American History I
Notes from 9/19
We talked about the colonial period to about 1750. The English had no real plan for colonization of North America; each of the colonies formed after Virginia and Massachusetts was founded for unique reasons and under different circumstances. Maryland, for example, was originally founded as a haven for Catholics. It was a proprietary colony, meaning a colony wholly owned by a private individual, in this case Sir George Calvert (Lord Baltimore). On the other hand, Pennsylvania, also a proprietary colony, was founded by Quakers who believed in greater religious toleration. As a result, Pennsylvania would become a refuge for people of many different religions. Rhode Island was formed as a break-away colony from Massachusetts; the founder of Providence, Roger Williams had been persecuted there for having less orthodox religious beliefs. Like Pennsylvania, Rhode Island became known for religious toleration. New York was originally a Dutch colony, but was taken over by the English and renamed from New Amsterdam in 1664. Georgia was founded in 1732 as a place for debtors who might have been imprisoned back in England. It was also established to create a buffer zone between the other English colonies and Spanish Florida.
The point is that the colonies more or less developed on their own, and took on distinct characteristics. While New England maintained a strong Puritan or Congregationalist dynamic, the southern colonies were far more secular in their perspective. The Middle Atlantic colonies (New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania) were by far the most diverse, and tended to be the most tolerant of different religions and ethnic groups. Additionally, New England began to take on a more commercial/manufacturing orientation, while the South remained heavily agricultural (and slave dependent).
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As the colonies
expanded, non-English immigration increased. The first two groups to come in were Scotch-Irish
and Germans. The Scotch-Irish were people originally from Scotland who had settled
in Ireland when the English took over Ireland in the late 16th century. They
were not happy with their experiences in Ireland however, because the English treated them
like second-class citizens. Many moved to the New World during the early 1700’s. As
Presbyterians, they did not fit in as easily, so many ended up in more tolerant
Pennsylvania. The Germans also had trouble fitting in, also because of their religion
(Lutheran) and their language. Many settled in Pennsylvania, and, like some Scotch-Irish,
in the "back country" areas of Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas. (The
German word for "German" is "Deutsch", which English-speaking
colonists confused with "Dutch." Hence, to this day "Pennsylvania
Dutch" is used to describe these early immigrant communities, even though they were
not Dutch, but German.) The important point is that these groups, as well as smaller numbers of Scots, French, and Swiss (not to mention the Native American populations and both slave and free Blacks) presented a host of challenges to the colonies, forcing earlier settlers to deal with issues like diversity, assimilation and religious toleration. |
The other important thing going on during this period is the development of an American intellectual elite. As small cities grew and people prospered, they began to take on English customs. Colleges were founded, printing presses multiplied, and music and arts flourished. Men like Benjamin Franklin became widely known not only in the colonies but in Europe as well. This flourishing had an important effect on how the colonists look at themselves (as equals to the British rather than inferiors) and is one of the factors that ultimately leads to the independence movement.
