Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution [1700-1775]
Distinctive social, economic, and political structures of the thirteen
Atlantic seaboard colonies evolve into a recognizably American culture.
Conquest by the Cradle
Colonies are doubling their population every 25 years
In 1775, the most populous colonies were Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Maryland. About 90% of people lived in rural areas.
The population boom had political consequences; in 1700 there were twenty English subjects for each American colonist but by 1775 the English advantage in numbers had fallen to three to one—setting the stage for a momentous shift in the balance of power
Average age in the colonies by the 1770's is 16
A Mingling of the Races
Colonial America was a melting pot. About 5% of the multicolored colonial population consisted of other European groups- French Huguenots, Welsh, Dutch, Swedes, Jews, Irish, Swiss, and Scots Highlanders.
Colonial Trade Networks
The Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were a series of laws passed in the English Parliament in 1651,1660 & 1663
Purpose of the Navigation Acts
The Purpose of the Navigation Acts was to encourage British shipping and allow Great Britain to retain the monopoly of British colonial trade for the benefit of British merchants. The 1660 Navigation Act ensured that the importation and exportation of goods from British Colonies were restricted to British ships which were under the control of British mariners. The following Navigation Acts ensured that the highly lucrative profits to be made from the natural resources and industries in the Colonies securing advantages for the products in Great Britain.
Dominant Denominations
Two established, or tax-supported, churches were conspicuous in 1775: the Anglican and the Congregational.
The Church of England, Anglicans, became the official faith in Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and a part of New York. The College of William and Mary was founded in 1693 to train a better class of clerics for the Anglican Church.
The Congregational Church had grown out of the Puritan Church, and was formally established in all the New England colonies except independent minded Rhode Island. Presbyterianism was never made official in any of the colonies.
Religious toleration had made tremendous strides in America. There were fewer Catholics in America; hence anti-Catholic laws were less severe and less strictly enforced. In general, people could worship or not worship as they pleased.
The Great Awakening
A few churches grudgingly said that spiritual conversion was not necessary for church membership.
The Great Awakening exploded in the 1730s and 1740s. The Awakening was started in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Jonathan Edwards. He said that through faith in God, not through doing good works, could one attain eternal salvation. He had an alive-style of preaching.
George Whitefield gave America a different kind of enthusiastic type of preaching. The old lights, orthodox clergymen, were skeptical of the new ways of preaching. New lights, on the other hand, defended the Awakening for its role in revitalizing American religion.
The Awakening had an emphasis on direct, emotive spirituality and seriously undermined the older clergy. It started many new denominations and greatly increased the numbers and the competitiveness of American churches.
Schools and Colleges
Puritan New England was more interested in education than any other section. Dominated by the Congregational Church, it stressed the need for Bible reading by the individual worshiper.
College education was regarded very highly in New England.
9 local colleges were established during the colonial era.
Pioneer Presses
A celebrated legal case in 1734-1735 involved John Peter Zenger, a newspaper printer. He was charged with printing things that assailed the corrupt royal governor of New York. The jury voted him not guilty to the surprise of the judge and many people. This paved the way for freedom of the press.
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