The Birth of the American
Identity
1689-1763
Colonial Life
In England, less
than 5% of the
population
owned land
 Land ownership
 Cheap farmland
As a result, more
Americans could
vote than British
 Natural resources
 Democracy (a form of government where the people make decisions)
 Any white male who owned land could vote
 Large middle class
 Cheap land offered opportunities to the poor
 No aristocracy (the highest class in society, holding titles such as “lord” or “lady”)
Colonial Life
Men
Women
 Planted, raised, and harvested
crops
 Cooked
 Took surplus to the market
 Made soap, candles, clothes
 Cared for the livestock and
butcher the meat
 Tended the garden and looked
after animals
 Cut trees and chopped wood
 Ran inns
 Churned butter
 Couldn’t vote
 Couldn’t preach (unless a Quaker)
 Couldn’t own property
The Young
More children  more workers  more money
 Most families consisted of 6-8
children
 At 13, boys left home to become
apprentices (a person learning a
trade from an experienced
craftsman)
 High rate of male literacy
compared to England
 New England: 85%
 Middle Colonies: 65%
 Southern Colonies: 50%
New England offered free public education
Activity: Colonial Life
Step 1: In groups of 3, research the
culture (daily life—social, economic,
political) of those living in colonial
America.
Step 2: Create a double-bubble
thinking map comparing colonial
culture to modern American culture.
- Men
- Women
- Boys
- Girls
- African Americans
- Native Americans
- Wealthy
- Poor
Step 3: Create a short 5-minute skit
that displays at least 10 different
aspects of colonial culture.
Two movements that shaped America
The Great Awakening
 A Christian religious revival
 Based on faith and emotions
 Ministers would travel from town
to town preaching
 Spiritual equality (even African
Americans)
 Desire to help others
 Encouraged people to challenge
authority and question tradition
Enlightenment
 Focused on human reason and
science
 Based on reason and scientific
observation
 Believed people should use rational
thought to improve themselves and
society
 Condemned tyranny (cruel and
oppressive government rule)
 Believed people had natural rights: life,
liberty, and property
 If a government violated those rights,
the people could change the
government
The Great Awakening
Enlightenment
Enlightenment
The Rights of Englishmen
 The Magna Carta (1215)
 Limited the king’s power
 Offered rights to all citizens
 Couldn’t be taxed without
agreement by a council
 Couldn’t be put on trial without
witnesses
 Could only be punished by a jury
of their peers
 Decisions were made by
representatives elected by the
people
Did Americans have the same rights?
 Colonists created their own selfgovernments, styled after
England’s
 England still had ultimate authority
and could overrule any decision
 Colonists had no say in England’s
decisions
 Example: England began
appointing royal governors in the
colonies
 Example: In 1685, England ended
New England’s self-government
King James II stripped many rights from the colonies
Colonial Government
The King
Council (appointed by governor)
Royal Governor
(appointed by king)
Colonial Assembly
(elected by colonists)
New Ideas: Freedom of the Press
 The New York Weekly Journal
criticized New York’s royal
governor (which was illegal!)
 The publisher was arrested and
put on trial
 He claimed he had the “right to
speak the truth”
 The jury agreed
 Freedom of the press
(printing/writing) became a
valued new right in America
Rivals: France and England
The French and Indian War
How it began:
 British trading posts were being
built near New France
 The French responded by sending
troops
 Upset, the English sent a force led
by George Washington
Native American Perspective
“It is important for us, my brothers, that we exterminate from our lands this
nation which seeks only to destroy us… Therefore, my brothers, we must all
swear their destruction and wait no longer.” – Chief Pontiac, leader of the
Ottawa, after the British took over French forts in the Great Lakes area
 Native American tribes picked sides based on trading partners
 France: Shawnee, Abenaki, Huron, Lenni Lenape, Sandusky, Seneca, Wea,
Kickapoo
 England: Cherokee, Mohawk, Montauk, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga, Creek,
Chickasaw, Tuscarora
Native American Perspective
Chief Pontiac
Huron warrior holds up the
heart of a British soldier
In some cases, Natives
fought other Natives
French and Indian War
How it ended:
 The British captured New France’s
capital Quebec and Montreal
 The French and English signed The
Treaty of Paris
 France: lost all territory in North
America
 English: gained territory up to the
Mississippi River
 Spain: took over France’s territory
west of the Mississippi River
 United English colonists against a
common enemy for the first time
Before the war
After the war
Aftermath
 Unlike the French, the English…
 Refused to give gifts to Native Americans
 Moved onto Native American land
 The Native Americans revolted (Pontiac’s Rebellion)
 The English responded with violence, even against non-violent tribes
 Gave war leaders smallpox-infected blankets as gifts
 Disease spread throughout Native American tribes
 The war created massive debt for England
 They expected American colonists to help pay for this debt
“Could it not be contrived to send the Small Pox among those disaffected tribes of Indians?
We must on this occasion use every stratagem in our power to reduce them.”