Chapter 3 Society and Culture in Provincial America

Chapter 3: Society and Culture in Provincial America

What is indentured servitude?

� � � Young men and women bound (legal obligation) themselves to masters for approximately 4 to 5 years. Male indentures were to receive benefits at the end of their servitude (clothing, tools, and occasionally land). Most indentured servants came to American voluntarily, others did not. In 1617, the English government shipped convicts to America to be sold into servitude. Indentured servants avoided the southern colonies. Indentured servitude

High death rates for women Easy entrance into medical field with no or very little professional training. Women established themselves as midwives. Medicine in the Colonies

�Tobacco cultivation �Limited supply of African laborers during 17 th century �Middle Passage �Unclear status of black laborers in America �In the 18 th century, a clear distinction between white slaves and black slaves had been established. �English assumptions �Slave codes Origins of Slavery

English immigration began to decrease Other European immigration on the rise: French, Irish, German, Swiss, Welsh, Scottish, and Scandinavian Germans Changing Sources of European Immigration

Tobacco was the base of the economy. South Carolina and Georgia Rice was the staple crop Dependent on African slaves Indigo in South Carolina Eliza Lucas Southern Economy

�Soil and Climate �Metal industry in Massachusetts �Iron act of 1750 �Natural resource industry Northern Economy

First systems emerged in Virginia and Maryland. Charles Carroll of Maryland 17 th century colonial plantations Larger plantations Plantation System

African slaves living conditions Africans developed a strong family structure Family was in jeopardy most of the time Stono Rebellion Plantation Slavery

� 1680’s-1690’s � Salem, Massachusetts � Salem witch trials � Adolescent girls displayed unusual behavior. � Accused witches were middle-aged women, widowed, with few or no children. � “Independent” women challenged the norms of Puritan society. Witchcraft Phenomenon

The Pattern of Religions Roger Williams o Anti-Catholicism o Jews o

First great American revival 1730’s-1740’s Break from their past and start a new relationship with god Jonathan Edwards The Great Awakening

Scientific and intellectual discoveries in Europe Reason vs. faith Seek guidance within themselves 17 th century European giants: John Locke and Francis Bacon. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and James Madison The Enlightenment