Chapter 3—Society and Culture in Provincial America

I. The Colonial Population

1. Immigration and Natural Increase—Who slowly came to dominate the eastern coast of America? What class were most of the English people who came to America?

A. Indentured Servitude

1. Origins—How long was the average indenture? How did indentured servitude work out for most males? Most females? Why was indentured servitude popular with colonial employers?

2. Realities of Indentured Servitude—Why did indentured servitude decrease in America?

B. Birth and Death

1. Exceptional Longevity in New England—What were some contributing factors to the long lifespans in New England? How were conditions different in the South?

2. More-Balanced Sex Ratio—How did a balanced sex-ratio affect population growth?

C. Medicine in the Colonies—How did lack of knowledge about bacteria affect early population?

1. Midwives—Who were midwives and what role did they play in colonial society?

D. Women and Families in the Chesapeake

1. Male Authority Undermined—How was male authority undermined in the Chesapeake? What were most women’s lives consumed with?

2. Greater Independence in the South—Why did women have more influence in the early South?

3. Revival of Patriarchy—What social/demographic changes led to women seeing their freedoms undermined?

E. Women and Families in New England—How was family structure different in New England? How were fathers more able to exercise control over their families?

1. Life Spans—What were women’s lives dominated with? How did life spans affect the control of parents over their children?

2. The Patriarchal Puritan Family—How were Puritans patriarchal?

F. The Beginnings of Slavery in British America—What led to the greater demand for slaves in America?

1. The Middle Passage—What was the Middle Passage, and what was it like?

2. Growing Slave Population—When did slave trading in America greatly increase? How were death rates different between the Chesapeake and further south (South Carolina)? Where did the vast majority of slaves live?

3. Uncertain Status—Were African slaves treated similarly to indentured servants in the early years of American slavery? How had that status of slaves changed by the early eighteenth century?

4. Slave Codes—What were slave codes, and what did they do?

G. Changing Sources of European Immigration—As English immigration declined, where did other immigrants come from?

1. Huguenots and Pennsylvania Dutch—Where did many Germans settle, and why did they become known as “Dutch”?

2. Scots-Irish—Who were the Scots-Irish, where did they settle, and how did they interact with those around them?

II. The Colonial Economies—What economic activity dominated in America?

A. The Southern Economy

1. Tobacco—What were some of the challenges when farming a cash crop like tobacco? What crop was the staple of South Carolina and Georgia? Why were slaves so valuable to rice production?

2. Indigo—What was indigo and why was it a valuable crop? Why did the South develop less industry than the North?

B. Northern Economic and Technological Life

1. More Diverse Economy in the North—In addition to farming, what other economic activities took place in the North?

2. Saugus Ironworks—Why did industrial development in the colonies lag behind Great Britain?

3. Extractive Industries—What were the most important industries in the colonies? What did the colonies then trade for?

C. The Extent and Limits of Technology—What was the average American’s capacity to acquire manufactured goods?

D. The Rise of Colonial Commerce

1. Shortage of Currency—What held back the development of commerce in the colonies?

2. Triangular Trade—What regions were involved in the “triangular trade” and what items were traded?

3. Emerging Merchant Class—In what cities did a merchant class begin to develop?

E. The Rise of Consumerism

1. Growing Consumerism—How were many Americans paying for their consumer goods?

2. Social Consequences—What happened because of the status of consumer goods?

III. Patterns of Society

1. Social Mobility—How was social mobility different in England than in America?

A. The Plantation

1. The Vagaries of the Plantation Economy—What risks did planters face?

2. Stratified Southern Society—Whose lives did large landowners influence, and how?

B. Plantation Slavery—How was family life influenced by slavery?

1. Slave Culture—What are some examples of the development of an American slave culture?

2. Stono Rebellion—What was the Stono Rebellion, and what was the result? Why didn’t most slaves run away?

C. The Puritan Community

1. Patterns of Settlement—What was the characteristic social unit in New England? What was a “covenant” and why was it important? How was land divided up?

2. Puritan Democracy—How did Puritan communities make decisions? Was Puritan society completely egalitarian? What was “primogeniture” and was it popular in America?

3. Population Pressure—What problem faced New England communities after several generations of living in America?

D. The Witchcraft Phenomenon

1. Salem Witch Trials—What was the result of the Salem Witch Trials? What kind of people were often accused of being witches? What did the trials reflect about the nature of New England societies?

E. Cities

1. Growth of Colonial Cities—What were some of the leading colonial cities? Who were the leading classes of residents?

2. Commercial and Cultural Importance—What industries were located in cities? How were cities influential intellectually?

F. Inequality—How was New England unequal?

IV. Awakenings and Enlightenments—What 2 competing world views existed in 16th and 17th century America?

A. The Pattern of Religions

1. Roots of Religious Toleration—Why was religious toleration more common in America than in Europe?

2. Anti-Catholicism—How did Protestants in America feel about Catholics, and why? How were Jews treated in most of America?

B. The Great Awakening—What were religious Americans concerned about in the early 18th century? When did the Great Awakening occur? What was the Great Awakening? Who were some of the central figures of the Great Awakening?

1. Old Lights and New Lights—Who were “Old Lights” and “New Lights” and how were they different?

C. The Enlightenment—What was the Enlightenment a product of? What were the basic beliefs of the Enlightenment?

1. Traditional Authority Challenged—Where did the Enlightenment encourage people to look for guidance?

D. Education

1. High White Literacy Rates—How many white males could read by the time of the American Revolution? How did that compare to Europe? What education did women receive? What education did slaves receive? What colleges were founded to train ministers? What colleges were founded in the wake of the Great Awakening?

E. Concepts of Law and Politics—How did the Zenger trial show a change of law from England to the American colonies?

1. Colonial Governments—How much power did colonial governments wield? How powerful were colonial assemblies (relative to the Parliament in England, or to the royal governors stationed in America)?