1. Ch. 3
Society and Culture in Provincial
America
Assess the validity of the following:
By the 1750’s, the British North American
Colonies had created a separate identity and
society.
(remember your gripes)

2. Colonial Population
• In less than a century, the European and
African population outnumbered the Native
American.
• Reasons: Natural causes and immigration

3. European Immigrants
• England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland

4. Africans
• By far the largest single group of non-English
immigrants who came against their free will.
• By 1770’s 20% of population, and 90% lived in
the south

5. General Characteristics
• Dominance of English culture
• Self-government
• Religious toleration
• No hereditary aristocracy
• Social mobility

6. The Colonial Economies
• By the mid 1700’s, almost half of England’s
world trade was with its American colonies.
England permitted limited manufacturing—
making of flour and rum-but forbade
competition with the English industries such
as textiles.

7. The Economy
• New England: rocky soil and long winters-
subsistence farming-small farms, under 100
acres. Money from
logging, shipbuilding, fishing, trading and rum-
distilling
• Middle Colonies: rich soil-an abundance of wheat
and rye and corn. Indentured servants and hired
laborers worked the farms of about 200 acres.
• A variety of small manufacturing efforts
developing-iron making—trade led to the growth
of large cities like Philadelphia and New York.

8. • Southern Colonies: varied geography and
climate, farming ranged from small subsistence
family farms to large plantations of over 2000
acres.
• Cash crops in the Chesapeake and North Carolina
colonies was tobacco and rice and indigo in South
Carolina and Georgia.
• On large plantations, a shortage of indentured
servants led to the increase use of slaves. Mainly
located near rivers so as to easy shipping

9. Monetary System
• A major English strategy in controlling the
colonies economy was to limit the use of
money.

10. Transportation
• Transporting goods over water was much
easier than by land, making cities such as
Boston, New York, Philly and Charleston –with
good harbors and navigable rivers –important.
• News, ideas, and political thought were
exchanged in Taverns
• Postal system using horses and overland
routes were in full operation by mid 1700’s

11. The Colonial Mind of the 18th Century
• Two powerful forces:
• --traditional outlook of the 16th and 17th c
emphasizing a personal god keeping watch-
stern moral code—intellect was less important
than faith VS
• --new spirit of Enlightenment—stressing the
importance of science and human reason-
people had control over their lives, the world
could be explained.
• Religion was brought from Europe but took on
new and distinctive patterns

12. The Decline of Piety—Why?

13. The Decline of Piety—Why?
• A rise of denominationalism
• Western movement
• Growing increasingly secular and materialistic
• Enlightenment thought from Europe

14. The Great Awakening
1730-1740’s
• A religious movement characterized by fervent
expressions of religious feeling among masses
of people. The movement fulfilled people’s
need for direction and meaning which was
missing.
• Jonathan Edwards
• George Whitefield

15. Impact of the Great Awakening

16. Impact of the Great Awakening
• Emotionalism became a common part of
Protestant services
• First shared experience-profound effect-
• Ministers lost some of their authority (Rebellions
were made easier)
• Divided many congregations
• Perpetuated the idea of freedom of religion in
America—many new churches were formed-350
new churches, over 50,000 new converts
• Formation of new colleges—Harvard, William and
Mary, Yale, Princeton-founded for training of
ministers

17. The Enlightenment
• John Locke: 2 important writings
• --Essay Concerning Human Understanding
• --Two Treaties of Government
• Both advanced the revolutionary theory that
political authority was not given by God to
monarchs. Authority is derived from social
compacts that people make—to preserve their
“natural rights”

18. • Americans who will make their mark as
Enlightened thinkers are Benjamin
Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and
James Madison

19. Education
• Basic education was limited and varied among
colonies. Formal efforts were directed to
males-females were trained only for
household work.
• New England: Puritans emphasis on learning
the Bible led to the first tax supported schools.
• Middle Colonies: church sponsored or
private—only the wealthy
• Southern Colonies: Wealthy had tutors

20. Concepts of Law and Politics and the
Press
• Lawyers often viewed as talkative
troublemakers, during the 1700’s became
necessary as trade expanded and legal
problems became more complex.
• John Adams, James Otis and Patrick Henry—
lawyers whose legal arguments would provide
the basis for the American Revolution.

21. Newspapers
• John Peter Zenger: jailed for printing true but
unfaltering truths about the Governor of New
York. Defended by a powerful lawyer, the
courts ruled that criticisms of the government
were not libelous if factually true.
• This case perpetuated the concept of the
freedom of the press in America