Colonial LifeI. Restoration ColoniesA. Middle ColoniesB. Southern (Proprietary)II. Communities of TradeA. Lower SouthB. ChesapeakeC. New EnglandD. Middle ColoniesIII. Community & WorkA. Planter SocietySlide 12Slide 13B. Slave CultureSlide 15Slide 16Slide 17C. Northern/Middle coloniesSlide 19Colonial experience, American identitySlide 21I. 1700s: Age of ReasonA. 1500s-1600s: ReligionB. Rational self-interestC. Rational appealD. The English ConnectionSlide 27Slide 28II. Empire of ReasonA. IntelligentsiaB. ChurchesC. American perspectiveThe First Great AwakeningA. Revivals 1734-1775Slide 35B. CausesC. RevivalismSlide 38D. Cultural basis of RevolutionSlide 40The Seven Years War, 1756-63I. BackgroundA. Distinctive colonizationB. An “American” conflictSlide 45II. Course of the WarA. British lossesB. British successesSlide 49C. Angry colonistsD. Cultural impact of the warEnd of Benign NeglectColonial LifeCreation of an “American Identity” in the Era of Benign NeglectI. Restoration ColoniesA. Middle Colonies1. Middle coloniesNY, NJ, PENN, DEL, MD2. Multicultural, tolerantDutch influenceB. Southern (Proprietary)1. Carolinas 1670srace ratio2. Georgia 1732 social experimentbuffer zoneOglethorpeII. Communities of TradeA. Lower South1. World contact1730s - rice & indigo production2. Absentee landlordsCaribbean influenceSea IslandsB. Chesapeake 1. Market agriculturetobaccoimportsC. New England1. Least dependent on Britain 2. Net exportertimber, fish to West IndiesSlave tradeD. Middle Colonies1. Breadbasket 2. Cosmopolitan centersNY, Philadelphia3. “Best poor man’s country”III. Community & WorkA. Planter Society1. Early 1700s: white labor drying up Pressure to move west2. Growth of slavery1700: 13%1776: 40%3. American patriarchypaterfamilias4. Few population centers5. Lack of skilled (free) laborLabor IdeologyB. Slave Culture1. Seasoning / isolation2. Communitylanguages Gullah “Mus tek cyear a de root fa heal de tree.” - religion participatory equality before God3. Culture as resistance Culture of resistance Stono Rebellion, 17394. The Price of Slavery militant culture gender gap limited economic development limited democratizationC. Northern/Middle colonies1. New opportunitieseconomic status2. Population explosion 1688: 225K 1775: 2.5M 500K (black)3. Why?- cheap land, tolerance, skilled labor4. Ethnic diversity Scots-Irish, Welsh, Germans, FrenchColonial experience, American identityInterdependence ties together coloniesSocial patterns erode European traditionsOpportunities add to sense of entitlementThe Enlightenment in AmericaI. 1700s: Age of Reason“Enlightenment”The search for rational basis of law, government, education, philosophy, nature.A. 1500s-1600s: Religion1. WaroppressionextremismDivine Right of KingsB. Rational self-interest1. Intellectuals repulsed by Salem2. “Self-made” mensouthern planters, northern merchants, free farmersC. Rational appeal1. Rationalism/skepticism2. Optimism3. Natural LawD. The English Connection1. Isaac Newton1687 – Principia MathematicaNatural LawReligious authority2. John LockeGlorious Revolution1689 – Essay Concerning Human Understanding“tabula rasa”1690 – Two Treatises on GovernmentContract Theory“Natural Rights” Life, Liberty, PropertyEnglish LiberalismII. Empire of ReasonA. Intelligentsia1. Urban dwellers/plantersB. Churches1. DeismHarvard theologians - “liberal” ProtestantismInnate evil?Innate authority?C. American perspective1. Tradition v. usefulness pragmatismBenjamin Franklin -active, confident, improving-Voluntary Associations-Self-education-Social improvementThe First Great AwakeningA. Revivals 1734-17751. Anglicans = George Whitfield Methodists = John Wesley Presbyterians = Gilbert Tennant2. Jonathan Edwards Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, 1741- revive Calvinism God-centered universepredestinationAmerica cannot shirk its destiny- detested “money-grubbers” moral relativismB. Causes1. Economic frustration / competition“River Gods” 2. WomenC. Revivalism1. American-style Protestantismalways looking for converts2. Blends religion & politics1760s Connecticut: Old Lights v. New Lights3. Denominationalism: religious pluralism - end of state-supported churches - revivals split churches - breaks political power of churchesD. Cultural basis of Revolution1. Required no education: egalitarian2. Gave poorer, rural colonists commonexperience3. Experience was anti-authoritarian4. Gave colonists common enemySatan “Millennialism” King of France (Catholic)King of EnglandThe Seven Years War, 1756-63War for Empire and the Rise of American NationalismI. BackgroundBritain & FranceColonial / mercantile competitionA. Distinctive colonization1. British have numbers2. French have more Indian allies3. British colonists imbued w/ MillennialismB. An “American” conflict1. 1754 – Albany Plan of Union based on Iroquois Confederacy2. Unification fails Britain’s responsibility3. 1757 – Pitt the Elder “at His Majesty’s Expense” 30,000 British troops20,000 colonial (militias) 4. Appeal crossed class boundariesII. Course of the WarA. British losses1. 1758 – negotiations w/ Eastern TribesB. British successes 1. 1759, Quebec 1760, Montreal2. Treaty of Paris, 1763C. Angry colonists1. Pontiac’s Rebellion, 1762-64 2. Proclamation Line of 1763D. Cultural impact of the war1. Benign neglect - Americans did not take orders well - shocked at treatment of British soldiers2. Great Awakening - shocked by Brit conscripts3. National identity – 4x trade, colonial “mixing” newspaper popularityEnd of Benign NeglectNavigation Acts (1664)