1. Colonial Society, Trade, & Government
Topic 2 Lesson 6/7
Colonial Society, Trade, & Government

2. I. Great Awakening
In the 1730/40s, a religious revival swept through the colonies.
B. Jonathan Edwards, a preacher, help start the movement.
1. Preached of the sweetness and beauty of God, but also
about his wrath if the colonists didn’t heed the Bible’s teachings.
C. George Whitefield, an English minister, drew large crowds to
hear his energetic messages and called on sinners to repent.
1. Some religious groups disagreed with his messages while others used this as an opportunity for expansion.
D. Caused divide among the colonists- some split away from old churches to form new while others felt the movement was too emotional.
E. Forced religious tolerance because of the many new churches and the appeal to every ethnic group and social class.

3. F. Helped lay the groundwork for future bonds among the colonists.
G. Members of the churches controlled their parishes.
H. New preachers claimed education was less important than their Holy-Spirit-filled hearts.
1. Began to feel like if they could figure out worship and run their own churches independently, then they could probably self-govern too.

4. II. Education in the Colonies
A. New Englanders (Puritans) were most concerned with education. (Must be able to read to read the Bible!)
B MA passed a law ordering all parents to teach their children to read and have a basic understanding of religion.
1. Required town with 50 or more families to hire a schoolteacher; 100 or more had to set up a grammar school to prepare boys for college.
2. This established the first public school system supported by taxes.
3. All children, regardless of class, were allowed at school provided the parents gave the teacher food and brought a share of wood for the stove.
(Image: First public school in Boston, MA)

5. C. In the Middle Colonies, only the wealthy could afford an education (private schools).
D. In the Southern Colonies, some planters hired tutors (private teachers) or sent their children to school in England.
E. Some boys became apprentices to learn a trade and worked for room and board until they “graduated.”
F. In New England, some girls attended dame schools run by women in their homes. The goal was to train young women to manage a household after marriage.

6. G. Harvard College opens in 1638 with 10 students.
1. Goal was to educate future ministers (eventually they will branch out and become doctors, teachers, etc.)
2. Only men could attend
3. Spent 6 days a week learning Latin and Greek

7. 1. Tried to discover natural laws that governed human behavior.
III. Enlightenment
A. European thinkers of the 1600/1700s believed that reason and scientific methods could be applied to society.
1. Tried to discover natural laws that governed human behavior.
2. Believing in the “light” of human behavior = Enlightenment
B. John Locke, English philosopher, wrote works widely read in the colonies.
1. Said people could gain knowledge of the world through observation and experimenting.
2. Ideas spread through better-educated colonists.
C. Benjamin Franklin used reason to improve the world around him.
1. Invented bifocal glasses to aid his sight, a new iron stove that sat in the middle of the room & lightning rods.
2. Also persuaded Philadelphia to pave streets, organize a fire company, and set up the first lending library in America.

8. IV. Mercantilism and the English Colonies
A. A nation could become strong by keeping strict control of trade.
B. Imports and Exports
1. Exports are goods sent to markets outside a country.
2. Imports are goods brought into a country.
3. Countries always want more exports than imports (more $$)
C. Navigation Acts- A series of laws passed by English Parliament that regulated trade between England and the colonies.
1. Only English ships could bring goods in/out of colonies. Colonists forbidden to trade with other countries.
2. Listed certain products, such as tobacco and cotton, could only be shipped to England, creating more English jobs.
3. Colonists encouraged to make ships for their own use/sail to England.
4. Many colonists resented the Acts because it appeared to favor English merchants.

9. V. Triangular Trade
A. Colonial trade route across the Atlantic.
B. Had three legs of the journey (triangle)-
Ships from New England carried rum, guns, gunpowder, cloth & tools West Africa traded goods for slaves West Indies- known as the Middle Passage- Yankees used profits from selling slaves to buy molasses & sugar
New England where colonists used molasses and sugar to make rum.
C. Many merchants disregarded the Navigation Acts and smuggled in molasses from the Dutch, French & Spanish. (Demand for molasses was high.)

11. V. Foundations of Representative Government
A. Colonies created legislatures soon after founding.
1. This group of officials, usually elected, had the power to make laws.
2. In most colonies, they were divided into an upper and lower house.
B. The right to vote was decided upon by each colony.
1. By the 1720s, all colonies had laws that restricted the right to vote to white Christian men over the age of 21.
2. In some colonies, only property owners or church members could vote. (Must also meet criteria in #1)
C. Colonies followed English common law, or case law.
1. Laws develop from past rulings of judges. (like cases should be tried alike)
2. Common law was independent of Parliament’s acts.

12. VI. English Bill of Rights
A. The Glorious Revolution won the colonists more rights by removing King James II from the throne and installing William & Mary from the Netherlands in his place.
1. They signed the English Bill of Rights which protected individuals’
rights if accused of a crime and guaranteed a trial by jury.
a) Also said a ruler could not raise taxes or army without approval of Parliament.
b) Strengthened the position of representative gov’t.
B. Rights of English citizens did not extend to all colonists.
1. Women had fewer rights than free, white males in the colonies.
2. Unmarried/widowed women had more rights than married women.
3. African Americans and American Indians had almost no rights.