Chapter 5 Beginnings of an American Identity 1689

Chapter 5 Beginnings of an American Identity 1689 -1763

5. 1 Early American Culture

In England only 5% of the population owned land. In America, land was up for grabs. Anyone, with any money, could own land. So, many Americans were landowners.

Social Mobility ~In England there was very little social mobility. If you were going to “be someone”, you HAD to own land. ~Since England is a small island, the only people that owned land were nobility – people who had inherited land from their ancestors.

Cheap farmland plentiful natural resources were two elements that gave English colonial farmers a chance to prosper.

Although women were essential to the colonial economy, women were not allowed to own land, vote, preach in most churches, and by law, even the money she earned belonged to her husband.

In the social ranks of colonial life, women held the same rank as their husbands.

In the colonies, children as young as three or four were expected to be useful. At the age of six, boys began to help their fathers at work. Around age 11 many boys left home to become apprentices in a trade.

Colonial Social Ranks Land was plentiful in America. If a person worked hard, he could eventual own his own land. With land ownership came political influence and social status. High Upper Middle Low • • Large landowners Church officials Government officials Wealthy merchants • Small farmers • Trades-people • Renters • Unskilled workers • Indentured servants • slaves

Education was very important in the colonies. Most children learned to read; wealthier children also learned writing and arithmetic. Most education was religious in nature. The main reason for the colonies’ mandate or order that children learn to read was so that they could learn to read the bible. It was illegal to teach slaves to read. A Dame School

One of the most famous examples of the New England Primer’s verse is as follows: Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep; If I should die before I wake, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take. — 1784 ed.

Newspapers and books, mostly printed in England, helped draw the colonies together. Among these, almanacs containing farm advice, remedies, recipes, etc. , were very popular. Haste makes waste.

In the early 1730 s and 1740 s, a religious movement called the Great Awakening swept through the colonies. Traveling ministers preached that inner religious emotion was more important than outward religious behavior.

Unlike the Great Awakening, which stressed religious emotion, the Enlightenment emphasized reason and science as the paths to knowledge.

The Enlightenment Began in Europe • Scientists discovered natural laws governing the universe • Isaac Newton explained the law of gravity

Benjamin Franklin, a man of reason and science, was a good example of the Enlightenment in the American colonies.

Accomplishments: • Proved that lightning is a form of electricity • Invented lightning rods to protect buildings • Invented the Franklin stove • Invented bifocal glasses • Organized a fire department • Organized a lending library • Helped draft the Declaration of Independence Franklin in 1783, an engraving from a painting by Joseph Duplessis.

Section 5. 2 The Roots of Representative Government

The Englishmen in England Felt Superior to the Englishmen in America • The English back in England felt that Americans were unsophisticated people • The English nobility even thought that George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were hicks.

The English did not consider America an equal part of England. They considered America a wilderness that could be used for profit. The American Attitude: WE ARE ENGLISHMEN Americans felt they were entitled to every right and privilege guaranteed to English citizens. According to the Magna Carta written in 1215, Englishmen had the rights to due process.

1. The Magna Carta 2. the English Bill of Rights 3. the Glorious Revolution, all played a part in the growth of representative government in the colonies.

The Rights of Englishmen A look at English government • Magna Carta (1215) This document guaranteed important rights to noblemen and freemen. • They could: The Magna Carta 6: 13 • Not be taxed • Be punished only by a jury of their peers • Not have their property seized • IMPORTANT because it gave colonists the idea of having basic rights Parliament - England’s law-making group • these people were elected by representatives • the colonists’ model for representative government

Parliament in England in the 1700’s.

Our version of Parliament is ? ?

England’s Glorious Revolution King James II ignored Parliament and tried to restore Catholicism. Parliament replaced King James II with William and Mary.

English Bill of Rights The king or queen could not cancel laws or impose taxes unless Parliament agreed.

Salutary Neglect’s Impact England interfered very little in colonial affairs. The colonists got used to acting independently (on their own).

Peter Zenger Trial resulted in freedom of the press

5. 3 The French & Indian War

The French & Indian War The French and Indian War into. 18 min. • The fur trade created alliances (partnerships) between the Indians and their trading partners. n France & England declared war on each other in Europe. – French and English colonists in Americas also began to fight each other because of the war. n With the help of their Native American friends, the French & British(us) began attacking each others settlements and forts. 32

the story of the fur hat 2: 33 The basic cause of the conflict among Native Americans west of the Appalachian Mountains was land the fur trade.

Causes of the French and Indian War: 1. conflict between English and French fur traders in the Ohio Valley 2. fighting between France and England in Europe 3. fighting among Native American groups

The Albany Plan of Union – Benjamin Franklin’s idea – a formal proposal to unite all 13 colonies to fight against the French. First formal proposal to unite the colonies DID NOT WORK! Why was the plan defeated? • colonies did not want to give up control of their own affairs. • colonies had their own governments, laws, and did not want to give that up