Transcript Document
Chapter 3 – Colonial Life
Section Notes
Video
Political Life in the Colonies
The Colonial Economy
America’s Emerging Culture
The French and Indian War
Colonial Life
Maps
Quick Facts
Thirteen Colonies, 1750
Triangular Trade
The French and Indian War in
New York
European Claims in North
America
Rising Tensions between
England and America,
1651–1689
Key Political Thinkers of the
European Enlightenment
Visual Summary: Colonial Life
Phillis Wheatley
African Population in the
Colonies, 1700
Political Cartoon: Join, or Die
The Old Plantation
History Close-up
South Carolina Rice Plantation,
1730–1750
Images
Political Life in the Colonies
Main Idea
British mercantilist policies and political issues helped shape
the development of the American colonies.
Reading Focus
• What is mercantilism?
• How did the Glorious Revolution and the English Bill of
Rights affect political developments in the colonies?
• How did government in the colonies change under the
policy of salutary neglect?
Mercantilism
• Colonists smuggled goods because they felt England was
taxing them unfairly.
• The English felt taxing was fair because profit was the
major incentive for colonizing America.
• Mercantilism: a nation’s power was directly related to its
wealth
• Balance of Trade: a goal of mercantilism; the colonists
could supply raw materials to England and could buy
English goods
Mercantilism
• England prevented its colonies from trading with other
nations to maintain balance of trade.
• England only wanted certain American products, such as
fur and timber.
• Colonists produced other products like wheat and fish that
the English did not want.
• Colonists often could get higher prices for their goods from
the French, Spanish, or Dutch.
Mercantilism
English laws passed to control colonial trade
Navigation
Acts
Effects
•
Only English ships with English crews could take goods
to England.
•
Limited the products that could be shipped to England
or English colony
•
All shipments to colonies had to go through England.
•
Merchants had to pay a tax on certain goods; tax
collectors were sent to the colonies.
•
Increased English profits, but also increased law
enforcement in America
•
Lumber and shipbuilding business was up in the
colonies; England needed more ships for trade.
•
Many colonists ignored the laws and smuggled.
The Glorious Revolution and
the English Bill of Rights
• New England colonists did not want to be governed in such
a way that it hurt their own economies.
• Their industries began to compete with those in England.
• When Massachusetts refused to enforce Navigation Acts,
the king made it a royal colony.
The Glorious Revolution and
The English Bill of Rights
Dominion of
New England
• King James
created a
supercolony of
New England,
New York, and
New Jersey
• Sir Edmund
Andros was
governor.
• He wanted
colonial charters
returned.
• There was no
elected assembly.
• Andros enforced
Navigation Acts.
Glorious
Revolution
• King James II was
unpopular in
England.
• James’s daughter,
Mary, and her
husband, William,
took over the
crown.
• This change of
leadership—the
Glorious
Revolution
• William and Mary
accepted the
English Bill of
Rights that limited
the monarchs’
powers.
Colonists’
Reactions
Boston:
• Andros and his
government were
arrested and sent
to England.
New York:
• Rebellion broke
out
• Royal rule
returned to New
York, but it was
granted an
elected assembly.
Government in the Colonies
Toward Self-rule
• During the English Civil War,
colonists took small steps
toward self-government.
• In 1643 several colonies
joined forces in the United
Colonies of New England.
• Though Parliament had more
power since Glorious
Revolution, it dealt mainly
with mainland England.
• The monarchs and their
officials made most colonial
policy.
• When war with Spain broke
out, colonial governments
gained some independence.
• Salutary neglect: referred to
the fact that many English
officials made colonial policies,
but they did not rule the
colonies very strictly.
Colonial Governments
in 1700s
• Local governments more
influential in colonists’ lives
• Colonial assemblies were
bicameral like Parliament.
• Governor’s council was the
upper house.
• Elected Assembly was lower
house like Parliament.
• Each colony had a governor.
The Colonial Economy
Main Idea
A commerce-based economy developed in the northern
colonies, while the southern colonies developed an
agricultural economy.
Reading Focus
• What were the characteristics of northern colonial
economies?
• What were the characteristics of southern colonial
economies?
• What was the impact of slavery in the colonies?
Northern Colonial Economies
• Agriculture was the main economic activity in colonial America.
Farming in New England
• Soil was thin and rocky; winters were long, growing season
short.
• Subsistence farming, growing just enough food for their own
family. Some raised extra corn or apples or cattle to trade with
their neighbors. Rarely enough to produce an export crop
Farming in the South
• Better land and milder climate. Grew enough wheat to sell grain
and flour to other colonies and to send abroad
• Raised cattle and hogs for export
Most productive farmers
• German colonists also known as Pennsylvania Dutch. Used
fertilizer and crop rotation. Women worked in the fields with the
men.
Northern Colonial Economies
Natural resources
• When the number of fur-bearing animals declined, the
colonists turned to timber (planks, shingles, and siding for
ships and houses) and fish.
• Because of Navigation Acts, many coastal towns were
centers for shipbuilding. It was the largest single group in
the workforce.
Fish
• Some of the fish was exported to Europe and the West
Indies. In early 1700s whaling industry began in New
England. Whale products: lamp oil and materials used in
perfumes, candles, and women’s corsets
Northern Colonial Economies
Colonial industries
English goods were expensive, so colonists made things
at home. Small industries developed:
• Mills run by waterpower ground grain into flour.
• Distilleries for rum and other alcoholic beverage were
major businesses
• Ironworks developed when there were local supplies of
iron ore.
• Bricks, leather goods, and glass were made by small
companies.
• Cloth was woven (wool and linen) for personal use and
for sale to merchants.
Northern Colonial Economies
Trade and commerce
• Good harbors, inexpensive ships, and a tradition of
seafaring encouraged the development of commerce.
• Port cities of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia were
thriving centers of trade.
• Trade routes that linked the Americas, Europe, Africa,
and the West Indies are often described as the
triangular trade.
• The Middle Passage is the name used by historians to
describe the journey that enslaved Africans made from
West Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to the West
Indies.
South Colonial Economies
• Southern colonies produced valuable cash crops (agricultural
products grown to be sold).
– tobacco, the most valuable export
– indigo (used to make blue dye) and rice
– naval stores were also produced: rope, tar, and turpentine which
were used to maintain wooden ships. These products were in great
demand in England and produced a great profit.
Plantation system
• Plantation system developed in Virginia and Maryland as the tobacco crop
increased in importance.
• Planters were wealthy and influential, dominating southern society and
politics.
• Plantations needed workers: a few huge plantations had hundreds of
workers, either indentured servants or slaves.
• Most farms were smaller and had less than 30 workers.
• Most worked in the fields, though on larger plantations, men and women
performed other tasks, such as shoemaking, weaving, and carpentry.
South Colonial Economies
Rice and Indigo
Small Farms
• Biggest crops in South
Carolina
• Low coastal areas were
ideal for growing rice.
• Slaves were used; many
knew how to grow rice and
many had more resistance
to malaria.
• Indigo first successful crop
grown by Eliza Lucas in
South Carolina. She was
only 18 years old.
• Some farmers had a few
enslaved Africans who
worked in the fields
alongside them.
• Independent yeoman
farmers
– raised livestock and
exported beef and port
– grew corn, wheat,
fruit, and vegetables
for the home market
– grew tobacco, sold it
through large planters
The Impact of Slavery
•
African
Slave
Trade
•
•
Olaudah
Equiano
•
•
By the 1600s Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, and
England were involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Most captured Africans were taken to colonies in the
Caribbean and South America, then to North America.
Only a small percentage came directly to the North
American colonies.
The Middle Passage (the voyage across the Atlantic)
was a horrifying experience where men, women, and
children were packed in the ships’ below-deck quarters.
A former slave, wrote a book about his life in slavery
His description of the Middle Passage horrors
encouraged readers to call for the end of slavery.
The Impact of Slavery
Why slavery continued
• At first many African workers were treated as indentured servants, but
the terms of indenture grew longer until they lasted a lifetime.
• White indentured servants were freed while black servants were not. In
some colonies, black servants lost other rights.
• The English settlers considered themselves superior to the Africans.
• Historians disagree about why slavery continued:
• For planters, holding slaves cost less than indentured servants.
• Slaves’ children supplied the next generation of workers.
• The number of people wanting to serve as indentured servants dropped.
Resisting slavery
• Many slaves used physical resistance, sabotage, or ran away.
• Stono Rebellion: In 1739, 100 enslaved Africans in South Carolina took
weapons from a firearms shop and killed several people.
• Some skilled artisans bought their freedom by hiring out their labor.
America’s Emerging Culture
Main Idea
Enlightenment ideas and the Great Awakening brought new
ways of thinking to the colonists, and a unique American
culture developed.
Reading Focus
• What impact did the Enlightenment have in the colonies?
• How was the Great Awakening significant?
• How did the colonies become more diverse in the 1700s?
• What was life like in colonial America?
The Enlightenment and the American
Colonies
Enlightenment: European movement that emphasized a
search for knowledge. Also called the Age of Reason
The Scientific Revolution
• Scientists began using observation and experiments to
look for natural laws that governed the universe.
• Some scientists studied physical laws, while others
looked for order and method in nature.
The Enlightenment and the American
Colonies
The Enlightenment in Europe
• Thinkers in Europe admired the new approach to science.
They thought that logic and reason could also be used to
improve society, law, and government.
• English philosopher John Locke said it was the duty of
government to protect the citizens’ natural rights: life,
liberty, and property.
• French Baron de Montesquieu suggested that the powers
of government be divided.
• French writer Voltaire criticized intolerance and prejudice.
• Other thinkers wanted to use new ideas to reform
education, which in turn would improve society, criminal
justice, and conditions for the poor.
The Enlightenment and the American
Colonies
The Enlightenment in America
John Locke’s writings were widely read in America. They
influenced Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin,
among others.
• Jefferson used Locke’s theories when he wrote the
Declaration of Independence.
• Other American leaders used Enlightenment ideas when
they drafted the United States Constitution.
• Franklin and Jefferson were also interested in science
and invention, applying reason to ask questions and find
answers.
• Enlightenment thinkers questioned common beliefs and
deep-rooted superstitions.
The Great Awakening
• Enlightenment ideas also led some people in the
colonies to question long-accepted religious beliefs,
looking for rational, scientific explanations for how the
universe worked.
Changes in religious attitudes
• Strict groups such as the Puritans were upset by the
growing tolerance for other beliefs.
• Some religious leaders worried that material values and
concern for making money had displaced spiritual
values. Clergy looked for new ways to bring people back
to the church.
The Great Awakening
A revival of religion
• Great Awakening was a religious revival movement in the
colonies.
• Jonathan Edwards, Puritan minister, was one of the movement
leaders, preached about the agonies that sinners would suffer if
they did not repent.
• He was influenced by John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton.
• George Whitefield, British Methodist minister, preached
throughout the colonies. His strong voice moved people to cry
and confess their sins.
Results
• Led to increase in church membership in the 1700s
New Protestant religions grew in America: Congregational
Church, Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian
• Was one of first links uniting the colonies
• Led to creation of several colleges
The Colonies Become More Diverse
• Scots and ScotsIrish settled
mainly in the
middle colonies
and Carolinas.
• Strict
Presbyterians
• Did not like the
English
government
• Were ready to
fight for political
rights
• Religious unrest in
Europe and religious
tolerance in colonies
attracted more
people.
• German colonists
(skilled farmers and
artisans)
• French Huguenots
(craftsmen and
scientists)
• Jewish
communities
grew.
-
Newport
Philadelphia
New York
Charleston
Life in Colonial America
Colonial cities
• Some cities had cobblestone streets lit by oil lamps. Ships from
foreign ports were in the harbors. People enjoyed reading mail
from relatives and English newspapers and magazines.
• Many cities had libraries, bookshops, and impressive public
buildings.
• Places where colonists could see plays and hear concerts
• Markets to shop for produce or European luxury goods
• Schools that taught music, dancing, drawing, and painting in
addition to traditional classes
• City life for women: no hard farm work, but still had household
tasks to perform
Prosperous women had more time for reading and writing.
• Men and women spent many hours writing letters to friends and
family.
Life in Colonial Economies
Popular culture
• Quilting bees and barn
raisings were examples of
work in sociable ways.
• Northern colonists went iceskating and sledding in winter.
• Horse racing and hunting
• Visiting neighbors was favorite
pastime
• Social events: dancing,
listening to music
Communications
• Printers printed and
distributed newspapers,
books, advertisements, and
political announcements.
• First American printer was in
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• Influential newspapers
published in Boston, New
York, and Philadelphia.
• John Peter Zinger, New York
printer, published articles that
criticized the royal governor.
• Zinger was arrested, and his
newspapers were burned.
• He was tried in court and won
the first important victory for
freedom of the press in the
America colonies.
Life in Colonial America
African
American
Culture
• Strong family structure despite the fact that real
families were split apart. Kinship networks were
essential.
• Religion was another strength of the community.
Many were Christian, but also kept older African
beliefs.
• The slave community preserved music and dance
traditions.
• African music, foods, and other traditions
gradually became a part of American culture.
The French and Indian War
Main Idea
The French and Indian War established British dominance in
North America but put a strain on the relationship with the
colonists.
Reading Focus
• How did France develop an empire in North America?
• Why did Spain and England clash in North America?
• What were major events in the French and Indian War?
• What were the effects of the French and Indian War on all
those involved?
France in North America
• 1608—Champlain started permanent French settlement at
Quebec
• Late that century, La Salle claimed Mississippi basin for
France.
French Presence
• Champlain made allies of the Algonquians and the Hurons to protect
the fur trade. French helped the allies against the Mohawks.
• French traders lived in Native American villages; learned the
language; and married local women.
• By the early 1700s, French forts at Detroit, Niagara, Kaskaskia, and
New Orleans bordered the English colonies to the west.
• Power struggle with the English meant constant frontier battles.
Spain and England Clash
• They clashed over the area known as La Florida: much
of Georgia, South Carolina, the Florida peninsula, and
land along the Gulf Coast.
• Spain wanted to guard the sea routes for Spanish
treasure ships returning from Mexico.
• Since the 1500s, there were Spanish missions along
the Atlantic coast. By the 1600s, they had nearly 40
missions in Florida and Georgia.
• As English colonies expanded southward, Spanish
missions and settlements were threatened.
• Carolina slave traders began to attack the missions.
• By 1700, the Spanish presence was only in the areas
of San Augustine and Pensacola
The French and Indian War
French and Indian War (1754–1763) became part of a
larger war between France and Britain, the Seven Years’
War. War broke out in the colonies first, then spread to
the European continent.
The Iroquois League
• Alliance of Native Americans that was allied with Britain:
Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and
Tuscarora
• The Alliance had a constitution and a council of leaders.
• Most northeastern Native Americans allied with the
French.
The French and Indian War
• French built Fort Duquesne in Ohio River Valley, present-day
Pittsburgh.
• British wanted to build a settlement there.
• In 1754 an unsuccessful attempt by the British militia (led by
George Washington) to take the land from the French was the
first skirmish of the French and Indian War.
The Albany Plan
• Proposed by Benjamin Franklin
• Each colony would keep its own constitution, while grand
council would deal with military issues, Native American
relations, and western settlement.
• Was never approved
• First attempt to unite the colonies
The French and Indian War
The war continues
• The first years of the war went badly for the British. The
French won battle after battle.
• British officers in America
– Forced colonists into the army
– Seized supplies
– Sent soldiers to stay in colonists’ houses
• When colonists resisted these actions, more British soldiers
were sent from England to fight in the war.
• In 1758, the British began winning the war.
• When the British took Quebec in 1759, it was the turning
point in the war.
• France surrendered in 1760.
The French and Indian War
The peace treaty
• 1763—Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years’ War in
Europe and the French and Indian War in North America.
• Britain gained all French land east of the Mississippi River,
including much of what is now Canada.
• Spain had allied with France. It gave up control of Florida
to Britain. France gave Spain the Louisiana Territory.
• France kept two islands near Canada and regained some
Caribbean islands.
Effects of the War
• Ironworkers,
shipbuilders, and
farmers profited by
supplying the army.
• Carolinian and
Georgian slave
owners benefited
from the acquisition
of Florida because
runaway slaves
could no longer
seek haven there.
• The war forced
colonists to work
together.
• British officials thought
the colonists should
pay some of the war
expenses.
• George Grenville, the
British prime minister
in 1760, had strict
policies that alienated
the colonists more.
Pontiac’s Rebellion
• Pontiac, an Ottawa
chief, wanted to
drive the British
out.
• In 1762 Pontiac
allied with most of
the Native
Americans in the
Upper Midwest.
• They attacked
British forts and
settlements for
several years, but
the British held on.
• The chief agreed to
a peace treaty in
1766.
Effects of the War
Proclamation of 1763
• Reserved the land west
of the Appalachian
Mountains for Native
Americans
• Gave British officials
control of westward
migration
• Slowed movement out
of cities that were
centers of trade and
prosperity
Effects on Native
Americans
• Weakened by war
• British felt the Iroquois
did not fully support
them and no longer felt
friendly toward them.
• Proclamation of 1763
took native lands.
• Settlers often ignored
the Proclamation.
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