AMERICAN SOCIETY IN THE MAKING

1. AMERICAN SOCIETY IN THE MAKING CHAPTER TWO (52-81)

2. SETTLEMENT OF NEW FRANCE New Orleans – 1712 Indigo, tobacco, rice, cotton, lumber, tar, resin By 1750, only 10,000 colonists Shortage of European women Many men married Indian women Traders in particular benefitted from this relationship – kinship was very important to most Indians

3. SOCIETY IN NEW MEXICO, TEXAS, AND CALIFORNIA GUNS, GUNS, GUNS, and more GUNS! Came from French traders – spread to all Comanche Indians Became very powerful Raided far into Texas and New Mexico Had better guns than most Spanish settlers Presidios – Santa Fe, San Antonio Indian slave trade, sheep raiding

4. SOCIETY IN NEW MEXICO, TEXAS, AND CALIFORNIA California – Spain’s claims to California were threatened by British and Russian attempts at the Pacific Northwest Spain built 20 missions to convert the Indians and create Hispanic settlers – San Diego, Monterey, San Francisco, etc. Disease remained the biggest problem for the natives

5. THE ENGLISH PREVAIL ON THE ATLANTIC SEABOARD English settlers FAR outnumber any others Still very distinct from one another New England Colonies – Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island Middle Colonies – New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware Southern Colonies – Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia

7. THE CHESAPEAKE BAY COLONIES “Nasty, brutish, and short” Newcomers underwent “seasoning” Dysentery and malaria common Most people only lived into middle-age Death of parent(s) Constant remarriage This was all considered normal

8. THE LURE OF LAND Land was unavailable in England, but plentiful in America Land became the payment for moving to the colonies – this attracted much needed labor Wealthy men were granted huge tracts Headright system – land was given according to the availability of labor to cultivate it 50 acres for each “head” – they had to clear, plant, and build a home – paid a quitrent

9. THE LURE OF LAND Indentured servant – if one could not afford passage, one signed to work for a period of time Often abused and ill-treated After their time, they were free, sometimes obtaining their own land - squatters The headright often went to those who paid their for passage This became the source of much conflict and almost brought them into class-warfare

10. “SOLVING” THE LABOR SHORTAGE 1619 the first Africans came to Jamestown By 1640 some were slaves, some were free By the 1660’s slavery was becoming embedded in Virginia and Maryland and would spread Landowners still preferred white servants over black slaves – slaves were expensive and different By 1700, 30,000 slaves in America – servant shortages – Royal African Company (1672)

11. PROSPERITY IN A PIPE: TOBACCO Tobacco was virtually unknown until 16th century Many frowned upon it but it became popular The Chesapeake was the perfect area to grow tobacco and for English ships to get it Tobacco was relatively easy to grow By the late 17th century, 30 million pounds produced Small farmers had trouble keeping up

13. BACON’S REBELLION 1676 – outlying planters wanted to take more land from the Indians – Governor Berkeley said no Nathaniel Bacon went anyway, raising 500 men He attacked Indians and Jamestown – forcing Berkeley to give him authority, then later he burned Jamestown down – soon after he died Bacon’s Rebellion helped to seal slavery in Virginia by causing the large landowners to use it to “unite” all white planters in order to prevent more rebellions

15. THE CAROLINAS North Carolina – Tobacco South Carolina – Rice Factors – British merchants who sold their crops, filled their orders, and extended credit - middlemen Few major towns developed, little manufacturing, and families were often isolated from others

16. THE CAROLINAS By 1730, 3 out of 10 were black in Pennsylvania in Carolina it was 2 out of every 3 Laws governing blacks became more severe Negro Act of 1740 – denied freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, freedom to raise their own food, freedom to earn money, even to read English Acculturation vs. Independence Fear of slave revolt grew and grew Slavery became simply a fact of life…

17. HOME AND FAMILY IN THE SOUTH Most, even the well off, lived in very small houses Few chairs were available No indoor plumbing Clothing was often dirty Formal schooling was lax at best Only in the latter 18th century do we see the big houses and real affluence

18. GEORGIA AND THE BACKCOUNTRY Georgia created a buffer between Spanish Florida and South Carolina James Oglethorpe – slaves and alcohol prohibited, land grants were limited to 50 acres – did not work The Backcountry – the land above the fall line Mostly Scots-Irish immigrants More Indians, more isolated, 250,000 by 1770 The Regulators – fought for representation

19. PURITAN NEW ENGLAND AND THE PURITAN FAMILY Much better living conditions than the South Fewer adults and children died early Family was king – Fifth commandment, clearly defined areas for men, women, and children “Better whipt than damned” Very high birthrate, relatively low mortality Society was much more varied, women married at an older age, children were well educated

21. VISIBLE PURITAN SAINTS Church membership required having had an “experience” and the approval of the church Soon, less than half of adults were members Only male church members could vote What about the souls of their children? Half-Way Covenant – one did not have to be a visible saint to become an intermediate member and thus could be baptized – but not take communion or vote in the church

22. SALEM BEWITCHED 3 girls begin uttering nonsense, they are declared to be “bewitched” by a doctor The three most unsavory women in the town are then accused of witchcraft – Sarah Good, a poor woman; Sarah Osborne, a bedridden widow; and Tituba, a slave from the West Indies Eventually over 150 people are accused, 28 are convicted, 19 are put to death Finally governor Phips puts an end to it the madness – How?

24. HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW ENGLAND Harvard was founded in 1636 14 year-old boys are taught theology, mathematics, and logic over four year terms Grammar schools: immediately before Harvard Boys learned Latin, Greek, and the other “R’s” Various education acts were passed requiring towns to establish these grammar schools By the middle of the 18th century, male literacy is almost universal

25. HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW ENGLAND The first printing press in the colonies was at Cambridge in 1636 – books and papers become very important to New Englanders Sermons, poetry, history, politics, and science dominated the printed word of the day New England Courant – A young Benjamin Franklin writes the “Silence Dogood” essays

27. A MERCHANT’S WORLD New England colonists had a varied and nutritious diet: barley, rye, oats, green vegetables, potatoes, corn, cattle, sheep, hogs, deer, turkey, fish, etc. Merchants learned to trade their goods for other goods that could then be traded for English manufactured goods Boston became a thriving metropolis (only London and Bristol are larger) based largely upon shipping – the port cities began to take on a different character than the inland towns

29. THE MIDDLE COLONIES: ECONOMIC BASIS “in-between” The middle colonies had many of the characteristics of its neighbors Cities Farming Trading Family Life Religion

30. THE MIDDLE COLONIES: INTERMINGLING OF PEOPLES “Scots, English, Dutch, Germans, and Irish…Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Quakers, Methodists, Seventh Day men, Moravians, Anabaptists, and one Jew” Not that there was an absence of conflict, but that they generally tolerated one another and remained open-minded. Who is missing from this list?

31. “THE BEST POOR MAN’S COUNTRY” The Middle Colonies offered the best chance for anyone to advance themselves Because the economy was so diverse, there was room for many types of workers and many types of businesses By 1750, Philadelphia became the largest city in English America at 15,000 people

32. THE POLITICS OF DIVERSITY The Middle Colonies had a more complex political system than the other colonies Bigger legislative bodies More men were able to vote There tended to be two or more interest groups making public opinion ever more important John Peter Zenger – accused of libel – the first major test of freedom of speech in America – 40 years before the Constitution

33. BECOMING AMERICANS 1650 – 50,000 Europeans had come to N. America Indians outnumbers them 10:1 African slaves were still rare Perhaps 1000 Hispanics and fewer Frenchmen 1750 – Nearly 1 million Europeans, mostly English 250,000 African slaves, Still many Indians 20,000 Hispanic and French settlers Most of these people were concentrated along the Atlantic coast – but they began to become something different than what their parents and grandparents had been - Americans