Colonial Political Practices

Democratic Features Legal rights of Colonists were protected

by colonial Judges using common law. The colonists were protected from

tyranny by the separation of governmental powers.

Power was divided between The royal governor Colonial assembly

Colonial Assembly

Was elected by the qualified voters Its consent was necessary to enact laws

Levy taxes Dispense funds

Power of the Purse

Often the assembly was able to bend the governor to its will by withholding funds for his salary or for running the government.

Colonial Religious Practices

Early Intolerance in Colonial America Following old world practices, most

colonies set up an official or established church.

These colonies supported the official church with government funds

In the 17th century they required church membership for voting.

In the Southern colonies and in New York the official church was the Anglican Church.

In the New England colonies, except Rhode Island, the official church was the Puritan Church or the Congregational Church.

Early Intolerance in Colonial America continued

Early Intolerance in Colonial America Continued

In Massachusetts, the early Puritan leaders were intolerant of dissent.

They punished and exiled any religious nonconformist.

In time, however, even Massachusetts conceded that other religious sects were entitled to the same rights as Puritans

Factors Promoting Religious Tolerance Number of Religious Groups.

Because England had permitted members of all religious groups to come to the New World, the settlers in the thirteen colonies represented a great number of religions. Protestants

Puritans Anglican Quaker Presbyterian Dutch Reformed Baptist Lutheran

Splits within Existing Churches Many religious movements were shaken

by a movement called the Great Awakening.

This movement was under the leadership of Jonathan Edwards

It brought out the Emotional aspects of religion

Itinerant ministers conducted mass revival meetings

The emphasis was the fear of hell and the love of God

By causing splits in churches, the great awakening promoted religious diversity and therefore tolerance.

Frontier Conditions Faced with difficulties of securing a

living and withstanding Indian attack, frontier settlers had little time for theological disputes.

They were not disposed to question the religion of their neighbors, who helped them in taming the wilderness and safeguarding the settlement.

Steps Toward Religious Tolerance

Rhode Island Founded in 1636 by Roger Williams and

his followers, fleeing from religious intolerance in Massachusetts.

Williams provided complete religious freedom for all people and did not set up an established church.

The Government of Rhode Island Did not use public funds for religious

purposes. Did not require anyone to join a church Did not require a religious qualification for

voting.

This idea of separation of church and state was later incorporated in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Maryland Although Lord Baltimore founded Maryland

as a haven for Catholics, the colony soon attracted a majority of Protestants.

To protect the Catholic minority and to prevent religious strife, Lord Baltimore in 1649 secured from the colonial assembly the Maryland toleration Act.

The Maryland Toleration Act granted religious freedom to all Christians.

Pennsylvania William Penn founded Pennsylvania as a

haven for Quakers. Penn opposed setting up any

established church. In 1682 he granted religious freedom to

all colonists, no matter what their religion, as long as they believed in God.

Colonial Economic Practices

New England Colonies The Rocky, inhospitable soil and the cold

climate discouraged agriculture. Farms were small and produced little

beyond the needs of the farmer and his family.

On the other hand, the abundant forests, swift-flowing streams, and fine natural harbors turned New Englander to lumbering, shipbuilding, whaling, fishing for cod and mackerel, and trade.

Natural harbors in New England colonies Portsmouth Boston Providence

New England Colonies New England merchants developed

various trade routes, several involved the triangular trade.

One profitable route took fish, grain and lumber to the West Indies for sugar and molasses, which, in turn, were exchanged in England for manufactured goods needed in the colonies.

New England Colonies Another profitable trade route, the New

Englanders took rum to Africa and exchanged it for Negro slaves. The slaves were sold in the West Indies for sugar and molasses, and these products were shipped back to New England and distilled into rum.

New England Colonies These merchants made a substantial

profit, but they faced many dangers such as: Hazards of the sea Pirate attacks Mercantilist laws of England known as the

Navigation Acts

Navigation Acts

Laws designed to keep colonial ships trading with England and the British West Indies rather than the European Continent or the French and Spanish West Indies.

Sugar and Molasses Act 1733

This required the colonist to pay a high duty on these products if they were secured from any place but the British West Indies.

Middle ColoniesFertile Level land and a

favorable climate encouraged family-size farms, which produced surplus grain such as:

WheatCornoats

Middle Colonies They exported their crops to other

colonies and England and soon became known as the “bread colonies.”

Middle ColoniesLong navigable rivers such as

the Hudson, Susquehanna and Delaware promoted trade with the Indians for furs.

First class harbors, such as at New York and Philadelphia, stimulated trade with other colonies, England, and the European Continent

Southern Colonies Forests yielded pitch and tar which were

naval stores that were vital to English and Colonial shipping.

Fertile Soil and a warm climate resulted in a plantation economy that raised indigo, tobacco and rice.

These products were shipped mainly to England in return for manufactured goods.

Southern Colonies As the planters became wealthy, they

steadily added new lands to their plantations, in part because tobacco-raising quickly exhausted the soil.

They dominated Southern colonial society and sought to imitate the ways of the English aristocracy.

Southern ColoniesThe planters lives’ contrasted

sharply with those of the small Southern farmers and of the frontiersmen struggling in the back of the country.

Colonial shortage of labor Planters and farmers had difficulty in

securing enough workers. Settlers were unwilling to work for

others