American Colonial Period: Settling America

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American Colonial Period Settling America
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Native Americans

• Relations with European Settlers
• - varied from place to place
  sometimes coexisting and sometimes in conflict
• - Differing cultural values led to
  problems
• Trade
• - Europeans initially depended on trade with
  Native peoples for survival - Some native tribes,
  such as the Iroquois, came to dominate areas of
  trade with the Europeans
• Alliances
• -various alliances between native people and
  European powers existed, failed, and became
  created again and again over time
• - Iroquois alliances helped them dominate the
  fur trade in the northeast
• - The Powhatan Confederacy influenced the
  initial survival of the Jamestown Colony

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Africans

• Free Blacks
• early Africans were considered indentured
  servants freed when their contract ended
• Enslaved Blacks
• - Large plantation farms in the south required
  many workers
• - Africans were brought to work on these farms as
  enslaved workers
• - smaller farms and a more diverse economy
  required less slaves in the northern colonies

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The Europeans

• Came for religious, political and economic
  reasons
• Many different cultures were represented in the
  colonies
• The English culture dominated

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• New England
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• Rhode Island
• Connecticut
• Middle Colonies
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• Delaware
• Maryland
• Southern Colonies
• Virginia
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Georgia

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LIFE IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES
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Common Characteristics of Colonial
Government

• Parliament and the King ultimately ruled the
  colonies had veto power over colonial laws
• Colonial Charters outlined basic relationship
  that existed between colony the crown
• Royal Colonies
• Under direct authority rule of the kings
  govt.
• Proprietary Colonies
• Under authority of individuals granted ownership
  by king
• Corporate or Charter Colonies
• Operated by joint-stock companies

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Colonial Legislatures made laws for the day
to day operation of the colony

• 2 houses (except in Pennsylvania)
• Upper House appointed by governor
• Lower House elected by the people had power
  of the purse (Controlled the !!!)

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Colonial Legislatures (2 houses) (law making
bodies) Upper House
Lower House(Governors Council)
(Legislative Assemblies)- appointed by
Governor - power of the purse
with Kings consent ()

VOTERS (Adult, free, white males who
owned property)
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ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

• MERCANTILISM
• Colonies exist to benefit Mother Country
• No colonial manufacturing
• Colonies are source of cheap raw materials
• England exports more expensive manufactured goods
• Favorable balance of trade (value of exports
  greater than value of imports)
• England controlled currency (hard currency
  gold silver, and soft currency paper)

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Navigation Acts (1650 1673)

• Established rules for colonial trade
• Trade to from colonies carried only by English
  or colonial built ships, operated only by English
  or colonial crews
• All goods imported into the colonies must pass
  through ports in England
• Enumerated goods from colonies must be exported
  to England only (ex. tobacco)
• BUT...
• SALUTARY NEGELECT until late 1763, England did
  not enforce many of Navigation Acts...colonial
  trade benefited both England and colonies...
  prosperity for both!!!

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Triangular Trade A 3 part trade route
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REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY

• New England limited farming subsistence
  level, logging, shipbuilding, fishing, trading
• Middle agricultural breadbasket- corn
  wheat use of indentured servants trading
  centers NY Philadelphia
• Southern large plantations cash crops
  (tobacco, rice, indigo) slaves used due to labor
  shortage some small subsistence level farms in
  the back country

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RELIGION IN THE COLONIES

• Predominantly Protestant sects (Anglican/Church
  of England and Congregationalists)
• Some Catholics in Maryland most tolerant
  Maryland Act of Toleration 1649 All
  Christians welcomed in colony
• Some Jewish settlers in NY and Boston
• Several colonies had established or official
  religions

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The Great Awakening (1730s 1740s)

• Religious revival that spread throughout the
  colonies
• First shared common experience as Americans!!!!
• religious diversity ? religious toleration ?
• Belief that if people could make their own
  religious decisions, maybe they could make their
  own political decisions

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COMMON CHARACTERISTICS of 13 Colonies

• English culture language traditions
• Self-government with representative assemblies
• Religious toleration ? varying degrees of
  religious freedom (Massachusetts least
  tolerant Rhode Island and Pennsylvania most
  liberal)
• No hereditary aristocracy
• Social mobility opportunity to improve their
  standard of living and social status by hard work
  (Puritan work ethic)