Unit 2, Chapter 5: Colonial Society on the Eve of

Revolution, 1700-1775

AP US -Hamer

September 18-19, 2012

1a. Growing Population More by birth rate then immigration 1700: 300,000 people (20,000 black

slaves) 1775: 2.5 million people (400,000

white immigrants, 500,000 black slaves)

Average age in 1775 was 16

1b. Urban vs. Rural Few major cities

Philadelphia (34,000), NYC, Boston, and Charleston

90% of population lived in rural areas

Didn’t reach much past the Appalachians

Philadelphia in 1800

1c. Diversity Mainly English but more diverse than

anywhere else German 6% Scots Irish 7% Others 5% Africans 20% Americans became a new ethnicity

2. American Social Ladder More stratified in the 1700’s than

the 1600’s Top few were very wealthy Mostly middle

Some destitute women and children

Land became scarcer Convicts from England Slaves Less stratified than Europe + ability

to progress up the social ladder

3. Jobs of the 1700’s Clergy Physicians Lawyers Agriculture - 90% of the people Shipbuilding and fishing Manufacturing

Mercantilism What is it? Economic system where the mother

country is supposed to profit from her colonies. Colonies supply raw materials and

markets for the industrial goods produced by the mother country

Wealth for the mother country is measured in bullion

4. Growing Problems with Trade Trade Imbalance

Growing American population demanded more British goods

Slow growing British population quickly got saturated with American goods Didn’t work with mercantilism Shipped to other countries

Led to Molasses Act of 1733 Colonists got around this with smuggling…

this led the tone for future conflicts

5. Transportation in the Colonies Terrible roads Waterways Caused the slow dissemination of

news Taverns found along travel routes Mail existed, but not confidential or

quick

6. Religion in the 1700’s Congregationalists (Puritans) and

Presbyterians made up half of all church members in 1775

Anglicans were 1/4 Congregationalism, Presbyterianism,

and Rebellion became a Holy Trinity

7a. Problems for Churches Churches were already suffering from

problems: Low attendance Less conversion: led to the half-way

covenant Boring ministers Less fear of hell Threatened by religions that believed

that free will not predestination determined a person’s eternal fate

7b. Great Awakening - Solution to the Churches’ Problems Great orator ministers who

spoke with great emotion about God, sin, and hell

Religious revival in America Old light vs. New Light

New Light schools founded: Princeton, Brown, Rutgers, Dartmouth

First spontaneous mass movement in America

8. Education Public education was not a priority in

England New England soon wanted public

education so that they could have educated, Bible reading citizens

Not much schooling in the south because of distance between homes – relied more on tutors

Colleges at the time were to train ministers and learn old, dogmatic education

What does it mean to have an educated citizenship – how will this affect the Revolution?

9. Culture Very little in America

since people were working so hard to build a country

Ben Franklin was the first “civilized” American

The few scientists, like Franklin, were not approved of by clergy

10. Press Not many libraries or individual

ownership of books Franklin started the first public lending

library in Philadelphia By 1775, 40 colonial newspapers

News was slow Zenger case, argued by Hamilton,

allowed for more freedom of the press and therefore more discussion about life and politics

11. Three Different Political Systems by 1775 8 colonies had royal governors 3 (Maryland, Pennsylvania, and

Delaware) had proprietors 2 (Connecticut and Rhode Island)

were self governing All had 2 houses – upper and lower Some royal governors were good,

some bad

12. Colonial Folkways Hard life

Dirty Some time for play

Dancing and plays allowed in South (away from Puritans!)

Many similarities Some democracy, ethnic and religious

toleration, spoke English, mainly Protestant, used to independence