Awakenings & Enlightenments

pp. 91-98

Pattern of Religions Variety in colonial America Church of England in VA, MD, NY, NC, SC, GA Increased variety in Christian denominations Catholics & Jews remained religious minorities

& suffered persecution

The Great Awakening Concerns about declining piety & increased

secularism Increased religious fervor, 1730s-1740s Esp. appealed to women & younger sons

Great Awakening Evangelists

John & Charles Wesley, founders of Methodism George Whitefield Jonathan Edwards

Led to divisions between “New Light” revivalists & “Old Light” traditionalists

Enlightenment Result of scientific & intellectual discoveries In competition with the Great Awakening

Natural laws Human reason

Created progress & advanced knowledge Scientific inquiry

Enlightenment Increased emphasis on the importance of

education, politics, & government Encouraged one to look at oneself, rather than

look to God for guidance

Education Emphasis on education in colonies, but work

often interfered MA law in 1647 required every town to have a

school Apprentices learned from craftsmen in cities Few went beyond primary years Literacy rates in colonies were higher than in

Europe

Education Males had more educational opportunities African slaves had few chances at schooling Most Natives preferred to educate their children

in their own way

First Colleges Tied to religion & training of preachers but had wide-

ranging curricula— Logic, ethics, physics, geometry, astronomy, Latin,

Greek, etc. Harvard, 1636, MA William & Mary, 1693, VA Yale, 1701, CT College of New Jersey (Princeton), 1746 King’s College (Columbia), 1754, NY

The Spread of Science Increased interest in scientific knowledge

At colleges By amateurs & scientific societies

Ben Franklin—Kite experiment proved that lightning & electricity were the same; invented the lightning rod

Cotton Mather—Inoculation against small pox

Concepts of Law & Politics

Royal government was far away, so colonies had a large measure of self-rule Voted for colonial assemblies Royal governors had limited powers Colonies largely were independent of Parliament

“little parliaments” In comparison to England court procedures were

simpler & punishments were different Stocks, branding irons, whipping posts

Concepts of Law & Politics

Zenger Trial, 1734-1735 Criticizing gov’t & its officials OK if it is true Increases freedom of press rights

Chapter 3 Key Qs:① How did patterns of family life & attitudes toward

women differ in the northern & southern colonies?② Why did African slavery expand so rapidly in the late

17th century?③ Who emigrated to North America in the 17th century,

& why did they come?④ How did religion shape & influence colonial society?⑤ How & why did life in the English colonies diverge

from life in England?