Colonial Society on the Eve of the Revolution

1. Colonial Society on the Eve of the Revolution 1700 – 1775

2. Population Growth • 1700 - 300,000 colonists • 20,000 Africans • 1775 - 2,500,000 • 500,000 Africans • 2/3 of pop born here

3. 400,000 had come as immigrants • 400,000 brought as slaves

4. The rest of the growth was by natural increase. • Population was doubling every 25 years. • The average age in 1775 was 16.

5. 1700 - English to American ratio was 20:1 • 1775 - English to American ratio was 3:1

6. 1775 - most settlers are still east of the Alleghenies • A few pioneers had begun crossing into the Kentucky and Tennessee wilderness.

7. 1775 - Largest colonies by population: • Virginia • Massachusetts • Pennsylvania • North Carolina • Maryland

8. Only 4 major cities • Philadelphia (34,000) • New York • Boston • Charleston • America was 90% Rural.

9. Colonial Population Density, 1775

10. Ethnic Composition • 1775 - the population was still predominantly English (~65%) • 6% German • Also, Scots Highlanders, Dutch, French Huguenots, Swiss, Jews, & Africans

11. Scots-Irish • 7% of Pop. = Scots Lowlanders • transported from Scotland to Northern Ireland • 1700’s many immigrated to America

12. Most initially settled in Pennsylvania but found the best land taken by Quakers and Germans.

13. The Scots-Irish moved out onto the frontier and down the east face of the Appalachians.

14. They brought the art of whisky making and strong sense of rebellion. • Paxton Boys and the Regulators

15. Ethnic Patterns • Most ethnically diverse place in world • New England was the least diverse • Middle Colonies were the most diverse

16. The Southern colonies early on developed the black-white ethnic divisions • 90% of African-Americans were in the South

17. 1775 – half of the population outside of New England was non-English

18. Social Structure • Less stratified than European society • Few if any nobility • Few impoverished paupers

19. High level of social mobility - “rags to riches” • Society became more stratified in the 18th Century

20. A few merchants made great fortunes during the imperial wars of the late 17th and early 18th century.

21. Upper Classes • Plantation Owners, Merchants • 50% of wealth • Held political power • Middle Classes • Craftsmen,lawyers, royal officials

22. Lower-Middle Classes • “the meaner sort” • Small farmers & unskilled labor • Indentured Servants • African Slaves

23. Rise of cities saw a coincident rise in the number of poor and destitute urban under-class.

24. New England farms got smaller • many young men turned to manual labor or headed west

25. In the South, land was increasingly concentrated into large plantations • Wealth was measured by the amount of land and slaves one owned

26. Social stratification increased • landless, indentured servants, ex-convicts and black slaves making up the bottom of the social order

27. Occupational America • Clergy were the most highly esteemed members of the community • Doctors were mostly unskilled and ignorant

28. Diseases were rampant and there was little that doctors at the time could do • Bleeding was still a common practice • Smallpox vaccination was being tested in the early 1700’s

29. Lawyers were considered the lowest sort • Their prestige increased over time • Farmers were the backbone of society • The Planter gentlemen were the ideal

30. Other Colonial Industries: • Fishing & Whaling • Shipbuilding • Lumbering • Naval Stores (tar, pitch) • Iron • Some Manufacturing • Household industries

31. Problem: • More & more Americans desired more & more English products • English population did not need American goods • Americans seek other countries to trade with

32. Colonial Trade Patterns • The “Triangular” trade system • Molasses • Rum • Slaves • VERY PROFITABLE!

35. Trade • Enumerated Commodities • Lumber • Tobacco • Rice • Indigo • Furs To England

36. Molasses from the Indies would become rum in New England which would be traded for slaves to make the Middle Passage to the New World.

37. Britain tries to control trade in colonies with the Molasses Act 1733 • Americans become smugglers / bribers • Foreshadowing event to come

38. Transportation • Few roads • Waterways were most important • Taverns

39. Churches • Established churches: • NE = Congregationalist • South & NY = Anglican • No single dominant religion = toleration

40. Great Awakening • 1730s – 1740s • First Mass Social Movement in America • “Arminianism”

41. Jonathan Edwards • denounced salvation through good works • God’s grace

42. George Whitefield • toured the colonies & preached at tent revivals • Brilliant orator • Emotional appeals for salvation

43. Old Lights vs. New Lights • Conservatives disliked the emotionalism of Whitefield • New lights defended the revitalization of religion

44. GA Results: • Denominational splits • Brought religion to people who had lost touch with it • Undermined older clergy • Sparked missionary work

45. Anti-intellectualism foundations • Democratic component • Resistance to authority • “New Light” universities: • Dartmouth, Brown, Rutgers and Princeton founded to train evangelist preachers

46. Education • New England very dedicated • South had limited opportunities

47. Higher Education • Focused on religion not academics • Franklin starts Penn • 1st non-religious university in America

48. Culture & the Press • Most people too busy for art • John Copley – painter • Philis Wheatley – poet

50. Ben Franklin • Poor Richard’s Almanack • Only real first rate American scientist