1. American Life in the Seventeenth Century (1607-1692)
Chapter 4
American Life in the Seventeenth Century
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2. I. The Unhealthy Chesapeake
Life was difficult for the early Chesapeake settlers
Disease took ten years off of the life expectancy and caused many deaths
Half of the people born in Virginia and Maryland died before their 20th birthday
Few men lived to see their 50th birthday and few women lived to see even their 40th birthday.

3. The Unhealthy Chesapeake Cont.
The disease filled area grew slowly and mainly due to immigration from England
Most immigrants were young men, many of whom would die shortly after arriving
Remaining had to compete for the few women left
Outnumbered the women 6:1 in 1650 and still 3:1 by the end of the seventeenth century

4. The Unhealthy Chesapeake Cont.
Families were fragile during this time
Men could rarely find a wife
Marriages destroyed by the death of a mate usually within 7 years
Children rarely made it into adulthood with both parents and rarely ever had any grandparents
Weak family ties caused women to become pregnant out of wedlock
More than 1/3 of girls were pregnant when they married

5. The Unhealthy Chesapeake Cont.
Though disastrous, eventually the settlers built up immunity to the diseases
More women meant that more families were successfully form
By the end of the century, they were growing mainly based on birth rate
By the beginning of the eighteenth century they were the most populous colony with 59,000 inhabitants

6. The Tobacco Economy
Chesapeake was inhabitable at first for the settlers, but perfect for tobacco cultivation
Tobacco quickly ruined the land which increased the need to gain more
Led to an increase in Indian attacks
1.5 million pounds of tobacco left the Chesapeake Bay every year by the 1630s
This number reached 40 million by the end of the century

7. The Tobacco Economy Cont.
More tobacco growth called for more labor
Families procreated too slowly
Indians died too quickly
African slaves cost too much money
Used indentured servants
“Head-right” system- Allowed an individual to acquire 50 acres of land if they paid for indentured servants passage to the new world
By 1700, white servants made up ¾ of population in Virginia and Maryland

8. Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion
William Berkeley, the governor of Virginia, disenfranchised those who did not own land
Had an excess of young men who started as indentured servants who were not given any land grants
High tensions ended with a frustrated Nathaniel Bacon attacking Indians on the frontier
Chased Berkeley out of Jamestown and set the capital on fire
Continued to riot and loot

9. Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion Cont.
Nathaniel Bacon dies of disease in the middle of the civil war and Berkeley is able to bring end to the uprising
Hangs more than 20 rebels
Uprising left heavy tensions between the landless, poor, former servants and the men who put them there

11. Colonial Slavery
In the 3 centuries following Columbus, about 7 million Africans were brought to the New World
About 400,000 landed in North America
Brought to Jamestown in 1619
1670: Only made up about 7% of the 50,000 people in the southern colonies
At this time, African slaves were much more expensive than white servants

12. Colonial Slavery Cont.
1680s: Wages grew in England which left less men wanting to come to the New World as indentured servants
Landowners still afraid of white servants since Bacon’s Rebellion
Mid 1680s: Black slaves outnumbered white servants
1672: Royal African Company lost its monopoly on the slave trade
Americans jumped at the chance to make money on the slave trade

13. Colonial Slavery Cont.
1750: Black slaves outnumbered whites 2:1 in South Carolina and accounted for almost half of the population in Virginia
Most slaves came from West Africa (Senegal and Angola)
Captured by African coastal tribes and traded in crude markets
Were branded and bound then herded onto a boat for the “middle passage”
Death rates were as high as 20%

14. Colonial Slavery Cont.
Some of the earliest African immigrants gained their freedom
Some became slave owners themselves
White colonists saw this as a threat
1662: Virginia made slave codes that established black slaves and their children as their property (chattels) for life.
Slavery began for economic reasons, but ended in severe racial discrimination

16. Africans in America Slave life was especially severe in the South
Rice and indigo plantations
Died quickly
Need for “fresh” shipments
Chesapeake slaves had it slightly better
Tobacco plants were less physically demanding
1720: Number of female slaves rose and family life was possible
Population grew

17. Africans in America Cont.
Native born African-Americans had diverse speech, religion, and folkways
Island blacks evolved a new language
Gullah: Blend of English and African languages
Ring shout would eventually develop jazz in America
Gained skills that helped build America
Slave revolts in New York (1712) and South Carolina (1739)
Still safer than the white indentured servants

19. Southern Society Slavery added to the hierarchy in the South
Great Planters
Small Farmers
Landless Whites
Indentured Servants
Black Slaves

20. The New England Towns Tight-knit society of small villages and farms
Puritanism unified the area as well as concern for moral health of the community
Even expanded as a whole
New towns legally chartered
Democracy

21. The Changing New England Way of Life
The growing population pushed colonists to outside farms- less church control
Jeremiad
The “Half-Way Covenant”
Women played a more important role

22. The Changing New England Way of Life Cont.
Salem Witch Trials 1692

23. The Changing New England Way of Life Cont.
Rock-strewn land made living difficult and many crops could not be cultivated
Left little money to be earned
Focused on the sea

24. The Changing New England Way of Life Cont.
Native Americans had made trails in much of the land
Americans wanted to improve it
Built roads and settlements
New England people were self-reliant
Impacted the rest of the nation

25. The Early Settlers’ Days and Ways
The seasons and sun provided the schedule for the settlers- mainly farmers
Planted in the spring
Tended crops in the summer
Harvested in the fall
Prepared in the winter
Women took care of the home: cooking, cleaning, children, etc.
Men worked the land

26. The Early Settlers’ Days and Ways
Americans lived in abundance
Cheap land
Wages three times those of the English
Most were “middle-class” that emigrated
Recreated social structure
Met with resistance
Blue Bloods