Chapter Four

SLAVERY, FREEDOM, AND BRITAIN'S PUSH FOR EMPIRE

GEORGIA• Founded in 1732 by philanthropist James Oglethorpe

• Last of the original thirteen colonies

• He wanted to make the colony a debtors’ penal colony

• However, it became a valuable buffer between the British colonies and Spanish Florida

• Oglethorpe later decides to make it a haven for the poor

• Oglethorpe initially restricted:

• Liquor

• Slaves

• Maximum land ownership set at 500 acres

• People became angry at the restrictions and left

• Oglethorpe was forced to repeal the restrictions to help boost immigration

JAMES OGLETHORPE

FREEDOM AND SLAVERY• Three distinct slave systems existed in the British colonies

• Chesapeake Bay

• South Carolina and Georgia

• Non-plantation societies of New England and the Middle Colonies

SLAVE TRADE

FREEDOM AND SLAVERY• Chesapeake Bay’s slave system

• Based primarily on tobacco plantations

• Plantations were small

• Daily interaction between masters and slaves

• Slavery transformed society into a hierarchy based on freedom

• Large planters (most free)

• Yeoman farmers (middle class; some restrictions on freedom)

• Indentured servants and tenant farmers (lower class; many restrictions)

• Slaves (not recognized as citizens or people; very restricted

• More laws were create for slave owners to ensure their legal power over slaves

• Race divisions begin

• Black became synonymous with slave

• White became synonymous with freedom

FREEDOM AND SLAVERY• South Carolina and Georgia’s slave system

• The need for slavery was based on growing rice

• Rice and indigo required large-scale cultivation

• Logistically, rice farmers required large plantations and a large labor force

• By 1770, over 100,000 slaves populated South Carolina

• Roughly over ½ of the colony’s population

FREEDOM AND SLAVERY• Slavery in the North

• Economically, the Northern colonies were based on small farms

• As a result, slavery was not as important because large labor forces were not required

• Slaves were few and posed little threat to the colonists

• Laws were not as harsh as in the South

SLAVE CULTURE• In the Chesapeake Bay colonies, slaves learned English and participated in the Great

Awakening

• They were thoroughly exposed to English culture and assimilated into main-stream society

• In South Carolina and Georgia, slaves participated in two contrasting societies:

• African culture: consisted primarily of slaves who worked in rice plantations

• Euro-American culture: consisted primarily of urban servants (house workers)

• In the Northern colonies, slaves developed a distinct African-American culture much slower than their counterparts

• Slaves had more access to main-stream society and culture

• They were also not as legally restricted as in the South

SLAVE RESISTANCE• A common sentiment for slaves in America was the desire for freedom

• Many colonial slaves ran away to Spanish Florida and cities in Northern colonies

• The first slave uprising was in New York (1712)

• Other rebellions:

• Stono Rebellion (1739) – led to a more restrictive slave code

• New York City Fires (1741) – rumored to be part of a slave conspiracy to attack colonists

• As a result, sentiment towards free blacks and slaves worsened

• Numerous slaves were executed in the aftermath

SLAVE EXECUTION AFTER THE NYC FIRE (1741)

NATURAL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL CONTRACTS

Jean Jacques Rousseau John Locke Thomas Hobbes

NATURAL RIGHTS• Hobbes: In his work, “Leviathan”, he states each person has a right or license to everything

in the world. This leads to conflict because people are selfish. As a result, people’s lives are “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”

• Hobbes was a pessimist

• Rousseau: In his work, “State of Nature”, he compares man to a solitary ape or animal. Nature is a primitive condition without law or morality. It is what it is. There is no right or wrong. Humans will always create inequity. He did not see morality as a construct of human behavior; it must be developed.

• Rousseau is somewhere in the middle

• Locke: In his work, “Two Treaties of Government”, nature allows for reason and tolerance in human nature. Nature ALLOWS for men to be selfish. In nature, all men are equal and independent. Nature allows for men to protect “Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions.”

• Locke is sort of an optimist

SOCIAL CONTRACTS• Hobbes: To escape man’s natural state of conflict, men progress to a social contract (civilized

society). Society will be ruled by a sovereign authority (a monarch).

• If the monarch abused power, tough! That is the price people pay for a peaceful society

• Also, Hobbes believe one authority (similar to the Pope) should control civil, military, judicial, and ecclesiastical powers

• Rousseau: “Man was born free and he is everywhere in chains.” Man will always be in frequent competition with his fellow man, but is dependent upon them for survival. People enter into a social contract to ensure freedom and survival, but submit to an authority.

• The authorities are elected by an assembly

• Collectively, the people are the authors of the law and government

• Called for the virtuous elite to give themselves to public service and let the masses choose them for service

• This is the classic framework for republicanism

SOCIAL CONTRACTS• Locke: The sole right for a man to defend himself in nature is not enough. Men must come

together in a civil society (social contract).

• Government is needed to help resolve the endless conflicts

• He advocated for separation of powers

• Believed that revolution against a tyrant government was a right and an obligation of a civil society

• Believed in individual rights, consent of the government, etc.

• Framework for the United States’ application of liberalism and democratic government

• Overall:

• Locke’s theories of liberalism and democratic government + Rousseau’s republican framework = the future United States’ political theory

THE AMERICAN ENLIGHTENMENT• Part of the larger movement in Europe known as the “Age of Enlightenment”

• Europeans were greatly influenced by the scientific revolution in the 17 th century and sought to apply scientific and investigative methods to political and social life

• Research, logic, and experimentation were key components

• The movement came in part as a reaction to the bloody religious wars of Europe of late 16 th and 17th centuries

• Concepts of “natural laws” came into vogue and began to encompass the spirit of the American Enlightenment

• Religion was questioned by Deists

• They believed that a supreme being created the universe and that reason and logic could determine religious “truth”

• Hence, there was no need for faith or organized religion

• This movement was particularly popular with founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson

CLASHING POLITICAL CULTURES• The English Constitution was admired in Europe because it seemed to have the perfect

balance of authority and rights

• Monarchy

• Aristocracy

• Democracy

• Guaranteeing the rights of the people (note this comes last)

• At this point in British history, Parliament was notorious for political corruption

• Less than 20 percent of British males could vote

• Suffrage was more common in the colonies

• Running for office in the colonies often meant owning more land than the voters

CLASHING POLITICAL CULTURES• Similarities between England and the colonies

• British and colonial legal systems were very similar

• Both had similar political ideals, institutions, and problems

• Causes for friction

• The English government had the final word for all matters concerning the colonists

• American colonists often used assemblies to control economic revenue and make laws

• This provided a sense of independence socially and economically from Britain

• However, they were still very tied to England economically

• Widespread literacy caused numerous newspapers, books, and pamphlets to circulate in the colonies

• Discourse on economics and politics became common

• By 1700, the British government gave up on attempting to censor printed material in the colonies

• As a result, freedom of the press becomes a central component of Americans’ concept of liberty

GROWING PROBLEMS• No matter what the colonies had to offer in terms of politicians, they could not send

representatives to Parliament

• Voters were required to have a stake in society (property ownership or church membership) for voting rights

• The fact that they did not have adequate representation fostered resentment with England

• Virtual Representation

• Parliament stipulated that their chosen representative did not have to live in the area he represented (not even from the colonies)

• To make matters worse, the representative chosen for the colonies represented the colonies at large

• Individual colonies did not have an individual representative

• 1 vote for 13 colonies

AMERICAN CULTURE• A majority of colonists lived in small towns or isolated farms in 1700

• Larger cities were: Boston, Newport, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston

• Large cities focused on commerce, but were not industrial centers like Paris or France

• Currency: American companies paid for trade products through tobacco, wheat, or rice typically (barter system)

• Most colonists traded with each other and developed a unique sense of American cooperation and identity as a result

• However, most 2nd or 3rd generation Americans fervently considered themselves British citizens

AMERICAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT• Mercantilism at its peak

• Raw materials come from the colonies

• Sent to England for manufacturing

• Sold back to the colonies for a significantly higher price

• To make this system work, most of the raw materials were on the Enumerated Articles list

• Basically, this list banned particular goods from being shipped from one colony to another

• Why?

• This allowed England to make the most money

• Consumer Revolution

• This fueled a demand for specific goods in the colonies

• You want a red shirt, you go to a store to buy a red shirt

• Becomes a paramount concern for colonists in towns such as Philadelphia and New York City

THE GREAT AWAKENING

THE GREAT AWAKENING• A period of heightened religious activity in the colonies between the late 1720s and 1740s

• Brought on by the arrival of young Anglican pastor George Whitefield

• Whitefield traveled through the colonies preaching enthusiastically

• Visited towns, villages, and the backcountry (known as circuit riding)

• Known for attracting large, emotionally charged crowds and generating considerable controversy

• Other preachers such as Jonathan Edwards generated immense controversy through his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

• What was their goal?

• Attempt to compel non-Christians to covert to Christianity and those who were lost to recommit to God

• Controversial because they rejected Calvinism and segregation in church services

• Conservative church members particularly did not care for the circuit riders

George Whitefield Jonathan Edwards

THE GREAT AWAKENING• Factions

• “Old Lights” – conservative church members who rejected the controversial preaching of the circuit riders

• “New Lights” – liberal church members who came under scrutiny for supporting the circuit riders and accepting blacks into white church services

• What did the movement achieve?

• Split Protestantism into more denominations; Presbyterians were especially affected

• Became social criticism for colonial society

• Rejected slavery in particular

• Eventually, “New Lights” eclipsed “Old Lights” and ushered in a new era of religious influence in the colonies

• Became a great influence of connecting God’s will with the Revolutionary War in the 1760s and 1770s

FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS

FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS

KING GEORGE’S WAR• Third of the fourth Intercontinental (North American) wars

• England and France are once again struggling for the mastery of Europe

• They continually drag the colonies into the war

• The conflict grew worse as France expanded its colonies to present-day Louisiana

• This war is of importance because it sets the stage for the Ohio River Valley to become a future battleground for all conflicts between the French and English

• French built a fort near the head of the Ohio River (Pittsburgh)

• English send young George Washington to defeat the French, but he fails miserably

SEVEN YEARS’ WAR• Begins in 1754 as the British attempt to move the French from western Pennslyvania

• Indians initially ally with the French to keep the British from taking their land

• They believed the British represented the largest threat because of their constant expansion to the west

• Some tribes sided with the British, but had no problem betraying them and cooperating with the French

• For the first two years, the British lose

• After numerous battles, the British forces (regulars and colonial militias) force the French out of Canada

• Seen as a huge victory over the Catholics

TREATY OF PARIS (1763)• France lost all territory in North America, but kept the Caribbean Islands

• England’s King George III looks like a hero

• A statue of him is erected in New York City

• France’s loss severely damaged their relationship with the Native Americans

• Britain took their revenge against the Indian betrayers in trading

• They stopped buying items from the Indians at high prices

• Indians were forced to begin hunting again

PROCLAMATION OF 1763• After numerous conflicts with Indians in the Ohio River Valley after the end of the Seven

Years’ War, the British were forced to respond

• King George III used this proclamation as an excuse to avoid further Indian conflicts

• He was too worried about paying back all the war debt

• The goal was to stabilize the volatile situation on the colonial frontier and avoid future border conflicts

• All in all, the proclamation closed the frontier for future colonial expansion

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE CONFLICTS• The British learned that the Americans took forever to organize a militia

• The Americans were difficult to command and did not like taking orders

• The British did not believe the Americans could ever launch a united offensive

• The Americans realized how strong they could be when they actually worked together

• This boosted morale and resolve that would be tested during the American Revolution