The Colonies Grow - East Lynne 40 School District · · 2010-10-07The Colonies Grow. Colonial America ... Africans to the West Indies, ... applied to the American Colonies and would

The Colonies Grow

Colonial America – Test Preview

Vocabulary

Iroquois Confederacy

Jeffery Amherst

Pontiac

Rice

Proclamation of 1763


Types of farming in the various colonies.

The labor supply in the Southern colonies.

The name of the region of small farms in the Southern colonies.

What is the theory of mercantilism?

What plan that called for one general government for all the American colonies?


The name of the British commander that was sent to conquer the French in the Ohio Valley.

What did the Treaty of Paris do?

Who changed the course of Britain's war with France?

What was the triangular trade route?

Understand how the slave trade came about and its effect on the colonies.


What was the organization of a typical New England town?

What were the three types of colonies? Describe one type.

Colonial Settlement – Unit Overview

In the 1600s and 1700s, Europeans established colonies in North America, seeking profit as well as religious and political freedom.

Chapter 3 describes the people who established the American colonies and their objectives.

Chapter 4 focuses on what life was like in the colonies.

Life in the Colonies

Section Overview

This section describes the economic activities of the colonies.


In 1760 Englishman Andrew Burnaby traveled throughout the North American colonies, observing

American Life. He could not imagine that these colonies would ever join in union for they were as

different from one another as “fire and water,” and each colony was jealous of the other. “In short, such is the difference of character, of manners, of religion, of interest, of the different colonies, that I think . . . were they left to themselves, there would soon be a

civil war, from one end of the continent to the other.


Throughout the 1700s the colonies continued to grow. The number of people living in the colonies grows from about 250,000 to approximately 2.5 million.

The number of slaves also increased from about 28,000 to more than 500,000,

Immigration was the most important factor in this growth. An estimated 690,000 Europeans came to live in the colonies.

Another reason for the growing population was that colonial women tended to marry early and have large families.


Most people in New England lived in well-organized towns. In the center of town stood the meetinghouse that was used for town meetings and church services. The meetinghouse faced a piece of land called the green or common where the citizen army trained.

Farming was the main economic activity in all the colonies, but in New England the farms were smaller than those further south.

The thin, rocky soil in New England made it nearly impossible for large farm operations. Most farmers in this area practiced subsistence farming. What is subsistence farming? Producing only enough to feed your family.


New England also had a lot of small business. Some people used waterpower to run mills for grinding grain or sawing lumber. Women often made clothing, soap, or candles for their families to use and also sell.

Larger towns attracted skilled craftsmen who where blacksmiths, shoemakers, furniture makers, gunsmiths, metal smiths, and printers.

Shipbuilding was also a very important industry in the New England colonies.

The region also relied on the fishing and whaling industries.

Because it was the center the shipping trade in the colonies, the northern coastal cities linked the northern colonies with those in the south. They also linked American with other parts of the world.


Colonial merchant ships loaded with raw material such as lumber, furs, fish, and fruit went to England. Some returned directly to America, but others went to Africa before returning to the colonies.

These routes formed a triangle that became known as triangular trade. It worked as follows.

Leg 1 – Ships brought sugar and molasses from the islands of the West indies to the New England Colonies.

Leg 2 – Rum, made from the molasses, and other goods were shipped from New England to West Africa where they were traded for enslaved Africans.

Leg 3 - Slaves were then shipped to the West Indies where they were sold and the money used to purchase more molasses.


The inhumane part of the triangular trade, shipping enslaved Africans to the West Indies, was know as the Middle Passage.

The Middle Colonies enjoyed fertile soil and a slightly milder climate than the colonies in the New England. Farmers in this area had larger farms and produced bigger harvests.

Farmers in New York and Pennsylvania grew large quantities of wheat and other cash crops. What is a cash crop? Crops that could be sold easily in markets in the colonies and

overseas.

Like the New England colonies, the middle colonies had similar industries. Some where home-based crafts such as carpentry while others were larger businesses like lumbering, mining, and ironworks.


Nearly 100,000 German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania during this time. Along with immigrants from other non-English counties, they gave the Middle Colonies a cultural diversity that was not found in the New England colonies.

The Southern Colonies, with rich soil and warm climate, were well suited to certain types of farming. Southern farmers could cultivate large areas of land and produce cash crops.

Since most of the people in the south made their living farming, they did not have a need to develop other kinds of industry.

Tobacco was the principal cash crop in Maryland and Virginia. Growing tobacco and preparing it for market required a lot of labor. When indentured servants became harder to find, Southern planters turned to slave labor.


Many slaveholders with large properties became rich. However, with so many people growing tobacco the price fell and some began growing other crops.

The main cash crop in South Carolina and Georgia was rice. In the low-lying areas along the coast (the tidewater region), planters built dams to create rice fields. Because rice harvesting required a lot of labor, these farmers also turned to slave labor.

Large farms built in this areas were called Plantations. Each plantation was its own self-contained community with fields stretching out around a cluster of buildings.

West of the Tidewater region was a region of hills and forests climbing up toward the Appalachian Mountains. This region was know as what? The backcountry


The backcountry was settled by newcomers to the colonies. They had small farms and grew mostly corn and tobacco.

In the Southern Colonies, the independent small farmers of the backcountry outnumbered the large plantation owners. However, the plantation owners had greater wealth and power.

Most enslaved Africans lived in plantations. Some did housework but most worked in the field and suffered great cruelty.

By early 1700, many of the colonies had issued slave codes, strict codes for governing the behavior and punishment of enslaved Africans.

Some codes did not allow slaves to leave the plantation without the written permission of their owner. Others made it illegal to teach enslaved people to read or write.


Families of enslaved people were often torn apart. Slaveholders would sell a family member to another slaveholder. Slaves did find a source of strength in their African roots.

Some enslaved African did learn trades such as carpentry, blacksmithing, or weaving. Some skilled workers were allowed to set up shops and shared their profits with the slaveholders. On rare occasions they could save up enough money to buy their freedom.

Although the majority of white Southerners were not slaveholders, slavery played an important role in the economic success of the Southern Colonies.

Some colonists did not believe in slavery. Many Puritans refused to allow enslaved people in their communities.

In Pennsylvania, Quakers and Mennonites condemned slavery.

Eventually the debate over slavery would erupt in a bloody war pitting the North against the South.

Government, Religion, and Culture

Section Overview

This section examines colonial government, religion, and culture.


“Fish and Visitors stink after three days.”

“Beware of little Expenses: a small Leak will sink a great Ship.”

“No gains without pain.”

Benjamin Franklin wrote these and other witty sayings for his annual book, Poor Richard’s Almanac. The last saying was particularly true in the American Colonies in the late 1600s.


By the mid-1600s trouble was brewing in England and in the colonies.

Charles II had been restored to the throne of England, but many people were not satisfied with his rule. When James II became king he tried to take back the powers that had been given to Parliament after England’s civil war.

In 1688, Parliament fought back and forced James II out. They placed Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange, on the throne. This change showed that elected officials had power of the monarch. This action became known as what? The Glorious Revolution

William and Mary signed a English Bill of Rights in 1689 that guaranteed certain basic rights of all citizens. This document also applied to the American Colonies and would later inspire the creation of the American Bill of Rights.


England viewed its North American colonies as an economic resource. The colonies provided England with raw materials which English manufactures used to produce finished goods that would be sold to the colonies.

This process followed an economic theory that stated as a nation’s trade grows, its gold reserves increase, and the nation becomes more powerful. This is called ___. Mercantilism

To make money England had to export, or sell abroad, more goods than it imported, or brought from foreign markets.

To make sure that only England benefited from trading with the colonies, Parliament passed a series of laws called the Navigation Acts. Under these acts colonial merchants could only use British ships to send goods. The acts also prevented the colonists from sending certain products, such as sugar tobacco, outside England’s empire.


Some colonists ignored these laws and began smuggling, or trading illegally with other nations.

The colonies had ideas about government that had been developing for centuries in England. Things like trial by jury, limited government, and representative government.

These ideas greatly influenced the development of the colonies and later the United States.

People in England had established that government was not all powerful when they had forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. This document limited the power of the king and gave protection against unjust punishment.


As the colonies grew they relied more and more upon their own local governments to make local laws.

By 1760 there were three types of colonies in America.

Charter colonies

Proprietary colonies

Royal Colonies


Charter colonies

Connecticut and Rhode Island were established by settlers who had been given a charter, or a grant of rights and privileges.

They elected their own governors and the members of the legislature.

Great Britain had the right to approve the governor.

The governor could not veto the acts of the legislature.


Proprietary colonies

Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania were ruled by proprietors.

These were individuals or groups to whom Britain had granted land.

They were generally free to rule as they wished.

They appointed the governor and members of the upper house of the legislature.

The people in that colony elected the lower house.


Royal Colonies

By 1760 Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia were royal colonies.

Britain directly ruled all royal colonies.

The king appointed a governor and council, known as the upper house.

The people in the colony elected an assembly, called the lower house.

The governor and members of the council usually did what the British leaders told them to do.

This led to conflicts with the colonists in the assembly.


From 1720s through the 1740s, a religious revival called the swept through the colonies. In New England and the Middle Colonies, ministers called for “a new birth”, a return to the strong faith of earlier days. This movement also led to the formation of many new churches. What was this revival called? The Great Awakening

The colonial farm was both a home and workplace. Women cooked, made butter and cheese, and preserved food. They also spun yarn, made clothes, and tended farm animals.

Men were the heads of the household. They managed the farm and represented the family in community activities. Sons would often work as indentured servants for other farmers or served as apprentices to craft workers.

Women in cities sometimes held jobs outside the home. Young unmarried women might work for wealthy families as maids, cooks, and nurses. Widows and single women could own business but could not vote.


Most colonists valued education. Children were taught to read and write at home by their parents.

In New England and Pennsylvania, school systems were set up to make sure that everyone could read and study the Bible.

In Massachusetts Puritans passed the first public education law in 1647.

By 1750, New England had a very high level of literacy. About 85% of the men and about half of the women could read. The first college, Harvard College, was established in 1638 by the Puritans.


Many educated colonists were influenced by a movement that spread the idea that knowledge, reason, and science could improve society. The best know proponent of this movement in America was Benjamin Franklin. What was this movement called? The Enlightenment

In 1735 John Peter Zenger of the New York Weekly Journal faced charges of libel for printing a critical article about the royal governor of New York. Zenger was defended by Andrew Hamilton who argued that Zenger should be judged on whether Zenger’s article was true, not whether it was offensive. Was Zenger found guilty or not? He was found not guilty. Today it this case is regarded as an

important step in the development of a free press in America.

France and Britain Clash

Section Overview

This section tells how American colonists and Native Americans

became involved in the clash between France and Britain.


By 1700 Britain and France were two of the strongest powers in Europe. This caused bitter feelings between British and French colonists in North America.

As the growing population of the American colonies pushed up against French-held territory, tensions between France and Britain increased.

British companies wanted to explore in the Ohio River valley. This was an area that the French had been trading in for years.

In 1740, British fur traders built a fort deep in the territory of the Miami people. The French drove the British out and built a series of forts along the rivers of the upper Ohio valley.


Both Britain and France knew that getting Native American help would make a difference in the struggle between the two sides.

The French had many Native American allies. Unlike the British, the French were interested mainly in trading for furs – not taking over Native American lands. This resulted in the French having better relations with the Indians.

During the wars between Great Britain and France, Native Americans often helped the French by raiding English settlements.

The most powerful group of Native Americans in the East was the Iroquois Confederacy. What five nations did it contain? Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, and Oneida


The Iroquois managed to remain independent by trading with both the British and French and dominated the area around the Great Lakes.

When the British begin moving into the upper Ohio River valley, the Iroquois worked out treaties with the British and reluctantly became their allies.

A group of Virginians had plans for settling the Ohio Valley. In 1753 the Governor sent an 21 year-old planter and surveyor named George Washington into the Ohio country.

Washington’s mission was to tell the French that they were trespassing on land claimed by Great Britain and to demand that they leave. The French refused.


While Washington fought the French, representatives from New England, New Your, Pennsylvania and Maryland met to discuss the threat of war with France. They wanted to find a way for the colonies to defend themselves from the French.

The representatives adopted a plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin known as the Albany Plan of Union.

Franklin’s plan called for “one general government” for 11 of the American colonies. Under the plan, and elected legislature would govern these colonies and have the power to collect taxes, raise troops, and regulate trade. Not a single colony approved the plan because none was willing to give up any of its power.

Washington’s defeat at Fort Necessity was the beginning of a series of clashes and full-scale war. The colonials called it the French and Indian war because the fought against two enemies.


The next year, Governor Dinwiddie sent Washington back to the Ohio country with a militia of 150 men. Washington by this time had been made a lieutenant colonel.

Washington had instructions to build a fort where present-day Pittsburg is. When he arrived at the location found that the French were already building Fort Duquesne on that spot.

Washington established a small fort nearby that he called Fort Necessity. Although outnumbered, Washington attached a French scouting party. The French surrounded Washington’s soldiers and forced them to surrender. They were later released and returned to Virginia.

Although he had lost the battle, Washington became a here to the colonists because he had struck a blow against the French.

The French and Indian War

Section Overview

This section describes how England and France fought for control of

North America.


“These lakes, these woods, and mountains were left to us by our ancestors. They are our inheritances, and

we will part with them to no one. You ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food for us in these spacious lakes and

woody mountains.

These words, spoken by Chief Pontiac, served as a warning to the British colonists who wanted to take Native American lands.


During the French and Indian War, some Native Americans fought on the side of the British. Many others fought against the British. The war in North America was just part of a larger conflict between France and Britain for control of world trade and power of the seas.

The British colonies knew that the French had build forts in the Great Lakes region and the Ohio River valley. They also knew that the French had formed many alliances with Native Americans in those areas.

During the early stages of the war, the British colonists fought against the French and their Indian allies with very little help from Britain.

In 1754, after news of Washington’s defeat at Fort Necessity reached London, the British government decided it had to send help. Great Britain put General Edward Braddock in charge of forces in America and told him to drive the French out.


In June, 1755, Braddock marched from Virginia with 1,400 British soldiers to attack Fort Duquesne. George Washington was one of his aides.

The British army style of fight was to move in a very orderly fashion. Washington warned Braddock that the British style of fighting would not work well in the dense forests. Braddock ignored his advice.

On July 9, a combined force of Native American warriors and French troops ambushed the British. They fired from behind trees and boulders and remained hidden from the British force. The British, confused and frightened, could not even see their attackers.

In confusion Braddock called for an orderly retreat that soon turned into a panic. General Braddock was killed and the battle ended in a bitter defeat for the British, who suffered nearly 1,000 casualties. Washington lead the survivors back to Virginia.


The fighting in America help start a new war in Europe, known as the Seven Years’ War. After arranging an alliance with Prussia (Germany), Britain declared war on France in 1756.

Prussia fought France and its allies in Europe, while England fought France in the Caribbean, India, and North America.

The first years of the war were a disaster for the British and Americans. The French captured several British forts and Native Americans began raiding British settlements up on the frontier.

French forces from Canada captured British forts at Lake Ontario and Lake George (Fort William Henry).


In Great Britain, William Pitt came to power as secretary of state and later as the prime minister. Pitt was an outstanding military planner and oversaw the war effort from London.

To avoid conflicts with the colonies over costs, Pitt decided that Great Britain would pay for any supplies that the armies needed in North America. In doing this he ran up an enormous debt. After the was, the British would raise colonists’ taxes to help pay this debt.

Pitt wanted more than just the protection of the English colonies. He wanted to also conquer French Canada.

He sent British troops under the command of Jeffery Amherst and James Wolfe to recapture the fortress a Louisburg. Another British force forced the French to abandon Fort Duquesne.


1759 brought many British victories. The British captured several French islands in the West Indies. They also defeated the French in India and destroyed a French fleet that had been sent to reinforced Canada.

Quebec, the capital of New France, had been built on a high cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence River. In September 1759, a British force led by General James Wolfe climbed the cliffs and captured the fortress.

The fall of Quebec and General Jeffery Amherst’s capture of Montreal the following year brought the fighting in North America to an end.


In the Treaty of Paris of 1763, France was permitted to keep some of its sugar-producing islands in the West Indies, but it was forced to give Canada and most of its lands east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain.

From Spain, France’s ally, Great Britain gained Florida. In return, Spain received French lands west of the Mississippi River (Louisiana Territory) as well as the port of New Orleans.

The end of the war did not end trouble on the Frontier. Native Americans continued to attack settlers. In the spring of 1763, Chief Pontiac organized Native Americans in attacks against British settlements. Pontiac and his allies were unable to capture British forts and eventually surrendered.

To prevent more fighting with Native Americans, Britain called a halt to the settlers’ westward expansion. In the Proclamation of 1763, King George III declared that the Appalachian Mountains were the temporary western boundary for the colonies. The proclamation angered many people.

Chapter Summary

Between the 1600s and early 1700s, thirteen American colonies are established – some for profit and others by religious groups seeking freedom.

New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies develop diverse economies.

Although many different people live in the colonies, their values and beliefs, government, and educational institutions grow out of English traditions.

Chapter Summary

Between 1650 and 1750, Parliament passes laws regulating colonial trade.

In 1754 the French and Indian War begins.

From 1689 to 1763, France and Britain fight a series of wars.

Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, Britain obtains control of much of the continent.

North America is divided between Great Britain and Spain.

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The Colonies Grow - East Lynne 40 School District · · 2010-10-07The Colonies Grow. Colonial America ... Africans to the West Indies, ... applied to the American Colonies and would

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