Social Change
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Virginia
Bacon’s Rebellion-1676
African slaves
Middle passage
Slave Codes
Stono Rebellion-1739
Accepting slavery
Class division
Urbanization
Family
Conversions decline
Half-Way Covenant
Salem witch trials
Northern economy
Immigrants
Germans
Scots-Irish
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Agriculture
Currency
Colonial churches
Great Awakening
Old Lights\New Lights
Deism
Education
John Locke
John Peter Zenger
Colonial similarities
General Info
• Early 1700’s…..colonies began to expand
• Still want to be “British”
• Virginia is the largest colony due to
expansion of tobacco; often planting this
before corn to eat
• Needed more labor……..where?
• Indentured servants
• As they were released they began to wander
and drift……..began causing problems
Bacon’s Rebellion-1676
Jamestown, Virginia
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Bacon's Rebellion- youtube
Conflicts between the frontier
settlers and coastal settlers
– taxes, protection from
Indians, representation
Led by Nathaniel Bacon
It was a revolt of indentured
servants upset with Gov.
William Berkley’s treatment
Berkley favored large planters
Bacon led the rebellion to
Jamestown and burned the city
He died from dysentery before
the rebellion was put down
Showed the large class
differences and resistance to
royal rule
Africans
Slaves began to be imported from Africa
Why not use Indians?
Not many slaves yet in the colonies
By the mid 1700’s: numbers increased greatly
1 in 3 died on the boats
Africans sold Africans into slavery…why?
Middle Passage: route to transport slaves from
Africa to the Americas
Triangle Trade Route
Triangle Trade
Crash Course: Atlantic Slave Trade
• Rum sent from New England
to Africa
• Rum sold to the Africans for
slaves
• Slaves then taken to the
West Indies and sold for
sugar and Molasses
• Sugar and molasses taken
back to New England and
made into rum
Slave Codes
As more slaves were brought
in, many whites began to fear
the slaves and free blacks
Slave codes were created to
limit blacks
Slaves and their children were
property for life and some
colonies made it a crime to
educate slaves
• Slaves in SC were among
the worst treated……crop?
• As slaves procreated, led to
the creation of their own
culture, speech, folklore, etc.
Pg. 69 in text
• A constant fear was revolt
• Stono Rebellion, 1739
– Attempted slave revolt in SC
– Charles Town slaves took
guns and headed to
Spanish Florida
– Killed 20 on the way
– Caught in a day and killed
– More laws passed for
control
– Some called for
manumission
Slavery causes few problems
Accepting slavery
• Slavery was profitable for England and
the colonies
• Some protested the slave trade for
religious reason
Class division
• Between large and
small farmers
• Who controlled most of
the region’s economy
and politics?
• Small farmers owned
few if any slaves
• Land less whites and
indentured servants
were at the bottom of
the chain
Few Cities/Urbanization
• Fewer cities in the
south……why?
• Less development
of professionals like
doctors, lawyers,
etc.
• Life revolved around
the plantation
Family
• New England
– Family was the center of
life
– Lots of kids
– Child raising was the
woman’s job
• South
– Women earned some
rights
– Property rights b\c many
men died early from
disease
• NE thought this would
undermine the family
• Divorces rare
Puritan Problems
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As NE grew, many moved from the cities
Less influence by the church
Conversion rates began to decline
To keep the church going, the idea of
Half-Way Covenant was created
2nd and 3rd generation members ( who didn’t have a
conversion experience) had their children baptized; allowed
the membership to climb
They couldn’t vote in church affairs or take communion
Partial membership
A way to keep the church part of society (power)
They could be full members if accepted
Not supported by all ministers
Puritans began to accept more people
Power began to erode in the church
MP2
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The most famous place, though not
the only place, for witch trials was
Salem Village, Mass.
165 accused, 55 confessed, 20
executed
Key figure was Cotton Mather who
defended the trials but thought it
should be fought with prayer and
fasting
Witch hunts occurred mainly in New
England Puritan areas
They were hanged, not burned as in
Europe
Many were women, but also 42 men
were killed and 2 dogs
Salem hanged 19 and pressed one
It was really a fight between the rich
and poor citizens of Salem
Fungus among us….
Ergot poisoning
Fungus that effects rye
• Toxicologists now know that
eating ergot-contaminated
food can lead to a convulsive
disorder characterized by
violent muscle spasms,
vomiting, delusions,
hallucinations, crawling
sensations on the skin, and
a host of other symptoms
Northern Colonial Economy
•New England prospered least due to same reasons
that would later make them profitable
•Poor soil and climate
•Led to economic diversity
•Shipbuilding\deep ports
•Trade
Immigrants
•Many settled in south and middle
colonies
•Why not in the north?
Germans
• Most of the
population of the
colonies was?
• Many Germans and
Scandinavians
settled in Penn.
Back country
• Lutheran
• Why in Penn?
Scots-Irish
• Non-English group
• Not all were Irish
• Many were Scots
pushed into N.
Ireland off their land
• Most Scots were
Presbyterian
• Hatred for Brits
Agriculture
• The leading industry
was agriculture
(90%)
• In Middle and NE
trade and
shipbuilding began
to develop
• All colonies
benefited from
growing trade
Currency
• To control the
colonies, currency
was limited in the
colonies
• Only hard currency
used
• Little paper money
created due to
inflation
Colonial Churches
• Two main churches in the colonies
• Congregational
• Anglican
– Began to lose power
– No American bishop to appoint ministers,
etc.
– Also seen as symbol of the king
Great Awakening
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The Puritans began to focus less on the
Puritan ideals and fewer people were
going to church
Revivals began to occur
Great Awakening-1740’s was a time of
revivals in the church led by (among
others) George Whitefield
Whitefield was a great actor and a great
speaker; he played the part of God and
the Devil
Ministers weren’t needed
Jonathan Edwards: horrors of hell
Mainly occurred in the North
Led to the creation of new churches
Superstar of
the day
Came over
from
England
Challenges
• Old Lights were skeptical of the
emotional new ministers
• New Lights defended the revivals
• Congregationalists had many problems
with it
• Many new churches created
• New Lights create universities
Deism
• Deism is the belief that a supreme God
exists and created the physical
universe, but it is governed by natural
laws
– God doesn’t intervene
• Many founders of the United States
have been related to Deist ideals
Education
•In NE, religion was the focus
for education
•Led to creation of tax
supported schools (largely in
NE)
•As you went south, fewer
schools and focus on mass
education
•Why?
Writers and Thinkers
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People began to challenge traditional
beliefs in Europe which effected the
colonies
John Locke Two Treatises on
Government: states all men had
inalienable rights: life, liberty, property
People made a social contract with the
king: he could rule as long as he
wasn’t a tyrant…….if he did, the
people could revolt
Enlightenment
Montesquieu: checks and balances
Voltaire: religious freedom
Phillis Wheatley: former slave in NE
– Wrote poems based on NE and
religion
Ben Franklin
– ‘Poor Richard’s Almanac”
Can we Talk????
• John Peter Zenger is
associated with freedom of
the press
• Zenger accused the
Governor of Pa. Of rigging
elections, bribery, etc. and
was sued for libel
• Zenger was acquitted
because the jury agreed with
him
• Symbol for freedom of the
press
Colonial Governments
Government
8 Royal colonies
with Royal
Governors
3 Proprietary
colonies
Md, Penn, Del
2 Self Governed
Conn. and RI
Most had bicameral legislatures with an upper house appointed by the
king and lower house by the people
Self taxation was a privilege other royal colonies didn’t have
Similarities
• Despite diversity, colonies had many
similarities
• What are some?
• Basic lang.
• Most Protestant
• Forms of toleration
• Similar types of self-govt.
• Not yet a real democracy yet
Courting Candle
When a suitor arrived, the
father would raise or lower
the candle in the holder
setting a specific amount of
time the two had to visit.
If the dad liked the boy or
he was from a wealthy
family, he generally gave
more time to visit.
However, if he did not like
the boy, he could limit the
time by lowering the candle
in the holder.
The father could also add a
second candle or snuff it
out depending on how he
felt the courtship was
going.