Henretta • Brody • Dumenil
America’s History
Sixth Edition
CHAPTER 4
Growth and Crisis in Colonial
Society, 1720-1765
Copyright © 2010 by Bedford/St. Martin’s and Mr.
Ellington, Ruben S. Ayala High School
Ch. 3: Growth and Crisis in Colonial Society, 1720-65
1. Freehold Society in New England
A. Farm Families: Women an the Rural Household Economy
B. Farm Prosperity: Inheritance
C. The Crisis of Freehold Society
2. The Middle Atlantic: Toward a New Society, 1720-1765
A. Economic Growth and Social Inequality
B. Cultural Diversity
C. Religious Identity and Political Conflict
3. The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening, 1740-1765
A.
B.
C.
D.
The Enlightenment in America
American Pietism and the Great Awakening
Religious Upheaval in the North
Social and Religious Conflict in the South
4. Midcentury Challenge: War, Trade, & Social Conflict, 1750-1765
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The French and Indian War Becomes a War for Empire
The Great War for Empire
British Industrial Growth and the Consumer Revolution
The Struggle for Land in the East
Western Uprisings and the Regulator Movements
Part 1: Freehold Society in New England
1A: Farm Families: Women and
The Rural Household Economy
• Puritan women were subordinate to their husbands
• Women had a dual of role of being a helpmate and rearing kids,
usually 6-7
Part 1: Freehold Society in New England
1B: Farm Property: Inheritance
• Men strived to own enough property to provide an
adequate inheritance for the children
• Inheritance led to the power to arrange marriages
• Women gave up their property when (re)married
• Whole towns of independent property owners
emerged in New England
Part 1: Freehold Society in New England
1C: The Crisis of Freehold Society
• High birthrates brought an inheritance crisis and
ended arranged marriages
• Smaller families and more efficient farming partially
offset the land crisis
• Community exchange preserved freehold system
Part 2: The Middle Atlantic: Toward a New Society
2A: Economic Growth and Social Inequality, 1720-65
• The Mid-Atlantic colonies
grew quickly and became
diverse
• ½ of all white farmers in the
mid-Atlantic were landless
by 1760
• By the 1760s, many towns
were crowded and divided
Part 2: The Middle Atlantic: Toward a New Society
2B: Cultural Diversity
• Quakers, Germans, and Scots all settled in the Pennsylvanian
and surrounding areas
• Most Ethnic groups resisted assimilation and held on to their
culture and language
Estimated European Migration to the British Mainland Colonies, 1700-1780
Part 2: The Middle Atlantic: Toward a New Society
2C: Religious Identity and Political Conflict
• Strict marriage rules kept Quaker
society intact
• Quaker tolerance and pacifism
came under attack as they became
a minority in PA
• Diversity in the mid-Atlantic caused
ongoing tension
Part 3: The Enlightenment and Great Awakening
3A: The Enlightenment in America
• Reason replaced folk wisdom in the early 1700s
• Enlightenment ideas appealed to educated and affluent people,
like Ben Franklin
• Deists viewed God as a “watchmaker”
Part 3: The Enlightenment and Great Awakening
3B: American Pietism and the Great Awakening
• Pietism stressed righteous behavior and appealed to the masses
• Edwards began a revival with his strong preaching
• Whitefield led huge camp meetings sparking First Great Awakening
Part 3: The Enlightenment and Great Awakening
3C: Religious Upheaval in the North
• The Great
Awakening was the
first broad social
movement in
American history
• It split many “Old
Light” churches
and propelled the
growth of newer
denominations
• New colleges and a
new sense of
religious
independence
came about
Part 3: The Enlightenment and Great Awakening
3D: Social and Religious Conflict in the South
• Presbyterians and Baptists spread in the South
• Baptists became popular with small farmers and
preached Christianity to slaves also
• Power of planters and role of women not changed
Part 4: Mid-Century Challenge: War, Trade
and Social Conflict, 1750-1765
4A: The Fr. & Indian War Becomes a War for Empire
• France and England both claimed western lands
• Colonial and British rejection of Franklin’s Albany Plan showed
growing differences
• A Virginia militia led by Washington attacked a French fort the
Ohio area leading to war
Part 4: Mid-Century Challenge: War, Trade,
and Social Conflict, 1750-1765
4B: The Great War for Empire
• The French & Indian War merges starts a worldwide war for empire,
The Seven Years’ War
• France lost all its North
American colonies
• The Proclamation of
1763 was issued after
Pontiac’s rebellion,
greatly angering the
colonists
Part 4: Mid-Century Challenge: War, Trade,
and Social Conflict, 1750-1765
4C: British
Industrial Growth and the Consumer Revolution
• Trade and
industrialization
made England
powerful
• The middle
colonies became
world’s bread
basket
• Transatlantic
trade raised
colonial living
standards but also
left Americans in
debt and
dependant
Part 4: Mid-Century
Challenge: War, Trade,
and Social Conflict,
1750-1765
4D: The Struggle of Land
in the East
Part 4: Mid-Century Challenge: War, Trade,
and Social Conflict, 1750-1765
4E: Western Uprisings and Regulator Movements
• Westward expansion and
economic difficulties sparked
disputes over Indian policy,
political representation, debts
• Paxton Boys massacred 20
Indians
• Regulator groups used force to
protect farmers from foreclosure
and demand political changes