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his chapter discusses the changes that took place in the British colonies of North
I America in the years between 1689 and 1754. Settlers from Britain and other
European nations, along with African slaves, poured into the colonies. As they developed
ways of making a living in the new land, they farmed distinct colonial societies. They also
began to develop a taste for independence.
page at the end of this chapter explores the connection
i
The
between the growth of religious pluralism in colonial America and the guarantee
offreedom of worship in the United States today.
58
I
—%--r
-
-
1tWNG IHSTOY In
1757 Bethlehem, Pennsyl
vania, displayed all the
characteristics of a selfsufficient community.
Government How did
British colonial policy
affect the development
of colonial societies?
.
I B’ 5
Dominion of
New England
established
16C
Navigation Ad
strengthened
IT
1680
1670
1688
1689
Glorious Revolution Rebellion in Boston
against Dominion of
in England
New England
4
11690
IL imi ii1 fts o1onies
SECTION PREVIEW
Understand how the English Civil War and
mercantilism affected colonial development.
Explain how English policies allowed the colonies
to develop on their own in the early 1700s.
Describe the economic and social differences
that developed in each region.
Key Terms Define: mercantilism; balance of
trade; duty; salutary neglect: staple crop;
triangular trade.
n the late I 600s and early 1 700s, England
prized its cluster of colonies on the Atlantic
coast of North America for two reasons. The
colonies supplied food and raw materials, and
they bought large amounts of English goods.
The colonists were, in general. loal to their
parent country. Thus England got what it
wanted from its colonies—raw materials and a
place to sell its goods—by leaving them alone.
I
From 1 640 to 1 660, England had another rea
son for ignoring the colonies. In the I 640s,
tensions that had long simmered in England
boiled over in a civil war. The nation became
so preoccupied with conflicts within its owii
borders that it could pay little attention to its
North American colonies.
iwo opponents faced off in the clash: King
Charles I and Parliament. Parliament, made
up of representatives of the people, had the
power to make laws and approve new taxes.
Many of its members believed that Charles was
attempting to limit the powers of Parliament
and of English property owners.
The English colonies in the mid-1600s and early
1 700s grew and prospered with little direct interfer
ence from the English government.
Reinforcing Main Ideas As you read the section, look
for evidence to support the statement above that the
grew and prospered with little direct
colonies
interference from the English government.”
“.
.
.
After defeating the king’s army in a series of
battles, Parliament ordered the execution of
Charles in January 1 649. Oliver Cromwell, the
commander of the Parl ian lentary armies, then
governed England until his death in 165$. After
two decades of upheaval. Parliament recognized
the need for stability. In 1660 it restored Charles
II, the son of the executed king, to the throne.
Before 1660, the people of England were too busy
fighting a civil war to he concerned with a group
of colonies on the other side of the Atlantic. As
the political situation in England settled down,
England’s focus shifted to economic matters.
The Theory of Mercantilism By 1650, many
nations in western Europe were working to
improve their economies, spurred on by a new
theory called mercantilism. Mercantilism held
that a country should try to get and keep as
much bullion, or gold and silver, as possible.
The more gold and silver a country had,
argued mercantilists, the wealthier arid more
powerful it would he.
Section 1
59
For countries without mines like those
Spain controlled in the Americas, the only way
to obtain more bullion was through trade. If a
country sold more goods to other countries
than it bought from
them, it would end up
ECONOMICS CONCEPTS
with more bullion. In
other words, a coun
the difference in
if
try’s balance of trade,
exports
country’s
a
value between
or the difference in
and imports
value between imports
and exports, should
V The Historical Context The theory
show more exports
of mercantilism argued that a
than imports.
nation would prosper by maintain
Mercantilists be
ing a positive balance of trade—
lieved a nation should
that is, by consistently exporting
have colonies where it
more than it imported. The
could buy raw materi
American colonies aided Britain’s
als and sell products.
mercantilist policies by acting as a
The colonies should
market for British exports,
not be allowed to sell
V The Concept Today In recent
ts to other na
produc
years the United States has main
or
tions even to manu
tained a negative balance of trade,
facture goods. The right
importing much more than it
to make goods for sale
exports. Experts disagree on
was reserved exclu
whether this “trade deficit” harms
sively for the parent
have
Some
economy.
the American
country, since manu
States
United
the
argued that
facturing was a major
bal
to
order
in
imports
limit
should
of profit. To
source
ance its trade.
maintain control over
trade and to increase
profits, the parent country required the colonies
to use its ships for transporting their raw
materials.
Effects on Trade Laws Mercantilism appealed
to English rulers. They came to realize that
colonies could provide raw materials such as
tobacco, furs, and perhaps gold for England to
sell to other countries. Furthermore, the
colonies would have to buy England’s manu
factured goods. This exchange would greatly
improve England’s balance of trade. English
leaders therefore decided that it was necessary
to have as many colonies as possible and to con
trol colonial trade to provide the maximum
profit to England.
In 1660 Charles II approved a stronger
version of a previous law called the Navigation
Act. Together with other legislation, the
Navigation Act tightened control over colonial
trade. The new laws required the colonies to
sell certain goods, including sugar, tobacco,
and cotton, only to England. Moreover, if
colonists wanted to sell anything to people in
GO
Chapter 3
•
Section 1
other parts of the world, they had to take the
crop or product to England first and pay a
duty, or tax, on it. They also had to use English
ships for all their trade.
Effects on War and Politics As European
countries adopted mercantilism, the relations
between them began to change. More and
more, European countries fought each other
over territory and trade routes rather than over
religion. In the 1500s, for example, Protestant
England’s major enemy had been Catholic
Spain. But from 1652 to 1654, and again from
1665 to 1667, the English fought wars against
the Protestant Dutch over control of trade and
land in North America. To eliminate the Dutch
as a major trade rival in North America, the
English conquered the Dutch colony of New
Netherland in 1664, renaming it New York in
honor of James, Duke of York and brother of
King Charles H.
During the next two decades, Charles II
and James tried in several ways to tighten their
control over the colonies. Their actions reached
a peak in 1686 when James, now king, attempt
ed to take direct control over New York and the
New England Colonies by creating the
Dominion of New England. This action abol
ished colonial legislatures within the Dominion
and replaced them with a governor and a coun
cil appointed by King James II.
Anger in the Colonies Colonists up and
down the Atlantic seaboard deeply resented
James’s grab for power. Edmund Andros,
whom James II had appointed governor of the
Dominion, made matters worse. From his
headquarters in Boston, he collected taxes
without the approval of either the king or the
colonists and demanded payment of an annual
land tax. He also declared a policy of religious
tolerance, or respect for different religious
beliefs. The Puritans felt these heavy-handed
actions were a blow both to their freedom
from English influence and to their tight con
trol over religious affairs in their own colony.
Meanwhile, James II was making enemies
in England. News reached North America in
the spring of 1689 that Parliament had
replaced James II with his daughter Mary and
her husband William of Orange, a change of
rulers known as the Glorious Revolution.
New England citizens promptly held their
own mini-rebellion against the Andros gov
ernment, imprisoning Governor Andros and
his associates.
in response to this protest,
William and Mary dissolved
the Dominion of New England
and reestablished the colonies
that James had abolished. When
the’ restored Massachusetts’s
charter, however, they revised
the organization of the govern
ment. The new charter allowed
the king to appoint a royal gov
ernor of the colony.
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In the early I 700s the British
government rarely interfered
directly in the affairs of its
North American colonies.t By
not interferring. Britain allowed
colonial legislatures such as the
House of Burgesses in Virginia
to gain extensive power over
local affairs.
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4
g
•
Origins of Self-Government
As you recall, England estab
lished three different types of
colonies in North America: royal, proprietary,
and charter. Over time, England transformed sev
eral of the charter and proprietary colonies into
royal colonies and appointed royal governors for
them. By the early 1700s, therefore, the colonial
governments shared a similar pattern of govern
ment. In most colonies a governor, appointed by
the king, acted as the chief executive. A colonial
legislature served under the governor. Most colo
nial assemblies consisted of an advisory council,
or upper house of prominent colonists appointed
1w the king, and a lower house elected by qualified
voters. Only male landowners were allowed to
vote. However, most adult white males did own
land and thus could vote.
In theory, the royal governor had a great
amount of power. He decided when to call the
legislature together and when to end its sessions.
tic could veto any laws that the legislature
passed. The governor also appointed local offi
.ials, such as the treasurer and colonial judges.
In reality, it was the colonial legislatures,
nut the governors, that came to dominate the
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The colonies supplied England with food and raw materials. This detail from a map
of 1751 shows tobacco being loaded at a southern dock for shipment to England.
Economics Why did England require the colonies to supply it with
raw materiaIs
r
In
1707, England joined with Scotland to form
(ueat Britain.
.
colonial governments. The legislatures created
and passed laws regarding defense and taxation.
Later they took over the job of setting salaries for
royal officials. Colonial assemblies also influ
enced local appointments of judges and other
officials because the governor usually accepted
their recommendations. Even the governor’s
council came to be dominated by prominent
local leaders who served the interests of the legis
lature rather than those of the royal government.
Salutary Neglect Why did the British go’
ernment allow its colonies freedom in gov
erning thernselves—far more than was
allowed in Spanish or French colonies?-One
reason is that England had a long tradition of
strong local government and weak central
power. Another reason is that the British go’
ernment lacked the resources and the bureau
cracy to enforce its wishes. Then, too,
colonists recognized the authority of the king
and Parliament without being forced to. Most
were proud to be British subjects.
Finally, Britain allowed its colonies free
dom because the existing economy and politics
of the colonists already served British interests.
Cha t.
Sectior
C
The Thirteen Colonies, 1750
190
9
0
100
200 Miles
200 Kilometers
Me,
(Part of Mass)
New Eflgland
N.H.
N.Y.
Middle Colonies
Alban7j/
,Portsmouth
Mas:.._s1
Harrisburg
Pa.
N
dr)ort
‘—New Castle
Southern Colonies Rtchmond
Williamsburg’
Winston-Salem,
N.C
•New Bern,—
Camden
Wilnwigton
Ga.
1 7% French
harleston
vannah
Colors of ethnic groups on
map represent areas of
major settlement.
2 5% Dutch
/o Welsh
4.3% Scottish
4.7% Irish
7.2% German
Ethnic GrouPs
English
46.1%
8.5% Scotch-Irish
19.3% African American
English settlements in North America in the 1700s
generally clung to the Eastern seaboard and its
rivers. In this narrow strip, however, lived a wade
variety of ethnic groups. RegIons After the English, which
was the largest ethnic group? Where did they live?
The British realized that the most salutary, or
beneficial, policy was to neglect their colonies.
Thus later historians would call British
colonial policy during the early 1700s
salutary neglect. In the early 1 700s,
Why was the relation
Great Britain rarely enforced its trade
ship between England
regulations, such as the Navigation Act,
and the colonies pros
because neglect served British economic
perous for both sides?
interests better than strict enftrcernent,
As a result, the colonies prospered, as
did their trade with Britain, without much gov
ernment interference.
By the early 1700s the economic foundations of
Britain’s American colonies were in place. While
the Spanish colonies focused on mining silver
and growing sugar, and New France focused on
the fur trade, the British regions of eastern North
America developed diverse economies. Each
region’s geography affected its economy.
62
iDrr I
•
Section 1
For the most part, English—speaking settle
ments continued to hug the Atlantic Ocean
and the deep rivers that empty into it, as
shown on the map to the left. Most commerce
took place on water. It was simply too expen
sive and too difficult to carry crops and goods
long distances over land. Even water traffic on
rivers, however, was blocked at the waterfalls
and rapids of the fall line, where the inland
hills meet the coastal plain. Roads were little
more than footpaths or rutted trails. The
Atlantic Ocean remained SO vital to travel that
there was more contact between Boston and
London than between Boston and Virginia.
The Southern Colonies In the Southern
Colonies of Virginia, Maryland, South
Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia,
the economy was based on growing
staple crops—crops that are in constant
demand. In Virginia and North Carolina, the
staple crop was tobacco, In the warm and wet
coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia,
it was rice. In the early 1730s, these two
colonies were exporting 1 6.8 million pounds
of rice per year; by 1 77(3, the figure was 76.9
million. Meanwhile, the number of pounds of
tobacco exported per year by Virginia,
Maryland, and l)elaware rose from 32 million
in l70() to 83.8 million in 1770.
Throughout the Southern Colonies,
African slaves supplied most of the labor on
tobacco and rice plantations. Virginia planters
began to purchase large numbers of Africans in
the mid-l600s. In 165(3, Africans in Virginia
numbered only about 500, which accounted for
3 percent of the colony’s population. By I 700,
enslaved Africans totaled 16,00(3, or 28 percent
of the colony. About 1750, the figure was 4(3
percent. In South Carolina, Africans outnum
bered Europeans throughout the 1 700s.
to produce staple crops, planters needed
huge amounts of land and labor hut very little
else, As a result, the Southern Colonies
remained a region of plantations strung out
along rivers and coastlines. Except for the cities
of Charles 1bwn (Charleston), South Carolina,
and Williamsburg, Virginia, the South had few
towns and only a small group of people who
could he called merLhants.
The Middle Colonies From Maryland north
to New York, the economy of the Middle
Colonies was a mixture of farming and com
merce. The long stretch of the I)elaware and
Hudson rivers and their tributaries allowed
colonists to move into the interior and estab
lish farms on rich, fertile soil. There they spe
cialized in growing grains, including wheat,
barley, and rye. This kind of farming was very
profitable.
Commerce, however, was just as important
as agriculture in the Middle Colonies. New York
and Philadelphia were already among the largest
cities in North America. Home to growing num
bers of merchants, traders, and craftspeople,
these cities teemed with people in the business of
buying and selling goods. Ships from all over the
Atlantic World arrived regularly in these ports.
Philadelphia became the major port of entry for
Germans and Scotch-Irish people coming to
North America as indentured servants.
The populations of both New York and
Pennsylvania were ethnically diverse. They
included English. Dutch, French, Scots, Irish,
Scotch-Irish, Germans, Swedes, Portuguese
Jews, Welsh, Africans, and Native Americans.
No wonder a traveler in the late I 750s despaired
of ever discovering “any precise or determinate
character” in the population of New York—it
was made up of “different nations, different
languages, and different religions.”
The New England Colonies In the I 700s, the
New England Colonies were a region of small,
self-sufficient farms and of towns dependent
on long-distance trade.Unlike the merchants
of Philadelphia and Ne’ York, those in Boston,
Salem, and Newport, Rhode Island, did not
rely heavily on local crops for their commerceN
SECTION
C
Unlike the plantations of the South, New England’s farms
were small. Economics How did the differing economies
of New England and the Southern colonies result in differ
ent styles of farming?
Instead, they carried crops and goods from one
place to another—a “carrying trade.” They
hauled china, hooks, and cloth from England
to the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. From
the Caribbean they would transport sugar back
to New England, where it was usually distilled
into rum. They traded the rum and firearms
for slaves in West Africa and then carried slaves
to the West indies for more sugar. This trade
between three points in the Atlantic World—
the Americas, Europe, and Africa—was called
triangular trade.
REVIEW
Key Terms Define: (a) mercantilism;
(b) balance of trade; (c) duty; (d) salutary
neglect; (e) staple crop; (f) triangular trade.
2. Summarizing the Main Idea What was the
British government’s policy toward the
colonies after the rule of King James II had
1.
ended?
3. Organizing Information Create a multi-flow
web diagram to organize the causes and
effects of England’s policy of salutary neglect
toward its colonies. Give four causes con
tributing to salutary neglect and then show
three effects.
4. Analyzing Time Lines Review the time line
at the start of the section. Choose an entry
that demonstrates England’s mercantilist pol
icy. Explain the reasons behind your choice.
were the
Comparisons How
5. Making
and New
Middle,
economies of the Southern,
differ?
they
did
How
similar?
England colonies
6
Writing a Persuasive Essay Do you think
the American colonies would have been
positively or negatively affected if the British
had strictly enforced the Navigation Act of
1660? Write an essay explaining your opin
Chapter
•
Section 1
63
r
Geography
•
interpreting
Economic
an
-.
Achvitv
in economic activity map shows
I how the land in a particular
region is used and helps demonstrate the ways that geography can
influence historical events and
developments. Economic activity
Maii
[Economic Activities ol the Colonies, c 1750
Me.
(part of Mass.)
New England
Colonies
maps also illustrate ways in which
regions are similar or different.
often a region’s economic
Vd
activity is related to its natural
resources and climate. For example,
mining can take place only in
regions where enough minerals are
present to make this activity prof
itable. By the mid-I 700s, clear pat
terns of economic activity were
emerging among the British colo
nies in North America. This map
uses symbols and a color-coded key
to communicate basic information
about land use in the colonies.
Use the following steps to analyze the economic activity map.
.
*
4,
N.H.
i.
NV
,
3ILINrIC
)(
‘V
General farming
3
Tobacco
t
.
Rice and indigo
I
Grain
Southern
Livestock
Identify the economic activities
shown on the map. Use the map and
1.
4,
NC
Lumber
Fishing
‘
key to answer the foHowing questions.
(a) What was the major economic
$
activity in Delaware? (b) What were the
major economic activities north of
Massachusetts? (c) Which colony
produced tobacco, rice, and indigo?
(d) According to the map, what economic activity supported residents of
Furs
Shipbuilding
.
Ship supplies
1
Ga.,,
9
0
Rum
100
200 Kilometers
Pennsylvania and New Jersey?
2.
54
Look for relationships or pat
terns among the colonies and their
economic activities. (a) As shown on
the map, was farmland more extensive
encouraged shipbuilding? (c) If you had
been a livestock herder in Britain planning to move to the colonies, which of
in the Southern or the New England
colonies? (b) What other economic
activities in the New England Colonies
the American colonies do you think
would have offered you the most
opportunity for making a living?
Review the symbols and color-coded
key. Which region appears to have had
a mixed economy?
answer.
Explain your
1732
Benlamin Franklin
begins publishing Poor
1701
Yale College founded in
New Haven, Connecticut
1700
Richard’s Almanac
1710
1734
John Peter Zenger
arrested for libel
11720
a Life in Colonial America
SECTION PREVIEW
Describe the structure of colonial American
society and its distribution of wealth.
List contributions that tradespeople and
women made to colonial society.
Describe the working lives of the average
colonists and the colonial education system.
Key Terms Define: gentry; apprentice;
almanac; indigo; self-sufficient.
The social groups that made up colonial society had
different roles and ways of living.
the
Outlining Information Skim the section and use
heads and subheads to create an outline. As you
read, fill in supporting evidence under each head.
3O
speak of what “the American
colonists” said or thought or did. Yet colo
nial society, like any society, consisted of a vari
ety of groups with widely varying lives. A per
son’s wealth or gender or race went a long way
ty.
toward determining his or her place in socie
I
t is common to
American colonists brought many ideas and
customs from Europe. Among these was the
belief that people are not equal. Most colonists
accepted the notion that the wealthy were
superior to the poor, that men were superior
to
to women, and that whites were superior
ty
blacks, They accepted too the idea that socie
was made up of different ranks or levels, with
er
some groups having more wealth and pow
New
one
of
s
word
the
than others. in
h
Englander, “ranks and degrees” were as muc
s,
Plain
and
ins
unta
a part of this world as “Mo
Hills and Values.”
The differences between social ranks
s
could easily be seen in colonial clothes, hou
en
es, and manners. Gentry, or men and wom
wealthy enough to hire others to work for
them, set themselves apart by their clothing:
wigs, silk stockings, lace cuffs,
and the latest fashions in suits,
dresses, and hats. Ordinary peo
ple wore plain breeches and
shirts or dresses. Wigs were an
unmistakable sign of status,
power, and wealth.
“Gentle folk,” a colonial
term for the gentry class, were
the most important members of
colonial society. ‘lb be consid
ered “gentle,” one had to he
wealthy.
1,
0
P
P
C,
I H I C) \ j>
C> TI
0
f
Ci ‘I
C
1
QH
C
C,
C
iii
(
ft
III EA
1’
0
C
For English colonists the foun
c
dation of real wealth was land.
Land was plentiful and most
t,
white men owned some land. Although adul
s
rican
single women and free African Ame
could legally own land, very few did. The
in
majority of landowners were white men.
ing
own
land
,
elite
of
p
grou
l
each colony a smal
men dominated politics. Lawyers, planters,
and merchants held most of the seats in the
colonial assemblies, or lawmaking bodies.
Chapter
3
•
0
A white
wig—or hair
powdered to
look like
one—was
the hallmark
of a gentle
man in colo
nial society.
Section 2
65
In the early 1700s gentry devoted much of
their time to displaying their status. The gentry
socialized most with people of a similar class,
especially in the Southern Colonies. In many
cases they were related to one another by blood
or marriage, to impress others, they had
mansions and townhouses built for
themselves. To refine their manners, the
I
gentry eagerly read newspapers and
Describe the lives of
the gentry in the
British colonies.
books from England. They sent their
sons to expensive schools and taught
their daughters how to manage a house
hold. They supervised, but they did not
actually perform physical labor.
We know from The I)iary, and Life, of
Williani Byrd II of Virginia. 1674—1744 that
gentlemen tried to live their lives according to
a refined, well-mannered routine. William
Byrd owned several plantations in the colony
of Virginia. In his diary, Byrd relates that every
day he read Greek or Latin, said his prayers,
and “danced his dance” (performed a series of’
exercises) in the garden of his home.
Byrd rarely varied from these regular
habits. Although he did have to keep an eye on
his plantations, such labor was not the focus of
his life. Like many other colonial gentlemen,
Byrd wished to demonstrate to the world his
refinement and self—control and to prove that
he deserved the respect of others.
NC
/
66
Benjamin Franklin was so interested in electricity that he
sold his businesses in order to have more time to study it.
In 1752 he flew a kite in a thunderstorm in a famous
experiment proving the electrical nature of lightning.
,e ice itd led miioqy How did people like Benjamin
Franklin help the development of the colonies?
hapter
I
•
Section 2
Everyone recognized, however, that the
colonies needed people from all walks of life,
not just gentlemen. Those who were not gentry
had the opportunity to develop specialized
skills and trades.
Artisans At a very early age, boys from most
families became apprentices, or persons placed
under a legal contract to work fur another per
son in exchange for learning a trade. Silversmith
Paul Revere and artisans like him prospered by
creating some of the items that the gentry
desired. Cabinetmakers, such as John Goddard
of Newport, Rhode Island, produced high—quality
furniture with a distinctive colonial style. Other
tradespeople provided equally important goods,
such as tinware, pottery, and glassware.
Printers Colonial printers, who were respect
ed members of colonial society, gathered and
circulated local news and information.
Printers, however, had to be cautious when
deciding which stories to report. In 1734,
authorities arrested John Peter Zenger, printer
ml publisher of the New Yirk Weekly Journal,
for printing libelous false) stories critical of’
the governor of New York. Zenger’s lawyer
argued that if’ the stories were true then they
could not be considered libel. Zenger won his
case, a landmark victory for freedom of the
press in America.
One of America’s most fimous printers
from the I 700s was l3eniainin Franklin. Among
his best known works is Poor Richard’s zInia,uic,
which was printed annually from 1732 to 1757.
An almanac is a book containing information
such as calendars, weather predictions, proverbs,
and advice. Franklin also published several
newspapers and magazines. Alter his successful
career as a printer, Franklin retired when he was
only in his early furties. In retirement, Franklin
dabbled in science and politics and spent much
of his time in Europe. lie is perhaps most
famous fur his experiments and inventions.
‘l’hrough his scientific work, Franklin invented
the lightning rod, the Franklin stove, and bifocal
ii1obiogrciphy,
eyeglasses. Fle also wrote his 1
fur controlling
of
rules
number
forth
a
set
which
manner.
respectable
a
in
oneself and behaving
Farmers and Fishermen Farms in the
colonies varied in size from large cash—crop
plantations in the Southern Colonies to small
subsistence farms in the New England and
view of the life of a
Prudence Punderson, a Connecticut housewife, created in needlework this symbolic
Economics how doss
colonial woman. The symbols, from right to left, indicate birth, work, and death,
economy?
colonial
the
in
women
of
role
the
this needlework reflect
Middle Colonies. New England farmers who
worked the thin, rocky soil gained a reputa
tion for being tough, thrifty, and conservative.
Many coastal settlers turned their backs
on the poor soil and earned their living from
the sea. North America’s shores abounded
with haddock, bass, clams, mussels, and crabs.
Colonists ate some of the bounty, but most
was dried, salted, and shipped out from busy
harbor cities. Fishing quickly became a main
industry and promoted growth in the related
industry of shipbuilding.
Indentured Servants Many immigrants,
both male and female, came to the colonies as
indentured servants, indentured servants
agreed to work for a master for a set amount
of time, up to seven years. In exchange the
master agreed to pay for travel costs to the
colonies. Masters had total authority
indentured servants and sometimes treated
them as if they were slaves. Those servants
who served out their time were granted their
freedom and in some cases a piece of land.
over
The status of colonial women was determined
by the men in their jives. Most women were
legally the dependents of men and had no legal
political standing. Married women could
not own property. Laws prevented women
from voting or holding office or serving on a
jury. Even a widowed woman did not have any
political rights, although she could inherit her
husband’s property and conduct business.
or
Women and the Law Under English common
law, a woman was under her husband’s control.
the English writer William
According
Blackstone in his influential commentaries on the
Laws ofEngland, published in the 1760s:
to
By marriage, the husband and wife are one
person in law; that is, the very being or legal
existence of the woman is suspended during
the marriage, or at least is incorporated and
consolidated into that of the husband.
—William Blackstone
• Section 2
67
washing, cleaning, weaving cloth, and sewing.
They supported one another by helping in
childbirth and sharing equipment and tools.
They also trained their daughters in the tradi
tional duties of women.
Women sometimes took on many tasks
before marriage. One example is Eliza Lucas
Pinckney of South Carolina, who as a teenager
managed her father’s plantations in the late
1730s and early 1740s. This duty fell to
Pinckney because, as she wrote to a friend,
‘Mama’s bad state of health prevents her going
thro’ any fatigue,” and her father, the governor
of the Caribbean island of Antigua, was usual
ly absent. As she wrote to her friend:
‘I have the business of 3
plantations to transact, which
requires much writing and more business and
fatigue of other sorts than you can imagine, but
lest you should imagine it too burdensome to a
girl at my early time of life, give me leave to
assure you I think myself happy that I can be
useful to so good a father.
AMERICAN)
—Eliza Lucas Pinckizey
In most of colonial American
society all members of the
household worked, even
children (above). Women of
lesser means in colonial society
also spent many hours at their spinfling wheels (left). Nearly all enslaved
women, too, learned to spin.
Economics What was the economic
goal of a typical colonial household?
Men held nearly unlimited power in colo
nial households. English law, tor example,
allowed husbands to beat their wives without
tear of prosecution. Divorces, although legal,
were rare. Surprisingly, the easiest place to
obtain a divorce was Puritan New England.
The Puritans were so concerned about order
and stability that they preferred to allow a bad
marriage to end rather than let it continue to
create disorder among them.
Women’s Duties In practice, however, men
and women depended heavily on one another.
In colonial America, women juggled a number
of duties that contributed to the well-being of
the household and also of the community.
Women managed the tasks that kept a house
hold operating, such as cooking, gardening,
68
Chapter 3
•
Section 2
Pinckney was more than just a stand-in for
father.
her
She was one of the people responsible
for promoting the growing of indigo, a type of
plant used in making a blue dye for cloth. Indigo
became a major staple crop in South Carolina.
In spite of their hard work and dedication,
women remained legally inferior to men. They
might argue with their fathers or husbands, but
women almost never directlv challenged the
basic structure of colonial society.
By the mid-i 700s, life was better for most
white colonists than it would have been in
Europe. They ate better, lived longer, and had
more children to help them with their work.
They also had many more opportunities to
advance in wealth and status than average
Europeans did. Still, whether they were skilled
artisans in cities or small farmers in the coun
tryside, colonists had to labor very hard to
keep themselves and their families alive.
Everyone in a household, including chil
dren and servants, worked to maintain the
household by producing food and goods. In
fact, the basic goal of the household was to be
self-sufficient, or able to make everything
needed to maintain itself.
While men grew crops or made goods such
as shoes, guns, or candles, the rest of the house
hold was equally busy. Wives often assisted in
whatever work their husbands did, from plant
ing crops to managing the business affairs of
the family. Children helped both parents from
an early age. Almost all work was performed in
or around the home, Even artisans worked out
of shops in the front of their houses.
During the colonial period, attendance at
school was not required by law, and most chil
dren received very little formal education. The
New England Colonies, however, became early
leaders in the development of public educa
tion. The main reason was that the Protestant
settlers believed everyone should be able to
read the Bible. As a result, literacy rates were
higher in New England than anywhere else in
British North America.
Tn 1647, Massachusetts passed a law requir
ing every town with at least 50 families to hire a
schoolmaster to teach basic reading, writing,
and arithmetic. Towns with 100 or more fami
lies were expected to establish a grammar school
that offered instruction in Greek and Latin.
Boys attended the grammar school to prepare
for college. Girls did not go to school. They were
expected to learn everything they needed to
know from their mothers at home.
Public schools did not develop as quickly
outside New England. If there were no schools in
the area, parents taught their children at home. In
the Southern Colonies, plantation owners often
hired private instructors to teach their children.
SECTION
NC
‘S/’EN
Harvard College, now Harvard University, was the nation’s first
institution of higher learning. It was founded in 1636 by
Massachusetts Bay Colony with the help of John Harvard, a
minister who left the college his library and a portion of his
estate upon his death in 1638. Culture How does the estab
lishment of Harvard reflect colonial Massachusetts society?
Colonial colleges were primarily training
grounds for ministers and lawyers and general
ly only the very wealthy attended. Up until the
1740s there were only three colleges in the
colonies, Harvard, in Massachusetts (estab
lished in 1636), William and Mary in Virginia
(1693), and Yale in Connecticut (1701). By
1769, five more colleges had been founded in
the Middle and New England colonies.
REVIEW
Key Terms Define: (a) gentry; (b) apprentice;
(c) almanac; (d) indigo; (e) self-sufficient.
2. Summarizing Main Ideas How did the legal
status of women differ from their actual
importance in colonial society?
3. Organizing In formation Create a chart that
organizes information about the structure of
colonial society.
1..
4. Analyzing Time Lines Review the time line
at the start of the section. Pick an entry and
5
explain how it continues to impact society
today.
Identifying Central Issues Why did every
one in the average colonial household have to
work?
6.
Writing an Expository Essay Use infor
mation from the section to write a one-page
essay comparing the lives of the gentry with
the lives of artisans and tradespeople.
Chpter 3
•
Section 2
69
1740
1739
1735
1680
Slavery banned
in Georgia
Virginia posses first
slave code
Stono
Rebellion
South Carolina
revises and
strengthens
slave laws
1750
Georgia ban
on slavery
lifted
1758
3
African Americans in the Colonies
SECTION PREVIEW
I
Describe how slave traders brought Africans
to the Americas.
3 Describe the lives of African Americans (free
and enslaved) in the colonies.
3 Explain how slaves reacted to laws restricting
their actions.
4 Key Terms Define: Middle Passage; mutiny;
Stono Rebellion.
Africans, brought across the Atlantic Ocean as slaves,
helped build England’s American colonies while
enduring harsh and often brutal treatment.
Reinforcing Key Ideas Create a chart with the follow
ing regions as headings: South Carolina and Georgia;
Virginia and Maryland; New England and Middle
Colonies, As you read the section, fill in information
about the lives of slaves in each of the regions.
counting Native Americans, about one
British
North America by the middle of the 1 700s was
of African descent. As in the case of all immi
grants, the experiences of African Americans
in the colonies varied depending on where
they lived. Yet the stories of Africans, uproot
ed from their homeland and sold into slavery,
had many elements in common. One African
who later told his story was Olaudah Equiano.
Notout of every five people living in
Olaudah Equiano was born
around 1745 in the country
LL: of Benin. He wrote in his
autobiography decades later that the land of
his youth was “uncommonly rich and fruitful”
and “a nation of dancers, musicians and
poets.” As a child, he learned “the art of war”
and proudly wore “the emblems of a warrior”
made by his mother,
When Equiano was ten, his world was
shattered. Two men and a woman kidnapped
him and one of his sisters while their parents
72
Chapter 3
-
Section 3
were working. Separated from his sister,
Equiano was enslaved to a series of African
masters. About six months after he was kid
napped, Equiano was sold and put aboard a
British slave ship bound for the Americas. In
his autobiography, he wrote:
The first object which
saluted my eyes when I
arrived on the coast
was the sea, and a
slave ship which was
then riding at anchor
and waiting for its
cargo. These filled
me with astonish
ment, which was soon
converted into terror
when I was carried on
board. “
—Equiano’s Travels, 1789
Olaudah Equlano
(1745?—1 797)
During the Middle Passage, Equiano wit
nessed many scenes of brutality. (The Middle
Passage was one leg of the triangular trade
“No eye pities; no
hand helps,” said a
slaver describing
the treatment of his
human cargo. An
eyewitness painted
this scene aboard a
slave ship in 1846.
Geography What
was the Middle
Passage?
between the Americas, Europe, and Africa. The
Middle Passage is also used to refer to the forced
transport of slaves from Africa to the Americas.)
Although historians di&r on the actual figures,
from 10 to 40 percent of the Africans on a slave
ship typically died in the crossing. Sick and fright
ened about what lay ahead, they were forced to
endure chains, heat, disease, and the overpower
ing odor caused by the lack of sanitation and their
cramped, stuffy quarters. As Equiano wrote,
“Many a time we were near sufftcation from the
want labsencel of fresh air, which we were often
without for whole days together.” Conditions
were so grim on Equiano’s voyage that two peo
ple committed suicide. A third was prevented
from doing so and then whipped.
Occasionally, enslaved Africans physically
resisted during the Middle Passage by staging a
mutiny, or revolt. The slave traders lived in con
tinual fear of mutinies, and crews were heavily’
armed. Statistics about the British slave trade
show that a rebellion occurred every two years
on the average. Many of these were successful.
Equiano’s ship finally arrived at a port on
the island of Barbados, in the West Indies,
where the Africans were sold at a public auc
tion. Most went to work and die in the sugar
plantations of the West Indies. Equiano noted
that the sale separated families, leaving people
grief-stricken and alone.
In this manner, without scruple [concern], are
relations and friends separated, most of them
never to see each other again. I remember in
the vessel in which I was brought over, in the
men’s apartment there were several brothers
who, in the sale, were sold in different lots; and
it was very moving on this occasion to see and
hear their cries at parting. 0, ye nominal
Christians [Christians in name only]! might not
an African ask you, Learned you this from your
God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you
would men should do unto you?
—Olaudah Equiano
In 1766 Equiano was taken to Virginia,
where he later bought his freedom. Migrating
to Great Britain, he found work as a barber and
a personal servant and became active in the
antislavery movement.
The experiences of Africans varied greatly in
colonial times. Slavery was legal everywhere, but
the number of slaves in each region and the kind
of labor they performed differed widely from
region to region.
South Carolina and Georgia Much of the
seaboard region of South Carolina and
Georgia is formed by a coastal plain called the
low country. Planters found the low country
ideal for growing rice and indigo. Slaves there
labored under especially brutal conditions.
High temperatures and dangerous diseases
Ctpter
•
Section 3
73
This authentic watercolor
depicts a scene at a South
Carolina plantation in the late
1700s. The musical instruments
and the dance form were
derived from the Yoruba people
of West Africa. Culture How
does this painting document
the character of African
American culture on South
Carolina plantations?
made life particularly difficult. Charles Ball, an
African American whose account was pub
lished in 1836, described the situation as it had
existed for well over a century:
AMERICAN I
The general features of slav
cry are the same every where;
but the utmost rigor [strictness] of the system,
is only to be met with on the cotton plantations
of Carolina and Georgia, or in the rice fields
which skirt the deep swamps and morasses of
the southern rivers.
—Charles Ball
African Americans made up the majority of
the population in South Carolina and ( eorgia.
Because rice was grown most efficiently on large
estates, this region had more plantations with
more than one hundred slaves than anywhere
else in the colonies. Since wealthy planters often
chose to spend most of their time away from
their isolated estates, slaves generally had regular
contact with only a handful of white colonists.
The lack of interaction allowed slaves in
South Carolina and Georgia to preserve some of
their cultural traditions. Many had come to the
region directly from Africa. 1’hey continued to
make the crafts of their homeland, such as bas
kets and pottery. They played the music they
loved and told the stories their parents and
grandparents had passed down to them. In
some cases, they kept their culture alive in their
speech. The most well-knmvn example is the
Gullah language, a combination of English and
African. As late as the 1940s, speakers of Gullah
74
Chapter 3
•
Section 3
were using four thousand words from the lan
guages of more than twenty-one separate
groups in West Africa.
The skills that African Americans brought
with them to South Carolina and Georgia also
deeply affected the lives of their masters. African
Americans had superior knowledge of cattle
herding and fishing. Because many had grown
rice in their homelands, they had practical knowhow about its cultivation.
Strong African kinship networks helped
people not only survive slavery but also pre
serve their traditions. Africans highly valued
family relationships. When separated from
their blood relatives, slaves created new rela
tionships with one another by acting as substi
tute kin. In these relationships, people behaved
as if they were brothers or sisters or aunts or
uncles, though in fact they were not.
In these and many other ways, the slaves
in South Carolina and Georgia made the best
of a horrible situation. Forced to come to
North America, they found strength in each
others company and in the memory of their
African origins.
Virginia and Maryland The lives of slaves in
Virginia and Maryland differed from those of
African Americans in South Carolina and
Georgia in four ways:
(1) Slaves in Virginia and Maryland made
up a minority rather than a majority of the
pop u lati on.
(2) Relatively few slaves came to Virginia
and Maryland directly from Africa.
(3) Slaves performed different work.
Cultivating tobacco, the major crop, did not
take as much time as growing rice, so slaveowners put enslaved African Americans to
work at a variety of other tasks.
(4) African Americans in Virginia and
Maryland had more regular contact with
European Americans. The result was greater
integration of European American and African
American cultures than in South Carolina and
Georgia. In the latter half of the I 700s, slaves in
Virginia and Maryland blended the customs of
African and European origin. They mingled
the African and the European in everything
from food and clothes to religion.
The high costs of importing slaves from
Africa led some Virginia and Maryland
planters to encourage their slaves to raise fani
ilies. It was in their economic interest to allow
African Americans a fuller family and commu
nity life. Over time, therefore, some slaves were
able to form fairly stable family lives, though
they still lived in constant fear of being sold
and separated from their families.
Some male slaves in Virginia worked away
from plantations as artisans or laborers in
Richmond and other towns. As long as they sent
back part of their wages to the plantations, they
lived fairly independently of their master’s con
trol. They were, however, still subject to harsh
laws that controlled what they could do. In
addition, their children were born enslaved.
New England and the Middle Colonies
About 400,000 African Americans lived in the
Southern Colonies by the late I 700s. In con
trast, there were only about 50,000 African
Americans in the New England and Middle
colonies combined. These colonies north of
Maryland had a more diverse economy than
that of the Southern Colonies. As a result,
African Americans in the New England and
Middle colonies had more freedom to choose
their occupations than did African Americans
in the Southern Colonies.
Throughout the 1700s, farms in the New
England and Middle colonies were much
smaller than those in the Southern Colonies
and did not require as many slaves for field
work. It was more common to find slaves in
this region working in the cities as cooks,
housekeepers, or personal servants. Male
slaves often worked in manufacturing and
trading or as skilled artisans. They also
Worked in the forests as lumberjacks. Because
Year
New England
Colonies
Middle
Colonies
Southern
Colonies
1690
905
2,472
13,307
1700
1,680
3,361
22,476
1710
2,585
6,218
36,063
1720
3,956
10,825
54,058
1730
6,118
11,683
73,220
1740
8,541
16.452
125,031
1750
10,982
20,736
204,702
Source: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970
Interpretme Tables The growth in the number of African Americans,
although relatively small in the 1600s, jumped considerably in the
early 1700s. 6eography In which group of colonies did the
number ofAfrican Americans increase most sharply?
shipbuilding and shipping were major eco
nomic activities, some African American men
worked along the seacoast. As dockworkers,
merchant sailors, fishermen, whalers, and pri
vateers, they contributed to the growth of the
Atlantic economy.
Most African Americans in the colonies were
enslaved, It was not until after the American
Revolution that the free black population in
the Northern and Southern colonies grew sig
nificantly. Some slave laws discouraged people
from freeing slaves. Owners had to get permis
sion from the legislature before freeing any of
their slaves. The laws also demanded that freed
slaves leave a colony within six months of gain
ing freedom. Despite the obstacles, those slaves
who earned money as artisans or laborers had
the possibility of saving enough to purchase
their freedom.
Free African Americans did much of the
same kind of work as enslaved African
Americans. They were, however, probably
worse off materially. Free blacks endured
poorer living conditions and more severe dis
crimination than slaves who were identified
with specific white households. Free blacks
also faced limited rights. They could not vote,
testify in court against whites, or marry whites.
• Section3
75
dBE ÔLb
laws in 1696, 1712, and 1740, each time
strengthening the restrictions placed on slaves.
Generally, slaves could not go aboard ships
or leave the town limits without a
ferries
or
written pass. Crimes for slaves ranged from
owning hogs and carrying canes to disturbing
the peace and striking a white person.
Punishments included whipping, banishment
to the West Indies, and death, Many of these
laws also applied to free African Americans
and to Native Americans.
Laws restricting the movement of slaves
made organizing slave rebellions extremely
difficult. Because slaves could not travel or
meet freely, they had only limited contact with
slaves in other areas, A few early documented
cases of slave revolts do stand out. In 1739, sev
eral dozen slaves near Charleston, South
Carolina, killed more than twenty whites in
what is known as the Stono Rebellion. The
slaves burned an armory and began to march
toward Spanish Florida, where a small colony
of runaway slaves lived, Armed planters cap
tured and killed the rebels. In New York City,
brutal laws passed to control African
Americans led to rebellions in 1708, 1712, and
1741. After the 1741 revolt, thirteen African
Americans were burned alive in punishment.
African Americans undertook almost fifty doc
umented revolts between 1740 and 1800.
More commonly, African Americans
resisted slavery through a series of silent acts,
such as pretending to misunderstand orders or
faking illness. While these actions could not
give them freedom, they did grant the slaves a
small degree of control over their own lives.
‘Tksrj&y next, at pub lick ziendue,
TEN
LIKELY
GOLD COAST NW NEGROES,
Juft imported from the Well-Indies,
Conlifting of eight lout men and two women.
To revent their receiving the infe&ion of
the 1iiallpo, they have been kept conifantly
on btard the veffel fince they arrived, where
they will be (old.—.Any perfon inclining to
jurchafe them at private (ale ni.y apply to Melfrs. Johnfon
WYY:
1
‘4
AWAV from the fubfcriber, a NE
GROE MAN named FRANK, who car
ned ofF a gun and thot’ pouch with him. He
is a likely well made flout fellow, fpeaks bro
ken Rnglifh, with the Spanith accent, having
been feverar years at the Havana.—Whoever
will deliver hini to Mr George Baillie in Sa
vannah, or to me in Augufla, Ihall receive zos. reward, be-•
JAMES GRAY.
fides all charges.
RUN
These advertisements, which appeared in the Georgia Gazette in
1764, reflect the status of slaves as property as well as the rebel
lious spirit of many of the enslaved, Economics How were eco
nomic incentives used to reclaim runaway slaves?
Laws controlling the lives of slaves varied from
region to region. Every colony passed its own
slave laws, and colonies revised these laws over
time, Settlers in Georgia, for example, barred
slavery from the colony in 1735 but lifted the
ban in 1750. Virginia enacted its first major
slave code in 1680. South Carolina passed fair
ly weak regulations in 1690 and then revised its
SECTION
REVIEW
Key Terms Define: (a> Middle Passage;
(b) mutiny; (c) Stono Rebellion.
2. Summarizing the Main Idea In what way
did the skills that slaves brought from Africa
allow the colonies of South Carolina and
Georgia to prosper?
3. Organizing In formation Create a Venn dia
gram comparing the lives of slaves in South
Carolina and Georgia with the lives of slaves
in Virginia and Maryland.
1.
4. Analyzing Time Lines Review the time line
at the start of the section. Write a phrase or
sentence that connects each entry to the
entry that follows it.
5, Identifying Central Issues In what ways
was Olaudah Equiano’s experience similar to
that of other enslaved Africans?
6.
:
76
Chapter
3
-
Section 3
Writing an Expository Essay Slaves did
not often openly rebel against their situa
tion. Write a brief essay explaining some of
the reasons for their actions.
I 74k,
1730r
I 73E
Beginning of religious
revival sparked by
Jonathan Edwards
George Whitefield
begins tour of
New England
French send
troops to seize
Ohio Valley
I 7-Z
French build
Ft. Presque Isle
I,’
Einerm
Terts
Is
SECTION PREVIEW
Explain why British settlers in the mid-1700s
wanted to move west of the thirteen colonies.
Analyze the impact of British westward
migration on Native Americans and the
French.
Summarize the effects that the religious
movement known as the Great Awakening had
on colonial society.
Key Terms Define: immigrant; Great
Awakening; itinerant; dissent.
the mid- I 700s, thirteen prosperous
.LJ British colonies hugged the Atlantic Coast.
Colonial settlers had transformed the Atlantic
colonies into a world of thriving farms, towns,
and plantations. The success of the colonies
came at a price, however, The growth of the
colonies, both in population and territory,
raised new issues in colonial life.
Rv
In the mid-I 700s the colonial population
increased rapidly, almost doubling ever
twenty-five years, as the birth rate grew faster
than the death rate. In addition to a rising
birth rate, the colonies experienced a growth
in the number of immigrants, or people who
enter a new country to settle. While colonists
continued to conic from England, they also
began to arrive from Ireland and Germany-.
Those people immigrating from Ireland were
often called Scotch-Irish, for they had origi
nally traveled from Scotland across the Irish
Sea to settle in Ireland before moving on to the
North American colonies. As the population
In the mid-i 700s, the American colonies experienced
a growing population and a powerful religious revival.
Formulating Questions Reread the Main Idea above.
Then rewrite it as a question. As you read the sec
tion, take notes to help answer that question.
grew, the colonists began to feel crowded, espe
cially in the smaller colonies of New England.
According to English custom, fathers tried
to provide their sons with some land of their
own. New Englanders now found it increas
ingly difficult to do so. Maintaining a family
required about 45 acres and since colonists
were having many- children, there was simply
not enough fertile land to go around.
Benjamin Franklin and others feared a land
shortage would make it more difficult for
American men to secure their independence
by owning private properly-.
Clearly the colonies could not
continue to flourish if forced to
remain confined to the land along the
Aside from needing
Atlantic Ocean. By the mid- I 700s,
land for farming, why
European settlers were moving into
did American men
the interior of North America. Scotch
fear a land shortage?
Irish and Germans settled central
Pennsylvania and the Shenandoah
Valley of Virginia. Farther to the north,
colonists spread into the Mohawk River valley
in New York and the Connecticut River valley
in what is now Vermont. In southern
• Section 4
77
[COMPARING PRIMAflY $OURCF
EXPANSION INTO NATIVE AMERICAN LANDS
Colonial efforts to purchase Native American lands in
Pennsylvania created a difference of opinions.
Opposed to Expansion
In Favor of Expansion
“We know our Lands are now
become more valuable. The white
People think we do not know
their Value; but we are sensible
[aware] that the Land is everlast
ing, and the few Goods we
receive for it are soon worn out
and gone.... Besides, we are
not well used [treated] with
respect to the lands still unsold
by us. Your people daily settle on
these lands, and spoil our hunt
ing.... Your horses and cows
have eaten the grass our deer
used to feed on.”
—Canassatego. Iroquois
!eadei July 7, 1742
“It is very true that lands are of
late becoming more valuable; but
what rises their value? Is it not
entirely owning to the industry
and labor used by the white peo
ple in their cultivation and
improvement? Had not they come
among you, these lands would
have been of no use to you, any
further than to maintain you.
The value of the land is no more
than it is worth in money.”
—Governor of Pennsylvania,
July 7, 1742
INALYZING VIEWPOINTS How does each of the speakers
above describe the value of the land?
Pennsylvania and the Carolinas, settlements
sprang up as far west as the Appalachian
Mountains, In a few cases, settlers pushed through
the Appalachians and began cultivating land in
Indian terntory. People migrated, or moved, in
search of land on which they could stake their
independence and maintain their households.
‘I
Native American Response Just ahead of the
westward-moving English migrants were Native
Americans. In the Ohio and Susquehanna river
valleys lived a number of groups, including the
r 3
•
Section 4
French Actions The steady migration of the
English settlers alarmed the French as well as
the Native Americans. In 1749, disturbed by
the expansion of British trading posts in the
Ohio Valley, the French sent defenders to
strengthen the settlement of 1)etroit and to seize
the Ohio Valley. Tensions continued to rise in
the summer of 1752 when the French built
Fort Presque Isle (wheie Erie, Pennsylvania, is
now located) and attacked and killed the men
defending an English trading post in the valley.
By the early I 750s, it was clear that some
kind of explosion was rapidly approaching.
The most likely setting was western Pennsyl
vania. There the interests of the colonies of
Pennsylvania and Virginia conflicted with the
Native Americans and the French. Whoever
controlled the forks of the Ohio River, the
place where the Allegheny and Monongahela
rivers meet to form the Ohio, could dominate
the entire region. This was, in other words, an
area worth fighting for.
I
The colonists’ desire for more land raised ten
sions between the settlers and those groups
who already lived on the land—the French and
the Native Americans. Contact between the
groups was rare at first, hut interactions con
tinued to increase as greater numbers of
colonists looked for new places to settle.
78
Delaware, the Shawnee, and the Huron. They
were moving west, too. As white settlers migrat
ed into Native American territory, they ftrced
the Indians to relocate into lands already occu
pied by other Native American groups.
I3y the rnid-1700s, disease and wars over
trade had taken a to!! on Native Americans,
especially in New England. The Iroquois, for
example, were no longer as strong militarily as
they had been in the 1600s. The southern
frontier, however, remained a stronghold for
Native Americans. There the Cherokees,
Creeks, Chickasaws, and Chocktaws created a
powerful barrier to westward colonial expan—
sion. In addition, Native Americans remained
skilled at playing on the rivalry between the
French in Canada and the British in New York
and Pennsylvania.
While tensions built along the outer edges of
the British colonies, unrest was also increasing
within them. Nowhere was this more obvious
than in colonial religious life.
While the British colonies were over
whelmingly Protestant (aside from a small
number of Jews in cities and some Catholics in
Maryland), no single group of Protestants was
more powerful than any other. Southern
planters and northern merchants and profes—
sionals tended to belong to the Church of
England. Most New Englanders were either
Congregat ionalists or Presbyterians. Quakers
were strong in Pennsylvania, as were Lutherans
and Mennonites. The Dutch Reformed Church
thrived in the colony of New York.
In the early 1700s, many ministers, espe
cially Congregationalists, believed that the
colonists had fallen away from the faith of their
Puritan ancestors. In the 1730s and 1740s, they
led a series of revivals designed to renew reli
gious enthusiasm and commitment. Their
preaching especially touched women of all ages
and young men, This revival of religious feel
ing is now known as the Great Awakening.
The Great Awakening was not a single
event that began or ended all at one time. It
did not even take place in every colony.
Revivals had begun in scattered New England
towns as early as the 1720s and continued
through the 1760s. Most historians, however,
date the beginning of the Great Awakening to
the great explosion of religious feeling that
arose in the 1730s in response to the preach
ing of Jonathan Edwards, a minister in
Northampton, Massachusetts.
News of Edwards’s success spread through
out the colonies and even to Britain. It encour
aged other ministers to increase their efforts to
energize their followers. These ministers sought
to remind people of the power of God and, at
least in the beginning, to remind them of the
authority of their ministers as well. In a wellknown fiery sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of
an Angry God,” Edwards gave his congregation
a terrifying picture of their situation
religious convictions. It energized them to
speak for themselves and to rely less on the tra
ditional authority of ministers and books. As
George Whitefield said,
“The bow of
God’s wrath is
bent, and the
arrow made
ready on the
string.” Such
warnings
peppered
Jonathan
Edwards’s
fiery sermon
(below).
The Generality of Preachers talk of an
unknown, unfelt Christ. And the Reason why
Congregations have been so dead, is because
dead Men preach to them.
—George White field
In some areas the Great Awakening was led
by ministers in established congre
gations. Many people flocked to
S I N N E R S
revival leaders, such as Whitefield,
It
ILttt,,
who were itinerant, or traveling.
ANGRY GOD.
preachers. If welcomed by the local
minister, the itinerants would
SER MON
preach inside the church as a “visit
Prc,ch(I at E rt
July 8th,
41.
ing minister.” If unwelcome, they
A, a T’,,
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OP AN
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arnndd with
ut
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1108 TI) 14, Pint,4
ta.f 8,41 ty Jouw Hat.,,
at t, Itt,n*naa,
0 sinner! Consider the fear
ful danger you are in: it is a
great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless
pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held
over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is
provoked and incensed as much against you,
as against many of the damned in hell, You
hang by a slender thread.
AMERICAN
I
—Jonathan Edwards
Edwards would eventually be eclipsed in
popularity by George Whitefield, a young
English minister who toured the colonies seven
times between 1738 and 1770. Whitefield’s tour
of New England in 1740 was a great triumph. In
Boston, he preached to vast crowds packed into
churches. Later he held open-air meetings at
which thousands of listeners at a time could
hear his ringing sermons.
As time went on, however, the Great
Awakening did more than revive people’s
NC
/
j%
Preachers such as George Whitefield, shown here, were known
for their “pathetical,” or emotional, style. They used their pow
erful oratorial skills to encourage ordinary people to believe that
they, too, could reach out to God. Culture What prompted the
religious revivals of the GreatAwakening?
Chr8tet
•
Section4
7S
One sign of the new religious
independence brought about by the
Great Awakening was the shift of
many New Englanders to the
Baptist faith in the 1740s and 1750s.
In the South, both the Baptist and,
later, the Methodist churches drew
new followers. Evangelical Baptists
attracted followers among the com
mon people who settled in the
southern backcountry. The appeal
of these two particular churches lay
in their powerful, emotional cere
monies and their celebration of
ordinary people.
While some churches grew,
others split. Revivals caused sever
al churches to break apart as some
church members embraced, while
others rejected, the new emotion
alism. Yet some of these splinter groups were
more tolerant of dissent, or difference of opin
ion, than the organizations from which they
had split. This helped make religion in the
colonies more democratic.
Though it was a religious movement, the
Great Awakening had long-term social and
political effects as well. Methodists and Baptists
tended to be people at the middle or bottom of
colonial society. When they claimed that
individuals could act on their own faith and not
rely on a minister or other authority, they
were indirectly attacking the idea that some
people are better than others. Such talk of
equality would, in time, have revolutionary
consequences.
4
450
400
350
300
c.
250
c.
200
E
=
z
100
50
0
Religion
Source: Historical Atlas of Religion in America, by Edwin Scott Gaustad
Interpreting Graphs Traveling preachers of the Great Awakening
led to the increase in Baptist churches and to the creation of
Methodist churches by the late 1 700s. Diversity What information
in the graph helps explain why Congregationalists were so influ
ential during the GreatAwakening?
preached in fields and barns to anyone who
would come to hear their sermons.
These ministers, some of whom had had littie formal education, preached that anyone
could have a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. The infinitely great power of God did
not put Him beyond the reach of ordinary peo
ple, they argued. Faith and sincerity, rather than
wealth or education, were the major require
ments needed to understand the Gospel.
SECTION
REVIEW
Key Terms Define: (a) immigrant; (b) Great
Awakening; (c) itinerant; (d) dissent.
2. Summarizing the Main Idea Why was the
Great Awakening an indirect challenge to the
hierarchical social order of the British colonies?
3. Organizing Information Create a causeeffect chart showing the impact of colonial
expansion.
1.
4. Analyzing Time Lines Review the time line
at the start of the section. Which event, in
30
Chapter 3
•
Section 4
5
your opinion, had the greatest long-term
importance?
Drawing Conclusions Why was western
Pennsylvania a likely hot spot for confronta
tion between the French, English, and Native
Americans?
6
Writing a Persuasive Essay In your view,
was it necessary for British colonists to
expand westward in the mid-i 700s? Write
an essay explaining your opinion. Support
your ideas with specific examples.
:Jjjjjjfj
The major concepts of Chapter 3 are
presented below. See also the Guide to the
Essentials of American History or Interactive
Student Tutorial CD-ROM, which contains
interactive review activities, time lines, helpful
hints, and test practice for Chapter 3.
3eviewing the Main Ideas
The early 1 700s was a time of growth and change for the
British colonies in North America. Colonists, largely left
alone by the British government, gained confidence and
independence. The colonial economy grew and society
became more diverse. Yet sources of tension, from slavery
to conflicts with the colonies’ neighbors, remained.
An Empire and Its Colonies
The English colonies in the mid-i 6005 and early 1700s
grew and prospered with little direct interference from the
English government.
2 Life in Colonial America
The social groups that made up colonial society had differ
ent roles and ways of living.
African Americans in the Colonies
Africans, brought across the Atlantic Ocean as slaves,
helped build England’s American colonies while enduring
harsh and often brutal treatment.
Emerging Tensions
In the mid-1700s, the American colonies experienced a
growing population and a powerful religious revival.
1iIi
For each of the terms below, write a sentence
explaining how it relates to this chapter.
1. gentry
7. indigo
2. triangular trade
3. salutary neglect
4 Stono Rebellion
5. balance of trade
8. Great Awakening
6. mercantilism
9. Middle Passage
10. duty
itinerant
1 2. staple crop
11
-
1. (; four reasons why the British were able
to neglect their colonies in the 1 700s.
2. What was the main economic activity in the
Southern Colonies? In the Middle Colonies?
In the New England Colonies?
3. Describe the system of triangular trade used
by New Engianders in the I 700s.
4. What duties did women perform in colonial
America?
5. Describe the importance of work in colonial
America.
6. Describe the conditions of the Middle Passage.
7. Give four reasons why slaves in South
Carolina and Georgia were able to preserve
many of their cultural traditions.
8. Why did the colonists feel pressure to
expand westward in the mid- 1 700s?
9. Besides energizing religious feeling, what
effect did the Great Awakening have on
colonial people and society?
c/
The search for freedom of worship has brought many peo
ple to America, from colonial times to the present day. The
United States today is home to more than 150 religious
denominations or sects.
On a separate sheet of paper, copy the web dia
gram to organize the main ideas of the chapter.
Provide four reasons for the growing spirit of
independence in the colonies.
Rising Spirit of
Independence
82
Examine this Puritan cartoon. (a) Describe
the scene shown in the drawing. (h) What
information does the caption add?
What is the message of the cartoon?
How is the message of the cartoon charac
teristic of Puritan culture?
I
Applying the Chapter Skill Review the eco
nomic activity map on page 64. Based on the
crops you see listed, where do you think largescale slavery existed?
2. Recognizing Ideologies Today many people
consider it wrong for a nation to have colonies.
How does this view of colonies contrast with
that held by the British in the late 1600s and
early 1700s?
3. Making Comparisons How did the life of a
slave differ in the New England and the
Southern Colonies?
4. Distinguishing False from Accurate Images
Would it be correct to state that colonial society
was dominated by men? Explain your answer.
Ii1ALVZ”1L
O IME RCIWITY !D
Access Prentice Hall’s America: Pathways to the
Present site atwww.Pathways.phschooLcom for the
specific URL to complete the activity. Additional
resources and related Web sites are also available.
Read about how historians determine the
number of Africans that were enslaved for the
Atlantic slave trade, Create a pie chart showing the
percent of enslaved Africans who reached America
and those that died along the way. Provide a cap
tion to explain these deaths.
buEa’r 4j
Turn to the “American Voices” quotation on page 68.
I. How did Eliza Pinckney feel
about her work on the planta
tions? (a) She thought it was too
great a burden. (b) She was over
whelmed by the amount of writ
ing involved. (c) She was happy
and proud to be able to help her
father. (d) She did not seem to
like the work.
2. Why might Eliza Pinckney’s
friend have thought that the
workload was too much for
Eliza? (a) Eliza was in poor
health. (b) It was rare for a girl
to carry so much responsibility.
(c) Most girls only managed one
plantation at a time. (d) Eliza’s
letter complains about the
amount of work.
3. Writing Write a brief letter
responding to Eliza. You may
want to comment on the amount
of work she has taken on or ask
about plantation life,
Essay Writing Reread
the section on Diverse
Colonial Economies that
begins on page 62.
Research and write an
essay that describes the
important economic
activities in your region
of the country today.
What changes have
there been in your
region’s economy in
recent years?
83