 Pretend you lived on a farm in colonial Delaware. Write down what your schedule would be like and what your responsibilities would be.

Life in the Colonies

 What was life like for people living in the British Colonies?

 Rights  Magna Carta  English Bill of Rights  Great Awakening

 9 out of 10 people lived on farms  Economy was based on buying and selling goods made on a farm (or crops)  Farm houses were one room with a fireplace

 By 1750, 1 out of 20 people lived in the city  The focus of the city was the water front where ships docked  Why did cities develop near water?

 Provided transportation for ships ◦ Necessary for trade ◦ Markets formed near ports in major cities

 Houses were mostly made of wood with thatch rooftops  Colonies burned oil for light ◦ What danger would this cause? Cities were typically loud, dirty, smelly places

 The colonists considered themselves English citizens and felt that they should have rights  The most important right was a say in their government

 “Great Charter”  Signed by King John in 1215 limiting the king’s power and giving the people a say in government  Parliament founded in 1265 and was a representative government

 1685, Duke of York became King James II  Refused to share power of an assembly in New York or with Parliament in England  Due to this, he was forced off his throne by the people

 Why was the Magna Carta important to the English colonists?

 Parliament offered the crown to Prince William of Orange and his wife, Mary  Must enact the English Bill of Rights

 People had the right to: ◦ make laws ◦ Impose taxes ◦ Petition the king Colonists saw the Glorious Revolution as a reason for them to have power in the colonies as well.

 Crimes were treated similarly in the colonies  Murder, treason, piracy: Punishable by death  Theft, forgery, robbery: Criminals served jail time, were whipped or branded by a hot iron

 Everyone must attend church on Sundays  No working or playing on the Sabbath (Sunday)  Sunday laws were written in books with blue paper bindings (known as the blue laws) ◦ Some exist today! Example: No selling alcohol on Sundays in CT!

 Puritans constantly looked for signs of Satan  1692, Salem, Massachusetts  Girls acted strangely in church and accused neighbors of being witches and putting spells on them  19 accused witches were put to death before calm was restored

 Slavery started in Virginia in the 1700s and moved north and south  Hiring workers was often cheaper than owning slaves  Slavery in the south expanded quickly-why?

 Most slaves came from West Africa; goods were traded for them  The trip by ship across the Atlantic Ocean was crowded and horrifying  Many slaves did not survive the trip

 Jobs: ◦ Tending crops (especially on plantations in the south) ◦ Nurse, Carpenter, Blacksmith, Driver, Servant, Gardner, midwife ◦ Some rebelled but most adapted to their new way of life

 New England  “Captains of the Watch” made sure that everyone attended church on the Sabbath  Held at town meetinghouses (most important building in the town)  Services lasted up to 5 hours

 1730’s  Revival of religious spirit in the colonies  Spread the idea that all people were equal in the eyes of God  Encouraged ideas of liberty, equality, and self-reliance

 Children received little formal education  Southern colonies: Tutors were hired or children sent away or to England  Middle Colonies: Each religious group educated differently  New England: Towns were required to have formal education-why?

 Purpose: to be able to read the bible  Schools were one room  Parents gave what they could; often fields were rented out to pay for teacher’s salaries  Believed that boys needed more formal education than girls