Chapter 2
US AS A BRITISH COLONY British Colonization of the Americas
B
ritish colonization of the Americas (including colonization by both the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland before the Acts of Union, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1!" began in 1#! in $amestown, %irginia and reached its &ea' when colonies had been established throughout the Americas )he English, and later the British, were among the most im&ortant colonizer colonizers s of the Americas, Americas, and their American American em&ire came to ri*al the S&anish S&anish American American colonies colonies in military and economic might
Types of Colonies )hree ty&es of colonies e+isted in the British Em&ire in America during the height of its &ower in the eighteenth century )hese were charter colonies, &ro&rietary colonies and ro yal colonies 1
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Charter Colonies: harter Colonies: harter colony is one of the three classes of colonial go*ernment established in the 1th century English colonies in -orth America America )he colonies of .hode /sland, onnecticut, and 0assachusetts Bay were charter colonies /n a charter colony, the King granted a charter to the colonial go*ernment establishing the rules under which the colony was to be go*erned )he charters of .hode /sland and onnecticut granted the colonists significantly more &olitical liberty than other colonies .hode /sland and onnecticut continued to use their colonial charters as their State constitutions after the American .e*olution roprietary Colonies: Colonies: /n the British Em&ire, all land belonged to the 'ing, and it was his &rerogati*e to di*ide )herefore all colonial &ro&erties were &artitioned by royal charter into one of four ty&es2 ty&es2 proprietary, proprietary, royal, royal, !oint stoc", stoc", or co#enant co#enant King harles // used the &ro&rietary solution to reward allies and focus his own attention on Britain itself 3e offered his friends colonial charters which facilitated &ri*ate in*estment and colonial self4go*ernment )he charters made the &ro&rietor the effecti*e ruler, albeit one ultimately res&onsible to English law and the 'ing harles // ga*e -ew -etherlands to his younger brother )he 5u'e of 6or', who named it -ew 6or' 6or' 3e ga*e an area to his &olitical ally 7illiam 8enn who named it 8ennsyl*ania Royal$Cro%n Colonies: rown, Colonies: rown, or royal, colonies were ruled by a go*ernor a&&ointed by the monarch By the middle of the 1:th century, the so*ereign a&&ointed royal go*ernors on the ad*ice of the Secretary of State for the olonies Under the name of ;royal colony<, the first of what would later become 'nown as rown colonies was the English olony of %irginia in the &resent4day United States, after the rown, in 1#=, re*o'ed the royal charter it had granted to the %irginia om&any, ta'ing o*er direct administration
After the end of the -a&oleonic 7ars (1>!9?1>1@", British territories in the Americas Americas were slowly granted granted more res&onsible res&onsible go*ernment go*ernment /n 1>9> the 5urham 5urham .e&ort recommended recommended full res&onsibl res&onsible e go*ernment for anada but this did not get fully im&lemented for another decade E*entually with the onfederation of anada, the anadian colonies were granted a significant amount of autonomy and became a self4go*erning 5ominion in 1># ther colonies in the rest of the Americas followed at a much slower &ace /n this way, two countries in -orth America, ten in the aribbean, and one in South America ha*e ha*e rece recei* i*ed ed thei theirr inde inde&e &end nden ence ce from from the the Unit United ed King Kingdo dom m All of thes these e are are memb member ers s of the the ommonwealth of -ations and nine are ommonwealth realms )he eight remaining British o*erseas territories in the Americas ha*e *arying degrees of self4go*ernment
British colonies in North America )he Kingdom of Great Britain acuired the Crench colony of Acadia in 119 and then anada and the S&anish colony of Clorida in 1#9 After being renamed the 8ro*ince of Duebec, the former Crench anada was di*ided in two 8ro*inces, the anadas, consisting of the old settled country of ower anada (today Duebec" and the newly settled U&&er anada (today ntario" /n the north, the 3udsonFs Bay om&any acti*ely traded for fur with the indigenous &eo&les, and had com&eted with Crench, Aboriginal, and 0etis fur traders )he com&any came to control the entire drainage basin of 3udson Bay called .u&ertFs and )he small &art of the 3udson Bay drainage south of the =:th &arallel went to the United States in the Anglo4American Anglo4American on*ention of 1>1>
US As a British Colony & '()* )hirteen of Great BritainFs colonies rebelled with the American .e*olutionary 7ar, beginning in 1@, &rimarily o*er re&resentation, local laws and ta+ issues, and established the United States of America, which was recognised internationally with the signing of the )reaty of 8aris on 9 Se&tember 1>9
)he British olonies in -orth America, 1#9?1@
Great Britain also colonised the west coast of -orth America, indirectly *ia the 3udsonFs Bay om&any licenses west of the .oc'y 0ountains, the olumbia 5istrict and -ew aledonia fur district, most of which were ointly claimed as the regon ountry by the United States from 1>1> until the =:th &arallel was established as the international boundary west of the .oc'ies by the regon )reaty of 1>=# )he olony of %ancou*er /sland, founded in 1>=:, and the olony of British olumbia, founded in 1>@>, were combined in 1>## with the name olony of British olumbia until oining onfederation in 1>1 British olumbia also was e+&anded with the inclusion of the Sti'ine )erritory in 1>#9, and u&on oining onfederation with the addition of the 8eace .i*er Bloc', formerly &art of .u&ertFs and /n 1>#, the colonies of -ew Brunswic', -o*a Scotia, and the 8ro*ince of anada (the southern &ortion of modern4day ntario and Duebec" combined to form a self4go*erning dominion, named anada, within the British Em&ire (the term ;'ingdom< was a*oided so as to not &ro*o'e the United States" Duebec (including what is now the southern &ortion of ntario" and -o*a Scotia (including what is now -ew Brunswic' and 8rince Edward /sland" had been ceded to Britain by the Crench )he colonies of 8rince 8rince Edward Edward /sland /sland and British British olumbia oined o*er the ne+t si+ years, and -ewfoundla -ewfoundland nd oined in 1:=: .u&ertFs and and the -orth47estern )erritory were ceded to anada in 1>! )his area now consists of the &ro*inces of 0anitoba (admitted after negotiation between anada and a 0Htis &ro*isional go*ernment go*ernment in 1>!", 1>!", Sas'atch Sas'atchewan, ewan, and Alberta Alberta (both created created in 1:!@", as well as the -orthwest -orthwest )erritories, )erritories, the 6u'on )erritory )erritory (created 1>:>, following the start of the Klondi'e Gold .ush", and -una*ut (created in 1:::"
List of +n,lish an- British colonies in North America •
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.oano'e olony, olony, founded 1@>#, abandoned the ne+t year Second attem&t in 1@> disa&&eared (also called the ost olony" uttyhun' /sland, /sland, establis established hed as a small smallfort fortand andtradi trading ng &ost &ostby byBartholomew Bartholomew Gosnoldi Gosnoldin 1#!, abandoned after one one month %irginia om&any, om&any, chartered 1#!# and became the%irginia the %irginia olonyi olonyin 1#= ondon om&any $amestown, %irginia, %irginia, founded 1#! (briefly abandoned in 1#1!" Bermuda,, islands located in the -orth Atlantic, Bermuda Atlantic, first settled in 1#!: by the ondon %irginia %irginia om&anyI administration &assed in 1#1@ to theSomers the Somers /sles om&any, om&any, formed by the same shareholders Known Known officially officially as the Somers /sles, they remain today a British o*erseas territory territory itie of 3enrico&olis, 3enrico&olis, founded in 1#11 as an alternati*e to the swam&y $amestown site and was destroyed in the/ndian the/ndian massacre of 1# 1# 8lymouth om&any 8o&ham olony, olony, founded 1#!, abandoned 1#!> Society of 0erchant %enturers %enturers((-ewfoundland -ewfoundland"" u&erFs o*e, o*e, founded 1#1!, abandoned in the 1#!s BristolFs 3o&e, 3o&e, founded 1#1>, abandoned in the 1#9!s ondon and Bristol om&any( om&any(-ewfoundland -ewfoundland""
US As a British Colony &
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)he massacre of $amestown settlers in 1# Soon the colonists in the South feared all nati*es as enemies • • •
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-ew ambriol, founded 1#1, abandoned before 1#9 .enews, founded 1#1@, (abandoned in 1#1:" St $ohnFs, -ewfoundland, chartered by Sir 3um&hrey Gilbert in 1@>9I seasonal settlements ca 1@!Iinformal year4round settlers before 1#! 8lymouth ouncil for -ew England 8lymouth olony, founded 1#!, merged with 0assachusetts Bay olony in 1#:1 Cerryland, -ewfoundland, granted to George al*ert, 1st Baron Baltimorein 1#!, first settlers in August 1#1 8ro*ince of 0aine, granted 1#, sold to 0assachusetts Bay olony in 1# South Cal'land, -ewfoundland, founded 1#9 by 3enry ary, 1st %iscount Cal'land 8ro*ince of -ew 3am&shire, later -ew 3am&shire settled in 1#9, see also -ew 3am&shire Grants 5orchester om&any olony, (5orchester om&any &lanted an unsuccessful fishing colony on a&e Ann at modern Gloucester, 0assachusetts in 1#=" Salem olony, later Salem, 0assachusetts, settled in 1#>, merged with 0assachusetts Bay olony the ne+t year 0assachusetts Bay olony, later &art of 0assachusetts, founded 1#: -ew Scotland, in &resent -o*a Scotia, 1#:?1#9 onnecticut olony, later &art of onnecticut founded 1#99 8ro*ince of 0aryland, later 0aryland, founded in 1#9=
)he )reaty of 7illiam 8enn with the /ndians 8ennFs )reatywas ne*er *iolated •
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-ew Albion, chartered in 1#9=, failed by 1#=:?@!, not to be confused with -o*a Albion on the 8acific coast (see ne+t section" Saybroo' olony, founded 1#9@, merged with onnecticut in 1#== .hode /sland and 8ro*idence 8lantations, first settled in 1#9# -ew 3a*en olony, founded 1#9>, merged with onnecticut in 1##@ Gardiners /sland, founded 1#9:, now &art of East 3am&ton, -ew 6or' 8ro*ince of -ew 6or', ca&tured 1##= 8ro*ince of -ew $ersey, ca&tured in 1##= di*ided into 7est $ersey and East $ersey after 1#=, each held by its own com&any of 8ro&rietors 8ro*ince of 8ennsyl*ania, later 8ennsyl*ania, founded 1#>1 as an English colony, although first settled by 5utch and Swedes 5elaware olony, later 5elaware, se&arated from 8ennsyl*ania in 1!= 8ro*ince of arolina
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Advanced History of USA 8ro*ince of -orth arolina, first &ermanent English settlements in late 1#!!s (nearly a century after the failed .oano'e olony", became se&arate colony in 11!41 8ro*ince of South arolina, first &ermanent English settlement in 1#!, became se&arate colony in 11!41 8ro*ince of Georgia, later GeorgiaI first settled in about 1#!, formal colony in 19 -o*a Scotia, site of aborti*e Scottish colony in 1#:I British colony 119, but this did not &ermanently include a&e Breton /sland until 1@> 8ro*ince of Duebec, which had been called Canada under Crench rule anada was by far the most settled &ortion of -ew Crance Britain gained com&lete control of Crench anada in 1@:? 1#1, from the e*ents within the -orth American theater of the Se*en 6earsF 7ar I Crance ceded title with the )reaty of 8aris in 1#9 Became anada East in the 8ro*ince of anada, which also included ntario (U&&er anada" as anada 7est, from 1>=1 to 1># East Clorida and 7est Clorida, acuired from S&ain in 1#9 in e+change for returning uba, ta'en from S&ain in 1#1I the Clorida were reco*ered by S&ain in 1>9 Bac'woods areas almost unaffected by the Stam& Act risis of 1#@, which unified the thirteen colonies that formed the United States, not much for abstract &rinci&les, and grateful to the crown, they declined to send re&resentati*es to the ontinental ongress or to &artici&ate in any way in the inde&endence mo*ement After the Second S&anish &eriod, they were acuired by the United States in 1>1 /sland of St $ohn, se&arated from -o*a Scotia 1#:, renamed 8rince Edward /sland in 1:> -ew Brunswic', se&arated from -o*a Scotia in 1>= ntario, se&arated from Duebec in 1:1 as the 8ro*ince of U&&er anada until 1>=1, when it became anada 7estin the 8ro*ince of anada
Cur traders in anada, trading with /ndians, 1 •
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8ro*ince of anada combined the colonies of Duebec (ower anada" and ntario (U&&er anada" from 1>=1 to 1># olony of %ancou*er /sland, founded by the 3udsonFs Bay om&any at Cort %ictoriain 1>=9 .ecei*ed royal charter for the /sland as a colony in 1>=:, and merged with the colony of British olumbia in 1>## olony of the Dueen harlotte /slands, founded in 1>@, merged with the olony of %ancou*er /sland in 1>#9 olony of British olumbia, a'a the 0ainland olony or the Gold olony, founded in 1>@> from the -ew aledoniafur district and the remnant of the olumbia fur district north of the =:th &arallel (see below" )he colony was e+&anded with the addition of most of the Sti'ine )erritory(a'a Stic'een )erritory" and the olony of the Dueen harlotte /slands in 1>#9 olony of British olumbia, formed in 1>## from a merger of the %ancou*er /sland and 0ainland olonies )he name British olumbia was chosen for the newly4merged colony des&ite the o&&osition from %ancou*er /sland colonists
USA AS AN+N0LISH COLONY 1 9 = @ #
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8atterns of olonization 0assachusetts Bay olony -ew 6or' 8atterns of olonization in the ther Early olonies 8ortrait of the British olonies Early )echnology 0ercantilism, Salutary -eglect and British /nterference / 0ercantilism // )he ords of )rade /// -a*igation Acts /ndians in the 1!!s 8hiladel&hia Election .iot
US As a British Colony &
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1! Education
23atterns of Colonization )he islands of Great Britain changed greatly in the .enaissance, resulting in the hurch of England, the British i*il 7ar, and total transformation of economic, &olitical, and legal systems 6et through this time, des&ite &ressure from other nations and AmericaFs own -ati*es, a di*erse set of English colonies were &lanted and thri*ed )hese new colonies were funded in three different ways /n one &lan, cor&orate colonies were established by oint stoc' com&anies A oint stoc' com&any was a &roect in which &eo&le would in*est shares of stoc' into building a new colony 5e&ending on the success of the colony, each in*estor would recei*e &rofit based on the shares he had bought )his in*estment was less ris'y than starting a colony from scratch, and each in*estor influenced how the colony was run )hese in*estors often elected their own &ublic officials (An e+am&le of a oint stoc' com&any on another continent was the British East /ndia om&any" %irginia was settled in this way 8ro&rietary colonies were owned by a &erson or family who made laws and a&&ointed officials as he or they &leased 5e*elo&ment was often a direct result of this ownershi& harles // granted 7illiam 8enn the territory now 'nown as 8ennsyl*ania 8ennFs new colony ga*e refuge to Dua'ers, a grou& of millennialist 8rotestants who o&&osed the hurch of England (Dua'ers did not ha*e ministers and did not hold to ci*il or religious ineuality, ma'ing them a dangerous element in hierarchical societies" 8enn was an outs&o'en Dua'er and had written many &am&hlets defending the Dua'er faith 3e also in*ited settlers from other countries and other 8rotestant minorities, and e*en some atholics Cinally, royal colonies were under the direct control of the King, who a&&ointed a .oyal Go*ernor )he resulting settlement was not always identical to England Cor e+am&le, England had bro'en with atholicism during the reign of 3enry the Eighth, and the ld Caith was seen not only as religious heresy but the &relude to domination by other countries 6et 0arylandFs grant of toleration of atholics was granted as a boon from the British rown /n 1#9=, ord Baltimore a&&ointed George al*ert of England to settle a narrow stri& of land north of %irginia and south of 8ennsyl*ania as a atholic colony *ia a royal charter Cifteen years later, in 1#=:, he signed the Act of )oleration, which &roclaimed religious freedom for its colonists 5es&ite the original charter, 8rotestants later became the maority faith After ord BaltimoreFs death se*eral years later, 0argaret Brent, the wife of an esteemed landowner in 0aryland, e+ecuted his will as go*ernor of the colony She defied gender roles in the colonies by being the first woman of non4 royal heritage to go*ern an English colony
435assach6setts Bay Colony )he 0assachusetts Bay olony, another cor&orate colony, was founded as a &lace far from England where its religious dissenters could li*e )he 8uritans, a grou& of radical 8rotestants who wanted what they called a return to the faith of the Bible, suffered torture and e+ecution because they disagreed with the official hurch of England /n 1#!, forty4one 8uritans (who called themsel*es 8ilgrims" sailed for the new world )heir own contem&orary accounts show that the 8ilgrims originally intended to settle the 3udson .i*er region near &resent day ong /sland, -ew 6or' nce a&e od was sighted, they turned south to head for the 3udson .i*er, but encountered treacherous seas and nearly shi&wrec'ed )hey then decided to return to a&e od rather than ris' another attem&t to head south After wee's of scouting for a suitable settlement area, the 0ayflowerFs &assengers finally landed at 8lymouth in &resent4day 0assachusetts on 5ecember #, 1#! )hey called it 0assachusetts after the name of the /ndian tribe then li*ing there
assen,ers of the 5ayflo%er si,nin, the 75ayflo%er Compact8 7illiam Bradford, who was selected as a go*ernor after the death of $ohn ar*er, wrote a ournal that hel&s us to better understand the hardshi&s colonists endured, encounters with the -ati*e Americans, and ultimately, the success of the colony )he 8ilgrims agreed to go*ern themsel*es in the manner set forth in the 0ayflower om&act, which signed on the 8ilgrimsF shi&, )he 0ayflower After two years they abandoned the communal form of &artnershi& begun under the om&act and in 1#9 assigned indi*idual &lots of land to each family to wor' )en years later, the oint4stoc' 0assachusetts Bay om&any acuired a charter from King harles of England )he colony of 8lymouth was e*entually absorbed by 0assachusetts Bay, but it remained se&arate until 1#:1 A large grou& of 8ilgrims later migrated to the new colony of 0assachusetts Bay /n 'ee&ing with its mother hurch of England, the colony did not &ro*ide religious freedom /t only allowed (male" 8uritans the right to *ote, established 8uritanism as the official religion of the colony in )he Act of )oleration, and &unished &eo&le who did not go to their hurch
(3Ne% Yor" ther countries used the oint4stoc' com&any to fund e+&loration /n 1#!:, the 5utch East /ndia com&any disco*ered a territory on the eastern coast of -orth America, from latitude 9> to =@ degrees north )his was an e+&edition in the yacht 3al*e 0aen (;3alf 0oon<" commanded by 3enry 3udson Adriaen Bloc' and 3endric' hristiaensz e+&lored the territory from 1#11 until 1#1= /n 0arch of 1#1= the States General, the go*erning body of the -etherlands, &roclaimed e+clusi*e &atent for trade in the -ew 7orld )he States General issued &atents for de*elo&ment of -ew -etherland as a &ri*ate commercial
'9* & Advanced History of USA *enture Ct -assau was swiftly built in the area of &resent day Albany to defend ri*er traffic and to trade with -ati*e Americans -ew -etherland became a &ro*ince of the 5utch .e&ublic in 1#= )he northern border was then reduced to = degrees north, as the English had encroached north of a&e od According to the aw of -ations, a claim on a territory reuired not only disco*ery and charting but settlement /n 0ay 1#= the 5utch com&leted their claim by landing thirty 5utch families on -oten Eylant, modern Go*ernors /sland /n the ne+t few decades incom&etent directors4general ran -ew -etherland )he settlers were attac'ed by -ati*e Americans, and British and 5utch conflicts seemed destined to destroy the colony All that changed when 8eter Stuy*esant was a&&ointed 5irector4General in 1#= As he arri*ed he said, ;/ shall go*ern you as a father his children< 3e e+&anded the colonyFs borders 3e o*ersaw conuest of the one settlement of northernmost Euro&e, -ew Sweden, in 1#@@ 3e resol*ed the border dis&ute with -ew England in 1#@! 3e im&ro*ed defenses against -ati*e American raids, and the &o&ulation of the colony went from @!! in 1#=! to :,!!! by 1##= But in August of 1##=, four English warshi&s arri*ed in -ew 6or' 3arbor demanding the surrender of the colony At first, Stuy*esant *owed to fight, but there was little ammunition and gun&owder 3e recei*ed wea' su&&ort from the o*erwhelmed colonists, and was forced to surrender -ew -etherland was subseuently renamed -ew 6or', in honor of the British 5u'e of 6or' /n an attem&t to gain su&remacy o*er trade, the English waged war against the 5utch in 1##= )he English too' control o*er the 5utch harbor of -ew Amsterdam on the Atlantic coast of America $ames, the brother of King harles //, recei*ed the charter for -ew Amsterdam and the surrounding 5utch territory /n 1#9 the 5utch, led by 0ichiel de .uyter, briefly reoccu&ied -ew -etherland again, this time naming it -ew range After &eace was made, ending the )hird Anglo45utch 7ar, they agreed to return it to the English
93atterns of Colonization in the Other +arly Colonies )he territory of arolina, named after the British King harles /, was granted as a &ro&rietary colony to eight different nobles )he &ro&rietors di*ided arolina into two se&arate colonies 44 -orth arolina and South arolina Cour colonies were formed by di*ision from already e+tant larger territories 7hen -ew 3olland was ta'en to become -ew 6or', King $ames granted a &ortion of the territory, &resent4day -ew $ersey, to ord Ber'eley and Sir George artaret, while retaining &resent4day -ew 6or' for himself as a &ro&rietary colony Sir George had come from the /sle of $ersey, and the new colony was named accordingly Another &ortion of the territory became the crown colony onnecticut )his colony was also named for its nati*e tribe of /ndians A corner of 8ennsyl*ania which was not &eo&led by Dua'ers se&arated in 1!= to become the colony of 5elaware )his was gi*en the name of )homas 7est, )hird Baron 5e a 7arr, a nobleman under Dueen Elizabeth and a noted ad*enturer .hode /sland was a uniue e+&eriment in religious and &olitical freedom 0assachusetts banished .oger 7illiams after he began asserting that $esus hrist meant for the hurch to be se&arate from the go*erning authority )his dissenter from the hurch of England, and then from the 8uritans, became the first American Ba&tist After many ad*entures in other colonies, he bought land from the -arragansett /ndians for a new settlement 8ro*idence was meant to be a colony free from religious entanglements and a refuge for &eo&le of conscience 3e was later followed by Anne 3utchinson She had outraged Boston di*ines because she was a woman who &reached, and because she belie*ed that oneFs wor's were not always tied to grace, unli'e the 8uritans She also bought land from the /ndians n this was the settlement subseuently named 8ortsmouth, and afterward a dissident sister town, -ew&ort )he colony was &artially based u&on Auidnec' /sland, later called .hode /sland for un'nown reasons, and the entire establishment e*entually too' its name from that &lace Georgia was another &ro&rietary colony, named after King George /, with a charter granted to $ames glethor&e and others in 19 /t was intended as a ;buffer< colony to &rotect the others from attac's from the Clorida S&anish and the ouisiana Crench Because of this, Georgia was the only colony to recei*e funds from the rown from its founding )he laws in Great Britain &ut &eo&le in &rison for debt 0any of these &eo&le were shi&&ed from o*ercrowded ails to freedom in the wilds of Georgia colony America was already seen as a land of &ros&erity, and glethor&e ho&ed that the e+4&risoners would soon become honest and rich 3owe*er, few of the &risoners of ondon ails 'new how to sur*i*e in the new wilderness
;3ortrait of the British Colonies )he olonies are often considered as three grou&s2 -ew England (-ew 3am&shire, 0assachusetts, .hode /sland, onnecticut", the Southern olonies (0aryland, %irginia, the arolinas, and Georgia", and the 0iddle olonies (-ew 6or', -ew $ersey, 8ennsyl*ania and 5elaware" Sometimes the arolinas and Georgia are counted as se&arate from the hesa&ea'e olonies Each grou& had geogra&hic and economic characteristics -ew EnglandFs roc'y soil only encouraged small farms, and its agricultural o&&ortunities were limited )hus it focused on fishing, forestry, shi&&ing, and small industry to ma'e money .icher land in the Southern colonies was ta'en o*er by indi*idual farmers who gras&ed acreage )his created large &lantation farms that grew tobacco, and later cotton Carms in the arolinas also farmed sugar, rice, and indigo /n the 1th century, these were farmed by indentured ser*ants, &eo&le who would wor' for a &eriod of years in return for &assage to America and land 0any of these ser*ants died before their indentures ended A grou& of indentured ser*ants rose u& in BaconFs .ebellion in 1## After BaconFs
US As a British Colony & '92* .ebellion, &lantations began using African sla*es instead E*en after release from indenture, many of these white &eo&le remained in the economic lower classes, though not subect to the sla*e codes, which became more harsh as time &assed, denying almost all liberty to sla*es in the southern colonies By the American .e*olution, one in fi*e colonists was an African sla*e And the &roducts &roduced by sla*ery in the South were consumed and traded by towns in the 0iddle olonies and -ew England Cew &eo&le uestioned the sla*e economy )he 0iddle olonies had medium4sized farms )hese colonies also had &eo&le from many different cultures with many different beliefs /ndi*iduals in these states used indentured ser*ants, and later sla*es, but there was not the concentration of masses of sla*e labor found in the Southern colonies Another distinction lies in religious &ractices -ew England was mostly ongregationalist, with some admi+ture of 8resbyterian congregations and the religious non4conformists who called themsel*es Ba&tists )hese were all descendants of dissenters before and during the British i*il 7ar )he South was mostly Anglican, cherishing religious and secular traditions and holidays )he 0iddle olonies held small grou&s of &eo&le from 3olland, German lands, and e*en Bohemia, and they brought a welter of atholic and 8rotestant faiths Among the whites sent to the colonies b y English authorities were many Scots4/rish &eo&le from Ulster )hese had been al*inist 8rotestants in the middle of a /rish atholic maority, at odds both with them and with England )his minority settled in the frontier region of the A&&alachian 0ountains and e*entually beyond in the hio and 0ississi&&i country /n America their desire for land and freedom &ushed the colonial boundary westward at little cost to the go*ernment, and &ro*ided an armed buffer between the eastern settlements and -ati*e American tribes which had been dri*en away from the seaboard olonial frontiersmen endured a *ery harsh life, building their towns and farms by hand in a dense wilderness amid economic de&ri*ation and nati*e attac' Each colony de*elo&ed its own areas of edification and amusement, de&ending u&on the local faith and the local ca&acities )he culture of the South recorded early interest in musical theater, with harleston, South arolina and 7illiamsburg, %irginia as hubs of musical acti*ity A &erformance of .ichard ///, the first &rofessional &roduction of Sha'es&eare in America, too' &lace in -ew 6or' ity in 1@! And &reachers, lecturers, and singers entertained the colonists )heir commonalities were stronger than their differences All three regions shared a &o&ulation mostly deri*ed from the British /sles All had terrible roads, and all had connections to the Atlantic cean as a means of trans&ortation And all were tied to the Atlantic economy Atlantic merchants used shi&s to trade sla*es, tobacco, rum, sugar, gold, sil*er, s&ices, fish, lumber, and manufactured goods between America, the 7est /ndies, Euro&e and Africa -ew 6or', 8hiladel&hia, Boston, and harleston were the largest cities and main &orts at that time
)3+arly Technolo,y )he first wa*e of colonists used hand labor to culti*ate their farms, and established such land4 based crafts such as &ottery and tanning As later shi&s brought cattle and horses, draft animals became &art of the economy /ndentured ser*ants, and then sla*es 'idna&&ed from Africa, were im&orted )his was when larger &lantations began to be founded /n the latter &art of the eighteenth century small4scale machine4based manufacturing began to a&&ear /ndi*iduals started to dig for coal and iron ore -ew England used the latter to begin ma'ing building tools and horseshoes A new te+tile industry arose, de&endent in &art u&on Southern cotton 8owered by wood or coal and fed by the need for strong metal, household forges &ioneered new techniues of iron4ma'ing )he blac'smith and the tinsmith became &art of large settlements olonies started ma'ing mechanized cloc's, guns, and lead ty&e for &rinting
.35ercantilism< Sal6tary Ne,lect an- British Interference )he American colonies, entirely new societies se&arated by an ocean from Great Britain, belie*ed they had the right to go*ern themsel*es )his belief was encouraged by Great BritainFs Glorious .e*olution and 1#>: Bill of .ights, which ga*e 8arliament the ultimate authority in go*ernment A &olicy of relati*ely la+ controls or Salutary -eglect ended in increased British regulation resulting from the &olicy of mercantilism, and seen through the ords of )rade and the later -a*igation Acts /
5ercantilism
8arliament &laced controls on colonial trade in obedience to the economic &olicy of mercantilism )his was the idea that a nationFs economic &ower de&ended on the *alue of its e+&orts A country could use its colonies to create finished goods, rather than raw materials )hese could be traded to other countries, thus increasing the strength of the colonizing nation )his &olicy had been &ut forth by a Crenchman named $ean4Ba&tiste olbert /t seemed tailor4made for Great Britain S&ain had American gold as its economic base, and Crance had American furs England had neither of these But it had American cotton, molasses, and tobacco, as well as its state4of4the4art shi&s 8rior to the mid41!!s, the colonies had enoyed a long &eriod of ;salutary neglect<, where the British largely let the colonies go*ern themsel*es )his now ended //
The Lor-s of Tra-e
/n an attem&t to enforce mercantilist &olicies, King harles // created the ords of )rade as a new committee on the 8ri*y ouncil )he ords of )rade attem&ted to affect the go*ernment of the colonies in a manner beneficial to the English, rather than to the colonists
'94*
&
Advanced History of USA )he ords of )rade attem&ted to con*ert all American colonies to royal ones so that the rown could gain more &ower Under King $ames //, the successor to harles //, -ew 6or', -ew $ersey, and the 8uritan colonies were combined into the 5ominion of -ew England in 1#> 3owe*er, the 5ominion only lasted a brief time King $ames //, a atholic, was seen as a threat by British 8rotestants $ames was o*erthrown (he was technically held abdicated by 8arliament" in the bloodless Glorious .e*olution of 1#>> /n 1#>:, $amesF daughter 0ary // and her husband 7illiam /// too' the throne as oint rulers 3owe*er, the British 8arliament actually held the &ower )he 5ominion of -ew England was dissol*ed, the *arious se&arate colonies were reestablished, and the ords of )rade were abandoned (re&laced by a Board of )rade, a &urely ad*isory body" ///
Na#i,ation Acts
Beginning in 1##!, the 8arliament of England &assed the -a*igation Acts to increase its benefit from its colonies )he Acts reuired that any colonial im&orts or e+&orts tra*el only on shi&s registered in England )hey forbid the colonies to e+&ort tobacco and sugar to any nation other than England And the colonies could not im&ort anything manufactured outside England unless the goods were first ta'en to England, where ta+es were &aid, and then to the colonies /n the 19!s, )he Sugar Act established a ta+ of si+ &ence &er gallon of sugar or molasses im&orted into the colonies By 1@!, 8arliament had begun to ban, restrict, or ta+ se*eral more &roducts /t tried to curtail all manufacture in the colonies )his &ro*o'ed much anger among the colonists, des&ite the fact that their ta+ burdens were uite low, when com&ared to most subects of Euro&ean monarchies of the same &eriod olonists hated the na*igation acts because they belie*ed they would be more &ros&erous and rich if they had a free4enter&rise and no boundaries )hey also belie*ed that some *ital resources would not be found in Britain -a*igation acts was tree branch of mercantilism
/3In-ians in the 2.s In-ians of the 0reat lains: )oday, the area where the /ndians of all the Great 8lains li*ed is located from the .oc'y mountains to the 0ississi&&i .i*er 5uring the 1!!s, there were about 9! tribes that li*ed on the Great 8lains )hese tribes tended to rely on buffalo as their food source as well as other daily needs, such as clothing -ot only did /ndians, s&ecifically women, ma'e their clothing out of buffalo, but also out of deer 7omen would soa' the deer or buffalo and scra&e off the hair of the dead animal Also, /ndian tribes traded with one another )he amount of horses an indi*idual owned was a sign of wealthI /ndians would trade their horses for food, tools, wea&ons(such as guns", and hides Since the tribes s&o'e many different languages from one another, they had to use sign language to be able to trade with each other
13hila-elphia +lection Riot A riot bro'e out on election day in 8hiladel&hia in 1= as a result of the Anglican &o&ulation disagreeing with the Dua'er maority )he riot stemmed o*er a &ower struggle between the Anglican and Dua'er &o&ulation )he Dua'ers had a history of &olitical dominance o*er 8hiladel&hia )he German &o&ulation bac'ed the Dua'er *ote because of the Dua'er 8acifism which would &rotect from higher ta+es and ultimately the draft n election day, the Anglicans and sailors fought with the Dua'ers and Germans )he Dua'ers were able to see' shelter in the courthouse and com&lete the election )he Anglican &arty lost the election and @= sailors were ailed following the riot
23+-6cation As the &eo&le in the colonies through the 1!!s were made u& of &eo&le with different interests, they &ro*ided different sorts of education for their children Although there were commonalities 44 a rich family in any of the three regions might send a son to Euro&e for his education 44 &eo&le in different colonies tended to educate in differing ways -ew EnglandFs moti*es for education were both ci*il and religious )he good citizen had to 'now his or her Bible )his was the 8ilgrim ethos, set u& in o&&osition to what they saw as the ignorance im&osed by tyrants Both boys and girls were often taught to read the Bible by their &arents, &erha&s with the aid of a horn boo', an al&habet and syllabary co*ered by horn A law was &assed in 1#= in 0assachusetts that stated that if more than @! families li*ed in a community, a schoolteacher must be hired ()his was the beginning of the American grammar school, which initially taught atin, but later included &ractical subects such as na*igation, engineering, boo''ee&ing, and foreign languages" Education became mandatory in the 0assachusetts Bay olony in 1#= 0ost of the schools o&ened in the colonial era were &ri*ate )he second moti*e was that a hristian ought to be able to go*ern in his society (Go*ernment was the &ro*ince of godl y, &ro&erty4holding men, rather than women" )o obtain this youths had to gain a classical education 44 that is, one based thoroughly on atin )he first &ublic4 su&&orted school in the United States was the Boston atin School in 1#9@ /t had a rigorous education, and as a result, few students 3ar*ard was the first uni*ersity in America, founded in 1#9# and originally intended to teach 8rotestant clergy Because of the small number of &eo&le graduating from the classical curriculum, attendance was low Some &eo&le um&ed directly from the classical curriculum to the
US As a British Colony & '9(* Uni*ersity, sometimes entering 3ar*ard as young as 1= or 1@ years old otton 0ather graduated 3ar*ard at 1@, an e+ce&tion only because of his e+treme &recocity /n &ri*ate schools, boys and girls learned &enmanshi&, basic 0ath, and reading and writing English )hese fed the *arious trades, where older children were a&&renticed Girls who did not become ser*ants were often trained for domestic life, learning needlewor', coo'ing, and the se*eral days4long tas' of cleaning clothes i'e -ew England, the 0iddle olonies had &ri*ate schools which educated children in reading and writing 3owe*er, the basics were rarer )he further west one li*ed, the less li'ely one was to be able to go to school, or to read and write at all Ethnic and religious sub4grou&s would ha*e their own &ri*ate schools, which taught their own children their own fol'4ways /n none of the colonies was higher education certain Secondary schools were *ery rare outside of such maor towns as Boston, -ew 6or', 8hiladel&hia, and harleston )he hesa&ea'e e+&erience was different again hildren could only could only read and write if their &arents could And the South had few schools, of any 'ind, until the .e*olutionary era hildren in wealthy families would study with &ri*ate tutors )hough wealthy girls might learn Jthe womanly arts,F they would not ha*e the same curriculum as their brothers 0artha 7ashingtonFs granddaughter Eliza ustis was laughed at by her ste&father when ; thought it hard they would not teach me Gree' and atin because / was a girl 44 they laughed and said women ought not to 'now those things, and mending, writing, Arithmetic, and 0usic was all / could be &ermitted to acuire< 0iddle class children might learn to read from their &arents, and many &oor children, as well as all blac' children, went unschooled )he literacy rates were lower in the South than the -orth until about the 1:th century /n 1#:9 the ollege of 7illiam 0ary was founded, %irginiaFs first Uni*ersity As the 1>th century wore on, it s&ecialized not in theology for clergymen but in law /n 1!1, the ollegiate ollege was founded /n 11> it recei*ed funds from a 7elsh go*ernor of the British East /ndia om&any, Elihu 6ale, and was renamed 6ale ollege )hese were later oined by se*eral other uni*ersities, including 8rinceton in 1= /n the 1>th century, astronomy, &hysics, modern history and &olitics too' a bigger &lace in the college curriculum Some colleges e+&erimented with admitting -ati*e American students in the 1>th century, though not African4Americans /n 1#=!, )he whole Boo'e of 8salms Caithfully )ranslated into English 0etre, commonly 'nown as the Bay 8salm Boo', was &rinted in ambridge, 0assachusetts /t was the first boo' written in the new world )he Bay 8salm Boo' was the first metrical English translation of the Biblical &salms )his famous and influential songboo' was succeeded by a whole -ew England &ublishing industry Sometime after 1#> the first -ew England 8rimer was &ublished as an aid to childhood reading and s&elling An alternati*e to the classical curriculum emerged in Benamin Cran'linFs American Academy, founded in 8hiladel&hia in 1@1 )his body re&resented something closer to the modern American high school, offering *ocational education )his sort of school later outnumbered the classical secondary school 3owe*er, Cran'linFs Academy was &ri*ate as well, ma'ing such learning o&en only to those who could afford it 5uring this &eriod colonists attem&ted to con*ert -ati*e Americans to hristianity
Colonial Reli,ion 1 9 = @ # > :
)he hurch of England Great Awa'ening 0ennonites 0ethodism 0ethodism in olonial America 0ora*ians $udaism atholicism 5eism
23The Ch6rch of +n,lan)he use of the American colonies as a &ressure *al*e for Great Britain meant that the official faith was &oorly re&resented there, des&ite the &resence of )he Boo' of ommon 8rayer )he hurch of England had &relates2 the hurch of England in America had none E*en in colonies such as %irginia, which were officially Anglican, the churches were what later ages would call ;low,< without incense or great &om& -o Bisho&s reminded them of hurch authority )he wea' religious ties of England and America were li'e one more mile added to the miles of ocean between them
430reat A%a"enin, )he Great Awa'ening was a &eriod of religious re*i*alism in America 3istorians *iew the Great Awa'ening in four distinct stages )he first stage started in -ew England in the 19!s and lasted roughly thirty years)here were two &arts of the mo*ement, the 8uritan and the 0ethodist ne of the maor figures of colonial America, a scientist, a humanist, and a di*ine, was the 8uritan minister $ohnathan Edwards i'e his &eers, he was u&set about what was seen as a drifting away from the faith of the 8ilgrims 0ore English immigrants were bringing more lu'ewarm obser*ance, and a
'99* & Advanced History of USA greater adherence to form, rather than feeling Unli'e many of those contem&oraries, he embraced e*angelism, an attem&t to con*ert others to his own faith Some of his sermons sent &eo&le to their 'nees in tears, or to their feet, cheering for oy ne of his most notable sermons is titled ;Sinners in the 3ands of an Angry God,< where he used his scientific 'nowledge (he had written a treatise on s&iders" and his s&ectacular gift for deli*ery to woo his audience )he 0ethodist side of this Awa'ening was ignited by $ohn 7esley, and his former schoolmate, George 7hitefield 7esley came to Georgia in 19@, and first met with disa&&ointment 3owe*er, 7hitefield, friend to both Edwards and 7esley, was able to hazard se*en tri&s to America 3e also &reached to African4American sla*es, unli'e many of his contem&oraries
(35ennonites At the in*itation of 7illiam 8enn, some 0ennonites came in 1#>9 to settle in 8ennsyl*ania )his grou& was another attem&t to get to the truth of the Bible )hey angered their contem&oraries in German4 s&ea'ing countries by not ba&tizing infants, but only confessing adults )hey also &racticed a radical form of &acifism, not &aying ta+es, bearing arms, or ser*ing in any army ater grou&s of 0ennonites came to the US and anada from Switzerland, 8russia, the U'raine, and .ussia, with their own hymns and 8salters Among the branches of the 0ennonites are the Amish, who li'e their coreligionists use shunning as a form of disci&line
935etho-ism $ohn and harles 7 esley are credited with creating 0ethodism in the 1>th century $ohn 7esley was a cleric for the hurch of England 3e and his brother led grou&s of hristians throughout England, /reland, and Scotland )hese grou&s were &art of what is called the 7esleyan 0o*ement )hese small grou&s came to form what is 'nown as 0ethodism /t began as a society of the hurch of England, not a church in itself /t was resented and feared because it &ut its em&hasis on the laity, rather than a church hierarchy, and because it saw emotional con*iction as a confirmation of con*ersion ;7ho is a 0ethodistL< $ohn 7esley as'ed in a sermon ;/ answer2 A 0ethodist is one who has Jthe lo*e of God shed abroad in his heart by the 3oly Ghost gi*en unto himF< 0ethodists focused on bible study and li*ing a life free of fri*olity and lu+ury )hey were called 0ethodists because of their methodical a&&roach to religious study
;35etho-ism in Colonial America 0ethodism s&read to America in the late 1#!Fs .ichard Boardman and $ose&h 8ilmore were both &reachers a&&ointed by $ohn 7esley, that tra*eled to the new world in 1#: to start American 0ethodist societies 8ilmore started wor'ing in 8hiladel&hia, while Boardman wor'ed in -ew 6or' to s&read 0ethodism 8ilmore was more effecti*e s&reading the cause in 8hiladel&hia and e*en tra*eled into the south to &reach and &romote the society thers tra*eled across the Atlantic as wellI .obert 7illiams and $ohn King came to America without being a&&ointed by 7esley Crancis Asbury and .ichard 7right arri*ed in 11 Crancis Asbury went onto become a *ery &rominent leader in American 0ethodism George Shadford and )homas .an'in came to America in 19 Unli'e their hurch of England contem&oraries, 0ethodists were willing to &reach in fields, es&ecially in areas where no church had yet been built Also unli'e them, most of the missionaries named abo*e were lay ministers, men ordained after a &eriod of heartfelt con*iction, rather than years of seminary training )hese hel&ed s&read 0ethodism along the east coast leading u& to the American .e*olution
)35ora#ians )he 0ora*ians arri*ed with $ohn and harles 7esley in America in 19@ )he grou& left 0ora*ia and Bohemia due to harsh &ersecution for their religious beliefs and &ractices )he 0ora*ians wished to ser*e as hristian 0issionaries for the different ethnic grou&s in America )hey first settled in Georgia, then mo*ed to 8ennsyl*ania, and also -orth arolina )he 0ora*ians were dee&ly in*ol*ed with music )hey &racticed hymn singing daily, and some e*en wrote instrumental music $ohn Antes was the first American born 0ora*ian com&oser Antes was born in 1=! in 8ennsyl*ania 3e com&osed se*eral religious anthems )he anthems were more com&le+ than hymns, with the intentions of a trained choir or soloist &erforming them, rather than the congregation
.3=6-aism )he first grou& of non4hristians to enter the American colonies were Se&hardic $ews )his grou& of emigrants from S&ain and 8ortugal had first settled in .ecife, Brazil, then landing in -ew Amsterdam (the 5utch colony which later became -ew 6or' ity" in 1#@= )hough 3olland had a well4regarded $ewish minority, the go*ernor of -ew Amsterdam, 8eter Stuy*esant, did not want these $ews on his land 3e wrote a letter to the 5utch 7est /ndia om&any stated that the $ews threatened to ;infect and trouble this new colony< /n res&onse, the $ews wrote a letter to the com&any e+&laining that $ews res&ected the 5utch and were long4established citizens of their homeland /ndeed, some of the om&any were 5utch $ews )he om&any ruled that the $ews could stay, as long as they too' care of their own &oor and did not e+&ect hristians to gi*e them charity 5uring the colonial &eriod, $ews settled along the East oast and in se*eral southern colonies )here were established communities of $ews in Sa*annah, GeorgiaI harleston, South arolinaI 8hiladel&hia, 8ennsyl*aniaI and -ew&ort, .hode /sland )he oldest synagogue to this day was built by the Se&hardi $ews from the community in -ew&ort )his )ouro Synagogue, sanctified in 1#9, is still e+tant today )his building houses the $eshuat /srael congregation
US As a British Colony & '9;* )he $ewish &eo&le found it hard to maintain education, worshi&, and dietary &ractices with so few &eo&le A woman by the name of .ebecca Samuel e*en wrote to her &arents e+&laining that ;$ewishness is &ushed aside here )here are here Min 8etersburg, %irginaN ten or twel*e $ews, and they are not worthy of being called $ews 6ou can belie*e me that / cra*e to see a synagogue to which / can go< 0ore $ews did come to America, and all of them learned English and found their &laces in American society 6et they found it hard to go to Sabbath on Saturday when their neighbors were going to church on Sunday /n some colonies, they could not *ote, hold &ublic office, or own &ro&erty )hey stood out, and they were afraid of &ersecution as in Euro&e But here they could earn some money )here was no 'noc' at the door at midnight, no torture or forced con*ersion by the hristian authorities
/3Catholicism atholicism first came to the colonies in the 0aryland E+&eriment After the British ci*il war, King harles / issued a generous charter to ord ecil al*ert, a &rominent atholic con*ert from Anglicanism, for the colony of 0aryland )hat colonyFs tolerance of atholics was &reser*ed by al*ert until 1#@=, when 8uritans from %irginia o*erthrew al*ertFs rule 3owe*er, he regained control of the colony four years later /n Great Britain in 1#>:, the Glorious .e*olution o*erturned harlesFs successor, bringing in the reign of 7illiam and 0ary A new anti4atholic re*olt was ignited in 0aryland, and the rule of the al*erts was ended /n 1#: the .eligious )oleration Act officially ended, and the assembly of 0aryland established the hurch of England as the official state religion, su&&orted by ta+ le*ies )hough no atholic was 'nown to ha*e li*ed in the 0assachusetts Bay in the first twenty years of the colonyFs e+istence, this did not deter the 8uritan go*ernment from &assing an anti4clerical law in 0ay of 1#= )his threatened with death ;all and e*ery $esuit, seminary &riest, missionary, or other s&iritual or ecclesiastical &erson made or ordained by any authority, &ower or urisdiction, deri*ed, challenged or &retended, from the 8o&e or See of .ome< 7hen Georgia, the 19th colony, was established in 19 by a charter granted by King George //, itFs guarantee of religious freedom was &romised to all future settlers of the colony, ;e+ce&t &a&ists< .estrictions were immediately restrictions were im&osed on atholics for &ublic worshi& and it was a &unishable offense for a &riest to say 0ass atholics were denied the right to *ote or otherwise &artici&ate in the go*ernment of the colony that their ancestors had founded -either the 5utch nor English were &leased when, in 1#, the 5u'e of 6or' con*erted to atholicism )he 5u'eFs a&&ointment of /rish4born atholic olonel )homas 5ongan as go*ernor of the colony of -ew 6or' was followed by the &assage of a charter of liberties and &ri*ileges for atholics 8roceeding the ;Glorious .e*olution< of 1#>>, $acob eisler, a staunch anti4atholic, began to s&read rumors of ;8a&ist< &lots and false stories of im&ending Crench and -ati*e American attac's u&on the English colonies By the end of 1#>> eisler had o*erthrown 5ongan and ta'en the &ost of lieutenant go*ernor for himself 3e then ordered the arrest of all ;&a&ists<, abolished the franchise for atholics, and sus&ended all atholic &ublic office holders
13>eism )here was another faith which was influential, des&ite being hard to see by its contem&oraries 0any of the institutions of American society were influenced by the English belief of 5eism 6et, ;/n fact, most early deists o&&osed attem&ts to disseminate their *iews, because they felt that only the intellectually ualified could understand religion rationally< Some of the tenets of 5eism were also held by many hristian churches, including the belief in a well4ordered nature which re*ealed its reator, and belief in human reason But unli'e hristians, 5eists did not belie*e the Bible had any relationshi& to the 5i*ine )hey belie*ed that God did not s&ea' to anyoneI that nature was set u& li'e a watch, and set to run without further inter*entionI and that belief in miracles was madness )he list of 'nown American 5eists is short Benamin Cran'lin was one for a brief time thers include $ames 0adison, Ethan Allen, and )homas 8aine (A notable writing of this last4named is )he Age of .eason, which said that it was idiotic to belie*e in miracles" )homas $efferson was influenced by 5eism, as we can see from the 5eclaration of /nde&endenceFs referral to ;-ature and -atureFs God<
The Unite- States is still a British Colony )he trouble with history is, we werenFt there when it too' &lace and it can be changed to fit someoneFs belief andOor traditions, or it can be taught in the &ublic schools to fa*or a &olitical agenda, and withhold many facts / 'now you ha*e been taught that we won the .e*olutionary 7ar and defeated the British, but / can &ro*e to the contrary / want you to read this &a&er with an o&en mind, and allow yourself to be instructed with the following *erifiable facts 6ou be the udge and donFt let &rior conclusions on your &art or incorrect teaching, 'ee& you from the truth / too was always taught in school and in studying our history boo's that our freedom came from the 5eclaration of /nde&endence and was secured by our winning the .e*olutionary 7ar /Fm going to discuss a few documents that are included at the end of this &a&er, in the footnotes )he first document is the first harter of %irginia in 1#!# (footnote P1" /n the first &aragra&h, the 'ing of England granted our fore fathers license to settle and colonize America )he definition for license is as f ollows ;/n Go*ernment .egulation Authority to do some act or carry on some trade or business, in its nature lawful but &rohibited by statute, e+ce&t with the &ermission of the ci*il authority or which would otherwise be unlawful< Bou*ierFs aw 5ictionary, 1:1= Kee& in mind those that came to America from England were British subects So you can better understand what /Fm going to tell you, here are the definitions for subect and citizen
'9)*
&
Advanced History of USA ;/n monarchical go*ernments, by subect is meant one who owes &ermanent allegiance to the monarch< Bou*ierFs aw 5ictionary, 1:1= ;onstitutional aw ne that owes allegiance to a so*ereign and is go*erned by his laws )he nati*es of Great Britain are subects of the British go*ernment 0en in free go*ernments are subects as well as citizensI as citizens they enoy rights and franchisesI as subects they are bound to obey the laws )he term is little used, in this sense, in countries enoying a re&ublican form of go*ernment< Swiss -at /ns o * 0iller, # US =, =@ S t 19, 1=, #: Ed @!= Blac's fifth Ed
/ chose to gi*e the definition for subect first, so you could better understand what definition of citizen is really being used in American law Below is the definition of citizen from .oman law ;)he term citizen was used in .ome to indicate the &ossession of &ri*ate ci*il rights, including those accruing under the .oman family and inheritance law and the .oman contract and &ro&erty law All other subects were &eregrines But in the beginning of the 9d century the distinction was abolished and all subects were citizensI 1 sel Essays in Anglo4Amer 3 @>< Bou*ierFs aw 5ictionary, 1:1= )he 'ing was ma'ing a commercial *enture when he sent his subects to America, and used his money and resources to do so / thin' you would admit the 'ing had a lawful right to recei*e gain and &ros&er from his *enture /n the %irginia harter he declares his so*ereignty o*er the land and his subects and in &aragra&h : he declares the amount of gold, sil*er and co&&er he is to recei*e if any is found by his subects )here could ha*e ust as easily been none, or his subects could ha*e been 'illed by the /ndians )his is why this was a *alid right of the 'ing ($ure oronae, ;/n right of the crown,< Blac'Fs forth Ed", the 'ing e+&ended his resources with the ris' of total loss /f youFll notice in &aragra&h : the 'ing declares that all his heirs and successors were to also recei*e the same amount of gold, sil*er and co&&er that he claimed with this harter )he gold that remained in the colonies was also the 'ings 3e &ro*ided the remainder as a benefit for his subects, which amounted to further use of his ca&ital 6ou will see in this &a&er that not only is this *alid, but it is still in effect today /f you will read the rest of the %irginia harter you will see that the 'ing declared the right and e+ercised the &ower to regulate e*ery as&ect of commerce in his new colony A license had to be granted for tra*el connected with transfer of goods (commerce" right down to the furniture they sat on A great deal of the 'ingFs declared &ro&erty was ceded to America in the )reaty of 1>9 / want you to stay focused on the money and the commerce which was not ceded to America )his brings us to the 5eclaration of /nde&endence ur freedom was declared because the 'ing did not fulfill his end of the co*enant between 'ing and subect )he main com&laint was ta+ation without re&resentation, which was reaffirmed in the early 1#!# harter granted by the 'ing /t was not a re*olt o*er being subect to the 'ing of England, most wanted the &rotection and benefits &ro*ided by the 'ing Because of the 'ings refusal to hear their demands and grant relief, se&aration from England became the lesser of two e*ils )he cry of freedom and self determination became the rallying cry for the colonist )he slogan ;5onFt )read n 0e< was the standard borne by the militias )he .e*olutionary 7ar was fought and concluded when ornwallis surrendered to 7ashington at 6or'town As Americans we ha*e been taught that we defeated the 'ing and won our freedom )he ne+t document / will use is the )reaty of 1>9, which will totally contradict our ha*ing won the .e*olutionary 7ar (footnote " / want you to notice in the first &aragra&h that the 'ing refers to himself as &rince of the 3oly .oman Em&ire and of the United States 6ou 'now from this that the United States did not negotiate this )reaty of &eace in a &osition of strength and *ictory, but it is ob*ious that Benamin Cran'lin, $ohn $ay and $ohn Adams negotiated a )reaty of further granted &ri*ileges from the 'ing of England Kee& this in mind as you study these documents 6ou also need to understand the &layers of those that negotiated this )reaty Cor the Americans it was Benamin Cran'lin Esgr, a great &atriot and standard bearer of freedom r was heL 3is title includes Esuire An Esuire in the abo*e usage was a granted ran' and )itle of nobility by the 'ing, which is below Knight and abo*e a yeoman, common man An Esuire is someone that does not do manual labor as signified by this status, see the below definitions ;Esuires by *irtue of their officesI as ustices of the &eace, and others who bear any office of trust under the crownfor whose*er studieth the laws of the realm, who studieth in the uni*ersities, who &rofesseth the liberal sciences, and who can li*e idly, and without manual labor, and will bear the &ort, charge, and countenance of a gentleman, he shall be called master, and shall be ta'en for a gentleman< Blac'stone ommentaries & @#14@# ;Esuire 4 /n English aw A title of dignity ne+t abo*e gentleman, and below 'night Also a title of office gi*en to sheriffs, sereants, and barristers at law, ustices of the &eace, and others< Blac's aw 5ictionary fourth ed & #=1 Benamin Cran'lin, $ohn Adams and $ohn $ay as you can read in the )reaty were all Esuires and were the signers of this )reaty and the only negotiators of the )reaty )he re&resentati*e of the 'ing was 5a*id 3artley Esr
US As a British Colony & '9.* Benamin Cran'lin was the main negotiator for the terms of the )reaty, he s&ent most of the 7ar tra*eling between England and Crance )he use of Esuire declared his and the others British subection and loyalty to the crown /n the first article of the )reaty most of the 'ings claims to America are relinuished, e+ce&t for his claim to continue recei*ing gold, sil*er and co&&er as gain for his business *enture Article 9 gi*es Americans the right to fish the waters around the United States and its ri*ers /n article = the United States agreed to &ay all bona fide debts /f you will read my other &a&ers on money you will understand that the financiers were wor'ing with the 'ing 7hy else would he &rotect their interest with this )reatyL / wonder if you ha*e seen the main and ob*ious &ointL )his )reaty was signed in 1>9, the war was o*er in 1>1 /f the United States defeated England, how is the 'ing granting rights to America, when we were now his eual in statusL 7e su&&osedly defeated him in the .e*olutionary 7arQ So why would these su&&osed &atriot Americans sign such a )reaty, when they 'new that this would *oid any so*ereignty gained by the 5eclaration of /nde&endence and the .e*olutionary 7arL /f we had won the .e*olutionary 7ar, the 'ing granting us our land would not be necessary, it would ha*e been ours by his loss of the .e*olutionary 7ar )o not dictate the terms of a &eace treaty in a &osition of strength after winning a warI means the war was ne*er won )hin' of other wars we ha*e won, such as when we defeated $a&an 5id 0cArther allow $a&an to dictate to him the terms for surrenderL -o wayQ All these men did is gain status and &ri*ilege granted by the 'ing and insure the subection of future unaware generations 7orst of all, they sold out those that ga*e their li*es and &ro&erty for the chance to be free 7hen ornwallis surrendered to 7ashington he surrendered the battle, not the war .ead the Article of a&itulation signed by ornwallis at 6or'town (footnote 9" $onathan 7illiams recorded in his boo', egions of Satan, 1>1, that ornwallis re*ealed to 7ashington during his surrender that ;a holy war will now begin on America, and when it is ended America will be su&&osedly the citadel of freedom, but her millions will un'nowingly be loyal subects to the rown<A Stat 9#@I ct =, 1:#, 8ub :=4=@@, title R, Sec 1!1@(a", :! Stat 1#1I -o* #, 1:>, 8ub :@4#!!, title %//, Sec !1(u"(1="(A", : Stat :1:" 40/S14 A0E-50E-)S 1:> 4 8ub :@4#!! substituted Jestate or trustF for JtrustF where*er a&&earing 1:# 4 8ub :=4=@@ substituted in &ro*isions &receding &ar (1" J&ro&ertyF for Jstoc's and securitiesF and J9@ &ercentF for J 1O &ercentF and in &ar (1" Jfair mar'et *alueF for J*alueF and J&ro&ertyF for Jstoc's and securitiesF and in &ar (" designated e+isting &ro*isions as sub&ar (A" and added sub&ar (B" ECCE)/%E 5A)E C 1:> A0E-50E-)
'9/* & Advanced History of USA Section !1(u"(1="(" of 8ub :@4#!! &ro*ided that2 J)he amendments made by this &aragra&h (amending this section and section 1=: of this title" shall a&&ly to transfers after ctober , 1:@F ECCE)/%E 5A)E C 1:# A0E-50E-) Section 1!1@(d" of 8ub :=4=@@ &ro*ided that2 J)he amendments made by this section (enacting section 1!@ of this title, amending this section and section 1=: of this title, and renumbering former section 1!@ as 1!@> of this title" shall a&&ly to transfers of &ro&erty after ctober , 1:@F A new war was declared when the )reaty was signed )he 'ing wanted his land bac' and he 'new he would be able to regain his &ro&erty for his heirs with the hel& of his world financiers 3ere is a uote from the 'ing s&ea'ing to 8arliament after the .e*olutionary 7ar had concluded (Si+ wee's after" the ca&itulation of 6or'town, the 'ing of Great Britain, in his s&eech to 8arliament (-o* , 1>1", declared ;)hat he should not answer the trust committed to the so*ereign of a free &eo&le, if he consented to sacrifice either to his own desire of &eace, or to their tem&orary ease and relief, those essential rights and &ermanent interests, u&on the maintenance and &reser*ation of which the future strength and security of the country must fore*er de&end< )he determined language of this s&eech, &ointing to the continuance of the American war, was echoed bac' by a maority of both ords and ommons /n a few days after (5ec 1", it was mo*ed in the 3ouse of ommons that a resolution should be ado&ted declaring it to be their o&inion ;)hat all farther attem&ts to reduce the Americans to obedience by force would be ineffectual, and inurious to the true interests of Great Britain< )he rest of the debate can be found in (footnote =" 7hat were the true interests of the 'ingL )he gold, sil*er and co&&er )he new war was to be fought without Americans being aware that a war was e*en being waged, it was to be fought by subterfuge and 'ey &ersonnel being &laced in 'ey &ositions )he first two &arts of ;A ountry 5efeated /n %ictory,< go into detail about how this was done and e+&oses some of the main &layers E*ery time you &ay a ta+ you are transferring your labor to the 'ing, and his heirs and successors are still recei*ing interest from the original American harters )he following is the definition of tribute (ta+" ;A contribution which is raised by a &rince or so*ereign from his subects to sustain the e+&enses of the state A sum of money &aid by an inferior so*ereign or state to a su&erior &otentate, to secure the friendshi& or &rotection of the latter< Blac's aw 5ictionary forth ed & 1# As further e*idence, not that any is needed, a &ercentage of ta+es that are &aid are to enrich the 'ingOueen of England Cor those that study )itle # you will recognize /0C, which means /ndi*idual 0aster Cile, all ta+ &ayers ha*e one )o read one you ha*e to be able to brea' their codes using file #!:, which is about =# &ages n your /0C you will find a bloc'ing series, which tells you what ty&e of ta+ you are &aying 6ou will &robably find a 9!!49:: bloc'ing series, which #!: says is reser*ed 6ou then loo' u& the B0C 9!!49::, which is the Business 0aster Cile in #!: 6ou would ha*e seen &rior to 1::1, this was US4UK )a+ laims, non4refile 5- 0eaning e*eryone is considered a business and in*ol*ed in commerce and you are being held liable for a ta+ *ia a treaty between the US and the UK, &ayable to the UK )he form that is su&&osed to be used for this is form >>>, C/.8)A 4 Coreign /n*estment .eal 8ro&erty )a+ Account, you wonFt find many &eo&le using this form, ust the 1!=! form )he >>> form can be found in the aw Enforcement 0anual of the /.S, cha&ter 9 /f you will chec' the 0BFs &a&er 4 ffice of 0anagement and Budget, in the 5e&artment of )reasury, ist of Acti*e /nformation ollections, A&&ro*ed Under 8a&erwor' .eduction Act, you will find this form under 0B number 1@=@4!:!, which says US withholding ta+4return for dis&ositions by foreign &ersons of US real &ro&erty interests4 statement of withholding on dis&ositions, by foreign &ersons, of US Corm P>>> P>>>a )hese codes ha*e since been changed to read as followsI /0C 9!!49!:, Barred Assement, 8 @@ generated *alid for 0C)49!, which is the code for 1!=! form /0C 91!49:: reser*ed, the B0C 9!!49!: reads the same as /0C 9!!49!: B0C 9:!49:: reads USOUK )a+ )reaty laims )he long and short of it is nothing changed, the go*ernment ust made it &lainer, the 1!=! is the &ayment of a foreign ta+ to the 'ingOueen of England 7e ha*e been in financial ser*itude since the )reaty of 1>9 Another )reaty between England and the United States was $ayFs )reaty of 1:= (footnote @" /f you will remember from the 8aris )reaty of 1>9, $ohn $ay Esr was one of the negotiators of the )reaty /n 1:= he negotiated another )reaty with Britain )here was great contro*ersy among the American &eo&le about this )reaty /n Article you will see the 'ing is still on land that was su&&osed to be ceded to the United States at the 8aris )reaty )his is 19 years after America su&&osedly won the .e*olutionary 7ar / guess someone forgot to tell the 'ing of England /n Article #, the 'ing is still dictating terms to the United States concerning the collection of debt and damages, the British go*ernment and 7orld Ban'ers claimed we owe /n Article 1 we find the 'ing dictating terms again, this time concerning where and with who the United States could trade /n Article 1> the United States agrees to a wide *ariety of material that would be subect to confiscation if Britain found said material going to its enemies &orts 7ho won the .e*olutionary 7arL
US As a British Colony & '91* )hatFs right, we were conned by some of our early fore fathers into belie*ing that we are free and so*ereign &eo&le, when in fact we had the same status as before the .e*olutionary 7ar / say had, because our status is far worse now than then /Fll e+&lain Early on in our history the 'ing was satisfied with the interest made by the Ban' of the United States But when the Ban' harter was canceled in 1>11 it was time to gain control of the go*ernment, in order to sha&e go*ernment &olicy and &ublic &olicy 3a*e you ne*er as'ed yourself why the British, after burning the 7hite 3ouse and all our early records during the 7ar of 1>1, left and did not ta'e o*er the go*ernment )he reason they did, was to remo*e the greatest barrier to their &lans for this country )hat barrier was the newly ado&ted 19th Amendment to the United States onstitution )he &ur&ose for this Amendment was to sto& anyone from ser*ing in the go*ernment who was recei*ing a )itle of nobility or honor /t was and is ob*ious that these go*ernment em&loyees would be loyal to the granter of the )itle of nobility or honor )he 7ar of 1>1 ser*ed se*eral &ur&oses /t delayed the &assage of the 19th Amendment by %irginia, allowed the British to destroy the e*idence of the first 1 states ratification of this Amendment, and it increased the national debt, which would coerce the ongress to reestablish the Ban' harter in 1>1# after the )reaty of Ghent was ratified by the Senate in 1>1@
The American Re#ol6tion %as the chil- of +nli,htenment3 )he Enlightenment influenced the American .e*olution in numerous ways, with core Enlightenment ideals including liberty, euality and ustice leading the creation of conditions for the American .e*olution and the onstitution that followed 0any ideas and conce&ts, including natural rights, freedom from o&&ression, and inno*ati*e ways of thin'ing regarding go*ernment structure came directly from Enlightenment &hiloso&hers, and hel&ed to form firm foundations for colonialism and modern day America )he American Enlightenment, a time of intellectual change in the 19 colonies between 11= and 1>1>, &a*ed the way for many defining moments and e*ents in the countryFs history, including American /nde&endence and the creation of the American .e&ublic under the United States onstitution of 1>, and the Bill of .ights in 1:! )he ideas of Enlightenment thin'ers had a significant influence on the &hiloso&hical basis of the American .e*olution /Fll go o*er the 'ey ideas of the Enlightenment and how these ideas, which can be found in im&ortant documents from the re*olution, influenced the American .e*olution itself
Enlightenment /deas •
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•
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-atural rights 4 $ohn oc'e is well4'nown for claiming e*ery human has certain rights not gi*en to them by the law or society )hings such as freedom, &ri*acy, life etc Social ontract 4 Again oc'e, but also &rominent in $ean4$aues .ousseauFs writings A &olitical &hiloso&hy which claims that the go*ernment and &eo&le are bound under a contract, the go*ernment &rotects the &eo&leFs natural rights and, in return, the &eo&le allow the go*ernment to rule .e*olution 4 /f the go*ernment fails to &rotect the &eo&leFs natural rights, oc'e argued that it is essentially obligatory for the &eo&le to re*olt .eason 4 )he ideas of the enlightenment are su&&orted by reason, differing from &re*ious eras which relied on su&ernatural and s&iritual ustifications
)he American .e*olution )hroughout the 5ec of /nde&endence, the influence of the enlightenment ideas is made clear )a'e this famous uote for e+am&le2 7e hold these truths to be self4e*ident, that all men are created eual, that they are endowed by their reator with certain unalienable .ights, that among these are ife, iberty and the &ursuit of 3a&&iness )hese ;unalienable rights< are the nat6ral ri,hts oc'e tal's about Another uote re*eals the influence of the social contract on the countryFs founders2 )hat whene*er any Corm of Go*ernment becomes destructi*e of these ends, it is the .ight of the 8eo&le to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Go*ernment )he ;ends< the go*ernment destroys are the natural rights of the &eo&le )he 5eclaration of /nde&endence echoes oc'eFs ideas that such destruction ustifies a re#ol6tion Essentially, the &hiloso&hical basis for the re*olution is grounded in enlightenment ideas on natural rights and the social contract Since the colonists belie*ed the British go*ernment had destroyed
';* & Advanced History of USA their natural rights, they belie*ed the British had *iolated their &ortion of the contract )he American colonists therefore belie*ed the British go*ernment did not ha*e the right to rule them and decided to re*olt )he enlightenment also influenced the ideas behind the subseuent go*ernment created once the AmericanFs won the re*olution )he &olitical &hiloso&hies of enlightenment thin'ers influenced $ames 0adison and other writers of the onstitution )his is a whole other can of worms, howe*er, so /Fll sim&ly ac'nowledge the e+istence of such an influence 'ay, so letFs ust stic' with the big &hiloso&hical thin'ers of the mo*ement and their ideas and how they influenced America Benamin Cran'lin himself was an Enlightenment thin'er, so e*ery contribution by him was one by the Enlightenment Becarria s&o'e out against the torture and wrongful im&risonment of indi*iduals 3e also s&o'e out against long &eriods between the arrest of an indi*idual, their trial, and their sentencing Basically, if you li'e Amendments =4> of the Bill of .ights, you can than' Becarria 5iderot created the first encyclo&edia, allowing many of the ideas of &hiloso&hers of the time to s&read among the masses ideas
)homas $efferson wrote the 5eclaration of /nde&endence which drew hea*ily on Enlightenment
oc'e &ro*ided the idea that we, as humans, agree to go*ernment rule due to the fact that we are rational indi*iduals 3e su&&orted the basis for re&resentati*e go*ernment which would ser*e all of the &eo&le instead of only a 'ing and &erha&s a few nobles 0ontesuieu added on the idea of se&aration of &ower between branches of go*ernment h, and natural rights, he said, were rights that, to an e+tent, the go*ernment cannot obstruct (.emember though, loose li&s sin' shi&s, and the go*ernment can charge you for treason" )homas 8aineFs ommon Sense (1#" fueled the re*olutionary flames in the British colonies, stating that the colonies had a right to rebel against King George /// .ousseau declared that go*ernment was meant to &romote the common good 3eFs a big &art of why we, when electing officials in America, belie*e they should u&hold the laws, ideals, and *irtues of the land Adam Smith of Scotland s&o'e in fa*or of a free mar'et economy, gi*ing rise to laissez4faire and ca&italism %oltaire s&o'e for the freedom of the &ress and the tolerance of religions )wice arrested by the Crench go*ernment, the man also fathered deism, a *iew that said that God, li'e a cloc'4ma'er, created the uni*erse and started the mechanisms within it before allowing it to run on its own, ne*er interfering )his led to the Counding Cathers seeing God as a rational being who would su&&ort them in their fight for inde&endence )hatFs about all / can thin' of at the moment, but yeah, the Enlightenment was the time when &eo&le began to consider the idea that instead of a 'ing and nobility ha*ing absolute &ower o*er the lower classes, &erha&s all men were eual and should ha*e a say in go*ernment /tFs also where the idea of re&resentati*e democracy (A re&ublic li'e America or the modern UK" formed, allowing a suitable re&lacement for direct democracy (E*ery *oter meets, debates, and *otes on all matters )hin' Athens" which has only wor'ed in local settings, not national ones )he roots and ustifications of the .e*olution lie in the Enlightenment and its &hiloso&hers )homas $efferson was well read on a *ariety of subects, including &hiloso&hy /tFs one of the more fascinatingOnerdy as&ects of the conflict in that our leaders were attem&ting to im&lement the best of the best ideas )he 5eclaration of /nde&endence suns it u& best )he second &aragra&h, 'nown as the ;social contract< reads2 ;7e hold these truths to be self4e*ident, that all men are created eual, that they are endowed by their reator with certain unalienable .ights, that among these are ife, iberty, and the &ursuit of 3a&&iness )hat to secure these rights, Go*ernments are instituted among 0en, deri*ing their ust &owers from the consent of the go*erned )hat whene*er any Corm of Go*ernment becomes destructi*e of these ends, it is the .ight of the 8eo&le to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Go*ernment< )his is the ustification for the war $ohn oc'e went further than 3obbes by saying that the &eo&le had a right to o*erthrow their rulers if the rulers became abusi*e or *iolated this social contract in any way $efferson, Adams, and 7ashington went e*en farther than oc'e in attem&ting to do so
US As a British Colony & ';2* )his is a *ery big deal oc'e and $ean4$acues .ousseau wrote uite a bit on it )hat we began im&lementing it at the time of .ousseauFs death is something / always &oint out to my students Cor my undergrad wor' / wrote a whole &a&er on how the onstitution of the United States is the manifestation of the Enlightenment /Fm wor'ing on trying to find this 1@ year old &a&er )hat being said, the fundamentals of the American re*olution were based on Enlightenment thought 3owe*er, it is incorrect to assume that Euro&ean Enlightenment thin'ers merely influenced American thought and the re*olution Americans such as )homas 8aine, )homas $efferson and Benamin Cran'lin were ust as much a &art of the Enlightenment as oc'e, Adams, .ousseau and %oltaire oc'e and .ousseau de*elo&ed the Social ontract theory in which they determined that Go*ernment deri*ed its &ower from the consent of the go*erned $efferson would use these words and others from oc'e (life, liberty and &ro&erty" to es&ouse the American &romise of life, liberty and the &ursuit of ha&&iness )he United States fa*ored ca&italism, mo*ing away from the mercantile system of Euro&e and the insider corru&tion of Euro&e 5rawing on Crance, the Unite States was sure to include tolerance of all religions in its founding documents, while also ma'ing sure to a*oid the &itfalls of church in*ol*ement in go*erning /n short the American .e*olution is called a ;re*olution< because of the Enlightenment 7ithout the &hiloso&hy and ideology of the Enlightenment the .e*olution is sim&ly another war for colonial inde&endence )his is a *ery interesting uestion And the answer is not as straightforward as / thought )han' you /F*e been occu&ied researching the answer since you as'ed it Cirst thing /s that contrary to what is commonly belie*ed few literate Americans during the re*olutionary era had read $ohn oc'eFs second treatise on go*ernment oc'e was the father of the Enlightenment and liberalism Americans were not that &hiloso&hically inclined .ather they were angered for being o&&ressed by the 0onarchy, by being ta+ed without was not liberty or euality that they sought, but rather to be treated fairly as British subects $effersonFs re&ublicanism is what was in the air Go*ernment can only be legitimately deri*ed from the &eo&le and there was no natural so*ereign subect relationshi& su&&osedly ordained by God )he Enlightenment idea that reason trum&ed tradition is what &er*aded the entire &rocess of the writing of the onstitution But the 8rotestant Establishment of the time *iewed the enlightenment as anti religious 3istorian 5aniel Boorstin had significant influence when he wrote that the American .e*olution was not due to a &er*ading influence of the Enlightenment .ather it was the common e+&erience of the colonies of o&&ression / recommend loo'ing at the Bloomsbury Encyclo&edia of the American Enlightenment
American +nli,htenment )he American Enlightenment is a &eriod of intellectual ferment in the thirteen American colonies in the &eriod 11=?1>1>, which led to the American .e*olution, and the creation of the American .e&ublic /nfluenced by the 1>th4century Euro&ean Enlightenment and its own nati*e American &hiloso&hy, the American Enlightenment a&&lied scientific reasoning to &olitics, science, and religion, &romoted religious tolerance, and restored literature, the arts, and music as im&ortant disci&lines and &rofessions worthy of study in colleges )he ;new4model< American style colleges of KingFs ollege -ew 6or' (now olumbia Uni*ersity", and the ollege of 8hiladel&hia (now 8enn" were founded, 6ale ollege and the ollege of 7illiam 0ary were reformed, and a non4denominational moral &hiloso&hy re&laced theology in many college curriculaI e*en 8ur itan colleges such as the ollege of -ew $ersey (now 8rinceton Uni*ersity" and 3ar*ard Uni*ersity reformed their curricula to include natural &hiloso&hy (science", modern astronomy, and mathematics Among the foremost re&r esentati*es of the American Enlightenment were &r esidents of colleges, including 8uritan religious leaders $onathan Edwards, )homas la&, and Ezra Stiles, and Anglican moral &hiloso&hers Samuel $ohnson and 7illiam Smith )he leading &olitical thin'ers were $ohn Adams, $ames 0adison, George 0ason, $ames 7ilson, Ethan Allen, and Ale+ander 3amilton, and &olymaths Benamin Cran'lin and )homas $efferson eading scientists included Benamin Cran'lin for his wor' on electricity, 7illiam Smith for his organization and obser*ations of the )ransit of %enus, $ared Eliot for his wor' in metallurgy and agriculture, the astronomer 5a*id .ittenhouse in astronomy, math, and instruments, Benamin .ush in medical science, harles 7illson 8eale in natural history, and adwallader olden for his wor' in botany and town sanitation oldenFs daughter, $ane olden, was the first female botanist wor'ing in America ount .umford was a leading scientist, es&ecially in the field of heat
Terminolo,y
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Advanced History of USA )he term ;American Enlightenment< was coined in the &ost47orld 7ar // era /t was not used in the eighteenth century, when English s&ea'ers commonly referred to a &rocess of becoming ;enlightened<
>ates %arious dates for the American Enlightenment ha*e been &ro&osed, including the dates 1@!4 1>!, 1#@ to 1>1@, and 1#>>41>1@ ne somewhat more &recise start date &ro&osed is the introduction of a collection of donated Enlightenment boo's by olonial Agent $eremiah 5ummer into the library of the small college of 6ale at Saybroo' 8oint, onnecticut on or ust after ctober 1@, 11= )hey were recei*ed by a young &ost4graduate student Samuel $ohnson, of Guilford, onnecticut, who studied the Enlightenment wor's Cinding they contradicted all his hard learned 8uritan learning, he wrote, using the meta&hors of light that would soon be used to characterize the age, that, ;All this was li'e a flood of da y to his low state of mind<, and that ;he found himself li'e one at once emerging out of the glimmer of twilight into the full sunshine of o&en day< )wo years later in 11# as a 6ale )utor, $ohnson introduced a new curriculum into 6ale using the donated 5ummer boo's, offering what $ohnson called ;)he -ew earning<, which included the wor's and ideas of Crancis Bacon, $ohn oc'e, /saac -ewton, Boyle, o&ernicus, and literary wor's by Sha'es&eare, 0ilton, and Addison$ose&h Ellis has traced the im&act of the newly introduced Enlightenment ideas on the 6ale ommencement )hesis of 11>
Reli,io6s tolerance Enlightened Counding Cathers, es&ecially Benamin Cran'lin, )homas $efferson, $ames 0adison and George 7ashington, fought for and e*entually attained religious freedom for minority denominations According to the founding fathers, the United States should be a country where &eo&les of all faiths could li*e in &eace and mutual benefit $ames 0adison summed u& this ideal in 1: saying, ;onscience is the most sacred of all &ro&erty< A switch away from established religion to religious tolerance, was one of the distinguishing features of the era from 1@ to 1>1> )he &assage of the new onnecticut onstitution on ctober @, 1>1>, o*erturned the 1>!4year4old ;Standing rder< and the )he onnecticut harter of 1##, whose &ro*isions dated bac' to the founding of the state in 1#9> and the Cundamental rders of onnecticutI it has been &ro&osed as a date for the trium&h if not the end of the American Enlightenment )he new constitution guaranteed freedom of religion, and disestablished the ongregational church
Intellect6al c6rrents Between 11= and 1>1> a great intellectual change too' &lace that changed the British olonies of America from a distant bac'water into a leader in the fields of moral &hiloso&hy, educational reform, religious re*i*al, industrial technology, science, and, most notably, &olitical &hiloso&hy /t saw a consensus on a ;&ursuit of ha&&iness< based &olitical &hiloso&hy
Architect6re After 1>!, the Cederal4style of American Architecture began to di*erge from the Georgian style and became a uniuely American genreI in 1>19, the American architect /thiel )own designed and in 1>1=4 1>1# built the first Gothic Style church in -orth America, )rinity hurch on the Green in -ew 3a*en, &redating the English Gothic re*i*al by a decade /n the fields of literature, &oetry, music and drama some nascent artistic attem&ts were made, &articularly in &re4war 8hiladel&hia, but American (non4&o&ular" culture in these fields was largely imitati*e of British culture for most of the &eriod, and is generally considered not *ery distinguished
Rep6?licanism 8olitically, the age is distinguished by an em&hasis u&on economic liberty, re&ublicanism and religious tolerance, as clearly e+&ressed in the United States 5eclaration of /nde&endence Attem&ts to reconcile science and religion resulted in a reection of &ro&hecy, miracle, and re*ealed religion, resulting in an inclination toward deism among some maor &olitical leaders of the age American re&ublicanism em&hasized consent of the go*ernment, riddance of aristocracy, and fear of corru&tion /t re&resented the con*ergence of classical re&ublicanism and English re&ublicanism (of 1th century ommonwealthmen and 1>th century English ountry 7higs" $GA 8ococ' e+&lained the intellectual sources in America2 ;)he 7hig canon and the neo43arringtonians, $ohn 0ilton, $ames 3arrington and Sidney, )renchard, Gordon and Bolingbro'e, together with the Gree', .oman, and .enaissance masters of the tradition as far as 0ontesuieu, formed the authoritati*e literature of this cultureI and its *alues and conce&ts were those with which we ha*e grown familiar2 a ci*ic and &atriot ideal in which the &ersonality was founded in &ro&erty, &erfected in citizenshi& but &er&etually threatened by corru&tionI go*ernment figuring &arado+ically as the &rinci&al source of corru&tion and o&erating through such means as &atronage, faction, standing armies (o&&osed to the ideal of the militia"I established churches (o&&osed to the 8uritan and deist modes of American religion"I and the &romotion of a monied interestTthough the formulation of this last conce&t was somewhat hindered by the 'een desire for readily a*ailable &a&er credit common in colonies of settlement<
+6ropean so6rces
US As a British Colony & ';(* Sources of the American Enlightenment are many and *ary according to time and &lace As a result of an e+tensi*e boo' trade with Great Britain, the colonies were well acuain ted with Euro&ean literature almost contem&oraneously Early influences were English writers, including $ames 3arrington, Algernon Sidney, the %iscount Bolingbro'e, $ohn )renchard and )homas Gordon (es&ecially the twoFs atoFs etters", and $ose&h Addison (whose tr agedy ato was e+tremely &o&ular" A &articular ly im&ortant English legal writer was Sir 7illiam Blac'stone, whose ommentaries on the aws of England ser*ed as a maor influence on the American Counders and is a 'ey source in the de*elo&ment Anglo4American common law Although $ohn oc'eFs )wo )reatises of Go*ernment has long been cited as a maor influence on American thin'ers, historians 5a*id undberg and 3enry C 0ay demonstrate that oc'eFs Essay oncerning 3uman Understanding was far more widely read than were his &olitical )reatises )he Scottish Enlightenment also influenced American thin'ers 5a*id 3umeFs Essays and his 3istory of England were widely read in the colonies, and 3umeFs &olitical thought had a &articular influence on $ames 0adison and the onstitution Another im&ortant Scottish writer was Crancis 3utcheson 3utchesonFs ideas of ethics, along with notions of ci*ility and &oliteness de*elo&ed by the Earl of Shaftesbury, and Addison and .ichard Steele in their S&ectator , were a maor influence on u&&er4class American colonists who sought to emulate Euro&ean manners and learning By far the most im&ortant Crench sources to the American Enlightenment, howe*er, were 0ontesuieuFs S&irit of the aws and Emer de %attelFs aw of -ations Both informed early American ideas of go*ernment and were maor influences on the onstitution %oltaireJs histories were widely read but seldom cited .ousseauJs influence was marginal -oah 7ebster used .ousseauFs educational ideas of child de*elo&ment to structure his famous S&eller A German influence includes Samuel 8ufendorf , whose writings were also commonly cited by American writers
Li?eralism an- rep6?licanism Since the 1:#!s, historians ha*e debated the EnlightenmentFs role in the American .e*olution Before 1:#! the consensus was that liberalism, es&ecially that of $ohn oc'e, was &aramountI re&ublicanism was largely ignoredM1N )he new inter&retations were &ioneered by $GA 8ococ' who argued in )he 0achia*ellian 0oment (1:@" that, at least in the early eighteenth4century, re&ublican ideas were ust as im&ortant as liberal ones 8ococ'Fs *iew is now widely acce&ted Bernard Bailyn and Gordon 7ood &ioneered the argument that the Counding Cathers of the United States were more influenced by re&ublicanism than they were by liberalism ornell Uni*ersity 8rofessor /saac Kramnic', on the other hand, argues that Americans ha*e always been highly indi*idualistic and therefore oc'ean /n the decades before the American .e*olution (1#", the intellectual and &olitical leaders of the colonies studied history intently, loo'ing for guides or models for good (and bad" go*ernment )hey es&ecially followed the de*elo&ment of re&ublican ideas in England 8ococ' e+&lained the intellectual sources in the United States2 )he 7hig canon and the neo43arringtonians, $ohn 0ilton, $ames 3arrington and Sidney, )renchard, Gordon and Bolingbr o'e, together with the Gree', .oman, and .enaissance masters of the tradition as far as 0ontesuieu, formed the authoritati*e literature of this cultureI and its *alues and conce&ts were those with which we ha*e grown familiar2 a ci*ic and &atriot ideal in which the &ersonality was founded in &ro&erty, &erfected in citizenshi& but &er&etually threatened by corru&tionI go*ernment figuring &arado+ically as the &rinci&al source of corru&tion and o&erating through such means as &atronage, faction, standing armies (o&&osed to the ideal of the militia", established churches (o&&osed to the 8uritan and deist modes of American religion" and the &romotion of a monied interest T though the formulation of this last conce&t was somewhat hindered by the 'een desire for readily a*ailable &a&er credit common in colonies of settlement A neoclassical &olitics &ro*ided both the ethos of the elites and the rhetoric of the u&wardly mobile, and accounts for the singular cultural and intellectual homogeneity of the Counding Cathers and their generation )he commitment of most Americans to these re&ublican *alues made ine*itable the American .e*olution, for Britain was increasingly seen as corru&t and hostile to re&ublicanism, and a threat to the established liberties the Americans enoyed eo&old *on .an'e, a leading German historian, in 1>=> claims that American re&ublicanism &layed a crucial role in the de*elo&ment of Euro&ean liberalism2 By abandoning English constitutionalism and creating a new re&ublic based on the rights of the indi*idual, the -orth Americans introduced a new force in the world /deas s&read most ra&idly when they ha*e found adeuate concrete e+&ression )hus re&ublicanism entered our .omanicOGermanic world U& to this &oint, the con*iction had &re*ailed in Euro&e that monarchy best ser*ed the interests of the nation -ow the idea s&read that the nation should go*ern itself But only after a state had actually been formed on the basis of the theory of re&resentation did the full significance of this idea become clear All later re*olutionary mo*ements ha*e this same goal )his was the com&lete re*ersal of a &rinci&le Until then, a 'ing who ruled by the grace of God had been the center around which e*erything turned -ow the idea emerged that &ower should come from below )hese two &rinci&les are li'e two o&&osite &oles, and it is the conflict between them that determines the course of the modern world /n Euro&e the conflict between them had not yet ta'en on concrete formI with the Crench .e*olution it did 7Life< Li?erty an- the p6rs6it of Happiness8
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Advanced History of USA 0any historians find that the origin of this famous &hrase deri*es from oc'eFs &osition that ;no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or &ossessions< thers suggest that $effers on too' the &hrase from Sir 7illiam Blac'stoneFs ommentaries on the aws of England thers note that 7illiam 7ollastonJs 1 boo' )he .eligion of -ature 5elineated describes the ;truest definition< of ;natural religion< as being ;)he &ursuit of ha&&iness by the &ractice of reason and truth< )he %irginia 5eclaration of .ights, which was written by George 0ason and ado&ted by the %irginia on*ention of 5elegates on $une 1, 1#, a few days before $effersonFs draft, in &art reads2 )hat all men are by nature eually free and inde&endent, and ha*e certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any com&act, de&ri*e or di*est their &osterityI namely, the enoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acuiring and &ossessing &ro&erty, and &ursuing and obtaining ha&&iness and safety )he United States 5eclaration of /nde&endence, which was &rimarily written by $efferson, was ado&ted by the Second ontinental ongress on $uly =, 1# )he te+t of the second section of the 5eclaration of /nde&endence reads2 7e hold these )ruths to be self4e*ident, that all 0en are created eual, that they are endowed by their reator with certain unalienable .ights, that among these are ife, iberty and the &ursuit of 3a&&iness
>eism Thomas aine Both the 0oderate Enlightenment and a .adical or .e*olutionary Enlightenment were reactions against the authoritarianism, irrationality, and obscurantism of the established churches 8hiloso&hers such as %oltaire de&icted organized hristianity as a tool of tyrants and o&&ressors and as being used to defend monarchism, it was seen as hostile to the de*elo&ment of reason and the &rogress of science and inca&able of *erification An alternati*e religion was deism, the &hiloso&hical belief in a deity based on reason, rather than religious re*elation or dogma /t was a &o&ular &erce&tion among the &hiloso&hes, who ado&ted deistic attitudes to *arying degrees 5eism greatly influenced the thought of intellectuals and Counding Cathers, including $ohn Adams, Benamin Cran'lin, &erha&s George 7ashington and, es&ecially, )homas $efferson )he most articulate e+&onent was )homas 8aine, whose )he Age of .eason was written in Crance in the early 1:!s, and soon reached the United States 8aine was highly contro*ersialI when $efferson was attac'ed for his deism in the 1>!! election, 5emocratic4.e&ublican &oliticians too' &ains to distance their candidate from 8aine Unitarianism and 5eism were strongly connected, the former being brought to America by $ose&h 8riestley, the o+ygen scientist 5octor Samuel $ohnson called ord Edward 3erbert the ;father of English 5eism<
)he American Enlightenment /ntellectual and Social .e*olution Ale+andra has taught students at e*ery age le*el from &re4school through adult She has a BSEd in English Education Cor a thousand years, Euro&e had been li*ing in the 5ar' Ages until a series of &hiloso&hical, religious and scientific mo*ements hel&ed turn on the lights )he Enlightenment began in Euro&e, but uic'ly s&read throughout America in the 1!!s and hel&ed set the stage for a re*olution against British rule
)he 5ar' Ages 5a!or e#ents lea-in, to the A,e of Reason Since the colla&se of the 7estern .oman Em&ire in the fifth century, Euro&eFs mostly illiterate &o&ulation had been guided by su&erstition, fear of an angry God and ignorant obedience to authorities who may or may not ha*e their subectsF best interests at heart Unable to read the scri&tures or the law for themsel*es, their only o&tion was to obey or not obey 4 and challenging the authority of the 'ing or the church often resulted in a slow and &ainful death A thousand years later, that finally began to change A series of intellectual and s&iritual mo*ements &rom&ted some indi*iduals to suggest that humans had been li*ing in the 5ar' Ages A renewed awareness of old 'nowledge, combined with
US As a British Colony & ';;* de*elo&ments in science, theology and &hiloso&hy, hel&ed turn on the lights, so to s&ea' )his mo*ement, s&anning the 1>th century, is 'nown today as the +nli,htenment, or the Age of .eason
)he .enaissance, Scientific .e*olution and .eformation Cirst, the .enaissance reawa'ened 'nowledge of science, art and culture that had been lost during the 0iddle Ages and began to shift the focus of these disci&lines to humans rather than the di*ine 3igher rates of literacy then ushered in the Scientific .e*olution, and human 'nowledge increased ra&idly, laying the foundation for a scientific, rather than religious, world *iew At the time, it was contro*ersial to e+&lain the natural world in a way that didnFt in*ol*e any s&iritual force Galileo, for e+am&le, was im&risoned for the rest of his life after announcing that the Earth re*ol*es around the Sun, because religious authorities said he was challenging scri&ture Galileo was a religious man and didnFt intend to undermine the Bible But gradually, all of this new scientific 'nowledge did lead a lot of &eo&le to uestion some of the traditional teachings of their churches 0artin uther went so far as to say the established church was inter&reting the Bible incorrectly 3is &rotest led to the 8rotestant .eformation and bro'e the mono&oly of &ower held by the atholic hurch
The actions of 5artin L6ther insti,ate- the rotestant Reformation )he Age of .eason 8eo&le began to wonder that if the church had been wrong about the natural world or e*en the Bible, maybe it could be wrong about other things, too )he Age of .eason ga*e rise to a com&letely new way of thin'ing /nstead of trying to understand how God orchestrated e*erything in their li*es, &eo&le started to consider how they might sha&e the world around them )he result was a new em&hasis on scientific disco*ery and a boom in higher education .eading someone elseFs e+&eriment wasnFt as good as conducting your own Acce&ting what youFd been taught by others wasnFt as good as challenging and modifying their assum&tions )his was es&ecially true of the relationshi& between &eo&le and the institutions in authority o*er them 5uring the 0iddle Ages, Euro&eans were taught that God had orchestrated e*ents to &ut their monarchs in charge 7ho were you to uestion their di*ine rightL But then England was &lagued by &olitical turmoil, and a series of failed go*ernments in the 1#!!s disru&ted the English monarchy, &rom&ting Enlightenment thin'ers to consider how their &hiloso&hy might a&&ly to go*ernment
Enlightened /deas of Go*ernment /n 1#>:, an Englishman named =ohn Loc"e &ublished an anonymous essay titled )wo )reatises of Go*ernment /n the first treatise, oc'e argued that no monarchy had a di*ine right to e+istI 'ings held &ower by the luc' of their birth oc'eFs second treatise, stating that go*ernments should only e+ist by the consent of the go*erned, was more influential in America As you might imagine, oc'eFs ideas were un&o&ular with the &eo&le who held &ower in England, and he ne*er ac'nowledged that he was the author of the )wo )reatises
Ben!amin @ran"lin %as a ma!or fi,6re -6rin, the American +nli,htenment ther Euro&eans contributed enlightened ideas of go*ernment, as well )he Baron de 0ontesuieu &ro&osed that society might benefit from a se&aration of go*ernment &owers $ean4$acues .ousseau went so far as to suggest that society should be ruled by the Jgeneral willF of the &eo&le, essentially ad*ocating for direct democracy
)he American Enlightenment )he Enlightenment reached the colonies through the &ort cities At first, such &hiloso&hy circulated only among the educated elite )hen, Benamin Cran'lin, arguably the single most im&ortant figure of the Enlightenment in America, &rinted ine+&ensi*e &am&hlets and news&a&ers to s&read the
';)* & Advanced History of USA ideas uic'ly 3e &ublished 8oor .ichardFs Almanac' to entertain the colonists and instill Enlightenment *alues in them 7hile Euro&eans considered, discussed and sifted through these ideas for a century, Americans &ut them into &ractice Cree from the 'ind of entrenched &ower that had dominated Euro&e for centuries, a generation of young American leaders was absolutely willing to uestion not only the role of the 'ing, but the churches and e*en God 3imself A theology, 'nown as rational hristianity, emerged /t taught that God ga*e humans the ability to reason, allowing them to understand and follow moral teachings, regardless of which religious grou& they belonged to .eligious tolerance became e*en more wides&read 0any Americans mo*ed toward >eism, a &hiloso&hical belief in a deity based on reason rather than faith /n 5eism, God is sometimes com&ared to a watchma'er who ma'es a watch, winds it u& and then lea*es its maintenance to the &erson who owns it 5eists belie*ed that God created the world and set natural laws into motion and then his wor' was done /t is u& to humans to 'ee& the world running 5eists do not belie*e that God su&ernaturally inter*enes in the world or human e*ents Some of the founding fathers, li'e )homas $efferson, were 5eists 0any others were strongly influenced by 5eism, e*en if they didnFt claim to follow it )hough a few Enlightenment thin'ers discarded religion altogether, most tried to reconcile their belief in God with science and &hiloso&hy ne im&ortant result was the belief in human rights 4 that if God created the world with laws that go*erned it, then 3e must ha*e also established such natural laws for the humans 3e created Americans began to belie*e that the intended role of go*ernment was to &rotect these God4gi*en rights ombining these conce&ts of reason, enlightened go*ernment, religious tolerance and natural rights resulted in the American *ersion of rep6?licanism 5onFt confuse the Enlightenment &hiloso&hy of re&ublicanism with the modern &olitical &arty At the time, it was a com&lete re*ersal of the idea of di*ine right 5i*ine .ight teaches that a ruler gets authority from abo*e 4 he or she is chosen by God 3imself .e&ublicanism teaches that a ruler gets authority from below 4 leaders are chosen by the masses By contrast, citizens get their rights from God, not from the monarch )homas 8aine wrote the influential ommon Sense .e&ublicanism gained wide4s&read acce&tance in America )he &eo&le 'new first4hand that each colony could successfully rule itself without the hel& of di*inely a&&ointed monarchs )hey had been doing it since $amestown was founded, and e*en more so under the &olicy of salutary neglect )homas 8aine wrote a &am&hlet called ommon Sense in language familiar to a*erage Americans /t hel&ed colonists better understand other Enlightenment &hiloso&hy and generated su&&ort for a re*olution against British rule
)he egacy of the Enlightenment But the Enlightenment was more than ust the &hiloso&hical bac'ground for the American .e*olution 4 it was a blue&rint for a modern democratic society 3ere, JdemocraticF is not a reference to a modern &olitical &arty, but the conce&t of a society in which all citizens &artici&ate eually ur earliest documents, including the 5eclaration of /nde&endence, as well as the constitutions of the United States and all of the original states, cannot be se&arated from Enlightenment ideals, es&ecially those of $ohn oc'e )he Enlightenment also fostered the *alues that were necessary for coo&erati*e citizenshi& 4 *alues such as &atriotism, *irtue and &ersonal rights /t defined freedom as a right within the conte+t of citizenshi& and ci*ic res&onsibility )hese *alues were ty&ified in the yeoman farmer 4 a common laborer who wor'ed hard to earn a li*ing, li*e at &eace with his neighbors, but was willing to ta'e u& his rifle and fight for the rights God had gi*en him Such *alues ha*e &ersisted in America to this day
hild of the Enlightenment2 .e*olutionary Euro&e .eflected in a Boyhood 5iary Child of the Enlightenment is a ca&ti*ating boo'2 charming, mo*ing, and richly informati*e, it melds the intimate and distant, wea*ing together bodies, emotions and minds, Enlightenment ideas and &hiloso&hy, and re*olutionary &olitics )echnically brilliant, it retains coherence under the &otential centrifugal force of the authorsF obecti*e to Jlet the diary &ose the uestions raised b y its own worldF (& 1" Although a boyhood diary directs the studyFs horizons, Arianne Baggerman and .udolf 5e''er also draw
US As a British Colony & ';.* u&on a wealth of ego4documents, a &ano&ly of &rint culture from &edagogy to conduct literature, tra*el writing to fiction, the minutes of &olitical meetings, ma&s, and 1#= *ibrant images, which ust in themsel*es must ha*e ta'en huge effort to select and organise )his achie*ement is yet more remar'able when its co4 authorshi& and translation are considered Cortunately, their remar'able scholarshi& and &rose are well ser*ed by 5iane 7ebbFs outstanding translation s'ills )he Enlightenment child under scrutiny is tto *an Ec' 3e began his oft4resented diary in 1:1, at the age of ten, writing regularly at his &arentsF behest for se*eral years, until his entries declined, with a final one in -o*ember 1: )han's to Baggerman and 5e''erFs talents, tto emerges as both archety&al Enlightenment &roduct, grown in soil watered by .ousseau and German &edagogues, and as an indi*idual &ersonality2 stubborn, occasionally grum&y and resentful, sometimes socially aw'ward, irritated by younger siblings, yet 'indly and affectionate towards his family Born of enlightened &arents and discourses, and intended for the clerical &rofession, all tto wanted was to s&end his time outdoors on the family estate, 5e .uit, and grow u& to be a farmer )his is hardly sur&rising gi*en his .ousseau*ian u&bringing and lac' of enthusiasm for boo's /ndeed, the authors sensiti*ely conte+tualise ttoFs education within Enlightenment &edagogy Although influenced by .ousseauFs inno*ati*e Emile, ttoFs &arents actually used the German *ersion of this style of childrearing, de*elo&ed from the 1!s, which was far more wor'able )hese &hilanthro&ists or Jfriends of man'indF, still saw nature as im&ortant, but, in contrast with .ousseau, belie*ed that human inter*ention was also crucial 8arents and &edagogues were to encourage children to channel their emotions, inculcating tenderness, com&assion, sym&athy and ho&e, and uelling destructi*e &assions Self4control was essential, as was disci&line through a combination of rewards and fines, and withholding &arental affection from a naughty child /t is stri'ing how these &edagogical *alues informed the rearing of elite children across Euro&e though moulded by &articular cultural influences and di*erse enlightenments ttoFs diary was a central tool in this educational regime, since writing it inculcated self4 e+amination But it was no wor' of intimate intros&ection, for it was scrutinised daily by ttoFs &arents who regularly ad*ised harder wor' and re&rimanded laziness /n it tto summarised his reading, not ust his beha*iour $ust as the German &edagogues ad*ised, harlotte and ambert *an Ec' made good use of the e+&anding genre of childrenFs &ublishing, and selected ttoFs reading, for education and &leasure 0onitoring his e+tensi*e reading &rogramme meant that they could guide him in the &roect of channelling feelings 3is reading also reflected the *an Ec'Fs religious stance tto was reared in the 5utch .eformed hurch, with a framewor' of regular church attendance and family &rayers, su&&lemented by reading de*otional literature )raditional though this seems, ambert was e+tremely liberal in his *iews, a &ro&onent of the se&aration of hurch and State and ecumenicalism, and drawn to deism and natural &hiloso&hy 3is fatherFs religious liberalism seems to ha*e &re*ailed o*er ritual since tto read the Bible *ery little, was not s&iritual, and could e*en contem&late the &ossibility that there was no hereafter )his was a boy who was encouraged to thin' things through )hus tto was no J&risoner in a &a&er &ano&ticonF as the authors so cle*erly term it (& 1!@" Baggerman and 5e''er re*eal ttoFs agency as he struggled against &arental su&er*ision, a*oiding writing daily entries, and rebelliously com&laining when forced to do so )hey also infer that although his reading followed that of idealised fictional children, tto stolidly refused to lo*e it for &leasure alone 7 hile 'ee&ing the diary clearly led to tensions between tto and his &arents, one can also imagine that some of his grudging confessions to ill tem&er, sibling uarrels, and re&orted throwaway comments, such as telling his mother Jhe wished that there were no &ianos in the worldF, when obliged to re&eat &iano &ractice, might ha*e &rom&ted rueful smiles among his &arents at the close of day )he central section of the boo' o&ens u& ttoFs wider world 5rawn together in one insightful cha&ter are his delight in outdoor &ursuits in the familyFs country estate, new *ogues in landsca&e gardening, the *iew that children were best reared in the countryside, away from worldly *ices and tem&tations, and the meta&hor of the child as tender &lant /ndeed, the Enlightenment electrified all these as&ects of child4rearing, nature, and landsca&e in the 1!s in the -etherlands )he formal gardens of elite estates were made o*er in the natural English country style, symbolic of the desire for a &urer, *irtuous lifestyle and offering a suitably rural location to nurture minds and bodies )ellingly, the *an Ec's remodelled 5e .uit at the same time as they were &utting no*el child4rearing ideas into &ractice As his 8a&a e+&lained to tto, Jone of the main reasons we li*e in the country both summer and winter is to teach us from an early age that sim&licity, moderation and industry are ine+tricably bound to our basic ha&&inessF (& 1:1" .aised with such meta&hors of culti*ation, which freuently re*isited classical antecedents to &raise rural life as the seat of moral *irtues, the &oets and autobiogra&hers of ttoFs generation went on to describe youth as a &aradisiacal garden that they had to lea*e behind to enter the ne+t stage of life 6et, the age of feelingFs bucolic bliss was not sentimentalised tto was &ermitted to attend the slaughter of li*estoc' in autumn, an agricultural acti*ity which he relished 3is unsentimental *iew of the animal 'ingdom was &erfectly *alid2 animals were not considered to feelI therefore, while needless cruelty was forbidden, one did not need to e+tend sym&athy o*er their rational use as human nourishment
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Advanced History of USA Baggerman and 5e''er use ttoFs diary to trace the ways in which his world e+&anded as he grew older -estled first in the lo*ing arms of his immediate family members, tto increasingly tra*elled beyond them 3e was familiarised with his own family lineage, essential to acuiring maturity since it mar'ed status and &restige 3e went further afield to e+tended 'in and friends, e*entually *isiting them without his &arents All this was to &re&are him for sociability, the dri*ing force of society and social relations Although sociability was com&elled by the engine of &oliteness in England, in 5utch society it seems to ha*e been a *alue sha&ed by new social4scientific methods of studying society2 an in*aluable form of conduct, after all, in a society newly deemed to be sha&ed by its &eo&le ttoFs &hysical world was also e+tended 3is first e+&eriences were in the &arental home and its en*irons )hus the authors describe the *an Ec'sF s&lendid houses in the country and in town in )he 3ague, reminders of ttoFs lu+urious lifestyle 3e e+&lored the world beyond his homes through the ne w disci&line of geogra&hy ne feature of his rich material culture was his access to ma&s, aesthetical and &edagogical de*ices and embodiment of nationalist interests /n a stri'ing image from Vaderlandsch A-B-boek (1>1", a father cradles his toddler in his arms and &oints to a *ast ma& on the wall, e+&laining2 J)he -etherlands is your fatherland, where you li*e in utmost security 7hen you grow u&, you too, will surely dwell here with your family As the rest of the boo' shows, this security was illusory, disru&ted by time and e*ents ttoFs &erce&tion of time &assing is &laced within the changing understandings of time from the mid 1>th century /n the aftermath of the Crench .e*olution understandings of time went from cyclical to linear -ot ust a characteristic of industrialisation, time was measured through industriousness2 the less slee& and more useful acti*ities the better )ime was also the resource of the &o werful, who controlled the time of othersI a feature of age as well as social hierarchy, as tto disco*ered when sent to bed early as &unishment for bad beha*iour Baggerman and 5e''er trace this new notion of linear time through Uto&ian writing ater 1>th4century uto&ias were set in the future rather than an undisco*ered &lace hild4rearing was fundamental to them, the mar'er and mechanism for reconstructing society tto e+&erienced these conce&tual shifts in body and mind /noculation was &art of im&ro*ing society and the *an Ec's used it to &rotect their children Gauging the right time to im&lement it was, howe*er, agonising tto and his sister oote were inoculated as older children at their house in )he 3ague 7hile they reco*ered well, their infant sister Annemiete stayed with her grand&arents in 5elft, deemed by the doctor too young to inoculate She contracted small&o+ and died -o wonder ttoFs diary entries describe time as short, all too uic'ly lost, to be carefully har*ested and used efficiently )hese are signs of JmodernF time4'ee&ing, but his diary nonetheless re*eals that JtraditionalF ideas of time &ersisted tto also structured his entries around these older mar'ers of time, li'e the -ew 6ear, annual e*ents li'e fairs, and the changing seasons )he -etherlands faced &olitical insecurity too Baggerman and 5e''er gi*e a &recise account of the Bata*ian .e*olution, an e&isode in 5utch history which has recei*ed little scholarly attention ttoFs father ambert and uncle 8ieter 8aulus were 'ey &layers n the heels of Crench occu&ation in 1:@ ambert led the J*el*etF re*olution in )he 3ague )he Stadholder 7illem % fled and the 8atriots too' &ower By 0ay 1:@ he re&resented )he 3ague in the new go*ernment of the &ro*ince of 3olland and 8aulus was elected &resident of the &ro*incial assembly of 3olland By 0arch 1:# a -ational Assembly had been *oted in by something a&&roaching uni*ersal male suffrage 8aulus was elected chairman, and ambert oined the assembly in ctober Cor all this, the *an Ec' family did not &rofit from these maor national e*ents ttoFs belo*ed Uncle 8ieter died soon after his installation as chairman /n $anuary 1: ambert was himself elected chairman of the -ational Assembly and ttoFs diary reflects his fatherFs demanding role largely by bemoaning his absences from home at wor' ambert ne+t became embroiled in debate about the new 5utch constitution 8erha&s e+&laining why tto missed his father so much was *an Ec'Fs &ro&osed amendment to the constitution that Jno one lac'ing in domestic *irtues can be a good citizenF (&9!" )he debates triggered conflict that ended in a coup d’état in $anuary 1:> that ousted him /n Cebruary *an Ec' and other re*olutionaries were im&risoned in 3uis ten Bosch A more moderate grou& staged a further cou& in $une 1:> and a new Jgo*erning regulationF was im&osed in $uly, at which &oint it was declared that the re*olution was ended 7hat ga*e ho&e to *an Ec' and his com&anions Jin misfortuneF was their firm belief that it would be Jfuture generations ? who by *irtue of their enlightened educations would be deser*ing of, and eual to, that true freedomF (& 9:=?@" ertainly, re*olutionary ideals of liberty and egalitarianism were transmitted through &olicies on education, catechisms for the young and symbolic festi*ities 5id tto inherit his fatherFs ho&ed4for libertiesL Crom the start we 'now that tto had a short life, yet Baggerman and 5e''er a*oid the shadow that this could ha*e cast o*er the whole boo' /nstead they mo*e us through what is fundamentally an o&timistic Enlightened 5utch world seen through ttoFs eyes )he brightness of the new ideas radiates in ttoFs generation, who grew to adulthood around 1>!! 6et the boo' draws to an unwelcome and &ainful close, for tto was e+cluded from his generationFs &otential to enoy the benefits of the Bata*ian re*olution )he closing cha&ters centre on the *ulnerable body, both &hysical and &olitical 3ere we see tto struggling with a long, life4threatening, &ainful attac' of &soriasis in 1:, when he was 1, and numerous se*ere colds and fe*ers, which often rendered him deaf )he *an Ec's did all they could, ado&ting a regimen in the countryside intended to ma'e the body hardier and able to withstand illness 0ore unusual, it seems that when *ery ill tto was gi*en his motherFs breast mil', a*ailable since she had ust gi*en birth to another sibling )he authors are largely silent on this re&ort E*en in a society that &romoted maternal breastfeeding, surely this was strange to contem&orariesL 3ow was it deli*ered to tto Me+&ressed, one ho&esNL 7hat is all too a&&arent, howe*er, is ttoFs recognition
US As a British Colony & ';1* that life itself was &recarious 5eath was o*erly familiar to tto2 he o&erated in a culture that mo&ed melancholically *ia &oetry li'e 6oungFs Night Thoughts, 3ar*eyFs Meditations among the Tombs and GrayFs Eleg and their 5utch imitatorsI his relati*es died freuentlyI and his family subscribed to new initiati*es which mo*ed cemeteries outside cities to ma'e burials more hygienic ttoFs diary ended on : -o*ember 1: and so the rest of his story is told largely *ia his fatherFs words /t is a de&ressing one for the reader who has accom&anied tto and his lo*ing family so far $ust as he became seriously ill, at only 1, early in 1:>, his father was im&risoned /n mid40arch ambert was &ermitted a *isit from his children 3is oy at seeing them was destroyed, howe*er, by seeing the full e+tent of the ra*ages caused by his sonFs illness, newly diagnosed as consum&tion )he following wee' the authorities allowed ambert to return home to be with his dying child tto died in his 1>th year at the end of 0arch and was buried in the familyFs new cemetery &lot 3is father returned to &rison until he was released that summer following the second coup Emotionally and &hysically shattered, he also succumbed to )B on @ ctober 1>!9 )he boo' ends mo*ingly with family memories of ttoFs *i*acity, &romise, and his &arentsF consuming lo*e for him )his is a boo' that is indis&ensable to scholars of di*erse historical to&ics and countries /t shows the a&&lication of Enlightenment &rinci&les in home, culture, and &olitics and thus enriches scholarsF understanding of the long 1>th century /t is indis&ensable for anyone interested in the de*elo&ment of &edagogy, the *alues inculcated in elite child4rearing, and family life, but also the dissemination of &olitical rhetoric across generations, changing conce&tions of nature, time, s&ace and religion /n fact it is e+em&lary in re*ealing how ideas and &ractice interwea*e /n some ways, the original 5utch title of the boo' is es&ecially a&t2 The !onderful !orld of "tto #an Eck$ a Cultural %istor of the Bata#ian &e#olution, for this is a truly wonderful e*ocation of his world and a su&erb boo'
