Chapter 5 The Mosaic of Eighteenth - Century America

Here is the study guide for Chapter 5. I guess I'll do this one in sections as the reading is assigned (for period 4), the entries for the last blog I did in the few days before the test, so the layout will have to be a little different [outline style??], but just hang with me here [someone should call Hank from Hank's History Hour and ask him to make some chapter recordings I could and would put up here, if you did I'd love you forever (did you guys hear that podcast where all he talked about was how he got into Dartmouth? What a braggart)]

update: right now, i'm going to try and fix a few sentences that are weird and attempt to get the photos to work for once.

update #2: all done!

This blog is best read while listening to Fuzzy Blue Lights by Owl City.

Chapter 5 Concepts and Terms

Introduction:
Of course we start off with the obvious. And I quote "...individuals throughout North America, especially native peoples, found life changing at an astonishing speed." Yes, please, what else is new. This chapter is pretty much about how newcomers (and current settlers) to North America had to adapt and adjust to difficulties that were created by overpopulation, tensions between countries, and social differences. Also, conflicts were started between the European powers, namely France, England, and Spain, about territorial and power disputes. These rivalries had their beginnings in Europe and flared regularly throughout the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries [1600-1700 for anyone who likes this way better]. However, an important point to note is that French forts neatly encircled England's colonies, confining their settlement to the eastern seaboard, which is the area this chapter talks about.

A. Forces of Division
Intro: The French and English who inhabited the north-eastern part of North America distrusted each other. However, the English never united to fight the French because they were split not only by ethnic and regional differences, but now also by racial and religious prejudices. The people of the colonial towns also found unification difficult because of distance problems, slow communication, and poor transportation. The colonial settlements of England were made up of an extremely diverse group of people.

I. Immigration and Natural Increase
There were many different types of people who made up the English colonies, including Africans, Germans, Scots, Swedes, Swiss, and Spanish Jews. The immigration of all these different people caused increased diversity in society, and many of these people became indentured servants. The American population was growing dramatically because of an increased natural birthrate and the influx of immigrants. (If the birthrate back then was three times what it is today [2.1], then wouldn't that mean 6 kids to family, and not eight? The book lies.)The population growth worldwide at this time is explained by a general improvement in climate which allowed for better harvests and the introduction of nutritional Indian crops to countries in Europe and in the Americas. This increase in population made it hard for colonials to share any common identity because they were all from different backgrounds.

II. Settlement of the Backcountry
It sounds bad to say that this is where they sent the rednecks, so we label this the "backcountry" (and I guess they weren't really rednecks). The basic point to know is that overpopulation in the established eastern seaboard communities led to the settlement of the backcountry. Newly-arrived immigrants and even native-born people were forced to set up new communities on the frontier. The frontier area included Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont [where Lake Champlain is!]. These people on the frontier were isolated from one another and the center of the town, which hindered strong social bonds. There was also economic isolation as well because they were above the fall line where ships could not reach them to promote the trade of goods or agriculture, and shipping over land was too expensive and risky. These people could not commonly afford slaves or servants, and were apparently religious even though they didn't go to church. [Good thing they weren't Pilgrims, or they'd be killed]Hard work was the main aspect of these peoples' lives.

(those are the frontier gunfighters)

III. Social Conflict on the Frontier
The people on the frontiers did not have the same rights in government and protection as did those on the eastern seaboard. The Paxton Boys were frontier settlers who marched to Philadelphia and complained to Benjamin Franklin who promised to help fix their grievances. (Whenever Benjamin Franklin is mentioned in this chapter, you know a pointless story is coming.) The frontier vs. "eastern seaboard" is referred to in the book as East vs. West. The Regulations were protest movements that emerged in South and North Carolina between the government and the frontier settlers. In South Carolina, the people of the backcountry wanted the government to provide them with protection from the outlaws that tortured them. Only when the 'vigilantes' , as the book calls them, threatened to march on Charleston did the political leaders extend their protection westward.

[the paxton boys, gang fight with the Indians]

Westerers in NC organized their Regulation to protest the corruption of their local government, not the absence of one like the South Carolinans had. However, Easterners crushed the Regulators at the Battle of Almance in 1771, giving the North Carolinians with an enduring hostility toward the seaboard. Also, ethnic divisions caused greater problems among the people of the East and the West. Many English colonials regarded these new immigrants and settlers on the frontier as culturally inferior and politically destructive.

IV. Boundary Disputes and Tenant Wars
Basically all that's here is that colonies fought over their boundaries: the most serious of which was when people from New York fought against farmers from New England in Virginia known as Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys (isn't that a furniture/coffee brand?). Also, tenants in this area turned against their landlords and refused to pay rent, and they formed mobs as well.

Oh, here's the coffee, it's delicious, buy it at Publix.

Yes! FINALLY I was able to fix the pictures.

V. Eighteenth-Century Seaports (1700s)

The population of the coastal cities was swelling at this time. Society in these areas was made up of many different levels of politically and socially unequal people. Commerce was managed by the merchants who tapped the wealth of the surrounding regions. Wealth brought these merchants political power which allowed them to dominate city governments. Artisans (skilled crafts workers) made up the middle class of this society. The free and bound workers were at the bottom of the social order. As for slavery, there was an influx of black male slaves at this time because Europe had reduced the supply of white indentured servants. As for the women's issue, women had a little bit more freedom than the women of Plymouth had, and women in the East spent less time on domestic work than did farming wives and daughters. Women had more occupational opportunities, but they still worked at home most of the time. The wealthy could entertain themselves by going to concerts or seeing plays. The wealthy though were dependent on commerce for the maintenance of their social status, which was extremely finicky. The ups and downs of seaport economies combined with the influx of immigrants swelled the ranks of the poor in all cities by the mid 1750s. City governments provided a type of welfare almost, and gave out small amounts of money, food, and firewood. Epidemics and fires occurred with greater frequency in congested seaports than in the countryside.

I'm putting a picture here because now I just can.

VI. Social Conflict in Seaports
A large diversity of people made up the cities on the eastern seaboard, which caused ethnic divisions that were enlarged by religious differences. Class resentment also stirred unrest. Impressment was the attempt by England to force colonial to serve in the British navy.

B. Slave Societies in the Eighteenth-Century South
So, basically this chapter talks about the slave society and the divisions in it, whether it be between whites and blacks or between African-born slaves and American-born slaves. Pretty much all of the black population lived in the South and worked on tobacco and rice plantations. There were differences between the lives of slaves in the Chesapeake and the Lower South region. Slaves sent to the Lower South were only one of many, and therefore had limited contact with the white population. Their work was also really difficult as it was extremely time consuming. [which I wouldn't know as I'm pretty sure I've never been to a rice farm]However, the "task system" of labor gave slaves more freedom because once they were one for the day, they were able to go home (unlike after cross-country or track meets). Half of the slaves in the Lower South were African-born. Slaves in the Chesapeake area lived on small plantations and most of them were African-born. They also had more contact with whites.
[so I really wanted to know what rice growing looks like, and the article where I got it from says this is black market rice, whatever that is]


I. The Slave Family and Community
The Africans who survived the Middle Passage and seasoning still had some challenges to overcome, such as not knowing anyone, speaking a different language, and a host of demands from their masters, which was basically covered in the last few chapters. The main point is that there were divisions among slaves born in America and slaves born in Africa. The native-born African Americans enjoyed better health, command of English, and experience in dealing with whites. There was also competition among them to start families. However, these tensions began to subside when the importation of slaves began to slow and the rate of births among native blacks started to climb. This calmed the African v. American black problem, and stronger family and social ties were able to be established. Elaborate kinship networks gradually developed, often extending over several plantations in a single neighborhood. The only problem remained that members of the family could be separated if they were sold to different areas. Native-born Africans brought with them distinctive African culture and merged it into the American slave communities.

(so I guess this a Maroon, I don't really know)

II. Slavery and Colonial Society in French Louisiana
I really wish every paragraph of this chapter didn't start off with some sentence about diversity. It's so cliche. Anyway, this section talks about French slaves in the Mississippi area. They were mostly men, and were imported by the French settlers there who wanted to try and create large plantations. The colonists in New Orleans pushed the French authorities into importing bound laborers through the Company of the Indies. This backfired in two ways, because first of all their crops were dreadful in comparison with the quality of the English and secondly the influx of black slaves challenged French control. This lead to the Natchez Revolt which caused the French authorities to stop importing slaves. The slaves in Louisiana enjoyed greater freedoms than any other slaves in the American south.

(This is a pic of the Natchez Indians)

III. Slave Resistance in Eighteenth - Century British North America
British North America had no shortage of slaves who resisted captivity, but they did it in a variety of ways. A popular, but somewhat dense, option was to run off into the forest in groups called "Maroons" which were pretty easily detected. Still others pretended they either had a low IQ or were lazy or only spoke Latin (I made that last one up). Some even walked through the woods for weeks at a time. More infrequently, black rebellion took direct and violent form, for example see the Stono Rebellion in South Carolina of 1739. However, slave rebellions were less common in America than in the Caribbean or Brazil because they "determined that the cons outweighed the pros", but who knows if this is really the case, because our book's authors are extremely opinionated.

C. Enlightenment and Awakening in America
Do we really need to discuss this? We did this last year in Euro. Oh, and check out the first paragraph to see how it mentions diversity. I wish someone would taboo that word for the rest of the chapter.

I. The Enlightenment in America
Fine, we'll do this. The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that started in Europe during the seventeenth century. For all of you who've forgotten or just didn't care last year, philosophes were French philosophers (although it sounds like 'philosopher' and 'sophomore' put together- that can't be right) To sum everything up, the Enlightenment only had an impact on the educated, wealthy members of American society. The outlook of most colonials was not affected, causing dissimilarity. (Ha, I found a way to avoid writing diversity by being diverse, how ironic). Rational Christianity emerged as a result of Enlightenment principles and led to the Great Awakening. These people and preachers stressed that God is a benevolent creator who wants to give salvation to everyone. George Whitefield is the need-to-know name for this area. He helped to fuel these revivals.

[that is supposed to be Voltaire, even though I don't remember if he is in this chapter or not]

II. The Great Awakening
See section above, I kind of just included it. If that bothers you, just read pg. 126 in the book.

III. The Aftermath of the Great Awakening
Whitefield left behind a raging storm of controversy. The popular ministers of the revivals came to be called 'itinerants' who traveled from town to town. Revivals intensified religious heterogeneity. We can just bag the rest of this section, because my laptop only has 39 minutes left before it dies, and everything important has been covered.

D. Anglo-American Worlds of the Eighteenth Century
This section is deep. Most Americans prided themselves on being English. Colonials established towns and named them after places in England, and modeled their government on political models. However, American society had developed in ways significantly different from that of Great Britain. It was better (in my opinion, and apparently also the authors' of the book [who are lacking]) to be English in America than English in England.

(look, it's an English sheep)

I. English Economic and Social Development
The multifariousness between England and America began with their economies. England had a much greater economy than that of America, where farming limited the scale of commerce, and kept towns on the smaller side in the 1700s.

[sorry about the really big words, but I'm using a thesaurus to avoid saying diversity too many times]

II. The Consumer Revolution
Even though the above is true, England's more advanced economy drew the colonies and the parent country together as a consumer revolution transformed the lives of all English people. There was an increase in consumer goods, that were imported and exported between both America and England for relatively good prices. Ordinary people began to own a wider variety of things.

Pointless things I've owned include furbies.

III. Inequality in England and America
There was an abundance of poor people in England. The contrast between the luxuries enjoyed by the wealthy few Londoners and the misery of the many disquieted colonial observers. England had deep class distinctions between the wealthy and the poor. England's gentlemen also held political power. In the colonies, even the wealthiest colonial families lived in far less magnificence than their English counterparts. The lower class in England was more numerous than those in America and was worse off. This was because there was cheap land and labor was scarce. Colonials were both fascinated and repelled by English society. They were impressed by the luxurious lifestyles of the upper-class, but recognized the idleness and corruption of society as a sign of a degenerate nation.

IV. Politics in England and America
Colonials thought that the 'balanced constitution' that England was supposed to operate on was a great idea, but the reality of the fact was that the English constitution was mocked. The monarch bribed people to vote for its executive members in Parliament. Royal patronage was used to manipulate parliamentary elections. Basically England's balanced constitution was supposed to give order of English society some measure of representation for the common people, but the Crown was able to bribe members of Parliament, and therefore many large cities had no reps, alas. Americans liked to think that their colonial governments mirrored the ideal English constitution. The structure was similar, but underneath the facade royal governors had much more power than the English Crown, but they could not abuse it because there were too many voters in America to bribe. Representation was also apportioned according to population far more equitably than in England.

(that's an American mansion, but let's pretend it's in England okay?)

V. The Imperial System before 1760
The English thought about their colonies little, nor did they understand them. The British waved off the American colonies and believed the colonials to be less civilized than themselves (ha but we so owned them in the Revolution). The English system of administration in the colonies was disorganized and indifferent. Parliament made no real efforts to assert its authority in America. The very weakness of imperial oversight left Americans with a great deal of freedom. Most Americans obeyed imperial regulations: only sugar, molasses, and tea were routinely smuggled. But then changes began to occur, which the book merely hints at in this section.

E. Toward the Seven Years' War
1754. That's the only important print in this introduction.

(this is what happens when you Google 1754)

I. The Albany Congress
The British had chat with the Iroquois because they wanted the Iroquois backing if war broke out between the English and the French. The Iroquois pretty much remained neutral because if the English won they would probably take over Indian land and raise the prices of the goods they sold. Benjamin Franklin (who is mentioned several times in the chapter, but only once here, because all the sentences about him were asinine) presented to the other colonial delegates a plan for the different colonies to unite for the defense of everyone. No one really went for this. However, the book does provide us with THE weirdest and most awkward quote I've ever read.

II. Washington at Fort Necessity
Washington tried to lead an expedition against the French Fort Duquesne, but failed. The book says "Washington had no future as a soldier". Clearly, that was not the case. I don't know if the authors of the book skipped school the day they taught about Washington, or they think they're witty or funny, which they are neither. They're just annoying.

(this one's a winner)
That's about it. The closing statement just explains that these backcountry wars were turning global. Also, those wars would alter the basic relationship between colonials and their parent nation. Yay, the end! Sorry for the novel.