I. Introduction
- Development of permanent settlements
- Cultures adapting to each other
- Strong ties to the economy of the Atlantic
II. The Unhealthy Chesapeake
- Life was brutal for early settlers
- Diseases like malaria, dysentery, and typhoid ran rampant
- Life expectancy was greatly reduced compared to England
- Settlements grew slowly as starting a family was difficult due to the lack of young women
- Eventually people gained immunity and Virginia started to grow
III. The Tobacco Economy
- The Chesapeake was so hospitable to tobacco that settlers planted it before corn to eat
- Settlers pushed into virgin territories to find fresh soil
- Tobacco farms grew so rapidly there was a shortage of labor
- Help came in the form of indentured servants who worked in exchange for passage and ‘freedom dues’
- Virginia and Maryland employed the headright system where the master that brought over servants gained extra land
- Indentured servants eventually made up ¾ of immigrants
IV. Frustrated Freedmen and Bacon’s Rebellion
- The number of landless, single young men grew rapidly
- A group of rebels led by Nathaniel Bacon attacked Indians and burned the capital in response to the Governor’s inactions
- The Rebellion was quelled but it illuminated a division between the gentry and frontiersmen
- Without the prospect of future indentured servants, the tobacco empire looked toward Africa
V. Colonial Slavery
- In 1698 the Royal African Company lost its monopoly on the slave trade
- Americans cashed in, bringing cheaper slaves to the colonies in much greater number than before – Africans made up half Virginia’s population by 1750
- Most slaves were captured from tribes of the west coast of Africa, brand and bound and transported over the middle passage
- Survivors of the journey were put on auction blocks in the colonies
- Slaves codes were enacted to regulate slave life
VI. Africans in America
- The South was the harshest on a slave’s well being
- The tobacco farms were easier due to their organization
- With the growth of native born African-Americans, a distinct culture developed
VII. Southern Society
- Social structure widened and a hierarchy became defined
- At the top were rich, hard working planters; following them were the small farmers; and third were the servant class
VIII. The New England Family
- Cooler climate limited disease
- Life expectancy actually increased for NE settlers
- Families were commonplace and the center of life
- Women had children every two years for 20+ years leading to large families and a steady growing population
- Differences in social structure and life expectancy of males led to differences in the legal rights of women
IX. Life in the New England Towns
- Based on small villages and farms
- People clustered due to Indians, the French and Dutch, and tenants of unity of Puritanism
- Growth was orderly; towns were legally chartered, distribution of land was closely regulated by proprietors
- Many towns had a meeting house and elementary school – education was important (Puritans founded Harvard)
X. The Half-Way Covenant and the Salem Witch Trials
- Puritan beliefs were strong but church control was fading
- To address the declined in conversions and membership, ministers created the Half-Way Covenant
- The Half-Way Covenant reduced restriction of church membership making the church less exclusive in hopes increase membership
- In 1692 hysteria swept through Salem, Massachusetts as 20 young girls were killed after being accused of being bewitched
XI. The New England Way of Life
- Stony soil led New Englanders to a hardworking lifestyle
- Immigrants were uncommon due to the lack of easy profit
- The climate and geography led to a diversifies agriculture and industry
- Europeans sought to improve the land by clearing wood, building roads, and settling
- The English brought a myriad of livestock
- The rocky soil led New Englanders to focus on the harbors – timber and shipbuilding became a major industry
XII. The Early Settlers’ Days and Ways
- Life was ruled by the seasons – planting in the spring, tending in the summer, harvesting in the fall
- Early to bed and early to rise
- Women undertook household labor while men tended to outdoor labor
- Frontier life did not see a division of classes
- Attempts to recreate stratified societies like Europe proved futile
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