Chapter 5

Life in the English Colonies(1630 – 1770)

Section 1

Forms of Government

Colonial Governments

• Privy Council set English policy in the colonies – allowed most to run own affairs

• Each colony had a governor (head of government)– Most assisted by advisory council– Job was to carry out policies set by England

Colonial Assemblies• In the colonies the government was based on

Parliament, the English lawmaking body (bicameral legisltature-2 houses)

• Colonial assemblies had the power to– Raise taxes and organize local governments. – Shared control of the military with the governor.– And approve laws

• Virginia’s Assembly (Jamestown 1619) first colonial legislature in North America– First house-Council of State– Second House-House of Burgess (elected by colonists)– Town meetings are center of politics; governor has

final say if there is a disagreement; developed tradition of holding 2 or more a year

Colonial Courts

• Colonists used courts to control local affairs• Supported interests and ideas of their

communities– Ex. Laws in Massachusetts enforced Puritan’s religious

views (efforts to combine church and state)• Sometimes protected individual freedoms

– Ex. John Peter Zenger – freedom of the press• charged with committing libel (a false statement) against a

public official• Andrew Hamilton, his attorney, argued he could publish

whatever he wanted as long as it was true• jury’s verdict = not guilty

Dominion of New England

• King James II became King of England and was determined to take more control of England and the colonies.

• Dominion of New England united the northern colonies under one government

• Edmund Andros was the appointed royal governor

• Limited powers of towns meetings to prevent protests

King James II

The Glorious Revolution• King James tried to change England from a

Protestant country to a Catholic one. • The Glorious Revolution was when William and

Mary overthrew James without a single blood dropped. Mary was James’ daughter and she was asked by England to become queen.

• English Bill of Rights- (representative body)Powers of Monarch were reduced and Parliament gained power.

William and Mary

Section 2

The Growth of Trade

English Trade Laws

• In the late 1600s England practiced mercantilism-system that created and maintained wealth by controlling trade

• Nation could be self sufficient if it had a good balance of trade (fewer imports than exports)

English Trade Laws-cont’d

• 1650-1696 Parliament passed the Navigation Acts-required colonies to do most of their trade with England. Also set duties (import taxes)

• English laws limited free enterprise, economic trade with little government control– They did this by preventing colonists from buying

or selling directly with foreign countries

Colonial Trade

• 1733, Parliament passed Molasses Act, placed duties on sugar, molasses and rum– Colonists responded by smuggling goods in

• Some merchants took part in triangular trade– Colonies traded with West Indies, then shipped

goods to Britain

Triangular Trade

Middle Passage

• Middle Passage was the voyage that brought slaves across the Atlantic to the Americas– Many died during the voyage– Lasted Three months– Legs and necks were chained. – Cramped spaces.

• Some colonists opposed the slave trade– Quakers in Germantown, PA made 1st recorded

protest against slavery

Middle Passage cont’d

Section 3

The Colonial Economy

Agriculture in the Southern Colonies

• Farms in the south did well because of the warm climate and long growing season– Many farms grew cash crops-crops sold for profit– Tobacco (VA), rice, and indigo (SC) were most

important cash crops• Slave codes passed – laws to control slaves

– Colonies with large number of slaves had strictest codes– South Carolina’s slaves could not hold meetings or own

weapons– Some colonies did not allow slaveholders to free slaves– Virginia Assembly passed law allowing people to kill runaway

slaves that resisted

Industry and Trade in New England

• Few grew cash crops because of harsh climate and rocky soil– Few slaves

• Trade was vital to New England’s economy– Entrepreneurs traded locally and overseas

• Fishing and shipbuilding were the two leading industries– Shipbuilding prospered because region had plenty of forests

and local fishing industry needed ships• Diverse economy needed skilled craftspeople

– Apprentices learned blacksmithing, weaving, shipbuilding, and printing

Middle Colonies

• Good growing season and rich land-could grow large amounts of food– Middle colonies grew staple crops (crops that are

needed) – wheat, barley and oats• Indentured servants largely filled labor needs• Trade and free enterprise important• By the mid-1700s Philadelphia had become one of

the largest British colonial cities

Women and the Economy

• Ran farms and businesses (clothing and grocery stores, bakeries, drug stores)

• Some women practiced medicine, often as nurses or midwives

• Colonial laws and customs limited women’s economic activities– Married women could not work outside the home

without her husband’s permission– Husband had the right to keep money she earned

• Most worked in the home, managed households and raised children

Section 4

The Great Awakening

Words of the Great Awakening

• Revivals were held to bring back sense of religious (emotional gatherings where people came together to hear sermons and declare their faith)

• Because of the revivals many colonists experienced “a great awakening” in their religious lives

• Great Awakening reached its height in the 1730s and 1740s – widespread Christian movement involving sermons and revivals

Words of the Great Awakening cont’d

• Jonathan Edwards was one of the most important leaders of the Great Awakening– Pastor that urged sinners to seek forgiveness for sins or face

punishment in hell forever– Author of Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God

• A British minister George Whitefield, one of the most popular ministers of the G.A., helped thousands of colonists found new faith in Christianity– Because of Whitefield

• Ministers preached all people were born sinners who could only be saved by the will of God

George Whitefield

Old and New Lights• “Old Lights” – traditionalists• “New Lights” – followers of the Great Awakening• Presbyterian Church in middle colonies changed– Gilbert Tennent led new movement attacking

traditionalists– Church split into two groups – “Old Side” and “New Side”

• Church attendance greatly increased in middle and southern colonies (particularly in Virginia)– Much of this growth took place among Baptists and

Methodists• Great Awakening influential on frontier– Traveling preachers held revivals– Important because there were few churches

Gilbert Tennent

The Great Awakening and Society• Women welcomed the message• Free and enslaved Africans were drawn to message of

acceptance and spiritual equality– Despite equality message, revivals separated by race

• Before the Great Awakening, there was little communication between people living in different colonies– Changed as ministers moved about, exchanging ideas

• Led some colonists to begin demanding political equality– Revivals were popular places to talk about political and

social issues

Section 5

American Culture

New Ideas in Europe

• During 1600s Europeans began to experiment more and make new discoveries. Their new ideas about the universe became known as the Scientific Revolution. This revolution began in math and astronomy.

• Galileo Galilei-one leading figure, demonstrated that planets revolve around the sun

• Late 1600s Isaac Newton developed much of the scientific method.

New Ideas in Europe cont’d

• Scientific Revolution also changed how people viewed human actions-Age of Reason or the Enlightenment.– Enlightenment philosophers used reason and logic. They

studied human nature and suggested ways to improve the world

– Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu formed ideas about how government should best serve people

John Locke

• John Locke believed that people had natural rights such as equality and liberty. People should obey their rulers if the state protected their life, liberty, and property

Colonial Education• More schools in New England than in Middle and

Southern colonies– Valued ability to read the Bible– Wanted to make future generations of educated

ministers so they created town schools• Schoolchildren often used the New England Primer –

characters and stories from the Bible• Middle and southern colonies – children often lived

far from towns; had to be taught by parents or tutors

• Most stopped education after elementary grades

Colonial Education• First college founded in

English colonies was Harvard

• Nine colleges were established – most in the middle colonies and in New England– Classes focused on

religion– Men studied sciences

or law

Colonial Scientists

• Scientists taught themselves by observing the world around them

• American Philosophical Society – founded in Philadelphia for the study of science by Benjamin Franklin– Members wanted to improve communication among

colonial scientists– David Rittenhouse – society’s second president;

designed mathematical and astronomical instruments

Colonial Scientists

Benjamin Banneker – free African American who lived in Maryland; predicted a solar eclipse; first colonist to build a clock

Benjamin Franklin• Most famous colonial scientist• Started the most successful newspaper in the

colonies – also published Poor Richard’s Almanack (1732-1757)

• Believed that reason could be used to make life better

• Invented useful devices– Lightning rod reduced risk of fire started by electrical storms,

Franklin stove heated homes effectively, and bifocals corrected far- and nearsightedness

• Flew kite during lightning storm to prove lightning = form of electricity

Colonial Writers and Artists

• Anne Bradstreet wrote poetry about her family and her faith

• Phillis Wheatley was one of the first African Americans to be published. Wrote On Being Brought from Africa to America. She described how Christianity changed her life

• Robert Feke became a widely admired painter