1 Colonial Life Mr. Marston Dominion Christian High SchoolMarietta, Georgia U.S. History Fall 2009 Colonial Life

2 Population 1 million in 1750 Mostly rural and agrarian For exampleBarbados: 75,000 Canada: 73,000 Massachusetts and Maine: 250,000 Connecticut: 100,000 Virginia: 260,000 4 largest growth centers: New England, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Carolina

3 1750 All of the original 13 colonies were in existenceOverwhelming prosperity Buying and selling farms: made British America the largest land speculation in human history 1746, John Mason sold 2 million acres (largest transaction up to that time)

4 Observations Concerning the Increase of Making, Peopling of Countries etc. (1755)Franklin thought the population would double in 20 years. It had already doubled in his lifetime.

5 No one worried about boundariesPeople were encouraged to move and settle to difficult areas Example, 1732: Maryland invited Pennsylvanian Germans to take 200 acre plots to settle the area between the Susquehanna and Patapsco Rivers: inland district for Baltimore

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7 Additional SettlementVirginia invite settlers into Shenandoah Valley Creation of the Great Philadelphia Waggon Trail from an old Indian path: became a major commercial route

8 Virginia

9 Great Philadelphia Waggon Trail: From Phila to Kentucky)

10 Results from the Waggon RoadPennsylvania merged into Virginia Allowed for movement into interior Colonies lost some of their distinctive characteristics People became Americans Towns grew up along the Road: Frederick and Hagerstown Md, Winchester, Va, Charlotte, NC, Camden, SC, and Augusta, GA

11 Immigrants Scotch-IrishEscaped religious persecution (Ulster in Northern Ireland) Escaped economic difficulties “Their general equipment consisted of a rifle, the Bible , and the Psalms of David.” (Robert Garland) Had settled in Ireland by James I to tame the Irish: forced to accept Anglicanism

12 Immigrants: continuedGermans Protestants from SW Germany Came to flee religious persecution Rich farm country in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch) English colonists in Pennsylvania feared being “Germanized” *learned English and became assimilated into American society Ethnic and religious diversity existed together

13 Pennsylvania Dutch speakers today: Amish/Mennonites (Ancestors were from Switzerland

14 German style colonial home

15 Map of Colonial Settlement: (Brown is German and Yellow is Scotch-Irish)

16 Population continued to grow1700: 250,000 1750: 1 million 1775: 2.5 million Reasons: Immigration Birth rate: women married at younger ages Age 20: more men than women in colonies Children were important source of labor Families between 6 and 8 were not uncommon Greater possibility of babies dying in infancy

17 Population continued Childbearing could be fatal (infection and difficult deliveries) Infant death rate was lower in America than in Europe (1/2 of children in Europe didn’t reach adulthood) Why? People in America were spread out Productive and ample supply of land Fewer people lived in cities

18 Population continued Cities were breeders for disease (smallpox, chicken pox, dysentery) Urban dwellers would move and transmit disease to the frontier Farmers sold goods in urban areas picked up diseases The migratory nature of a soldier’s life enabled him to spread diseases/

19 Palatinate in Germany

20 Others: Convicts: 1717: Britain began sending subsidized labor to America (private business tied to shipping) Ships landed in Philadelphia or the Chesapeake with convicts and returned with tobacco, corn, or wheat Marginal planters regarded them as a good buy, if they had kills. Heavy labor: digging, shipbuilding, and ironworks.

21 Convicts continued: People hated or feared them Many were alcoholic and suicidal Many were missing ears and fingers

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23 Economic System British economic mercantile system (colonies were for the benefit of the mother country (England) was replaced by entrepreneurial capitalism By 1750, mainland colonies were the fastest growing parts of the colonial empire with a 500% economic expansion since 1700 Britain’s economy advanced 25% during the same period

24 Economic output 1700: total American output of goods was 5% of England/Great Britain 1775: It was 40%. One of the highest growth rates the world has ever witnessed.

25 Economic Positives Rate of expansion (40% per decade)Availability of land: lent itself to large families (more producers and consumers) Couples could marry early Living standards were high Food consumption was high Men ate over 200 pds of meat per year High protein diet made American men taller than British men

26 Economic Position Only 3 to 5% of middle aged men were poor1/3 of those under 30 held no land, but it was easy to acquire Any male who lived to 40 could expect to live in a household of median income and capital wealth America had become a middle class society b 1775

27 Economic OpportunitiesGuilds were not necessary to protect jobs due to shortage of labor Rare to find restrictions on entry to jobs Few skilled men remained hired employees beyond age 25 Acquired own farm or started own business No real class barriers

28 Growth of towns and citiesPhiladelphia Charleston: 8,000 people in 1750 Baltimore: Fasting growing city in America Boston

29 Country-House Culture (The Hampton, near Baltimore, MD)

30 Culture Folk (vernacular) Urban elite

31 Famous Families Byrd Carter Lee Randolph Fitzhugh

32 Drayton Hall, near Charleston, SC