1. Early American Culture

2. Land, Rights & Wealth  People could get more land in America  Land ownership gave political rights (some people could pay a fee to vote)  Landowners, officials & the wealthy were upper class; small farmers, tradespeople, renters & unskilled workers were middle class; indentured servants & slaves were lower class

3. Women & the Economy  Women cooked, churned butter, made soap and candles, spun fibers, wove clothe, sewed & knitted, gardened/farmed  Bartered or traded with neighbors for goods/services  Women in cities ran inns o r other businesses  Women had few rights (couldn’t vote, own property without permission)

4. Young People at Work  Families were large so children could help with chores  Age six: boys were “breeched”- started helping fathers work  Age eleven: boys became apprentices (learned a trade from an experienced craftsman) for 4-7 years  Girls learned to sew, some in New England were sent away to learn special skills  Orphans worked as servants

5. Colonial Schooling  Most children were taught to read so they could read the Bible (most formal education was completed by age 7)  Textbooks emphasized religion  High literacy rate in colonies compared to England (more men than women were literate)  Educated African-Americans were rare

6. Newspapers & Books  Local newspapers grew in popularity in the colonies  Almanacs were popular (calendar, weather predictions, star charts, farming advice, home remedies, recipes, jokes, proverbs)  Published poetry, regional histories & autobiographies  Captivity narratives- stories of people being captured by Native Americans were popular

7. Point-of-View Activity  Pretend, through some warp in the Space-Time Continuum, a young colonial person received an iPhone belonging to one of your friends.  Create a “text” conversation between yourself & this young colonial person that discusses the following:  Differences in clothing, pastimes, manners, chores or a typical day in your lives.  Support your conversations as young colonial people with evidence from the painting on page 137 and what you’ve read  You need to have at least 2 texts from each person!!