1. 5-1 Early American Culture
Essential Question: Identify the movements that encouraged the colonists to begin to question the British government.

2. Terms and Names and Why it all matters
British colonies were based on prosperity, literacy, new movements in religion and thought
Important people: John Locke, Benjamin Franklin
Important movements: Great Awakening and the Enlightenment

3. Land, Rights and Wealth Landowners could:
Cheap farmland and natural resources gave colonists a chance to prosper
Landowners could:
Sell everything they produced
Had the right to vote

4. COLONIAL SOCIAL RANK
HIGH CLASS: Large land owners, church officials, government officials, wealthy merchants
UPPER MIDDLE: small farmers, tradespeople
LOWER MIDDLE: renters, unskilled workers
LOW CLASS: indentured servants, slaves
Women held the social class of their father or husband

5. Women, Children and the Economy
Women: took care of household, made products the family needed
Married women could not own property w/out husbands permission
Money earned by a women belonged to her husband
Children began helping around the farm as early as 3
Age 11 boys could become an apprentice

6. SCHOOL Children were taught to read to understand the Bible
Wealthy children had private tutors or private schools to learn writing and math
Poorer children learned from their mothers
Formal education ended at age 7
Textbooks emphasized religion
Literacy rate was high in colonies: measured by ability to sign their name

7. THE GREAT AWAKENING
Movement that preached inner religious emotion was more important then outward religious behavior
Changed colonial culture
Encouraged ideas of equality and stressed the importance of the individual over the authority of the church
Encouraged the colonists to question the authority of the British government
Encouraged the Revolution movement

8. THE ENLIGHTENMENT Emphasized reason and science as paths to knowledge
Benjamin Franklin: American enlightenment thinker
John Locke: natural rights of life, liberty, and property, people create the government to protect their rights. If the government does not protect their rights the people can change the government.
Charles Montesquieu: believed the government should have 3 branches to keep each other in check
Colonists began to question if the British government was protecting their rights