Chapter+4+Outlines+P2

American Life in the Seventeenth Century (1607-1692)

I. The Unhealthy Chesapeake > a) High disease and death rate, grew slowly at first. Families hard to achieve > b) Acquired immunities, more women allowed more families II. The Tobacco Economy > a) Tobacco = huge industry. Used indentured servants. > b) Headright system in MD&VA ensured huge land gains. “white slaves” became dependent on masters III. Frustrated Freedmen and Bacon’s Rebellion > a) Massive amount of poor, single men. Nathaniel Bacon lead’s rebellion against Virginia, resented Govn. Will Berkeley’s Indian policies. Slaughtered Indians, Torched Jamestown, and ran out the Govn > b) Bacon died of disease, Govn crushes rebellion. Begins search for slaves IV. Colonial Slavery > a) 10 mil African slaves to the New World in 3 centuries, ~400k end up in Nor Amer > b)African coastal tribes captured the slaves and traded them with English merchants > c) Less poor and fear of mutiny lead to importation of African slaves. Supply of slaves rose steeply by mid 1680s. Most came from West Africa, across middle passage, and sold at auctions > d) Clear laws developed discerning between slave and servant beginning 1662 > e) 1750 - black slaves = half of VA population V. Africans in America > a) Deep South perilous for slaves, Chesapeake easier. Tobacco less demanding, families became possible, blacks perpetuated though reproduction > b) Contributed culture, Gullah (language for Sou Caro islanders), music, and labor VI. Southern Society > a) Huge gaps in Southern economy, ruled by First Families of Virginia, hard work on plantation control and servant management > b) Small farmers = largest social group > landless whites >indentured servants>slaves > c) Few cities, life around the plantation VII. The New England Family > a) Clean air and cool temp favored New England, family = strong influence. Early marriages, large and stable families > b) Women possessed less rights, though had some (domestic, midwifery). Divorce rare VIII. Life in the New England Towns > a) Tight knit society, small towns and farms. Society grew in an orderly fashion. Land grants from proprietors. Towns with >50people required elementary school, ~50% literacy > b) Puritans ran their own church, democracy in government and church IX. The Half-Way Covenant and the Salem Witch Trials > a) Half-Way covenant= a solution to waning membership and Puritan belief. admitted baptism but not “full communion” to children of existing members. Increased participation, diluted purity > b) Witch hunt in Salem, legal lynching of women in 1692. Accused mostly higher status then accusers. Ended 1693 X. The New England Way of Life > a) Became known for frugality and work ethic. Stony soil, poor immigration. Extreme climates. Contradicted Indian’s viewpoints, imported domestic animals, emphasis on the sea for life (fishing) > b) Many emigrants spread New England ways of thinking XI. The Early Settlers’ Days and Ways > a) Seasons, gender, and status determined most behavior. Comfortable living, strong middle class, attempts at suppression of poor -Taylor Good