COLONIAL SOCIETY

Unit 2 Part 3

TO RECAP FROM PART 2

The British established colonies for a variety of reasons, but the
Royal government seeks access to raw materials from the New
World.
Colonies develop according to the geography of their region.
Mercantilism is the system that governs the relationship between
England and its colonies.
Mercantilism is supported by the Navigation Acts, but the
Navigation Acts are ignored by both the colonies and England due
to Salutary Neglect.
If you want more review on this topic check out MAXIMUM
SALIENCY Ep. 2 on my website.

THE COLONIES
The colonies grow
rapidly over the
course of the 1700s.
Driven by both growing birth
rates and immigration by
British, German and ScotchIrish.
The largest group of NonBritish immigrants are
African slaves, who by 1775
will make up 20% of the total
population of the colonies.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE COLONIES
Self-Government Every colony had a representative assembly elected by eligible
voters. Generally the governor was appointed by the crown.
Religious Toleration All colonies accepted different religions to some extent.
Pennsylvania and Rhode Island are the most liberal, Massachusetts the most
conservative.
No Hereditary Aristocracy Class system was based on economics, not on nobility
or inherited privilege. Most colonists were craftsmen or small farmers.
Social Mobility aside from slaves, all people living in the colonies had the
opportunity to achieve a higher standard of living.
Potential Test Question: How might these sentiments test the relationship between
the colonists and the monarchy?

THE
FAMILY
The family is the center
of colonial life.
Men controlled most power in
the family. Only they could
hold property and they held
unlimited power within the
home.
Women were responsible for
caring for the home and
children, including their
education, but still were
expected to work alongside
their husbands on the farm.
Mutual dependence gave
women some limited power

RELIGION IN THE COLONIES

Colonial society, particularly in New England was largely centered
around the church.
Established churches, such as the Anglican and Congregationalist (Puritan), were
generally supported by taxes and stressed a benign relationship with God.

This all changes in the 1730s with the beginning of the First Great
Awakening.
The FGA moves the colonists away from the stuffy, indoor, going through the motions style worship to
a much more active and

EVANGELICAL form of worship.

JONATHAN EDWARDS

THE FIRST GREAT

AWAKENING
The First Great Awakening was built on the belief that we must develop a
personal relationship with God.
Jonathan Edwards fire and brimstone preacher from Massachusetts, Edwards
preached that only sincere regret over sins could save a persons soul.
His most famous sermon is Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

George Whitefield another Evangelist preacher, he delivered his sermons in

tents or outdoors to huge crowds. His preaching taught people that they could
be a good Christian without attending an established church.
Potential Test Question: What impact might the FGA have on colonial views
towards to British government? Why?

GEORGE WHITEFIELD

IMPACT OF THE FIRST GREAT

AWAKENING
The traditional church suffered from the FGA and emotionalism
became a religious norm.
Churches suffered schisms between old light or traditionalists and new light
progressives. The new lights who abhorred the power of the traditional church
will be strong proponents of separating church and state.

The First Great Awakening had a DEMOCRATIZING EFFECT and

altered the way people viewed traditional authority.
If people could make religious decisions without the powerful church, could they
make political decisions without a king?

THE JOHN PETER ZENGER

TRIAL
Newspapers were rapidly becoming the major source of news
within the British colonies.
However, freedom of the press did not exist and publishers could
be charged with libel if they criticized government officials.
Zenger is charged with libel for criticizing the royal governor of New
York.
He does in fact break English Common Law, however the Jury refuses to convict
him. This begins to pave the way for future criticism of the royal government and
establishes freedom of the press as part of the American identity.

THE BEGINNING OF
NATIONAL IDENTITY

The Enlightenment has a profound impact on American colonial identity.

The belief that man has certain rights based on natural law and that sovereignty is based on the will
of the people will become important principles.
American colonists, especially among the upper classes, will come to believe that they are entitled to
representative legislatures
By the mid 1700s every colony had an elected legislature with a royal governor, however voting and participation was still largely
confined to the upper crust of landed, white, men.