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The Eighteenth-Century World 1700–1775
Diversity & Unity? The Eighteenth-Century World 1700–1775
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Common Threads >> What were the some of the choices that individual men and women made in the eighteenth century— for example, where to live, how to work, what to purchase, what to believe—and how did those choices affect their society? >> How did such choices make everyday life more democratic? What were the forces that worked against such democratization? >> How were free Americans able to become wealthier even without significant technological innovations? >> How did the consumer revolution affect American society and culture? >> As the colonial population became more diverse and complex, with separate regional cultures and an increasing variety of beliefs and religious practices, were there other experiences that colonial Americans had in common? Is it possible yet, on the eve of the American Revolution, to talk about a common American experience or culture? >>Was the Revolution caused by American unity or diversity? Both?
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THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WORLD 1700-1775
Overview The Population Explosion of the Eighteenth Century The Transatlantic Economy: Producing and Consuming The Varieties of Colonial Experience The Head and the Heart in America: The Enlightenment and Religious Awakening
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The Population Explosion of the Eighteenth Century
“This population boom was both the product of American prosperity and the precondition for its further growth.” The Dimensions of Population Growth Scope and scale How did this expansion alter British North American society? Ethnic makeup Economic activity: consumerism Bound for America: European Immigrants Who were the European immigrants? Origins Destinations Occupations
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Population Explosion, 1700-1750
The colonial population grew from 250,000 people in 1700 to over 1 million in 1750 Urban Rural Rich and poor White and slave Through immigration, slave importations, and natural increase (free and slave) 90% of immigrants between 1580 and 1775 were unfree (slaves, indentures)
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Immigrant Populations
425,000 European immigrants to colonies in the 1700s Scotch-Irish – majority to middle and southern colonies To back-country: cheap land, less control, conflicts with Indians English Welsh German: Pennsylvania, Maryland, etc. Most European immigrants were unfree (to an extent) Indentured servants or redemptioners Convicts What ideas or movements would have appealed to the unfree or previously unfree?
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Territorial Expansion of original
colonies: Yellow = by 1759 Pink = by 1769 Purple = by 1776 What issues arose as a result of population growth and territorial expansion? Results?
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The Population Explosion of the Eighteenth Century: African Slaves
Bound for America Over 300,000 slaves transported to English N.A. colonies by 1760 Origins: mostly taken from West Africa Destinations: all colonies, but majority to upper and lower south Conditions: Captivity, Transport, and Occupations The African Slave Trade Slavery within Africa Slave forts on West African coast Cooperation of African elites, intermixture with European traders Great expansion of demand with Atlantic trade Effects on Africans: war, instability, death, dependence
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West African Slave Fort
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Tools of the African Slave Trade
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Slave Fort and Boats
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Slave Fort, Ghana, 1973
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Plans of Slave Ship
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Below-decks of Slave Ship, 1845
Pencil and watercolor by Lt. Francis Meynell, "Slave deck of the Albaroz, Prize to the Albatross, 1845”,
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Atlantic Slave Trade,
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Slaves in the Original Thirteen Colonies (1750-1860)
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Slaves as Percentage of Southern Population (1750-1860)
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Slaves as Percentage of Southern Population (1750-1860
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The Transatlantic Economy: Producing and Consuming
“In the eighteenth century, as the colonies matured, they became capitalist societies, tied increasingly into an Atlantic trade network.” The Nature of Colonial Economic Growth Growth fueled by various factors Population growth Environment – productive use of farms, timber, ports Labor Productivity – free vs. slave, upper vs. lower south What role, if any, did technological innovations play?
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Sources of Regional Prosperity
Economic regions of British North America South: Tobacco, Cereals (Rice), and Indigo Middle: Grains (Wheat) North: Agriculture, Furs/Hides How did labor compare? How did slave life compare in the Chesapeake versus South Carolina? Different labor needs for different crops Where was wealth concentrated in each of these regions?
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Major Colonial Exports, c. 1770
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Regional Differences in Slave Economies: Upper vs. Lower South
Different crops in two regions Different crops = different labor conditions for slaves Upper south (VA & MD) = tobacco, corn, and wheat Seasonal labor, meticulous attention to tobacco Better climate Natural increase among slaves Constant surveillance/contact with whites Lower south (SC, GA, LA) = rice, indigo, sugar Hot, humid, mosquitoes Hard gang labor in irrigation canals, flooded fields High death rate – similar to Caribbean slavery High demand for more slaves shipped from Africa Slave majorities: more independence in work, culture Both regions dominated by planter elites In Lower South, elites were absentee landlords, living in higher elevations or in towns – healthier environment
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Lower South: Rice Cultivation
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The Transatlantic Political Economy: Producing and Consuming
Merchants and Dependent Laborers in the Transatlantic Economy Shipbuilding in New England Development of Major Port Towns: Boston, Newport, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston An affluent merchant class developed Consumer Choices and the Creation of Gentility A new “liberty” emerged for colonists as a result of the British mercantilist system: Consumer Choice The Consumer Revolution Causes Social Impact
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The Varieties of Colonial Experience
“Although the eighteenth-century industrial and consumer revolutions tied the peoples of the North Atlantic world together, climate, geography, immigration, patterns of economic development, and population density made for considerable variety.” An Urban Public Sphere Developed Urban Expansion – population growth The Wealthy Class Urban Dwellers Social Life – institutions, govt., public life Attitudes: Identity and Politics The Diversity of Urban Life The urban poor and black slaves reacted to economic stratification of urban life Parades and civic involvement Poor white voters Riots
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The Head and the Heart in America: The Enlightenment and Religious Awakening
“Although the movements might seem fundamentally opposite…both criticized established authority and valued the experience of the individual. Both contributed to the humanitarianism that emerged at the end of the century, and both were products of capitalism.” The Ideas of the Enlightenment The Enlightenment altered Europeans’ view of the world, and of knowledge in general Questioned “traditional” sources (institutions) of knowledge, such as the Bible (church) The Enlightenment and the Study of Political Economy John Locke Adam Smith Enlightened Institutions Libraries for the Public How did Enlightenment optimism impact organized religions?
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Printing presses in the colonies,
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The Head and the Heart in America: The Enlightenment and Religious Awakening
Origins of the Great Awakening Ripe Conditions for an Awakening The Grand Itinerant: George Whitfield How did the Awakeners shake up the religious establishments of the colonies? Cultural Conflict and Challenges to Authority What was the widespread appeal of the Awakening? What the Awakening Wrought New denominational divides created by the Awakening
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George Whitefield’s colonial
itinerary,
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AMERICAN PORTRAIT George Whitefield: Evangelist for a Consumer Society
“Whitefield embodied the great contradictions of his age without threatening the political or economic order that sustained them….Whitefield’s strategy was to criticize the individual without attacking the system.” What was new and unique about Whitefield’s preaching? Style Message Popular Following Why was Whitefield such a hit sensation in the colonies? Social Conditions
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George Whitefield Preaching
Whitefield, George. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 13 Sep George Whitefield Preaching
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George Whitefield, by John Russell (died 1806), given to the National Portrait Gallery, London in 1917
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Link to PBS Frontline video, “God in America: Part One: ‘A New Adam’”
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Enlightenment & Great Awakening
Similarities Differences Questioning authority Individualism Breaking down of barriers, social class, racial, hierarchy and power Equality Mass movements Revivals Increase writing, inventions, printing presses, rise literacy Rationality vs. religion Scientific proof vs. experience, spirituality
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Conclusion Two great intellectual movements – Enlightenment and Great Awakening were related in important ways Became a distinguishing characteristic of American life: Individualism Individual thought, questioning, and exploration Not always radical: individualist goals could be quite conservative: Economic success – at expense of others, community, even self Religious expression w/o questioning of social norms/problems For example: Belief in personal salvation, relationship with God, the world be damned or accepted as unimportant in long-term goal of Heaven But could also result in questioning of authority and conventions
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Individualism or Oppression?
Debate over character of America Debate over character of American Revolution – what kind of revolution was it? What caused Americans to revolt and demand independence? Increasing unity? Disunity? Individualism? Group experiences?
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THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WORLD 1700-1775
Revisiting the Common Threads >> What were the some of the choices that individual men and women made in the eighteenth century—for example, about where to live, how to work, what to purchase, what to believe—and how did those choices affect their society? >> How did such choices make everyday life more democratic? What were the forces that worked against such democratization? >> How were free Americans able to become wealthier even without significant technological innovations? >> How did the consumer revolution affect American society and culture? >> As the colonial population became more diverse and complex, with separate regional cultures and an increasing variety of beliefs and religious practices, were there other experiences that colonial Americans had in common? Is it possible yet, on the eve of the American Revolution, to talk about a common American experience or culture? >>Was the Revolution caused by American unity or diversity? Both?
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