves stepped in to raise the children left behind. One of the most important customs that Africans kept alive in North America was their dance. From Maryland to Georgia, slaves continued to practice what became known in the colonies as the ring shout, a circular religious dance.”

21. Resistance and Revolt Some slaves pushed their resistance to revolt.
The Stono Rebellion - was an uprising of slaves in South Carolina where plantation families were killed and slaves caught afterward were executed. This led to the tightening of already harsh slave laws as fear grew among slave owners.
The Southern colonies continued to become dependent on slaves as their economy continued to be driven by agriculture.

23. 3.3: The Commercial North
New England Colonies: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island
Middle Colonies: New York, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Growth here was due to thriving commercial cities, interest in education and movements surrounding religion and intellect.
From 1650 – 1750, the New England and Middle colonies’ economies grew twice as fast as England’s economy did.

24. Economies here were diversified, producing several crops, as well as livestock, on a plot of land.
Colonies here sold surpluses to the West Indies, making additional profits.
Diversifying their commercial economies by selling wheat, fish, and sawing lumber.

26. Colonial Diversity
More so than the South, the North attracted a variety of immigrants.

27. Slavery in the North
As a result of the crops that were grown in the North – and the crops ability to be harvested without high labor needs, Northerners had less incentive to turn to slaves than Southerners.
However slavery did exist in New England and was extensive in the Middle Colonies.
Racial prejudices against African people, free or enslaved, still existed in the North.
Greater legal standing was granted in the North for African people, though when enslaved they were still considered property.

28. Women in the North
Extensive work responsibilities existed with few legal rights.
Women could not vote, had no rights to enter into a contract, could not buy or sell property, must turn over wages to their husbands/fathers if they worked outside of the home.
Women were told to “obey their husbands.”

29. New Ideas in the Colonies
Enlightenment – emphasized reason and scientific method as a means to gain knowledge. Leading to the idea of natural rights (that governments must respect) as stated by Thomas Jefferson.
Great Awakening – a revival of religious feeling in the colonies during the 1730s and 1750s.
Both of these ideas causes people to question traditional authority – fueling further questioning and pushback in the years ahead, including Britain's authority over their lives.

31. 3.4: The French and Indian War (7 Years War)
France was Britain’s biggest rival in the struggle to build a world empire.
This was was strictly about economics.
This war was the 4th war between G.B. and France for control of North America.
The French had joined forces with Native tribes near the Mississippi and Ohio River Valley to control fur/trap trades and this was problematic for the British.

32. Fighting begin with British – led by George Washington – where 3 battles/wars resulted with the British losing.
This fourth War ended with a Treaty of Paris and a division of land – G.B. claimed all of North America east of the Mississippi River.
As British/colonists moved west, Natives became concerned that their “game” would be driven away, which they depended upon for survival.
Native Americans did organize a revolt killing hundreds of settlers/colonists.

33. To avoid conflicts, the British government issued the Proclamation of 1763
Proclamation of 1763 – banned all settlement west of the Appalachians, establishing a Proclamation Line which colonists were not to cross. *However, the British could not enforce this.
This act was an attempt to halt expansion.

34. As a result of the French and Indian War, Britain fell into financial crisis and brought about new laws that would impact the colonists further.
This will increase tensions between G.B. and the colonists.
G.B. will station troops (to control Native American and French subjects) that the colonists will assume are there to keep watch on their actions.
Crash Course U.S. History #5

35. The Sugar Act did the following:
In effort to lower debt, Parliament enacted a law known as the Sugar Act.
The Sugar Act did the following:
It cut the tax on foreign made molasses – in the hopes that the colonists would pay a lower tax rather than risk smuggling.
Placed taxes on certain imports
Allowed prosecutors to try smuggling cases in a higher court.
The result of this would be increased tensions and eventually outright rebellion by the colonists.

36. Join or Die – Political Cartoon
On a half sheet of paper answer the following:
What does this cartoon represent?
What message is the cartoon sending?
Who is the intended audience?

37. Facts about the Join or Die Cartoon
Drawn by Benjamin Franklin – encouraging colonies to unite against French and Indian forces.
First political cartoon to be printed in an American newspaper.
Reveals the first sense of a national identity.