Colonial Society
(Up to 1750) I. Intro
II. New England vs.
Chesapeake
A. Community & Family
III. From Servants To Slaves
IV. Economics & Politics
V. Enlightenment &
Religion
A. Social Compact
B. Great Awakening
VI. Conc.
Key Terms
• Indentured Servants
• Bacon’s Rebellion
• Mercantilism
• Navigation Acts
• John Locke
• Deism
• George Whitefield
Themes
• Family and community life
in New England &
Chesapeake Bay
• Colonial economy & politics
• History of ideas:
– Enlightenment & Great
Awakening
Luxury Items: A Watch
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Colonial Society
(Up to 1750) I. Intro
II. New England vs.
Chesapeake
A. Community & Family
III. From Servants To Slaves
IV. Economics & Politics
V. Enlightenment &
Religion
A. Social Compact
B. Great Awakening
VI. Conc.
Key Terms
• Indentured Servants
• Bacon’s Rebellion
• Mercantilism
• Navigation Acts
• John Locke
• Deism
• George Whitefield
New England Society
• Sailing scene in background
• Skull = brevity of human
life
• Poem: "The Eternal" would
"Crowne me (after Grace)
with Glory"
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Thomas Smith
New England Society (Education)
• Towns were required to appoint teachers
• Harvard College was founded in 1636 to train
ministers
New England Society (Education & Literacy)
• About 90% of adult white men & 40% of adult
white women could sign their names
• Other colonies: it was no more than 50%
• In England: up to 33% could read and write
A Meeting House (Hingham, Massachusetts)
• Built in 1681; designed
to resemble the hull of
an upside down ship
• Very simple interior
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Old Ship Meeting House
New England Society: Community Life
• Homes were close to one another; plots allotted for
farming were not necessarily next to homes
• High population density:
– Many families within one mile of each other
– Created atmosphere of “watchfulness;” fit goal to
become a “City Upon A Hill” without dissent
– Easy to help each other & work together
• The Meeting House was the “center”
Convicted Criminal Exposed To
Public Ridicule
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Land Divisions In Sudbury, Massachusetts (1639–1656)
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New England Society: Family Life
• Family = Backbone of community
• Family Organization
– Father - Head of family
– Mother - Often became “deputy husbands”
– Children - Provided labor force
• Stability
– 80% of children reach adulthood
– Long life expectancy Thomas Smith
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Chesapeake Society
• Tobacco cultivation
dominated the region
• Large profits could be
made, but prices
fluctuated
• Indentured Servants and
slaves were common on
plantations
Tobacco Plantation
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Chesapeake Society: Community Life
• Homes were spread-out & far from one another;
usually placed along rivers & streams
Pattern of
Settlement In
Surry County,
Virginia (1620–1660)
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Chesapeake Society: Community Life
• Homes were spread-out & far from one another;
usually placed along rivers & streams
• Low population density:
– 6 people per sq. mile
• Large plantation homes were the “center” of
social life
Chesapeake Society: Family Life
• Chaotic!
• High infant mortality rates
• Life expectancy in 1600s
– Men: 48
– Women: 44
• Complex households
developed with numerous
stepchildren & stepparents
• Labor Force: servants &
slaves
Virginia Planter's Family
by August Köllner
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Colonial Society
(Up to 1750) I. Intro
II. New England vs.
Chesapeake
A. Community & Family
III. From Servants To Slaves
IV. Economics & Politics
V. Enlightenment &
Religion
A. Social Compact
B. Great Awakening
VI. Conc.
Key Terms
• Indentured Servants
• Bacon’s Rebellion
• Mercantilism
• Navigation Acts
• John Locke
• Deism
• George Whitefield
Indentured Servants
Headright System:
• 50 acres was granted to those who paid a
Servant’s travel costs
• Many Servants traveled for economic
opportunity
Indentured Servants
• Between 1630-1700 110,000 migrated from
England to the Chesapeake Bay
• Up to 90% were Indentured Servants
– Most servants were male & starting families
proved difficult
• Up to 40% died within six years
Decline In Real Wages In England (1500–1700)
• Living standards
declined along with
wages
• Population increased
while land (and
opportunity) became
more scarce
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Life For Indentured Servants
Indentured Servants
• Owners paid for passage across
the Atlantic
• In return servants worked 4-7
years
• They often faced very poor
treatment
• At end of service they received
supplies & land (in some cases)
Tobacco Plantation
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Bacon’s Rebellion (Background)
• Tension developed between large landowners &
former Indentured Servants
1. Growing gap between rich & poor
Luxury Items (A Watch)
• This elaborate gold and
enamel watch belonged to
female members of the
Byrd family of Virginia in
the mid-eighteenth
century
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Luxury Items: A Watch
Bacon’s Rebellion (Background)
• Tension developed between large landowners &
former Indentured Servants
1. Growing gap between rich & poor
2. The price of tobacco plummeted
Bacon’s Rebellion (Background)
• Tension developed between large landowners &
former Indentured Servants
1. Growing gap between rich & poor
2. The price of tobacco plummeted
3. Conflict with Native Americans
Conflict With Native Americans (1670s)
• Settlers (often former servants) in outlying areas
encroached on land reserved for Indians
• Indians retaliated
• William Berkeley, Virginia’s Governor, did not
respond with force; settlers acted on their own
Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)
• Nathaniel Bacon led a militia of
about 300
• Fought to exterminate Indians on
Virginia’s frontier
• Clashed with Governor Berkeley
and burned Jamestown
• Bacon died suddenly of
dysentery
Nathaniel Bacon
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Bacon’s Rebellion (Aftermath)
• Many elites in the Chesapeake were shocked by
the events
• Before the Rebellion, but particularly afterward,
planters increased importation of African slaves &
relied less on the labor of Indentured Servants
Bacon’s Rebellion
Toward Slavery In Chesapeake
• 1619: first documented
slaves arrived in Jamestown
• 1660: fewer than 1,000
slaves in Virginia and
Maryland
• 1700: at least 20,000 slaves
in Virginia and Maryland
(22% of population)
Chesapeake Bay Image Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Slavery Outside The Chesapeake
• By early 1700s slave labor was used extensively
in South Carolina
• Slavery existed in all of England’s North
American colonies
– Slaves made up 20% of New York City’s
population in mid-1700s
Colonial Society
(Up to 1750) I. Intro
II. New England vs.
Chesapeake
A. Community & Family
III. From Servants To Slaves
IV. Economics & Politics
V. Enlightenment &
Religion
A. Social Compact
B. Great Awakening
VI. Conc.
Key Terms
• Indentured Servants
• Bacon’s Rebellion
• Mercantilism
• Navigation Acts
• John Locke
• Deism
• George Whitefield
Economics
• Trade tied the colonies & England to one another
• England purchased more American goods &
provided more imports than any other nations
• This was partly due to: Mercantilism
Mercantilism
• A nation’s power was determined by its wealth (in
gold & silver)
• Key: nations must export more goods than are
imported
• Development of colonies was influenced by this
system overall
Mercantilism (England & Its Colonies)
• Colonies provided raw materials: tobacco, rice,
sugar, lumber, furs, etc.
• Colonists purchased finished products
manufactured in England
Atlantic Trade Routes (Triangular Trade)
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Navigation Acts (1651-1673)
1. All trade goods sent to the colonies had to be
transported on English ships
2. Enumerated goods, such as wool, sugar, tobacco
& indigo, had to be shipped to England
3. All foreign goods had to travel through England
before reaching the colonies
Populations Of Boston, New York, And
Philadelphia, 1690–1776
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Economics & Politics
• The Crown & Parliament established regulations
for the colonies, however each colony did have its
own local government
Colonial Governments
A. Governor: appointed by the King or Proprietor
in most cases
B. Council: chosen by Governor & served as
advisors
C. Assembly: elected by voters; had the power to
pass laws, levy taxes & controlled budgets
Colonial Governments
• Royal Governors theoretically had the most
power, but by early 1700s Assemblies became
assertive
• How: Assemblies controlled the Governors’
salaries
Colonial Governments (Voting & Holding Office)
• Women & non-whites were not eligible voters
• However, most adult white males over 40 had
the right to vote
– In England: only about 33% of men could
vote
• Wealthy elites tended to dominate Assemblies
Colonial Society
(Up to 1750) I. Intro
II. New England vs.
Chesapeake
A. Community & Family
III. From Servants To Slaves
IV. Economics & Politics
V. Enlightenment &
Religion
A. Social Compact
B. Great Awakening
VI. Conc.
Key Terms
• Indentured Servants
• Bacon’s Rebellion
• Mercantilism
• Navigation Acts
• John Locke
• Deism
• George Whitefield
The Enlightenment
• An intellectual movement associated with Europe
in the 17th and 18th centuries
• Individuals applied rational/scientific thought to
the world in which they lived
The Enlightenment (Science)
Isaac Newton
• A Mathematician & Physicist
• “Discovered” the law of gravity
• Explained how the Universe was organized by a
series of rational laws
Enlightenment (Role Of Government)
John Locke’s Compact Theory
1. All have natural rights of life, liberty & property
2. To protect rights, people establish a government
with limited powers
3. The people have the right to revolt if the
government oversteps its powers
Enlightenment (Role Of Government)
• Impact of Locke’s writings:
– Provided a philosophical justification for
colonists during the American Revolution
Enlightenment (In The Colonies)
• Ben Franklin = influenced
by Enlightenment
• Born in Boston; moved to
Philadelphia
• Founded American
Philosophical Society
From Poor Richard’s Almanac
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Enlightenment (In The Colonies)
• Thomas Jefferson = Enlightened
thinker
• He and others were influenced
by Deism
• Believed in a Supreme Being
who created the universe
• Universe then operated without
Divine interference
• Supported religious freedom Thomas Jefferson
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Great Awakening
• A religious fervor spread across British North
America in 1730s
• Jonathan Edwards, a New England minister, was
an example
– “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
Jonathan Edwards Biography
Great Awakening
George Whitefield
• Arrived in 1739
• Impact = increased church membership
– Connecticut: from 630 church members to
3,200 following his visit
• An electrifying public speaker
Great Awakening (Legacy)
• Presbyterian & Baptist churches gained members
at the expense of Anglicans & Congregationalists
• Slave owners were encouraged to convert their
slaves to Christianity & improve their treatment
Colonial Society
(Up to 1750) I. Intro
II. New England vs.
Chesapeake
A. Community & Family
III. From Servants To Slaves
IV. Economics & Politics
V. Enlightenment &
Religion
A. Social Compact
B. Great Awakening
VI. Conc.
Key Terms
• Indentured Servants
• Bacon’s Rebellion
• Mercantilism
• Navigation Acts
• John Locke
• Deism
• George Whitefield
Review
• Life in the Chesapeake colonies compared to New
England
• Indentured servants & growth of slavery
• Mercantilism & politics
• Enlightenment & Great Awakening
• Describe colonial society & determine which traits
are most important
Colonial Society
(Up to 1750) I. Intro
II. New England vs.
Chesapeake
A. Community & Family
III. From Servants To Slaves
IV. Economics & Politics
V. Enlightenment &
Religion
A. Social Compact
B. Great Awakening
VI. Conc.
Key Terms
• Indentured Servants
• Bacon’s Rebellion
• Mercantilism
• Navigation Acts
• John Locke
• Deism
• George Whitefield