1. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
Land, Rights, and Wealth
- only 5% of people living in England were landowners, but land was plentiful in the colonies
- land ownership gave colonists political rights & prosperity
- in America, only white, male landowners or property owners could vote; however, city dwellers could vote if they paid a fee
- land ownership and wealth determined social position
- unlike England, America had no class of nobles whose titles passed from parent to child, but people were still in classes

2. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
- large landowners were the highest social class
- slaves were the lowest social class

3. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
Colonial Women and the Economy
- women had to work hard in colonial times and their jobs included cooking, weaving, soap making, gardening, & tending to the animals
- women were not allowed to vote, preach, hold offices, own property, & earned money went to the husband!

4. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
Young People at Work
- New England families were large & children were expected to support the colonial family by working.
- at the age of three, children were expected to do chores
- at the age of six, boys were expected to help their fathers on the farm or learn their trade

5. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
- at the age of eleven, boys became apprentices, or learners of a trade from an experienced craftsman
- girls learned household skills like sewing
- at the age of thirteen, girls were sent away to learn specialized skills

6. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
Colonial Schooling
- education was very important in the colonies and most New England children were taught to read, so they could read the Bible
- wealthy children learned writing & math from a private tutor or in a private school
- poor children learned to read from their mothers or they attended a “dame school” (alphabet & Bible reading only)

7. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
- the children’s text book was called the New England Primer & it emphasized religion

8. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
Newspapers & Books
- the early colonies only had one newspaper called the Boston News-Letter
- almanacs were popular and the most popular was Benjamin Franklin’s A.D edition of Poor Richard’s Almanac

9. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
The Great Awakening
- religion had begun to take a back seat to other interests
- a religious movement, called the Great Awakening, began in the A.D.1730s-1740s and showed a renewed interest in religion
- traveling preachers included Jon Edwards who gave terrifying sermons of God’s anger and George Whitefield who started a home for orphans
- the Great Awakening encouraged the ideas of equality & the right to challenge authority (government)

10. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
The Enlightenment
- the Enlightenment movement was also called the “Age of Reason” & emphasized science and reasoning
- leaders included Isaac Newton, Ben Franklin, & John Locke

11. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
- Sir Isaac Newton contributed the three laws of gravity to Science

12. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
- Benjamin Franklin contributed many inventions like bifocals & a new stove

13. Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture
- John Locke was an English philosopher who said that natural rights included life, liberty, & property
- he also challenged the belief that kings had a God-given right to rule