Chapter 4: American Life in the 17th Century 1607-1692

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Chapter 4 American Life in the 17th Century
1607-1692

• Erin Thompson B2
• A.P.U.S.H. Pd. 2

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The Unhealthy Chesapeake

• Malaria, dysentery, and typhoid cut ten years off
  the life expectancy of English newcomers.
• Majority of immigrants were young males who died
  shortly after arrival The survivors competed for
  the scarce of females
• Most marriages destroyed by the death of partner
  Weak families reflected in pregnancies of young
  unmarried girls

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The Unhealthy Chesapeake (cont.)

• Eventually native-born inhabitants acquired
  immunity to diseases by the end of the 17th
  century birthrate increased
• Maryland had the 3rd largest population at the
  opening of the 18th century

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The Tobacco Economy

• By the 1630s ships annually hauled about 1.5
  million pounds of tobacco out of the Chesapeake
  by the end of the century it was almost 40
  million pounds
• To balance the increase of product, indentured
  servants were shipped to the Chesapeake for labor

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The Tobacco Economy (cont.)

• Headright system established, which gave
  masters 50 acres of land for paying the passage
  of servants
• Some 100,000 servants were brought to the
  Chesapeake by 1700
• When the servants received their freedom they had
  to hire themselves to their former masters
  because of lack of land

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Frustrated Freeman Bacons Rebellion

• By the late 17th century, swelling numbers of
  young men began to rattle the established
  planters on the Chesapeake
• In 1670, the Virginia assembly disfranchised most
  of the landless men VAs governor William
  Berkeley lamented his lot as ruler
• In 1676, about a thousand Virginians broke out of
  control led by Nathaniel Bacon

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Bacons Rebellion (cont.)

• Virginians resented Berkeleys friendly policies
  toward the Indians
• Before the rebellion was crushed, Indians were
  murdered, Berkeley was chased out of Jamestown
  and the capital was burned

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Colonial Slavery

• About 10 million Africans were brought in chains
  to the Americas Only 400,000 ended up in North
  America
• By the mid-1680s black slaves outnumbered white
  servants
• In 1698 the Royal African Co. lost monopoly on
  carrying slaves Americans rush to cash in on
  slave trade supply of slaves steeply rose

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Colonial Slavery (cont.)

• By 1750, Blacks accounted for nearly half the
  Virginia population South Carolina whites
  outnumbered 2 to 1
• Most slaves came from west coast of Africa
  Senegal to Angola
• Whites threatened by large number of Africans
• Slave codes developed to decree the conditions of
  slavery

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Africans in America

• Slave life was hostile to health and labor was
  life-draining
• Tobacco was a less physically demanding crop than
  rice
• Size and proximity of tobacco plantations
  permitted more frequent contact with friends and
  relatives
• Black population grew through its own fertility
  and imports

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Africans in America (cont.)

• Native-born African Americans contributed to
  growth of a slave culture mixture of African and
  American elements of speech, religion, and
  folkways
• Many African words passed into American speech
  goober, gumbo, voodoo
• Banjo and bongo drum and jazz contributed to
  American culture

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Southern Society
Gaps in the Souths social structure widened, defining a hierarchy of wealth and status in the early 18th century Gaps in the Souths social structure widened, defining a hierarchy of wealth and status in the early 18th century
Merchant Planters Ruled the regions economy monopolized political power
Small Farmers Largest social group modest plots ragged existence
Landless whites Most former indentured servants
Black slaves Bottom of the social scale
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The New England Family

• Family remained at the center of New England
  life population grew from natural reproductive
  increase
• Women wed by their early twenties and had
  children every two years until menopause
• Longevity contributed to family stability up to
  3 generations
• New England women usually gave up their property
  rights

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Life in the New England Towns

• New England evolved into a tightly knit society
  based around villages and farms
• New towns legally chartered by colonial
  authorities land distributed by proprietors
• Towns with more than 50 families required to
  provide elementary education majority of adults
  illiterate
• Massachusetts established Harvard(1636) Virginia
  established William and Mary(1693)

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The Half-Way Covenant the Salem Witch Trials

• A growing New England population dampened
  religious zeal
• Mid-17th century, a new form of sermon began the
  jeremiad
• In 1662, the Half-Way Covenant, offered partial
  memberships to people not converted

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The Half-Way Covenant the Salem Witch Trials
(cont.)

• Distinction between the elect and others
  erased strict religion sacrificed for large
  participation
• A witch-hunt ensued leading to the lynching of
  20 persons(1692) grew from superstitions and
  unsettled social and religious conditions

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The New England Way of Life

• Characterized by its extreme climate and rocky
  soil, New England had a major impact on the rest
  of the nation
• Repelled by the rocks New Englanders look to
  shipbuilding and commerce
• New Englanders scattered from Ohio to Oregon and
  Hawaii

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The Early Settlers Days Ways

• Early American colonists lived simple, but
  comfortable lives
• Women, men, and children performed daily tasks
  necessary for comfort
• Most settlers came to America with modest means
  to enjoy wealth
• An attempt to imitate English class distinctions
  failed with resentment against upper-class for
  example, Leislers Rebellion in NYC (1689-1691)

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Chronology

• 1619 First Africans arrive in Virginia
• 1636 Harvard College founded
• 1662 Half-Way Covenant for Congregational church
  membership established

• 1670 Virginia assembly disfranchises landless
  freeman
• 1676 Bacons Rebellion in Virginia
• 1680s Mass expansion of slavery in the colonies

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Chronology (cont.)

• 1689-1691 Leislers Rebellion in New York
• 1692 Salem witch trials in Massachusetts
• 1693 College of William and Mary founded

• 1698 Royal African Company slave trade monopoly
  ended
• 1712 New York City slave revolt
• 1739 South Carolina slave revolt