1. The Growth of the American Colonies Mr. Chabot
Colonial America
The Growth of the American Colonies
Mr. Chabot

2. Progression by time period (Era)
Native American settlement
European Exploration
European Settlement
Colonial Growth

3. An Empire and its Colonies

4. Terms/Definitions
Mercantilism – a country should try to obtain and keep as much bullion, or gold and silver, as possible
Balance of Trade – the difference in value between imports and exports
Duty – a tax

5. Con’t….
Salutary neglect – Great Britain’s policy of not interfering in the American colonies politics and economy as long as such neglect served British economic interests
Staple crop – crops that are constantly in demand
Triangular Trade – trade between the America’s, Europe, and Africa

6. Why did England pay little attention to the colonies between 1600 and mid 1700’s
2 Reasons:
The Civil War that raged in Great Britain
England was getting what it wanted out of the colonies, and it lacked the power to control the colonies tightly b/c they were so far away

7. Why did England prize their colonies?
1.) colonies produced large amounts of food and raw materials
2.) colonists were buying large amounts of English goods

8. How did staple crops affect the growth and settlement of the Southern Colonies?
Staple crops required a large amount of land
The land needed more manual labor, therefore, slavery increased greatly
The South as a result became land full of plantations along rivers and coastlines, with only a few towns and a small group of merchants

9. Colonial Life
Benjamin Franklin
John Harvard

10. Terms/Definitions
Gentry – men and women wealthy enough to hire people to work for them
Apprentice – people placed under a legal contract to work for another person in exchange for learning a trade.
Almanac – a book containing information such as calendars, weather predictions, advice, wise sayings, etc.

11. Con’t…
Indigo – a type of plant used in making a blue dye for cloth. It was one of the major staple crop of South Carolina
Self-sufficient – to be able to make everything that is needed to maintain your life

12. Why do you think the role of an apprentice is so important?
ans: Apprentices contributed to the expansion of the economy because their training involved assisting artisans in the manufacture of fine glassware, furniture, and other high quality items for purchase by the gentry

13. How were children educated in the colonies?
Ans: Some children were educated at home. In the New England colonies, boys could attend public schools, while girls were educated at home by their mothers. In the Southern Colonies, plantation owners often hired private instructors to teach their children

14. Colonial Education con’t…
To show the new found importance on an education for children, Massachusetts passed a law in 1647 that stated any town having more than 50 families had to have either a school or a schoolmaster to teach children.
Higher education was primarily for teaching ministers and lawyers. Most people didn’t go beyond basic schooling
There were only 3 colleges up until the 1740’s: William and Mary, Harvard, and Yale

15. Why did everyone in the average colonial household have to work?
Ans: because a great deal of labor was usually required to maintain the household by producing food and goods
Is there a link between this necessity and slavery?
If you are a wealthy planter, would your children have to work? If yes, why? If no, who would in their place?

16. The nature of work
In the 1700’s, life was better for a white colonist in the America’s than it was in Europe
For this reason, among others, the population steadily grew in the colonies as people
Colonists ate better, lived better and longer, as well as had large numbers of children to help with the farm life/work
All family members had a hand in the success of the household, and all had to pull their own weight
The basic goal of the household is to be self-sufficient

17. Triangular Trade The triangle of trade
The Transatlantic Slave Trade consisted of three journeys:
The outward passage from Europe to Africa carrying manufactured goods.
The middle passage from Africa to the Americas or the Caribbean carrying African captives and other 'commodities’.
The homeward passage carrying sugar, tobacco, rum, rice, cotton and other goods back to Europe.

18. African Americans in the Colonies
Middle Passage – one leg of the triangular trade routes between the America’s, Europe, and Africa. This leg was the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean

19. Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was a breeding ground for diseases due to the long length of the trip, as well as the tight quarters, heat, exhaustion, and the abundance of human waste (no sanitation)
Anywhere from % of the Africans would become sick and/or die during their trip through the Middle Passage

20. African American’s in the Colonies
African American population:
Year
New England
Middle Colonies
Southern Colonies
1690
950
2,472
13,307
1700
1,680
3,661
22,476
1710
2,585
6,218
36,063
1720
3,956
10,825
54,058
1730
6,118
11,683
73,220
1740
8,541
16,452
125,031
1750
10,982
20,736
204,702

21. Rice plantations
In colonies such as South Carolina and Georgia, rice plantations prospered.
Rice is most efficiently grown on very large tracts of land, and as a result, there were a great number of plantations that had over 100 slaves on it
Due to the large amount of Africans, they were able to preserve some of their culture through their constant interaction and the large number of people

22. Free Blacks Slave laws discouraged people from being free
Some laws either prevented their freedom or forced them to leave after their freedom
Most free blacks still had to work on the fields, as it was one of their only skills and the only work available
Many free blacks were worse off than enslaved blacks economically because they had no link to white households, and they faced limited rights compared to the other free people, whites

23. African American Laws Slave laws varied between regions
These laws were constantly revised to further control slaves
Slaves would need a pass to move about off of the grounds of the plantation
Punishments including whipping, banishment to the West Indies, and death
Laws that restricted the movement of slaves made organizing a rebellion very difficult

24. Stono Rebellion 1739 Other Rebellions
Several dozen slaves near Charleston, SC, killed more than 20 whites
The slaves burned the armory and began marching towards Spanish Florida, where a small colony of runaway slaves lived
Armed planters captured and killed all of the rebel slaves
NYC passed strict laws to try to prevent rebellions
After a 1741 revolt in NYC, 13 African were burned alive as punishment
There were over 50 documented rebellions b/t 1740 and 1800, and countless others that were not documented
What does that tell you about the treatment of slaves and their thirst for freedom?

25. Slave resistance, cont
Most slaves opposed slavery and resisted through individual actions: pretending to misunderstand orders, faking illnesses, running away, etc
Although these actions didn’t give slaves freedom, it gave them personal satisfaction to resist, as well as giving them a degree of control over their own lives (even if for a short time)

26. Emerging Tensions
By the mid 1700’s, population was increasing rapidly, almost doubling over a 25 year period
Immigrant – people who enter a new country to settle
Migrate - movement
Due to increased populations, people began to migrate and settle area’s farther from the shore ( more inland, towards the Appalachian Mountains)
Some of the land that was being settled belonged to Native Americans (who would have guessed!), and as a result tensions grew.

27. Tensions Emerge
French settlers and Native Americans increasingly came into contact with each other as the settlers migrated westward
As settlers moved to land already occupied by Native Americans, those Native Americans were forced to relocate to other areas that already settled by other Native Americans

28. Tensions Emerge
The new wave of English settlers alarmed the French and Native Americans
The British were trying to expand by building new trading posts
The French responded by building trading posts themselves, including one in Erie, PA
The French attacked a British post nearby Erie, PA, and killed those defending the post

29. Tensions Emerge
It was clear by the 1750’s that there was an explosive relationship between VA and PA vs. the French and Indians
The area of contention was the forks of the Ohio River, where the Allegheny and Monogahela rivers meet to form the Ohio R.
This area was coveted by all involved and was worth fighting for
These tensions set the stage for fighting in the near future

30. Religious Tensions
Although many people came to the colonies to escape religious persecution and for religious freedom in general, that did not stop religious tensions from occurring
There was an outcry to awake the colonists to the importance of religion

31. The Great Awakening This was a revival of religious
At this time, many ministers believed that the colonists had fallen away from their faith
The Great Awakening was a series of revivals in an attempt to renew religious enthusiasm and commitment
Many ministers used powerful speaking skills to lead people to believe that any one can have an individual relationship with God

32. Great Awakening, con’t…
Itinerant – traveling
Many preachers went from town to town preaching these idea’s, and these people were said to be ‘itinerant preachers’
These ministers preached the following:
Faith and sincerity, rather than education or wealth, were the major requirements needed to read the Gospel

33. The Great Awakening
As a result of the Great Awakening, many churches reorganized
Baptists in New England
Methodists in the South
The appeal of these two particular churches lay in their powerful, emotional ceremonies and their celebration of ordinary people