Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

Land, Rights, and Wealth

- only 5% of people living in England were landowners, but land was plentiful in the colonies

- land ownership gave colonists political rights & prosperity

- in America, only white, male landowners or property owners could vote; however, city dwellers could vote if they paid a fee

- land ownership and wealth determined social position

- unlike England, America had no class of nobles whose titles passed from parent to child, but people were still in classes

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- large landowners were the highest social class

- slaves were the lowest social class

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- women had to work hard in colonial times and their jobs included cooking, weaving, soap making, gardening, & tending to the animals

- women were not allowed to vote, preach, hold offices, own property, & earned money went to the husband!

Colonial Women and the Economy

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- New England families were large & children were expected to support the colonial family by working.

- at the age of three, children were expected to do chores

Young People at Work

- at the age of six, boys were expected to help their fathers on the farm or learn their trade

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- at the age of eleven, boys became apprentices, or learners of a trade from an experienced craftsman

- girls learned household skills like sewing

- at the age of thirteen, girls were sent away to learn specialized skills

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- education was very important in the colonies and most New England children were taught to read, so they could read the Bible

- wealthy children learned writing & math from a private tutor or in a private school

Colonial Schooling

- poor children learned to read from their mothers or they attended a “dame school” (alphabet & Bible reading only)

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- the children’s text book was called the New England Primer & it emphasized religion

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- the early colonies only had one newspaper called the Boston News-Letter

- almanacs were popular and the most popular was Benjamin Franklin’s A.D. 1732 edition of Poor Richard’s Almanac

Newspapers & Books

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- religion had begun to take a back seat to other interests

- a religious movement, called the Great Awakening, began in the A.D.1730s-1740s and showed a renewed interest in religion

The Great Awakening

- traveling preachers included Jon Edwards who gave terrifying sermons of God’s anger and George Whitefield who started a home for orphans

- the Great Awakening encouraged the ideas of equality & the right to challenge authority (government)

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- the Enlightenment movement was also called the “Age of Reason” & emphasized science and reasoning

- leaders included Isaac Newton, Ben Franklin, & John Locke

The Enlightenment

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- Sir Isaac Newton contributed the three laws of gravity to Science

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- Benjamin Franklin contributed many inventions like bifocals & a new stove

Ch.5, Sec.1 – Early American Culture

- John Locke was an English philosopher who said that natural rights included life, liberty, & property

- he also challenged the belief that kings had a God-given right to rule