1. UNIT 2: EMERGING COLONIAL IDENTITY AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

3. COLONIAL SOCIETY

5. SOCIAL UNREST Lower classes really struggling – genuine poverty Peter Zenger described a poor street urchin of NY in 1737 as “an object half starv’d with Cold, with Cloathes out at the Elbows, Knees through the Breeches…From the age of four to fourteen spend their Days on the Street…then they are out out as Apprentinces, perhaps fourm five, or six years old…” Bacon’s Rebellion was not just about not being protected against Native Americans, but against Governor Berkeley’s administration for: Unjust taxes Putting favorites in high positions Monopolizing the beaver trade Not protecting western farmers

7. IN THE COLONIES SLAVERY

8. * NORTHERN COLONIES HAD LESS NEED FOR LABOR DUE TO SHORTER GROWING SEASONS HEAVIER RELIANCE ON INDENTURED SERVANTS VERSUS THE SOUTH.

9. BUT THE SOUTH WAS A DIFFERENT STORY

10. SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES

11. THE GREAT AWAKENING

12. FADING FAITH/ THE AWAKENER’S MESSAGE An overwhelming religious apathy swept the mainly protestant populace of the British colonies. Colonists began to see life as not just preparation for the afterlife; religion did not vanish, but its intensity began to wane. The Great Awakening emerged as a series of revivals within different religious sects. Revivalists such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield delivered a message of religious redemption and encouraged rejection of over-educated and heartless clergy.

13. REVIVALISM IN THE NORTH AND SOUTH Religious zeal in the North became worrisome to the wealthy elite as their position in society was questioned by the Awakeners. The South also saw a rejection of the assumed authority of the landed gentry as a ruling class; in both regions, religion became a mode for social reflection and change.

14. LEGACY OF THE AWAKENING A wide-spread framework of varying denominations that could exist harmoniously An emerging tradition of separation of church and state Legitimized religious and social diversity within local communities Fostered changes in political and moral views