America: A Huge Social Experiment

America – the huge “Social Experiment?”
Early Exploration of the Americas ➢ The Native Americans – 40,000 BC ➢ Influence of some early explorers: Leif Erickson (1000), Marco Polo (1295), Columbus (1492), Amerigo Vespucci (1507) ➢ The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
Factors for European Exploration ➢ Desire for East Asian products & a trade route (Northwest Passage) ➢ Religious Competition ➢ Improved Science & Technology ➢ The “Renaissance Spirit”
What factors spurred British Colonization? ➢ Peace with Spain & Defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588) ➢ Population Growth (No more Black Plague) ➢ Unemployment, Adventure & Religious Freedom ➢ The Joint-Stock Company ➢ The Headright System, Patroonships, Indentured Servants (Bacon’s Rebellion - 1676)
What was the impact of contact on Natives & for Europeans? ➢ Not so good for the Natives…Actually really bad. ▪ Numbers – Why do estimates vary? ➢ Europeans – global empires, the rise of capitalism & dietary improvement
The Early British Colonies ➢ (The ‘Lost’) Roanoke Island (1584) & Jamestown (1607) Settlements ▪ Sir Walter Raleigh, John Smith, John Rolfe, Pocahontas, Virginia Dare
SIMILARITIES AMONG THE 13 COLONIES: Primarily English, Self-Governing (not necessarily Democratic), Educational opportunities for males, Advantages for economic & social self-development
DIFFERENCES AMONG THE 13 COLONIES:
New England: (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire)
Puritan-dominated in many areas, less religiously tolerant, more restrictions on civic participation, more industry, less available farmland ➢ Massachusetts – The Massachusetts Bay Colony [MBC] (1629) – Puritans & John Winthrop’s “City upon a hill” ▪ Plymouth Colony (1620) – Later incorporated into MBC – Puritans (Pilgrims), William Bradford/Miles Standish, Mayflower Compact ➢ Connecticut – (1636) – Thomas Hooker & the Fundamental Orders ➢ New Hampshire (1679) – Royal colony separated from Massachusetts ➢ Rhode Island (1644) – Most liberal in New England, founded by Roger Williams

Middle Colonies: (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware)
Ethnically diverse, (more) religiously tolerant & democratic - Quaker influence, farming/lumbering, ship building, shipping & trade, fur trapping ➢ New York (1623) – (Originally New Netherlands) Peter Minuit, Peter Stuyvesant & the Dutch (NYC was New Amsterdam) ➢ New Jersey (1664) – Quaker settlement ➢ Pennsylvania (1681) – William Penn as a haven for Quakers ➢ Delaware (1703) – Remained under the governor of Pennsylvania until the American Revolution

Southern Colonies: (Maryland, Virginia, N.Carolina, S.Carolina, Georgia)
Plantation economy, aristocratic, slavery, cash crops, scattered population, expansionary, some religious toleration (Church of England dominant) ➢ Maryland (1632) – By Lord Baltimore (Sir George Calvert) as a safe haven for Catholics; The (Maryland) Act of Toleration (1649) ➢ North Carolina (1670/1710) – A haven for poor whites & religious dissenters from Virginia. Most democratic & liberal southern colony. ➢ South Carolina (1670) – Many plantations & aristocrats. Became center of the slave trade. ➢ Georgia (1733) – Last of the 13 colonies, founded by James Oglethorpe. A buffer between the 12 colonies & Spanish Florida, and a refuge for debtors & convicts.

Founding the Colonies – How were they born? ➢ Joint-Stock Colonies: Investors would pool capital to finance settlements in the new world. They were expected to produce revenue (like a corporation) & were expected to be temporary. (Virginia & Massachusetts Bay) ➢ Royal Colonies: Colonies under the control of the crown. Governors would be appointed by the crown. (Most of the Royal Colonies ended up becoming royal colonies.) (VA, NH, NC, SC, NY, NJ, GA) ➢ Proprietary Colonies: Led by proprietors who themselves chose governors. (MD, PA, DE) ➢ Charter Colonies: The inhabitants elect their own governors under their own charters. (CT, RI)

Democratic Heritage from England
The people of England, over centuries, limited the power of their monarchs, gained a voice in the government & won many important civil rights.
These democratic rights are contained in such documents as the Magna Carta (1215), Petition of Right (1628), Habeas Corpus Act (1679), & the English Bill of Rights (1689), as well as in English common (unwritten) law.

The Rights of Englishmen

1. The people have the right to be represented in their government
2. Only the people, through elected representatives, have the right to levy taxes & enact laws
3. People accused of crimes have the right to be tried fairly & be judged by a jury of their peers
4. People have the right to a writ of habeas corpus, a court order entitling them to be: (a) Informed of the charges against them; (b) Given a speedy trial; (c) Released on bail while awaiting a decision in their case
5. A person may not be arrested, nor may a person’s home be entered/searched, without a written court order or warrant
6. Soldiers may not be lodged in private homes without the owner’s permission
7. People have the right to ask the government to correct abuses & injustices

Democratic Advances in Colonial Political Life

England was separated from its colonies by 3,000 miles of ocean, & was deeply involved in acquiring territory & expanding trade in all parts of the world. It did not attempt to supervise its American settlements too closely during the early part of the colonial period, & thought it would benefit trade & growth – a policy known as Salutary Neglect. (Until 1763)

As a result, the colonists learned to rely upon themselves & to manage their own political affairs - they gained a large measure of self-government & made notable advances toward democracy.

Milestones of Colonial Democracy

1. Virginia House of Burgesses. Established in 1619, this body was the First Representative Assembly in America. White, male property owners, through elected representatives, gained a voice in government & a share in making the laws. (Similar lawmaking bodies were later introduced into all the colonies.) Most colonial legislatures consisted of 2 houses: a council, or upper house, generally appointed by the governor; & an assembly, or lower house, elected by the voters. Massachusetts General Court: Equivalent of the House of Burgesses.
2. Mayflower Compact. Drawn up by the Pilgrims in 1620, it set forth the principle of government by the consent of the governed. (First agreement for Self-Government) It means a government derives its authority from the people & it retains power only as long as the people support it.
3. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. Drawn up in 1639 under the guidance of Thomas Hooker, it was the First Written Constitution in America. (A constitution outlines the form of government & defines the authority of government officials)
4. New England Town Meeting. In each New England village the people held periodic town meetings. This way the people directly managed the affairs of the community. It is an example of Direct Democracy.
5. Power of the Purse. Elected assemblies had the power to levy taxes & authorize the spending of public funds, called ‘power of the purse.’ By threatening to withhold the money necessary to pay government salaries, an assembly could force the governor to comply with its wishes in such matters as approving legislation & appointing officials
6. Zenger Trial. The jury in the trial (1735) declared a person may not be punished for making true accusations against the government. (Zenger was accused of libel.) This decision helped establish the principles of Freedom of Speech & Freedom of the Press.

Undemocratic Features of Colonial Government

1. The right to vote was given only to White, male property owners. In some colonies - particularly Massachusetts, there were also religious qualifications for voting.
2. In each colony, except Connecticut & Rhode Island, governors were not elected - Either the king or the proprietor appointed them.
3. In most colonies, governors appointed officials without the consent of the assembly. They also chose the council, or upper house, of the legislature
4. Laws passed by a colonial legislature could be killed, or vetoed by a non-elected official (either the governor or the king).
5. In trade, the colonies were subjected to the Navigation Laws (& enumerated goods) & the concept of Mercantilism.

All Thirteen Colonies had one thing in common: Population Growth 1700-Colonies contained less than 300,000 (20,000 African Slaves) 1775-More than 2.5 million (1/2 million African Slaves) ➢ Average age: 16 years old ➢ Every 25 years from 1700 to 1850, the population doubled ➢ Most Populous Colonies (1775): Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina & Maryland ➢ Most Populous Cities: Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Charleston (“Charles Town” SC) ▪ 90% of the population lived in rural areas

Other Colonial groups in 1775

➢ Germans: 150,000 (6% of the population) - Why did they leave? ▪ Fleeing religious persecution, economic oppression & the ravages of war. Resided mostly in Pennsylvania & New York ➢ Scotts-Irish: 175,000 (7%) (Scots Lowlanders, transplanted to Northern Ireland) – Where’d they go & why? ▪ Early 1700’s, came to Pennsylvania mainly, which was then frontier land. (Western Maryland, Virginia, North & South Carolina) ➢ Other European Groups: (5%) French Huguenots, Welsh, Dutch, Swedish, Jews, Irish, Swiss & Scots-Highlanders ➢ African Slaves (Non-English): (20%) Primarily in the South ▪ The South had 90% of the slaves

The Structure of Colonial Society The Social Ladder – A remarkable feature in the Colonies was the relative ease with which an ambitious colonial, even an indentured servant, might make a rags-to-riches rise, unlike in old England. ➢ The New England Countryside: Land was harder to find/own ▪ Sons were forced to be hired out as wage laborers. ➢ The South: Large slave owners widened the gap between gentry & “poor whites,” increasingly forced to become tenant farmers ➢ Convicts: Involuntarily sent to America (Like Australia in 1700’s) ▪ 50,000 Robbers, rapists & murderers, sent by London officials ▪ Many were unfortunate victims of unfair English penal codes ➢ African-Americans: ▪ Slaves: The least fortunate group of all, oppressed & subjected to degradation – yet whites feared the prospect of a mass rebellion ▪ Freedmen: Lived in both North & South. Most were small farmers. ➢ Clerics, Physicians (Doctors) & Jurists (Lawyers): ▪ Christian Ministry: The most esteemed profession of the era ▪ Physicians (Barbers?): Poorly trained, & not highly esteemed, unless they were well educated (which was uncommon) • 1765 - The First medical school was established • If a doctor wasn’t available, barbers were called! • Plagues: Smallpox, Diptheria. Powdered dried toad, rubbed on, was one prescribed remedy (of many weird ideas) - Young people in the 1730’s often contracted diseases. ▪ Lawyers: (“Noisy Windbags”) By 1750, trained attorneys had some success defending colonial rights against the crown. ➢ The Working Class: ▪ Agriculture: Leading industry, involving 90% of the people ▪ Tobacco: Main staple crop in Maryland & Virginia ▪ Grain & Flour: Produced & exported by Middle & New England colonies ▪ Fishing: Major industry in New England colonies, with cod often exported ▪ Lumbering: The most important single manufacturing activity