Colonial Society in the 18th Century

The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas, and form new opinions. From involuntary idleness, servile dependence, and useless labor, he has passed to toils of a very different nature, rewarded by ample subsistence. This is an American.

Jean de Crevecoeur, 1782

Population Growth

European Immigrants

EnglishGermansScots-IrishOther Europeans

English

Continued to comeSmaller in numbers when compared to other groupsFewer problems at home

Germans

Settled chiefly west of PhiliadelphiaAKA Pennsylvania Dutch countryMaintained German language, customs, and religions (Lutheran)Obeyed colonial lawsShowed little interest in English politicsBy 1775, people of German stock made up 6% of the colonial population

Scots-Irish

From Northern IrelandOriginal ancestors had moved to Ireland from ScotlandLittle respect for British government - had pressured them into leaving IrelandSettled in the western frontier of Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Carolinas, and GeorgiaBy 1775, made up 7% of the colonial population

Other Europeans

French Protestants (Hugenots)DutchSwedeBy 1775, made up 5% of the colonial population

Africans

Largest group of non-English immigrantsDid not come of their own free willSome were granted their freedom after years of forced laborBy 1775, African Americans (both slave and free) made up 20% of the colonial population

Africans cont’d

90% lived in southern colonies - enslavedMajority of the population in S. Carolina and GeorgiaSignificant minority in North Carolina, Virginia, and MarylandOutside the South, they worked as slaves or were free wage earnersSome owned propertyLaws from New Hampshire to Virginia that discriminated

Structure of Colonial Society

Dominance of English Culture

Majority of the population were English in origin, language, and traditionAfricans and European immigrants were creating a diversity of culture

Self-government

Each colony had a representative assembly elected by eligible of voters (white male property owners)Rhode Island and Connecticut -governors elected by the peopleGovernors in other colonies were appointed by the crown or by a proprietor

Religious toleration

All of the colonies permitted the practice of different religions with varying degrees of freedomMassachusetts - least tolerantRhode Island and Pennsylvania - most liberal

No hereditary aristocracy

Social extremes of Europe did not exist in the coloniesNarrower class system

Social mobility

Everybody in colonial society had an opportunity to improve their standard of living and social status by hard workEveryone except African Americans that is

The Family

Economic and social center of colonial lifeMen

Landowning reserved to menHusbands had unlimited power in the home

WomenHousehold chores, educated the children, worked on the farmLimited rights

The Economy

New EnglandSubsistence farmingLogging, shipbuilding, fishing, trading, & rum-distilling

Middle coloniesExported wheat and cornSmall manufacturers

Southern coloniesSmall farms to large plantationsTobacco, rice, indigo, timber

The Economy cont’d

Monetary SystemColonies had to use hard currencyPaper money for domestic tradeParliament vetoed colonial laws that might harm English merchants

TransportationGoods transported by waterTaverns became social centers

Religion

Protestant Dominance2 established churches (tax supported)

AnglicansColonial members tended to be prosperous farmers and merchants or plantation owners

CongregationalistsSuccessors to the Puritans

The Great Awakening

Early 1700s, sermons tended to be long intellectual discoursesPortrayed God as a benign creator1730s a change swept through the coloniesFervent expressions of religious feeling among the masses

George Whitefield

Sermons on hellish torments of the damnedAttracted audiences of 10,000Ordinary people didn’t need to rely on ministers to lead them

Jonathan Edwards

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”God was angryGod’s grace could save the penitentOthers would suffer eternal damnation

Religious Impact

Emotionalism became a common part of Protestant servicesMinisters lost former authority among those who studied the Bible on their ownSchism between “New Lights” and “Old Lights”New sects - Baptists and Methodists

Political Influence

Colonists shared a common experience for the first timeDemocratizing effect

If common people could make religious decisions on their own, why not political decisions?

Cultural Life

Achievements in the Arts and Sciences

ArchitectureGeorgian style

PaintingItinerant artists

LiteratureReligious tracts - Cotton Mather and Jonathan EdwardsPolitical literature - Adams, Paine, Jefferson

Science - Franklin

Education

New England1st tax supported schools

Middle coloniesChurch sponsored or private

Southern ColoniesHome taught or tutored

Higher Education

Harvard - Cambridge, MA - 1636William and Mary - VA - 1694Yale - CT - 1701

All sectarian - to support a particular religious sect

5 New colleges

College of New Jersey (Princeton)King’s College (Columbia)Rhode Island College (Brown)Queens College (Rutgers)Dartmouth CollegeOnly one non-sectarian college - College of Philadelphia (Univ. of Penn.)

Professions

PhysiciansLittle to no formal training1st medical college at the College of Philadelphia

Lawyers– Most individuals represented themselves– As problems became more complex, the

need for expert assistance became apparent

– Most able lawyers formed a bar

The Press

•Newspapers– 1725 - 5 newspapers existed in the

colonies

– 1776 - more than 40

– Single sheet folded once to make four pages

The Zenger case

• John Peter Zenger brought to trial on a charge of libelously criticizing New York’s royal governor

• Andrew Hamilton represented him

• Zenger was acquitted

Rural Folkways

•Most colonists rarely read anything other than the bible

•Worked from daylight to sundown

•Entertainment for the well-to-do– South - cardplaying and horse-racing

– Middle colonies - theater

– New England - religious lectures

Emergence of a National Character•Motivations for leaving Europe

•Political heritage of the English majority

•The influence of the American natural environment

Politics

•Structure of Government– 2 house legislature in every colony

– Assemblies voted for or against taxes

•Voting– More couldn’t vote than could

– White males (in some cases property owners or members of a particular religion)