I.  Utopian Colonies

• William Penn and the Quaker colony
• Quaker sect, as Society of Friends called in ridicule, was most influential of the many radical religious groups springing from the turbulence of the English Civil War
• Friends followed doctrine of individual spiritual inspiration and interpretation of the gospel--discarding formal sacraments and ministers
• Embraced simple living and pacifism and tolerated the religious of others, equality of the sexes, and full participation of women in religious affairs
• William Penn, received grant from King Charles II in 1681 to huge tract of land
• Penn actively recruited settlers to his new colony
• many were religious dissenters--Quakers, Mennonites, Amish, Moravians, and Baptists
• promised tolerance of religious diversity
• Penn differed from other colonial founders in that his relations with Indians good from the beginning because of the Quakers' friendliness and his strict policy of purchasing land rather than taking it--so good that some tribes moved from other areas to Pennsylvania
• Penn, like the Puritans, sought to set up a Christian community
• Unlike Puritans, he allowed diversity
• All taxpayers and landholders had right to vote in government
• In 1682, Penn was also granted title to the area that is now Delaware, but it became a separate colony in 1701
• Georgia
• Last British colony established on the continent—1732
• Georgia was unique in its three basic purposes for founding
• it was a philanthropic experiment
• also a military buffer against Spanish in Florida
• would produce luxury items (silk, citrus fruit, and olives)
• Gen. James Oglethorpe (one of the trustees controlling the colony) was appointed governor
• He was a military man who quickly organized the colony's system of defenses
• A champion of prison reform--sought a colonial refuge for the poor and persecuted
• Colony developed along utopian ideals
• Landholdings limited to 500 acres
• rum was prohibited
• importation of slavery forbidden--partly to leave room for indentured servants brought in on charity
• Utopian experiment failed--by 1759 all restrictions lifted as settlers complained that they could not compete with Carolina economically
• colony quickly grew as its settlers began to export rice, indigo, lumber, and naval stores
• it carried on a lively trade--especially with the British colonies in the West Indies

II.  Rise in colonial population

• Population of North America grew dramatically during the 18th century
• 650,000 new immigrants (close to 1/2 of them unwilling) came to North America during the first 75 years of the century
• Natural population growth dramatic
• early marriages--early 20s for whites, late teens for Africans
• frequent births--every 2 years on average
• lower mortality
• less crowding means less chance for contagious diseases to become epidemic
• more food for most
• European immigration
• British settlement grew immensely after the Scots-Irish, Scots, and Northern England--came in large numbers after 1720
• settled first in Pennsylvania
• many later moved down the Valley Road into western Virginia and the piedmont of the Carolinas, even into northeast Georgia
• Germans—began migrating into British controlled land around 1730, came in large groups after 1750
• followed much same pattern as Scots-Irish
• Pennsylvania first, then later down the Valley Road into the piedmont of the Carolinas
• French
• French never invested much effort in settling North America
• dispatched less than 1,000 settlers each year from about 1660 until 1750s (many returned to France)
• most of French settlers intent on being involved in fur trade
• little effort made to set up permanent farming settlements, formed only a few large cities—Quebec, Montreal, and New Orleans
• French still could lay claim to much of North America--Canada and much of the interior of U.S. (Mississippi drainage basin--from Appalachians to Rockies)
• Trading environment made less impact on land than the farming settlements of the English
• Spanish
• settled mainly in Southwest and some in Southeast (Florida and extreme southern Georgia and Alabama)
• Spanish claims split by the French claims
• Spain's settlement in U.S. centered around New Mexico
• Most Spanish claims held by missionaries and soldiers--little effort made to set up permanent farming settlements (except some in Texas)
• Competition for Control
• The three major European powers in North America struggled for control of the continent--against each other and against the Native peoples
• In the Southeast, Indians made several attempts between 1650 and 1711 to keep British settlers from expanding their control further inland
• In northern areas--New York, New England, and Canada--British and French settlers battled for dominance with Indians joining in on one side or another
• 1689-97--King William's War--English and Dutch settlers in Northeast allied with Iroquois to attack French and other Indian tribes in New France (Canada)
• Most of the suffering in the area fell upon the Iroquois and other native tribes (English, Dutch, and French lost 1,300 in almost 10 years of fighting)
• Iroquois learned lesson--remained neutral, playing two side off against each other
• French and Spanish settlement of North America reached its peak by 1750 and quickly declined afterward
• Africans
• Unwilling persons from different parts of West Africa comprised nearly half (325,000) of the immigrants
• Most came to the Chesapeake and South Carolina
• Africans make up 2/3ds of S.C.'s population by 1730
• A number of Africans showed their unwillingness to submit to slavery by revolting against their owners
• 1712—NYC
• slaves allegedly conspired with poor whites to burn much of the city
• when "plot" was discovered, 31 blacks and 4 whites were charged with conspiracy, then executed
• 1739--Stono Rebellion (S.C.)
• began when 20 slaves rebelled and raided a store where they found muskets
• slaves planned to escape to the Spanish in Florida
• the Africans were joined by 80 others
• burned 7 plantations and killed 20 whites
• captured only a day after the rebellion began
• whites executed all, placed a head on every milepost back into Charleston
• Reactions to the revolts resulted in changing the way slaves were treated (describe limitations placed on freedom of movement and association)

• The Enlightment
• period beginning around 1700 in Europe
• emphasis on acquiring knowledge through reason
• by using reason, humans could strive to make sense of God's orderly creation
• Enlightenment thinkers believed they could understand human behavior as well as nature--began to develop new political theories to explain relationships between people
• Leading thinkers of the enlightment included
• Isaac Newton in science
• John Locke--argued rulers had a duty to the people and if the ruler violated that duty then he/she could be ousted
• Enlightenment influenced many of the colonial elite, both political and religious
• Benjamin Franklin’s work ledt to the lightening rod, he also had the largest circulating library with the best collection of scientific books in the American colonies, also founded school which became University of Pennsylvania
• Education in colonial America
• bare rudiments of writing, reading, and ciphering (arithmetic) were considered a basic education
• barely half the men in the country received enough education to master the basics
• a majority of the women in the colonies were illiterate
• thus, education represented status in the colonies (although could sometimes mean person met with distrust)
• Oral culture
• lack of literacy created an oral culture among most colonists
• information was passed on by word of mouth--frequently through stories and songs
• as result of oral culture, information usually moved slowly and not very far
• Elite culture
• business, planter, and political elite among colonists began to develop a different culture
• went to England and New England for their education
• gentry wanted to set themselves apart from ordinary people, they did so through:
• education
• entertainment on large, lavish scale
• building large residences (describe large in colonial terms)
• fashion--clothing, powdered wigs, etc.
• manners
• culture of deference
• elite expected commoners to be deferential to them -- respect their position in society and their opinions
• many ordinary people complied because of their economic dependence on the elite
• Religion
• some religions--Congregationalists, Episcopalian in particular--worship took place in a hierarchical setting
• wealthy families could purchase their own pews--in some churches, almost all pews would be purchased, excluding poorer classes and newcomers
• this system helped reinforce social strata
• Quakers were more open to everyone
• meetings were informal
• men and women both actively participated in church services
• still, leaders of church usually drawn from leaders of the community
• most people living in colonial North America did not attend church regularly--many lived too far from churches or pastors
• churches still played major influence in colonial society because most business and political leaders attended church
• The Great Awakening
• Factors leading to the Great Awakening
• The Enlightment--intellectually, many educated people found Deism and skepticism more appealing
• Prosperity of some Puritan and Quaker merchants in Boston and Philadelphia caused some people to worry that Satan was tempting them
• People living in the back-country had few or no ministers to preach or administer sacraments
• By the 1730s, a sense of falling away from the faith prepared the way for a revival
• Beginnings – Prelude
• 1734-35, spiritual revival occurred in the Puritan congregation in Northampton, Mass.--led by Jonathan Edwards
• Edwards joined the church as a minister in 1726 and found it spiritually at a low ebb
• He was convinced Christians had become too preoccupied with making and spending money
• religion had become to intellectual, it had lost its zeal and emotional force
• By 1735, Edwards, with his descriptions of the delights of heaven and tortures of hell, had helped rekindle the spiritual fervor in his congregation
• "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"
• delivered July 8, 1741
• describes the anger of God for such sinners as the people are:  "...natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked...all that preserves theme every moment is the ... unobliged forebearance of an incensed God."
• shows how redemption from God's wrath may be had:  "you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners...Therefore, let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come."
• One witness said there was "such a breathing of distress, and weeping," that Edwards had to ask for silence so that he may be heard
• George Whitefield sparks the Great Awakening
• Whitefield a 27 year old minister who had developed a reputation as a spellbinding evangelist in the Wesleyan revivals in England
• He claimed "congregations are lifeless because dead men preach to them"
• Whitefield arrived in the colonies in 1739
• up to 6,000 people listened to his sermons in Philadelphia
• made a revival trip from Georgia to New England -- even Ben Franklin went to hear him and was impressed enough to donate to the ministry
• Jonathan Edwards heard Whitefield and found himself moved and revitalized spiritually
• Great Awakening sparked division among many churches
• Spiritualism of Great Awakening clashed with reasoning of Enlightenment educated ministers
• Great Awakening was democratic--emphasis on spiritualism of everyone
• NOTE:  In different ways, both the Enlightenment and Great Awakening emphasized the individual

• Most colonies shared a similar political structure
• Governor--most powerful figure in the colony
• Legislature--normally composed of two houses (House of Burgesses or Senate, House of Commons or House of Representatives)
• Legislature elected by landholders, usually different qualifications to vote for different houses
• Legislature could actually pass laws or act as advisors for governor, depending on colony
• At the local level, colonists governed by selectmen or county judges (or justices of peace)
• By early 1700's, many colonists had grown used to large measure of self-government
• The Crown cracks down
• The Dominion of New England
• When James II ascended the throne in 1685, he determined to take more active control of colonies
• Became concerned with New England--smuggling and lack of religious toleration
• James appoints Edmund Andros as governor of the Dominion, stretching from Maine to New Jersey)
• Andros given dictatorial powers--dissolved all colonial assemblies and appoints a special council to advise him
• When James II overthrown in Glorious Revolution in 1688, colonists overthrew Andros when they learned of rebellion and proclaimed loyalty to William and Mary
• Revocation of charters
• Although colonists saw their overthrow of Andros as support for William and Mary, the new monarchs did not view the actions the same way
• Over a 40 year period, the crown began to bind the colonies more closely to the mother country and its rule
• One after another, the colonies came under royal charter

• New England
• Initially its economic system depended mostly on fur trade and flow of immigrants
• Scarcity of fur in most of region killed that trade
• English civil war stopped the second
• New Englanders switched to providing new goods and crops for the market
• much of their export went to Carribean and Azores
• Wood (for casks), fish, corn, and wheat (as cheap food) were main exports--also imported naval stores directly to England
• In return, New England got sugar (in form of molasses), spices, fruits, and slaves from the islands
• New Englanders could then trade these goods to England for finished goods
• Southern colonies
• Most of trade direct with England
• Exported primarily tobacco, rice, indigo, and naval stores (cotton is not a major crop yet)
• In turn the southern colonists got finished products and cash--also imported slaves from the islands
• Much of the trade was carried out using credit--specie (cash) was scare in the colonies, normally used for paying taxes
• Mercantalist system
• Goal of England (and rest of colonial powers) was to become as economically self sufficient as possible
• Colonies played a critical role, provided the mother country with valuable raw materials
• Navigation Acts
• Designed to insure control of colonial trade
• Over a period of 23 years, England passed four major Navigation acts designed to accomplish three goals:
• only English or colonial merchants and ships could engage in trade with the colonies
• certain goods (called enumerated goods) could only be sold to England
• foreign goods destined for colonies first had to go through England (where they could be taxed)
• Colonists frequently tried to avoid these restrictions whenever possible
• Purpose of these acts was to center trade on England and generate revenues for the government
• Enforcing Navigation Acts
• England establishes vice-admirality courts to enforce the acts--make decisions without a jury
• Board of Trade created to supervise colonial trade policies, advise the crown on steps to take, and monitor actions of colonial legislatures