Beginnings of an American Identity

1
Beginnings of an American Identity

• 5-1 Early American Culture

2
Land, Rights, and Wealth

• Colonial farmers prospered because of the
  abundance of cheap land and plentiful resources
• The upper middle and high classes are most
  likely to own land
• Land ownership was the basis for social rank
• Women held the same rank as their fathers or
  husbands

3
Women and the Economy

• Worked as farm wives, bartered goods
• In cities, women ran inns or other businesses
• Women had few rights

• Could not vote, preach, or hold office
• Could own property only with permission
• Everything she had or earned belonged to her
  husband

4
Young People at Work

• The apprentice

• Left home at 11 to live with and learn from a
  skilled craftsman
• received food, clothing, lodging, and general
  education / training
• worked for free for 4 to 7 years until contract
  fulfilled
• starts own business
• Young ladies learned from mothers or were sent
  away to learn special skills

5
Colonial Schooling

• Main reason schools were started was so
  that children might read and understand the Bible
• Children of the wealthy had tutors or attended
  private schools
• Poorer children learned from their mothers or
  attended Dame Schools most finished getting
  an education by the age of 7

6
Colonial Schooling

• Some Dame Schools accepted girls, but most
  girls taught by their mothers
• Best education?

• Check literacy rates
• England 60 of white men
• New England 85
• Middle Colonies 65
• Southern Colonies 50
• To prevent revolts or escapes, most colonies
  outlawed educating slaves

7
Newspapers and Books

• Colonial publishing industry helps draw colonies
  closer .
• Reading the same books and newspapers
• Getting the same information / opinions
• Colonists developing a shared culture

8
Newspapers and Books

• Ben Franklins Poor Richards Almanack was known
  for its sayings and advice

God helps them that help themselves.
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
The worst wheel of a cart makes the most noise.
Genius without education is like silver in the
mine.
Little strokes fell great oaks.
9
The Great Awakening

• Jonathan Edwards began the Great Awakening
  with his sermon Sinners in the Hands of an
  Angry God
• Congregations argued over religious practices and
  split apart
• Colonists were inspired to help others
• Encouraged ideas of equality and the right to
  challenge authority

10
The Enlightenment

• An intellectual movement that stressed the power
  of reason and the importance of science for
  finding the paths to knowledge

11
The Enlightenment

• Ben Franklin
• Devoted life to science and public service
• Worked constantly on inventions and on improving
  society

• John Locke
• Government exists to protect peoples
  natural rights

• Led colonists to wonder whether the British
  government protected their rights and freedoms

12
5-1 Early American Culture
The End