Ch.

5 Colonial Society on Eve of

Revolution
Conquest by the Cradle
all of the rebellious colonies have one outstanding feature in common:
their population were growing by leaps and bounds
1775:2.5 million people inhabited the 13 colonies. Half 1 million were
black
the colonists were doubling numbers every 25 years, the average age
is 16
1775: the English advantage in numbers have fallen to 3 to 1 setting
the stage for momentous shift and balance of power between the
colonies and England
A Mingling of Races
colonial America was a melting pot, the population however is still
English by majority
fleeing religious prosecution, economic oppression, and the ravages of
war, Germans constitute about 6% of the total population
early in a 1700s tens of thousands of Scott Irish families abandon
Ireland and came to America, they pushed out to the frontiers
these immigrant groups mingle intermarried, they laid the foundations
for a new multicultural American national identity unlike anything
known in Europe
The Structure of Colonial Society
in contrast with contemporary Europe, 18 century America was a
shining land of equality and opportunity
America has a very flexible social ladder, something not seen in
England
colonial society on the eve of revolution was beginning to show signs
of stratification barriers to mobility a raise worries about the
Europeanication of America
the arm complex in 1690 and early 1700s as a rich a number of
merchant princes in new England and the middle colonies: the war led
to a great deal of class separation between the elite and a working
in new England countryside to descendants of the original settlers
faced more limited prospects then had their pioneer forebears with
the continuous subdividing of the land each persons share grew
smaller and smaller
in the south the power of the great planters continued to be bolstered
by the disproportionate ownership of slaves, wealth was concentrated
in the hands of the largest slave owners widening the gap

lease portion of all were the black slaves. They enjoy no equality with
the whites and they are not to even dream of ascending the ladder of
opportunity
1760: South Carolina sense the dangers present in heavy
concentration of resentful slaves and attempted to restrict/halt their
importation; however, the British authorities, seeking to preserve the
supply of cheap labor, repeatedly be told all efforts to stem the
transatlantic traffic in slaves
many North American colonials condemn these beetles as morality
callous, but the new Englanders benefit of from this policy as they
made a big profit

Clerics, Physicians, and Jurists

the most honor of professions was the Christian ministry
most positions, and the other hand, were poorly trained, and not highly
esteemed
place work off the nightmare, especially the dreaded smallpox
1721: a crude form of inoculation was introduced, powder dried toads
was used as a prescription for smallpox
Lawyers are often commonly regarded as noisy windbags were
troublemaking
1750: Seaboard society has passed the pioneering stage, and trained
attorneys were generally considered as useful. Able to defend colonial
rights against the crown on legal grounds
Workday America
agriculture was the leading industry, involving about 90% of the
people
tobacco continue to be the staple crop in the Maryland and Virginia
grain was a crop grown in the middle colonies
fishing was a way of comrades in the new England colonies. The
shipping industry also sprouted the shipbuilding industry
Triangular Trade: leave new England port with a cargo of ROM and
sales at the Gold Coast of Africa bartered with African chief for
captured African slaves continue to the West Indies and exchange
the survivors for molasses carry the molasses back to new England
where will be distilled into rum = profit
manufacturing in the colony was a secondary importance although
there was a surprising variety of small enterprises.
Workers can get ahead faster in the soil rich America by tilling the land
lumbering was perhaps the most important single manufacturing
activity
1770: 400 vessels of assorted sizes of lives were splashing down the
ways to Britain

the fast breeding Americans demanded more and more English

products yet the slow-growing English population clearly reached a
saturation point for absorbing imports from America
the trade imbalance can only be solved by seeking foreign markets
1733: points to pressure from the influential British West Indian
planters, Parliament passed the Molasses Act, Inc. this quench both
American trade with the French West Indies. This will be a blow to the
Americas international trade and to the colonists standard of living
Americans responded to the act by bribing as smuggling their way
around the block

Horsepower and Sailpower

the populated pioneer communities are curse of the passive problems
of transportation: there is a serious lack of roads, and the quality of
existing roads is so bad that makes travel on them pretty much
impossible
in the days of 1720, or journey from Boston to Philadelphia will be
fastest by boat
since man-made rules were so wretched having reliance on were
placed on the waterways, this letter population clustering along the
banks of navigable rivers
taverns brought up along the main routes of travel, taverns also serve
as clearinghouses of information gossips and rumors
mid-1700s: enter colonial postal system was established but secrecy
was a problem
Dominant Denominations
the two established or tax supported churches work the cusp wishes
Anglican and the Congregational
a considerable segment of the population did not worship in any
churches
the church of England became the official faith in Georgia as followers
are called Anglicans
The Great Awakening
the Puritan churches sag under the weight of two burdens: the
elaborate theological doctrines and the compromising efforts to
liberalize membership requirements
liberal ideas beget the Challenger old-time religion
some worshipers now proclaim that human beings were not necessarily
predestined to damnation and my saved themselves by good works
Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminians preached that individual for you
will, not divine decree, determine a persons eternal fate

pressure by the Pharisees, a few churches grudgingly conceded that

spiritual conversion was not necessary for church membership
together these changing religious beliefs made up the great awakening
the awakening was first ignited in Northampton, Massachusetts by a
tall delicate and intellectual pastor named Jonathan Edwards
Edwards proclaim with burning righteousness the folly of believe in
salvation through good works and affirm the need for complete
dependence on Gods grace
George Whitefield preached his message of human hopelessness and
divine omnipotence
during the revival meetings, countless sinners profess conversion, and
hundreds street or road in the snow from the religious excitement
the preaching style became dominantly emotional appeal
Orthodox clergyman known as the old lights, were deeply skeptical of
the emotionalism and the theatrical antics of the revivalists
the great awakening left the many lasting effects
emphasize and direct them mode of spirituality seriously undermine
the older clergy, whose authority derived from the education and
urination
greatly increase the number is a competent business of American
churches
it encouraged a fresh wave of missionary work among the Indians even
among black slaves
sparked the first spontaneous mass movement of American people, it
broke down sectional boundaries as well as denomination lines and
contributed to the growing sense that Americans had of themselves as
single people, united by common history and shared experiences

School and Colleges

before education was regarded as a blessing reserved for the
aristocratic few, education should be for leaders not citizenship, and
primarily for males
Puritan new England, largely for religious reasons, was highly
interested in education. The stress the need for Bible reading and their
primary goal was to make good Christians rather than good citizens
fairly adequate primary and secondary schools also started in the
middle colonies
in the South, wealthy families depend heavily on private tutors
the general atmosphere in colonial schools and colleges continue to be
grim and gloomy, most of the emphasis was placed on religion and on
classical languages
the focus was not on experiment and reason, but on doctrine and
dogma

orthodoxy was encouraging independence of thinking was discouraged

but the purpose of convenience and economy, nine local colleges were
established during the colonial era
instruction was poor by present-day standards in the curriculum was
still heavily loaded with theology and the dead languages

Culture in the Backwoods

there was little incentive in the artistic effort as most Americans were
too busy chopping down trees to say around and paint. Furthermore
many of the clergy regarded are as invention of the devil
many who wish to become painters have to go back to England to find
subjects for their portraits and people to pay money for the portraits
architecture was largely imported from the old world and modified to
meet the particular climate and religious condition of the New World
versatile Benjamin Franklin, often called the first civil as American, also
shown as a literary light
science rising above the shackles of superstition was also making
some progress, though like me behind the old world.
A few botanists, mathematicians, and astronomers had won some
repute, the Benjamin Franklin was perhaps the only first ring scientists
produce an American colonies
Pioneer Presses
1744: asked South Carolina merchants advertise the arrival of a
shipment of printed books, pictures maps and pickles
back in the time Americans were generally too poor to buy quantities
of books or too busy to read them
Benjamin Franklin established in Philadelphia at the first privately
supported a circulating library in America
John Peter Zenger was involved in a highly celebrated legal case in
1734
Zengers newspaper has assailed the corrupt royal government and
was charged with seditious libel
Judge: the mere fact of printing irrespective of the truth was enough to
convict regardless of true or false
Alexander Hamilton argued for the liberty of exposing and opposing
arbitrary powers
In the end, Zenger was acquitted sparked the freedom of press
The Great Game of Politics
although American colonies may be back in natural or physical
science, they were making noteworthy contributions to political
science
the 13 colonial governments took a variety of forms.

Eight of the colonies had royal governors, who were appointed by the
King.
Three Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware under proprietors
two Connecticut and Rhode Island elected their own governors
under self-governing charters
practically every colony utilized a two house legislative body. The
upper house or the council, was normally appointed by the crown and
the Royal colonies and by the proprietors in the proprietary colonies. It
was chosen by the voters in self-governing colonies
the lower house, is a popular branch, was elected by the people
self taxation through representation was a precious privilege that
Americans had come to cherish above most others
the colonial assemblies found various ways to assert your authority
and independence. Some of them employ the trigger with holding the
governor salary unless he yielded to their wishes
administration at the local level also varied.
Not everyone in America has a right to vote. Religious of property
qualifications for voting with stiffer qualifications for holding office
existed in all colonies
the right to vote was not beyond the reach of most industrious and
enterprising colonials
1775: America was not yet a true democracy. But it was far more
democratic the England and the European continent.

Colonial Folkways
for most people, the labor was heavy and constant
food was plentiful, though diet could be course MR Tony us. Americans
probably aid more bountifully especially of meat, than any people in
the old world
basic offers now taken for granted were lacking. For example churches
were not heeded at all. There is no running water in the houses, no
plumbing, and probably not a single bathtub in all colonial America.
Candle and whale oil lamps provide a faint and flickering illumination.
Winter sports were, in the north where as in the South playing cards,
horseracing, and foxhunting with the favorite pastimes
lotteries were universally approved, even by the clergy, and were used
to raise money for churches and colleges
stage play however was forbidden in many colonies
persons several North American colonies, despite their differences,
reveal some striking similarities
all were basically English language and customs, and Protestant in a
religion, and all have religious tolerance
all colonies offered individuals unusual opportunities for social mobility

they all possess some degree of self-government, though by no means

a complete democracy
the simple facts of shared history, culture, geography sets stage for
colonies struggle to unite as independent people