Political Life in the Colonies

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Political Life in the Colonies

• Main Idea
• British mercantilist policies and political
  issues helped shape the development of the
  American colonies.
• Reading Focus
• What is mercantilism?
• How did the Glorious Revolution and the English
  Bill of Rights affect political developments in
  the colonies?
• How did government in the colonies change under
  the policy of salutary neglect?

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Mercantilism

• Colonists smuggled goods because they felt
  England was taxing them unfairly.
• The English felt taxing was fair because profit
  was the major incentive for colonizing America.
• Mercantilism a nations power was directly
  related to its wealth
• Balance of Trade a goal of mercantilism the
  colonists could supply raw materials to England
  and could buy English goods

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Mercantilism

• England prevented its colonies from trading with
  other nations to maintain balance of trade.
• England only wanted certain American products,
  such as fur and timber.
• Colonists produced other products like wheat and
  fish that the English did not want.
• Colonists often could get higher prices for their
  goods from the French, Spanish, or Dutch.

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Mercantilism

• English laws passed to control colonial trade
• Only English ships with English crews could take
  goods to England.
• Limited the products that could be shipped to
  England or English colony
• All shipments to colonies had to go through
  England.
• Merchants had to pay a tax on certain goods tax
  collectors were sent to the colonies.

NavigationActs

• Increased English profits, but also increased law
  enforcement in America
• Lumber and shipbuilding business was up in the
  colonies England needed more ships for trade.
• Many colonists ignored the laws and smuggled.

Effects
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The Glorious Revolution and the English Bill of
Rights

• New England colonists did not want to be governed
  in such a way that it hurt their own economies.
• Their industries began to compete with those in
  England.
• When Massachusetts refused to enforce Navigation
  Acts, the king made it a royal colony.

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The Glorious Revolution and The English Bill of
Rights

• Dominion ofNew England
• King James created a supercolony of New England,
  New York, and New Jersey
• Sir Edmund Andros was governor.
• He wanted colonial charters returned.
• There was no elected assembly.
• Andros enforced Navigation Acts.

• Glorious Revolution
• King James II was unpopular in England.
• Jamess daughter, Mary, and her husband, William,
  took over the crown.
• This change of leadershipthe Glorious Revolution
• William and Mary accepted the English Bill of
  Rights that limited the monarchs powers.

• ColonistsReactions
• Boston
• Andros and his government were arrested and sent
  to England.
• New York
• Rebellion broke out
• Royal rule returned to New York, but it was
  granted an elected assembly.

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Government in the Colonies

• Toward Self-rule
• During the English Civil War, colonists took
  small steps toward self-government.
• In 1643 several colonies joined forces in the
  United Colonies of New England.
• Though Parliament had more power since Glorious
  Revolution, it dealt mainly with mainland
  England.
• The monarchs and their officials made most
  colonial policy.
• When war with Spain broke out, colonial
  governments gained some independence.

• Salutary neglect referred to the fact that many
  English officials made colonial policies, but
  they did not rule the colonies very strictly.
• Colonial Governments in 1700s
• Local governments more influential in colonists
  lives
• Colonial assemblies were bicameral like
  Parliament.
• Governors council was the upper house.
• Elected Assembly was lower house like Parliament.
• Each colony had a governor.

8
The Colonial Economy

• Main Idea
• A commerce-based economy developed in the
  northern colonies, while the southern colonies
  developed an agricultural economy.
• Reading Focus
• What were the characteristics of northern
  colonial economies?
• What were the characteristics of southern
  colonial economies?
• What was the impact of slavery in the colonies?

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Northern Colonial Economies

• Agriculture was the main economic activity in
  colonial America.
• Farming in New England
• Soil was thin and rocky winters were long,
  growing season short.
• Subsistence farming, growing just enough food for
  their own family. Some raised extra corn or
  apples or cattle to trade with their neighbors.
  Rarely enough to produce an export crop
• Farming in the South
• Better land and milder climate. Grew enough wheat
  to sell grain and flour to other colonies and to
  send abroad
• Raised cattle and hogs for export
• Most productive farmers
• German colonists also known as Pennsylvania
  Dutch. Used fertilizer and crop rotation. Women
  worked in the fields with the men.

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Northern Colonial Economies

• Natural resources
• When the number of fur-bearing animals declined,
  the colonists turned to timber (planks, shingles,
  and siding for ships and houses) and fish.
• Because of Navigation Acts, many coastal towns
  were centers for shipbuilding. It was the largest
  single group in the workforce.
• Fish
• Some of the fish was exported to Europe and the
  West Indies. In early 1700s whaling industry
  began in New England. Whale products lamp oil
  and materials used in perfumes, candles, and
  womens corsets

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Northern Colonial Economies
Colonial industries English goods were expensive,
so colonists made things at home. Small
industries developed

• Mills run by waterpower ground grain into flour.
• Distilleries for rum and other alcoholic beverage
  were major businesses
• Ironworks developed when there were local
  supplies of iron ore.
• Bricks, leather goods, and glass were made by
  small companies.
• Cloth was woven (wool and linen) for personal use
  and for sale to merchants.

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Northern Colonial Economies

• Trade and commerce
• Good harbors, inexpensive ships, and a tradition
  of seafaring encouraged the development of
  commerce.
• Port cities of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia
  were thriving centers of trade.

• Trade routes that linked the Americas, Europe,
  Africa, and the West Indies are often described
  as the triangular trade.

• The Middle Passage is the name used by historians
  to describe the journey that enslaved Africans
  made from West Africa across the Atlantic Ocean
  to the West Indies.

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South Colonial Economies

• Southern colonies produced valuable cash crops
  (agricultural products grown to be sold).
• tobacco, the most valuable export
• indigo (used to make blue dye) and rice
• naval stores were also produced rope, tar, and
  turpentine which were used to maintain wooden
  ships. These products were in great demand in
  England and produced a great profit.
• Plantation system
• Plantation system developed in Virginia and
  Maryland as the tobacco crop increased in
  importance.
• Planters were wealthy and influential, dominating
  southern society and politics.
• Plantations needed workers a few huge
  plantations had hundreds of workers, either
  indentured servants or slaves.
• Most farms were smaller and had less than 30
  workers.
• Most worked in the fields, though on larger
  plantations, men and women performed other tasks,
  such as shoemaking, weaving, and carpentry.

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South Colonial Economies

• Rice and Indigo
• Biggest crops in South Carolina
• Low coastal areas were ideal for growing rice.
• Slaves were used many knew how to grow rice and
  many had more resistance to malaria.
• Indigo first successful crop grown by Eliza Lucas
  in South Carolina. She was only 18 years old.

• Small Farms
• Some farmers had a few enslaved Africans who
  worked in the fields alongside them.
• Independent yeoman farmers
• raised livestock and exported beef and port
• grew corn, wheat, fruit, and vegetables for the
  home market
• grew tobacco, sold it through large planters

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The Impact of Slavery

• By the 1600s Portugal, Spain, France, Holland,
  and England were involved in the trans-Atlantic
  slave trade.
• Most captured Africans were taken to colonies in
  the Caribbean and South America, then to North
  America. Only a small percentage came directly to
  the North American colonies.
• The Middle Passage (the voyage across the
  Atlantic) was a horrifying experience where men,
  women, and children were packed in the ships
  below-deck quarters.

AfricanSlaveTrade

• A former slave, wrote a book about his life in
  slavery
• His description of the Middle Passage horrors
  encouraged readers to call for the end of
  slavery.

Olaudah Equiano
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The Impact of Slavery

• Why slavery continued
• At first many African workers were treated as
  indentured servants, but the terms of indenture
  grew longer until they lasted a lifetime.
• White indentured servants were freed while black
  servants were not. In some colonies, black
  servants lost other rights.
• The English settlers considered themselves
  superior to the Africans.
• Historians disagree about why slavery continued
• For planters, holding slaves cost less than
  indentured servants.
• Slaves children supplied the next generation of
  workers.
• The number of people wanting to serve as
  indentured servants dropped.
• Resisting slavery
• Many slaves used physical resistance, sabotage,
  or ran away.
• Stono Rebellion In 1739, 100 enslaved Africans
  in South Carolina took weapons from a firearms
  shop and killed several people.
• Some skilled artisans bought their freedom by
  hiring out their labor.

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The Enlightenment and the American Colonies
Enlightenment European movement that emphasized
a search for knowledge. Also called the Age of
Reason

• The Scientific Revolution
• Scientists began using observation and
  experiments to look for natural laws that
  governed the universe.
• Some scientists studied physical laws, while
  others looked for order and method in nature.

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The Enlightenment and the American Colonies

• The Enlightenment in Europe
• Thinkers in Europe admired the new approach to
  science. They thought that logic and reason could
  also be used to improve society, law, and
  government.
• English philosopher John Locke said it was the
  duty of government to protect the citizens
  natural rights life, liberty, and property.
• French Baron de Montesquieu suggested that the
  powers of government be divided.
• French writer Voltaire criticized intolerance and
  prejudice.
• Other thinkers wanted to use new ideas to reform
  education, which in turn would improve society,
  criminal justice, and conditions for the poor.

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The Enlightenment and the American Colonies
The Enlightenment in America John Lockes
writings were widely read in America. They
influenced Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin
Franklin, among others.

• Jefferson used Lockes theories when he wrote the
  Declaration of Independence.
• Other American leaders used Enlightenment ideas
  when they drafted the United States Constitution.
• Franklin and Jefferson were also interested in
  science and invention, applying reason to ask
  questions and find answers.
• Enlightenment thinkers questioned common beliefs
  and deep-rooted superstitions.

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The Great Awakening

• Enlightenment ideas also led some people in the
  colonies to question long-accepted religious
  beliefs, looking for rational, scientific
  explanations for how the universe worked.

• Changes in religious attitudes
• Strict groups such as the Puritans were upset by
  the growing tolerance for other beliefs.
• Some religious leaders worried that material
  values and concern for making money had displaced
  spiritual values. Clergy looked for new ways to
  bring people back to the church.

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The Great Awakening

• A revival of religion
• Great Awakening was a religious revival movement
  in the colonies.
• Jonathan Edwards, Puritan minister, was one of
  the movement leaders, preached about the agonies
  that sinners would suffer if they did not repent.
  
• He was influenced by John Locke and Sir Isaac
  Newton.
• George Whitefield, British Methodist minister,
  preached throughout the colonies. His strong
  voice moved people to cry and confess their sins.
• Results
• Led to increase in church membership in the
  1700sNew Protestant religions grew in America
  Congregational Church, Methodist, Baptist, and
  Presbyterian
• Was one of first links uniting the colonies
• Led to creation of several colleges

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The Colonies Become More Diverse

• Scots and Scots-Irish settled mainly in the
  middle colonies and Carolinas.
• Strict Presbyterians
• Did not like the English government
• Were ready to fight for political rights

• Religious unrest in Europe and religious
  tolerance in colonies attracted more people.
• German colonists (skilled farmers and artisans)
• French Huguenots (craftsmen and scientists)

• Jewish communities grew.
• - Newport
• - Philadelphia
• - New York
• - Charleston

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Life in Colonial America

• Colonial cities
• Some cities had cobblestone streets lit by oil
  lamps. Ships from foreign ports were in the
  harbors. People enjoyed reading mail from
  relatives and English newspapers and magazines.
• Many cities had libraries, bookshops, and
  impressive public buildings.
• Places where colonists could see plays and hear
  concerts
• Markets to shop for produce or European luxury
  goods
• Schools that taught music, dancing, drawing, and
  painting in addition to traditional classes
• City life for women no hard farm work, but still
  had household tasks to perform Prosperous women
  had more time for reading and writing.
• Men and women spent many hours writing letters to
  friends and family.

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Life in Colonial Economies

• Popular culture
• Quilting bees and barn raisings were examples of
  work in sociable ways.
• Northern colonists went ice-skating and sledding
  in winter.
• Horse racing and hunting
• Visiting neighbors was favorite pastime
• Social events dancing, listening to music
• Communications
• Printers printed and distributed newspapers,
  books, advertisements, and political
  announcements.

• First American printer was in Cambridge,
  Massachusetts.
• Influential newspapers published in Boston, New
  York, and Philadelphia.
• John Peter Zinger, New York printer, published
  articles that criticized the royal governor.
• Zinger was arrested, and his newspapers were
  burned.
• He was tried in court and won the first important
  victory for freedom of the press in the America
  colonies.

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Life in Colonial America

• Strong family structure despite the fact that
  real families were split apart. Kinship networks
  were essential.
• Religion was another strength of the community.
  Many were Christian, but also kept older African
  beliefs.
• The slave community preserved music and dance
  traditions.
• African music, foods, and other traditions
  gradually became a part of American culture.

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