Early American Culture

Early American Culture The British Colonies were Shaped by prosperity, literacy, and new movements in Religion and Thought

Key Terms Apprentice Great Awakening Enlightenment Key People Jonathan Edwards George Whitefield Benjamin Franklin John Locke Key Terms and Key People

Rich Dad…Poor Dad • Cheap Land led to Prosperity in the Colonies • Landowners gained political rights as city dwellers had to pay to vote • Landownership led to a class system in the colonies with an Upper, Middle, and Lower Class • Division of class separated the rich from the poor, though the rich often helped the poor

Desperate Housewives • Farm Women were expected to raise the household and help in the farms and fields • Farm Wives often Bartered goods and services with Neighboring farms • Women in the cities often ran the household but could run businesses or practice a trade • Women held few rights and could not vote, preach, or own land without permission

Children of the Corn • Large New England Families Expected all Children to work from age 3 and older • At age 6, boys were breeched and began to work in the farms or their father’s shops • At age 11, boys became apprentices for 4-7 years until they were ready to earn a wage

Consider yourself….at home • Girls learned skills from their mothers and were sent to other homes to learn specialized skills • Orphans often worked as servants and could be housed and fed until adulthood

Second Grade Graduation • Early education was used to teach kids to read the Bible • Children from wealthy families learned writing and math through private tutors • Poor children could learn from their mothers, or dame Schools and finished school at age 7

Books…Check em Out** • Early Colonial Textbooks were religious based and included the Lord’s Prayer • Literacy rates were as followed: • New England – 85% • Middle – 65% • England – 60% • South – 50% • Half as many women as men could read and Slaves were prevented from learning to read (illegal)

Haste Makes Waste • Newspapers increased in publication and news coverage in the 1700’s • Books were mostly imported from England, but began to be published in America • Poor Richard’s Almanack, written by Benjamin Franklin, became a popular book in the colonies • Colonists published poetry, regional histories, and Captivity narratives about being captured by Native Americans

ONE AMERICAN’S STORY • The Sovereignty and the Goodness of God becomes a colonial best seller • Story told of Mary Rowlandson’s Time in Captivity during King Philip’s War • The story focused on Mary’s Faith in God and how it saved her when she thought she would be killed

Crossing Over • Many in New England Feared the loss of faith in God would destroy the colonies • The Great Awakening preached that inner religious emotion was more important than outward religious behavior • Jonathan Edwards would use fear of God’s anger to inspire religious faith

Wake-Up Call • The Great Awakening lasted for several years and Changed Colonial Culture • Some churches split, while others left the church for other religions • Overall Churches welcomed about 50,000 new members and inspired the foundation of colleges to train priests

The United Way • The Great Awakening led to religious based charity • George Whitefield used his powerful sermons to raise money for a home for orphans • The Great Awakening also encouraged equality and the right to challenge authority • The Great Awakening planted another seed in the Revolutionary Garden

All About the Benjamin’s • Famous Enlightenment Thinker that used reason to improve society • Devoted his life to Science and proved lightening was electricity • Invented Lightening rod, Bifocals, and the Franklin Stove • Organized some of the first lending Libraries, Fire Departments, and Philosophical Societies in the colonies • In his spare time he helped draft the Declaration of Independence

Fig Newton • The Enlightenment stresses reason and science as paths to knowledge • The enlightenment focused on how natural laws control the universe and explained the law of Gravity

Locke-Down • John Locke argued that people have the right to LIFE, LIBERTY, and PROPERTY • John Locke also argued that people create governments to protect those rights • John Locke also argued if the government does NOT protect those rights they could be overthrown • John Locke’s theories would set the foundation for the revolution against England’s non-representational government

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Early American Culture