Chapter 3: Persons of Mean and Vile Condition

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Chapter 3 Persons of Mean and Vile Condition

• Colonies in Upheaval

Bacons rebellion was sparked by a difference in
opinion about how to deal with the threat of
Indians on the frontier (Zinn 40) The government
was not adequately protecting those living on the
frontier from Indian attacks, creating conflict
between local government and citizens of
Jamestown.
Bacons Rebellion 1676
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Nathaniel Bacon
-He came from the upper class and had a-lot of
land but nonetheless became a symbol for
resistance of the existing order. (Zinn 41) -He
was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1676 and
criticized the rich and expressed hatred toward
the frontier Indians (Zinn 41). -Bacon was a
strong advocate for protecting the frontier using
forces outside the existing structure of
governance.
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Causes of the Rebellion-How to deal with Indian
attacks on the frontier? -Resentment toward
the aristocrats and frustration over Indian
aggression.
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Governor Berkeley Challenges Bacon
-Bacon organized groups to fight against the
Indians and he was declared a rebel by
Governor Berkeley and arrested (Zinn 41.) -tens
of hundreds of Virginians march to Jamestown in
support of Bacon and Berkeley releases Bacon
(Zinn 41).
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Bacons defeat and death-The last of Bacons
forces were defeated by Thomas Grantham and the
last of the rebels were hanged and the Africans
were sent back to their slaves (Zinn
41).-Leveling is the process of poor whites
toward the rich to try to level the wealthand
the slaves were part of this poor underclass
(Zinn 42).
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Indentured Servitude

• -Many Africans were deceived into slavery by
  signing an indenture which gave them passage
  to America that they paid for with 5-7 years of
  service as a slave.
• -In 1619, the Virginia House of Burgesses,
  provided for enforcement of treaties between
  servants and masters (Zinn 43). These treaties
  were by nature unfair and required Africans to
  travel long voyages across vast oceans
  resulting in the death and sickness of many men,
  women and children (Zinn 43.)

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Servants faced terror and oppression at the hands
of their masters.

• Servants were subject to routine humiliations and
  cruelties from their masters as Zinn explains
  that Beatings and whippings were common.
  Servant women were raped (Zinn 44).
• Women servants were controlled closely by their
  masters as Zinn highlights The master tried to
  control completely the sexual lives of the
  servantsServants could not marry without
  permission (Zinn 44). This kind of treatment of
  servants was a total violation of the
  constitution and the Bill of Rights by depriving
  Africans of life and liberty and subjecting them
  to cruel and unusual punishment without any due
  process of law.

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Legislation is passed punishing servants who rebel

• After Bacons rebellion the Virginia legislature
  passed laws punishing servants who are caught
  rebelling against their masters (Zinn 45).
• Many servants decided that escape was easier than
  rebellion and during the 1600s and into the
  1700s their were reports of mass desertions by
  white servants in the southern colonies.

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Throughout the colonial period the rich got
richer and the poor got

• From 1630 at the start of the Massachusetts Bay
  Colony the rich dominated over the lower class
  and the best land was given to the rich (Zinn
  48).
• A study showed that by 1770 the top 1 percent of
  the population owned 44 percent of the wealth in
  Boston (Zinn 49).
• This great disparity between rich and poor caused
  much resentment and bitterness toward the rich,
  which resulted in many rebellions, desertions and
  much misery.

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Poverty continued to increase within the colonies

• From 1687 to 1770 the percentage of poor
  impoverished males more than doubled from 14 to
  29 percent (Zinn 49).
• Free white workers began to rebel against unfair
  treatment by the rich.
• Protests were happening in Maine, New York, and
  Boston (50-51).
• Much of the divisions and conflicts were strictly
  along class lines and involved the rich vs. the
  poor.

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Englands war meant poverty for many in the
colonies

• England was fighting in Queen Annes war in the
  early 1700s and King Georges War in the 1730s
  (Zinn 52).
• For merchants, according to Zinn, this meant
  profits, but for most it meant higher taxes and
  poverty.

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Serious problems began to develop for the wealthy
elite in the colonies.

• Indians were too difficult to control, slaves
  were rebelling and the impoverished whites were
  becoming increasingly dissatisfied (Zinn 53).
• Fears began to rise among the elites that these
  groups could some how get together to overthrow
  the system of rule established by the British in
  the American colonies.

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There fears were high in the Carolinas

• Black slaves outnumbered whites by 15,000 and
  Indian tribes were scattered all around in the
  Carolinas (Zinn 54).
• This led to the passing of laws that prohibited
  free blacks from traveling in areas that were
  designated as Indian country (Zinn 54).
• Also, treaties with Indian tribes arranged for
  the return of fugitive slaves (Zinn 54).
• These measures mark the desperation that white
  rulers felt during this time in the colonial
  period.

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Despite repeated attempts to stop them slaves
continued to rebel

• Around the 1760s slaves that ran away, in many
  cases, fled to Indian villages and found refuge
  and sometimes married and had children (Zinn 55).
• Yet deals were made and bribes were given to
  tribes which kept black rebels from causing them
  problems (Zinn 55).
• Also, according to court records and laws passed,
  throughout this period black and white slaves and
  servants devised plans and ran away together
  (Zinn 55).

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Divisions between rich and poor would continue,
however something new was developing.

• There began to develop a class of middle class
  planters that would help the elites create a
  buffer between them and slave and Indians on the
  frontier (Zinn 56).
• -Concessions were made to the middle class
• whites, but at the expense of slaves, Indians
  and poor whites.
• -This class struggle would continue to divide
  the rich and the poor and the poor white class
  from the white elites and middle class whites.

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Works Cited

• Zinn, Howard. A Peoples History of the United
  States. New York HarperCollins. (2005).
  Book.