Colonial Society & Democratic
Growth 1607-1692
The Unhealthy Chesapeake
• Life expectancy cut by 10 years (few lived to be
40-50 yrs. Old); ½ died by 20 years old.
• Grew slowly- mostly with new immigrants
• 1600’s- ½ people born in Va. & Maryland lived to
be 20.
• 6 to 1 male to female ratio
• 1/3 of brides were pregnant before wedding
• Marriages ended by death (avg. 7 years)
• Disease- malaria, dysentery, typhoid
• Late 1600’s Chesapeake was growing through
natural increase
• Virginia became most populous colony (59,000
by late 1600’s)
Population Comparisons:
New England v. the Chesapeake
Tobacco Economy & Geography
Over Time– Tobacco became an important export crop for the
Chesapeake & North Carolina.
Role of Geography in Shaping Development of the
Chesapeake & North Carolina
•Longer growing season (due to shorter & less
severe winters)
•Soil conducive to growing—tobacco, cotton etc.
•Hot, Humid climate= disease (malaria)= shorter life
spans at first.
Tobacco Economy
•If prices fell…planters would just plant more & more…Tobacco
outpaced food crops
•1.5 million pounds exported in 1630’s; 40 million lbs. by 1700 (change
over time!)
•Rising prices= demand for more land= demand for more labor
(indentured servants)
•Most laborers'= indentured servants (3/4 of European immigrants in
Chesapeake)
What factors led to the
introduction of African
slavery replacing
indentured servitude as
the labor force in the
American Colonies?
Bacon’s Rebellion
(1676 - 1677)
Nathaniel Bacon
represents former
indentured
servants.
Governor
William Berkeley
of Jamestown
•As early as the 1660’s, the
English economy was improving.
•Indentured servants harder to
lure to British colonies.
•African servants were NOT
classified as “chattel”
(permanently slave)…YET!
•So large numbers of
impoverished, discontented
people existed in the colonies
(little access to land,
disenfranchised…)
•Forced to live in the
“backcountry” along side hostile
Indians.
Governor Berkeley faced a revolt of
discontented backcountry farmers in
Virginia.
Nathaniel Bacon (29 yrs. old) – led a
mixed race group of backcountry
frontiersmen angry about a variety of
issues including the Governor's cozy
relationship with Indians (he was making
big money in the fur trade with the
Indians).
•The rebels attacked Indians, ran Gov.
Berkeley out of Jamestown (capital) &
burned Jamestown (plundered stores)
•Bacon dies of disease…his followers
scatter, those captured by colonial militia
are executed.
Significance of Bacon’s Rebellion
• Foreshadows future class revolts (Culpepper’s
In NC, Paxton Boys Revolt in Penn., Regulators
In NC, Leisler’s in NY).
• The Planter class starts to divide poorer masses
By RACE…by making laws that say that African
slaves are slaves for life.
• Planters create the “Herrenvolk” Democracylimited to the white nation only, elevating the
yeoman farmers but still denying them the vote
through property requirements.
Slaves captured in Africa
•Slavery has been practiced since the
beginning of documented history.
•Slavery introduced by the Spanish into the
West Indies after Columbus’s discovery of
America.
•Spanish and Portuguese expanded African
slavery into Central and South American
after enslaved Indians began dying off.
•In 1619, the first recorded introduction of
African slaves or black indentures into what
would become the United States was in the
settlement of Jamestown……Only 20
slaves/indentured were purchased….
Slaves aboard ship—Middle Passage
** Every colony before the
Revolution will have slavery
present.
Note the date
Of this chart…1770!
•Can you tell why
Southern colonies
were
Called “Slave
Societies”?
•Can you tell why
•Middle & New
England colonies
were known as
“Societies With
Slaves”??
Note the dates each colony legalizes slavery & the growth of slavery
In each colony from 1680 to 1740.
• Note that the growth of the overall population
of the colonies grew exponentially after 1700.
• The African population in the Colonies also grew but to a lesser
degree compared to the overall population.
This is called the
Middle Passage
Slavery in Colonial America
• Slavery grew slowly in British North American
Colonies (few whites could afford, white servants
were cheaper)
Reasons for Growth of African Slavery
1. Mid to late 1600’s, English economy improved= less people
were coming as Indentures.
2. 1680’s- fewer indentured servants & fear of angry farmers
(Bacon’s Rebellion)= more reliance on African slaves
3. 1698- Royal African Co.- lost monopoly = North American
shippers (Rhode Islanders esp.) began trading in slaves=
more slaves= part of Triangle Trade
• 1600’s –10,000 Africans brought to British North America
• 1700’s– 390,000 Africans brought to British North America
• 1750- slaves count almost half of Va. Population
• Slave Codes- define slaves as lifetime chattel, forbids
teaching reading or writing to slaves
African to African-American
• Dragged from various parts of Africa, the first Africans in
America struggled to preserve diverse heritages.
• The American born children of African slaves blended a
variety of African traditions into a distinctive AfricanAmerican culture.
The First Africans in America 1600’s
•
Brought a variety of African traditions, languages, skills, music, and
foods etc.
Example: Africans with knowledge of rice growing introduced rice to
European diets.
• Mostly male who were slaves on small isolated farms
• Some slaves were able to purchase their freedom from masters
(Anthony Johnson-former slave who became a slaveholder).
African Slaves in the 18th Century (1700’s)
•
•
•
•
A settled slave society emerged in the southern colonies.
Slave laws tightened
Importations of slaves increased---large plantations formed.
**A new generation of American-born slaves joined older
generation in the fields.
From African to African-American
• American-born slaves had a hard time finding ways to resist
slavery.
• Men worked from sun up till sundown. Women worked in
fields in the day…spun cloth at night.
• Women lived in fear of sexual exploitation by masters.
• A Vibrant Slave Culture Emerged 1700’s
• A unique New World blend of African & western
cultures.
Example Religion: most slaves became Christian &
fused elements of African & western traditions in
worship.
•
•
•
Developed their own Biblical interpretations (whites emphasized Biblical
teachings about humility & “staying in your place”---slaves emphasized
liberation elements (Moses).
Black Methodists incorporated the “Ring shout” (a dance in which the legs
do not cross)---later the 1920’s dance craze the Charleston results.
“ Negro Spirituals” – created songs that emphasized liberty, freedom
The Stono County Rebellion, 1739
•September 9, 1739, twenty black Carolinians met near
the Stono River, approximately twenty miles southwest
of Charleston. They took guns and powder from a
store and killed the two storekeepers they found there.
•"With cries of 'Liberty' and beating of drums," "the
rebels raised a standard and headed south toward
Spanish St. Augustine. Burned houses, and killed
white opponents.
•Largest slave uprising in the 13 colonies prior to the
American Revolution.
•Slave-owners caught up with the band of 60 to 100
slaves. 20 white Carolinians and 40 black Carolinians
were killed before the rebellion was suppressed.
Slave Revolts would lead plantation
owners to develop a series of slave
laws/codes which restricted the
movement of the slaves.
•Slaves were not taught to read or write
•Restricted to the plantation
•Slaves could not congregate after dark
•Slaves could not possess any type of firearm
•A larger slave population than white in some states
Slave owners wanted to keep their
slaves ignorant of the outside world
because learning about life beyond
the plantation could lead to more
slave revolts and wanting to escape.
Slave Laws
Southern Society
• The Spread of slavery widened the social gap as the 17th
century gave way to the 18th century.
1. The Planter Elites: All over the Chesapeake & South;
owned huge tracts of land, ran & influenced the
government, owned large numbers of slaves. (In Virginia--FF of V)
• 1775- Planters elites in Virginia (FFV’s) make up 70% of
the House of burgesses membership.
2. Small Farmers (Yeomen—”plain folk)- (largest group)
owned small amounts of land (maybe 1-2 slaves)
3. Landless whites & Indentured Servants- barely made a
living from the land
5. African slaves
•
•
The Southern colonies had few cities of much size
(Charleston was the largest & important seaport)
Life revolved around plantations separated geographically
New England Society
The New England Family & life
•Cooler climate & clean water= longer life expectancy (adds 10
years; avg. life expectancy= 70)
•Migrated as an entire family units from England (intact
families); more people came at once than southern colonies &
Chesapeake.
New England Families
•Early marriage encouraged= booming birthrates
•Large families encouraged (10 pregnancies – 8 surviving
children)= tough on women=mortality
•Children had stability, taught obedience=low premarital
pregnancy rates
•NE “invented grandparents”
New England Marriage & Family
• Southern society generally allowed married women to
retain separate title to property & gave widows the right to
inherit a deceased husband’s estate.
Rights of Women in New England
•
•
•
•
Gave up property rights at marriage
Widow’s property rights protected
Women could not vote
Women considered “morally weaker” than men (The
Scarlet Letter -1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne )
Laws Established to protect marriage in NE
• Divorce was very rare—only granted in cases of adultery
or abandonment; separated couples told to reunite
• Divorce- granted for abandonment or adultery only (rare)
• Adulterers whipped in public & forced to wear letter “A”
• Abusive husbands punished
The New England Town
• Tightly knit communities (hemmed by Indians,
French, Dutch)
• Based on Small farms & villages
• Puritanism= unity & purpose & concern for moral
health of community
• Towns grew in an orderly fashion (legally
chartered by colonial authorities; distribution of
land was entrusted to town fathers or proprietors)
Development of a NE Town
Upon receiving a tract of land from the colonial legislature, a
proprietor would move his family there.
• Planned out the town layout
• A Meetinghouse –served as place of worship & town
government (mix of church & state) surrounded by houses.
• Village Green- place for militia to drill.
• Each family got a woodlot, a pasture, land for crops.
Land Division in
Sudbury, MA: 1639-1656
Education in New England
* Massachusetts School Law of 1647 – (“Old Deluder
Law”)-required establishment of schools.
Towns provided education
•
•
•
•
50 or more families= elementary school
100 or more = secondary school
½ of adults could read
1636- Harvard (8 years after founding colony)
Democracy & Governemt in New England
•
**Town meetings- adult males met & voted (“the best school
of political liberty the world ever saw.” Thomas Jefferson)
• Elected schoolmasters, officials
• Churches were tax supported (“Established”)
Higher Education in the Colonies

Harvard, 1636—First colonial college; trained
candidates for ministry

College of William and Mary, 1694 (Anglican)

Yale, 1701 (Congregational--Puritan)

Great Awakening influences creation of 5 new colleges
in mid-1700s
 College of New Jersey (Princeton), 1746
(Presbyterian)
 King’s College (Columbia), 1754 (Anglican)
 Rhode Island College (Brown), 1764 (Baptist)
 Queens College (Rutgers), 1766 (Dutch Reformed)
 Dartmouth College, 1769, (Congregational)




The decline of Puritanism
Over time demographic changes led
to declining Puritan fervor.
Puritan populations moved out of
town away from control of church.
Puritan zeal began to diminish.
There was a decline in conversions
 Mid 1600’s, a new form of sermon appeared =the “Jeremiad”
 The *Jeremiad, was used by preachers to scold parishioners into
being more committed to their faith.
 *"Half-Way Covenant",1662: sought to attract more members by
giving partial membership (baptism) but not full communion to
children of existing church members (weakened line between the
“elect” & others.
 Soon Puritan churches baptized anyone and the distinction
between the "elect" and other members of society declined
(*women became majority in churches now)
The
Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts from
March to September 1693, was one of the most notorious episodes in
early American history.
19 hung, 1 pressed, two dogs hanged; 55 confessed as witches and
150 awaited trial
Under British law and Puritan society those who were accused of
consorting with the devil were considered felons, having committed
treason and punished by death.
Causes
Girls
caught dancing, began to throw
fits and accuse people of bewitching (To
put under one's power by magic or cast a
spell on them).

Originally based on the false
accusations of two young girls, Elizabeth
Parris and Abigail Williams
Ended
in 1693 when the Governor
stopped the trials and pardoned those
awaiting trial.
The
accused were mostly women from families associated with
Salem’s market economy; their accusers were from subsistence
families who lived outside the town
Shows how unfounded rumors can cause hysteria even lead to
illogical thinking …today we call such things “a witch hunt”.
The New England Way
“Yankee Way”
Geography shaped them
• back-breaking work & soil= industry,
penny-pinching (frugal)
• Less ethnically diverse than southern
colonies
• Diversified agriculture (slavery existed but
was not profitable) & industry
• Good harbors = shipbuilding & fishing
• “Calvinism, soil, & climate”= energy,
purposefulness, sternness, self-reliance
• “Yankee ingenuity”
Southern
Colonies
were more
ethnically
diverse
compared to
New
England
Generalities about all Settlers
• Majority were farmers
• Rose at dawn & went to bed at
dusk (“worth the candle”)
• Land was cheap (less available in
the south; cheap in Northern &
Middle)
• European immigrants trying to
recreate social structure in America
were frustrated (Bacon’s Rebellion
1676, 1689-1691 Leisler’s Rebellion
in NY)
Trade
Triangle Trade
•Lumber
•Tobacco
•Rice
•Indigo
•Furs
To England
from Colonies
The Triangle Trade
•Furniture
•Clothing
•Colonials had
not factories.
From
England to
Colonies
Religious
diversity by
1775
Instructions:
On your paper, write
the correct colony
with the number it
matches……
14
2
13
7
10
12
9
1
4
8
15. New England
5
16. Middle
17. Southern
6
3
11
List them in their
regions.
18. Chesapeake