Chapter 3 The American Colonies Take Shape
Objectives Explain how European immigration to the colonies changed between the late 1600s and 1700s. Analyze the development of slavery in the colonies. Describe the experience of enslaved Africans in the colonies.
Terms and People indentured servants poor immigrants who paid for passage to the colonies by agreeing to work for four to seven years triangular trade three-part voyage that brought enslaved Africans to America Middle Passage enslaved Africans carried across the Atlantic in brutal conditions Phillis Wheatley first African American to publish a book of poems
Which major groups of immigrants came to Britain s American colonies in the 1700s? In the 1700s, great numbers of Europeans from Germany and Scotland immigrated to the colonies. These newcomers reshaped American colonial society.
Immigrants from many backgrounds brought diversity to the colonies.
New groups immigrated in the 1700s. Scots and Scotch-Irish Germans Became the largest immigrant group. Motivated by poverty and easy legal access as part of Great Britain. Became the second largest immigrant group. Motivated by war, taxes and religious persecution. Worked as merchants in the tobacco trade and farmed from Pennsylvania to the Carolinas. Mostly settled in Pennsylvania and farmed.
Diversity in the colonies meant that: No group was large enough to impose their beliefs on other groups. People realized that when they got along in a diverse society, everyone benefited.
Colonists used slaves as a source of labor. Farmers, particularly in southern colonies, needed a work force to grow labor-intensive crops of tobacco, rice, and indigo. Virginia passed a law decreeing that any servant, not a Christian in their native land, was to be enslaved. Traders began to purchase slaves from African merchants and transport them to the colonies to sell to plantation owners.
Africans were taken by force from West African countries to the colonies and Europe.
During the Middle Passage, Africans were shackled together into small spaces below a ship s deck.
By the mid-1700s, the triangular trade of goods and slaves was well-established. Manufactured goods were traded for captured Africans. Slave traders carried captured Africans to American colonies in the Middle Passage. Enslaved Africans were sold to colonists for raw materials. Traders took raw materials to England to be turned into manufactured goods.
Slavery in the Southern Colonies was cruel. Enslaved Africans worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, in fields growing labor-intensive crops. Most enslaved Africans were given limited clothing and food, and lived in crude huts on plantations. Enslaved Africans were closely supervised by white overseers who often whipped those who resisted being enslaved. Slave labor represented a small minority of the workforce in New England and the Middle Colonies. They worked as farmhands, sailors, dock workers, and house servants.
Africans reacted to enslavement by: Rebelling Running Away Resisting Uprisings of Africans against their white owners often occurred. Africans ran away and lived in forests and swamps, or fled to Spanish Florida where they were free. Africans subtly and purposefully worked slowly or feigned illness.
Africans blended their various African traditions into the culture. They modified African instruments and music, and created new musical traditions. The banjo here is a modified African instrument.
Freed slaves spoke out against slavery. After he gained his freedom, Olaudah Equiano wrote a widely read book about his enslavement.
Phillis Wheatley became the first African American poet to publish a book of poems in America. Her Boston owner allowed her to learn how to read and write. Her poetry could be seen in newspapers, but despite wide praise, colonial publishers refused to publish a book of her work.
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Section 2
Objectives Explore how English traditions influenced the development of colonial governments. Analyze the economic relationship between England and its colonies. Describe the influence of the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening on the 13 colonies.
Terms and People Magna Carta 1215 document that limited the king s ability to tax English nobles and that guaranteed due process and a right to trial Parliament English lawmaking body English Bill of Rights 1689 document guaranteeing a number of freedoms habeas corpus idea that no one could be held in prison without being charged with a specific crime salutary neglect a policy in which England allowed its colonies self-rule
Terms and People (continued) mercantilism economic policy under which a nation accumulates wealth by exporting more goods than it imports Navigation Acts a series of trade laws enacted by Parliament in the mid-1600s Enlightenment European intellectual movement during the 1600s and 1700s Benjamin Franklin American colonist inspired by the Enlightenment, he was a printer, author, scientist, and inventor
Terms and People (continued) Great Awakening a religious movement that occurred in the colonies in the mid-1700s
How did English ideas about government and the economy influence life in the 13 colonies? The relationship between England and the American colonies was economically and culturally close. But in the 1700s, the distant colonies started to form their own ideas about their government and economy.
The English had a long governmental tradition. Magna Carta Parliament In 1215, English nobles made King John accept a limitation to his taxation and guaranteed the right to a trial. A two-house legislature composed of the House of Lords, an inherited position, and the House of Commons, elected by men with property. Glorious Revolution The English overthrew King James and installed William and Mary, who granted the English Bill of Rights.
Colonists were English subjects and self-ruling. The colonists believed that the English Bill of Rights applied to them, even though they lived in the colonies. At the same time, the colonies enjoyed a long period of selfgovernment and individual liberties.
The English Parliament passed trade laws called the Navigation Acts. The laws successfully regulated colonial trade to create great wealth and power for England in the 1600s.
English mercantilism meant the colonies exported raw materials only to England. In exchange, the colonies bought manufactured goods from England. The cloth for this dress was produced in England
The new ideas of the Enlightenment in the 1600s and 1700s influenced Americans. Exposed colonists to new ways of thinking such as scientific reasoning and applying natural laws to government. People believed that human reason could solve issues. Colonial leader Benjamin Franklin was greatly inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment.
In the colonies, the development of democracy was influenced by: the English parliamentary tradition. the colonies having a long period of self-rule. the new ideas of the European Enlightenment. the Judeo-Christian religious influence on colonial people.
Religion played an important part in colonial life: Many colonists had immigrated for religious reasons. Churches played a social role in colonial life. Churches served as public places for reading government proclamations, holding elections, and posting new laws.
George Whitefield was a popular preacher in the colonies who helped launch a new religious movement called the Great Awakening. Preachers traveled through the colonies and preached powerful, emotion-packed sermons. Many people left their old established churches, joined the movement, and started new churches.
The Great Awakening gave rise to a changed political awareness. Participants in the Great Awakening came to realize that if they can select their own religion, they can also select their own government.
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Section 3
Objectives Explain the impact of geography on the economies of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. Compare and contrast differences in the social structure of the three major colonial regions. Describe the cultural life in the British colonies.
Terms and People staple crop crops that are in steady demand cash crop crops grown for sale dame school a private school for girls that was operated out of a woman s home
How did life differ in each of the three main regions of the British colonies? The colonies developed into three distinct regions: New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. Each region developed a different economy and society.
New England Cold winters, short growing season, and a rugged landscape. Middle Colonies Temperate climate, longer growing season, landscape of fields and valleys. Southern Colonies Warm climate, long growing season, landscape with broad fields and valleys.
New England Geography lent itself to fishing, lumber harvesting, and small-scale farming. Middle Colonies Known as the bread basket of the colonies for exporting so much wheat and grain. Southern Colonies Exported the labor-intensive crops of tobacco, rice, and indigo.
By the mid-1700s, the population of the colonies was rapidly increasing. Based on their populations, the three regions developed different social patterns.
In New England: There were few African Americans. There were more families and the population grew rapidly. There was more economic equality. Towns were established that supported local schools and churches.
In the Middle Colonies: The population was more diverse. There was more religious tolerance. There was a variety of economic opportunities.
In the Southern Colonies: Enslaved African Americans often were the majority of the population. The population was spread over large areas. There was little economic equality. Communities could not sustain local schools and churches.
The role of colonial women focused on maintaining the home. Few opportunities existed for women outside the home. By law and by custom: women could not own property. women could not vote. women could not serve on a jury.
Colonial schooling options were limited To ensure that everyone could read the Bible, schools were required in all New England towns by the mid-1600s. Outside of New England, public education was less available. Home schooling was prevalent. Wealthy people hired private tutors or sent their children to England. The few colonial colleges were very costly.
Though most colonists attended only grammar schools, they were better educated than average Europeans.
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Section 4
Objectives Describe the causes and major events of the French and Indian War. Analyze the causes and effects of Pontiac s Rebellion. Summarize how the wars and their outcomes changed the relationship between Britain and the colonies.
Terms and People George Washington young, ambitious Virginian who led colonial troops against the French in 1754 French and Indian War a war that pitted the British and their colonial allies against the French and Indians Pontiac s Rebellion an Indian uprising against the British in the Ohio River valley after the French and Indian War Proclamation of 1763 between the British and Indians, it restricted colonial settlers to east of the Appalachian Mountains
Terms and People (continued) Albany Plan of Union 1754 plan that called on the colonies to unite under British rule and cooperate with one another in war
How did Great Britain s wars with France affect the American colonies? A series of wars between the European empires spread to the colonies. Colonists allied with Britain fought against the French and their Indian allies.
In the French and Indian War: Most Indians fought alongside the French because they treated the Indians with respect and generosity. The British treated Indians harshly and took their lands for farming. Overall, the Indians tried to maintain a balance of power between the French and the British.
The French and British fought over who controlled the Ohio River Valley and the Great Lakes area.
In the early years of the war, from 1754 through to 1758, the British were defeated by the French and their Indian allies. A young George Washington led an early battle against the French in 1754. The death of General Edward Braddock in a French and Indian ambush was a significant defeat for the British.
Soon groups of colonial militiamen helped the British fight the French by serving as scouts and soldiers. Rogers Rangers was an effective militia that included Indians fighting against the French.
In 1758 and 1759, the British interrupted the shipment of French supplies and started to win battles. Many Indians deserted the French to fight on the British side. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the war and greatly increased British territory.
The British conquest was not good for the Indians. The Indians rebelled. The British stopped supplies to the Indians. British settlers quickly moved into Indian lands in western Pennsylvania and Virginia. They attacked British forts and the new British settlements. They tried to weaken the British in any way they could, in order to lure the French back.
This Indian uprising called Pontiac s Rebellion ended in 1764. The British agreed settlers would remain east of the Appalachian Mountains.
Tensions arose between the British and colonists after the French and Indian War. The British wanted more control over the colonies wanted the colonies to help pay for the wars wanted the colonies to join together under the Albany Plan of Union wanted colonies to cooperate in time of war The Colonies did not want British control wanted more land for settlements wanted to maintain their individual autonomy did not want to be unfairly taxed by the British
Colonial leader Benjamin Franklin drafted the Albany Plan of Union that would: unite the colonies under British rule. unite the colonies in fighting wars. create a continental assembly with delegates from each colony.
Franklin drew this political cartoon to encourage support of colonial unity and his plan. The colonists and the British each rejected the Albany Plan for their own reasons.
The French and Indian War changed the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain. In the 1760s, the British placed new, unwanted taxes and regulations on the colonists. The colonists increasingly resented the erosion of their autonomy and the involuntary tax burden.
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