LIFE IN THE COLONIES

In 1723, a tired teenager stepped off a boat onto a wharf in

Philadelphia. He was an odd-looking sight. Not having luggage, he had
stuffed his pockets with extra clothes. The young man followed a group
of “clean dressed people” into a Quaker meetinghouse, where he soon
fell asleep.

The sleeping teenager with the lumpy clothes was Benjamin Franklin.
He had recently run away from his brother James's print shop in Boston.
When he was 12, Franklin had signed a contract to work for his brother
for nine years. But after enduring James's nasty temper for five years,
Franklin packed his pockets and left.

In Philadelphia, Franklin quickly found work as a printer's assistant.

Within a few years, he had saved enough money to open his own print
shop. His first success was a newspaper called the Pennsylvania
Gazette.

In 1732, readers of the Gazette saw an advertisement for Poor Richard's

Almanac. An almanac is a book, published annually, that contains
weather predictions, planting advice for farmers, and information on

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other useful subjects. According to the ad, Poor Richard's Almanac was
written by “Richard Saunders” and printed by B. Franklin. Nobody knew
then that author and printer were the same person.

Franklin also printed proverbs, or wise sayings, in his almanacs. Some,

like these, are still remembered today:

A penny saved is a penny earned.

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy,
and wise.
Fish and visitors smell in three days.

Poor Richard's Almanac sold so well that Franklin was able to retire at
age 42. A man of many talents, he spent the rest of his long life as a
scientist, inventor, political leader, diplomat, and national postmaster.

Franklin's rise from penniless runaway to wealthy printer was one of

many colonial success stories. In this chapter, you will learn what life
was like for people throughout the colonies in the 1700s.

The colonists developed an economy based on farming, commerce

(buying and selling goods), and handcrafts. Nine out of ten people lived
on small family farms. Most farm families raised or made nearly
everything they needed. One farmer wrote with pride about a typical
year, “Nothing to wear, eat, or drink was purchased, as my farm
provided all.”

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The first and hardest task facing farm families was to clear the land of
trees. The colonists had only simple, basic tools. They cut down trees
with axes and saws. Then they used the same tools to cut square
timbers and flat planks for building houses, barns, and fences.

Imagine living on a colonial farm. Your home is a single large room with
a fireplace at one end. In this room, your family cooks, eats, and sleeps.
Your parents sleep in a large bed built into one corner. Your younger
brothers and sisters sleep in a smaller trundle bed, a bed that can slide
under the big bed during the day. At bedtime, you climb a ladder next
to the chimney to sleep in an attic or a loft. As your family grows, you
help to build another room on the other side of the chimney.

The fireplace is the only source of heat for warmth and cooking, so
keeping a supply of firewood is important. The fire is kept burning all
the time because, without matches, it is very difficult to light a new
one.

Cooking is one of the most dangerous jobs on your farm. Food is

cooked in heavy iron pots hung over an open fire. While lifting or
stirring these pots, your mother might burn her hands, scorch her
clothes, or strain her back.

Your day on the farm starts before sunrise. Everyone wakes up early to
share the work. Chores include cutting wood, feeding animals, clearing
land, tending crops, building fences, making furniture and tools,
gathering eggs, spinning thread, weaving cloth, sewing clothes, making
candles and soap, cooking, cleaning, and caring for babies.

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In 1750, one colonist out of 20 lived in a city. Compared to the quiet

farm life, cities were exciting places.

The heart of the city was the waterfront. There, ships brought news
from England as well as eagerly awaited items such as paint, carpets,
furniture, and books.

Just beyond the docks, a marketplace bustled with fishers selling their
catch and farmers selling fresh eggs, milk, and cheese. Close by were
taverns, where food and drink were served. People gathered there to
exchange gossip and news from other colonies.

The nearby streets were lined with shops. Sparks flew from the
blacksmith's block as he hammered iron into tools. Shoemakers,
clockmakers, silversmiths, tailors, and other craftspeople turned out
goods based on the latest designs from England. There were barbers to
cut colonists' hair and wigmakers to make it look long again.

Cities were noisy, smelly places. Church bells rang out several times a
day. Carts clattered loudly over streets paved with round cobblestones.

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The air was filled with the stench of rotting garbage and open sewers,
but the colonists were used to it. Animals ran loose in the street. During
hot weather, clouds of flies and mosquitoes swarmed about.

City homes were close together on winding streets. Most were built of
wood with thatched roofs, like the houses the colonists had left behind
in Europe. Their windows were small, because glass was costly.

For lighting, colonists used torches made of pine that burned brightly
when they were wedged between hearthstones in the fireplace.
Colonists also burned grease in metal containers called “betty lamps”
and made candles scented with bayberries.

With torches and candles lighting homes, fire was a constant danger.
Colonists kept fire buckets hanging by their front doors. When a fire
broke out, the whole town helped to put it out. Grabbing their buckets,
colonists formed a double line from the fire to a river, pond, or well.
They passed the buckets full of water from hand to hand up one line to
the fire. Then the empty buckets went back down the opposite line to
be refilled.

Colonists in America saw themselves as English citizens. They expected

the same rights that citizens enjoyed in England. The most important
of these was the right to have a voice in their government.

Magna Carta The English people had won the right to participate in
their government only after a long struggle. A key victory in this
struggle came in 1215, when King John agreed to sign Magna Carta, or
“Great Charter.” This agreement established the idea that the power of
the monarch, or ruler, was limited. Not even the king was above the
law.

The next major victory was the founding of Parliament in 1265.

Parliament was made up of representatives from across England. Over
time, it became a lawmaking body with the power to approve laws and
taxes proposed by the king or queen.

In 1685, James, the Duke of York, became King James II. The king did
not want to share power with an elected assembly in New York. Nor did
he want to share power with an elected Parliament in England. When he
tried to rule without Parliament, James was forced off his throne. This
change in power, which took place without bloodshed, is known as the
Glorious Revolution.

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The English Bill of Rights In 1689, Parliament offered the crown to

Prince William of Orange and his wife, Mary. In exchange, they had to
agree to an act, or law, known as the English Bill of Rights . This act
said that the power to make laws and impose taxes belonged to the
people's elected representatives in Parliament and to no one else. It
also included a bill, or list, of rights that belonged to the people. Among
these were the right to petition the king (request him to change
something) and the right to trial by jury.

English colonists saw the Glorious Revolution as a victory not only for
Parliament, but for their colonial assemblies as well. They wanted to
choose the people who made their laws and set their taxes. After all,
this was a cherished right of all English citizens.

Crime and Punishment Each colonial assembly passed its own laws
defining crimes and punishments. However, most crimes were treated
similarly in all the colonies.

Certain very serious crimes could be punished by death. These included

murder, treason (acts of disloyalty toward the government), and piracy

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(robbery at sea). Puritans in New England added other crimes to this list
based on their understanding of God's law in the Bible. In New England,
colonists could be put to death for “denying the true God” or for striking
or cursing their parents.

Crimes such as theft, forgery, and highway robbery carried harsh

punishments in every colony. For these crimes, people might be jailed,
whipped, or branded with hot irons.

Lesser crimes, such as drunkenness and breaking the Sabbath (working

or traveling on Sunday), were punished with fines, short jail terms, or
public humiliation. A colonist caught breaking the Sabbath, for example,
might be locked in the town stocks. The stocks were a heavy wooden
frame with holes for a person's neck, wrists, and ankles. Lawbreakers
were locked for hours in this device in a public place where others
could ridicule them.

No group had firmer ideas about right and wrong than New England's
Puritans. The Puritans required everyone to attend church on Sundays.
They also forbade anyone to work or play on that day. The Puritans
wrote their Sunday laws in books with blue paper bindings. For this
reason, these rules came to be known as blue laws. Some blue laws
persist to this day. In Connecticut, for example, it is still illegal for
stores to sell alcohol on Sundays.

The Puritans were constantly on the watch for signs of Satan (believed
to be an evil angel who rebelled against God). Satan was thought to
work through witches. In 1692, fear of witchcraft overtook residents of
Salem, Massachusetts, when several girls were seen acting strangely in

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church. The girls accused their neighbors of being witches and putting
spells on them. Nineteen accused witches were put to death during the
Salem witch trials before calm was restored and the townspeople
realized that the girls' accusations were untrue.

Slavery in the colonies began in Virginia, with tobacco planters. From

there, it spread both north and south. By the early 1700s, enslaved
Africans were living in every colony. Even Benjamin Franklin owned
slaves for a time. But like most people in the New England and Middle
Colonies, Franklin found that hiring workers when he needed them cost
less than owning slaves.

In the Southern Colonies, however, slavery expanded rapidly. From

Virginia to Georgia, slaves helped raise tobacco, rice, indigo, and other
cash crops.

The Atlantic Slave Trade Most of the slaves who were brought to the
colonies came from West Africa. Year after year, slave ships filled with
cloth, guns, and rum sailed from the colonies to the coast of West
Africa. There, these goods were traded for Africans. The ships then
returned to the Americas carrying their human cargo.

For the Africans packed onto slave ships, the ocean crossing—known as
the Middle Passage—was a nightmare. According to his autobiography,
Olaudah Equiano (oh-LAU-duh ek-wee-AH-noh) was just ten years old
when he was put onto a slave ship. He never forgot “the closeness of
the place . . . which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to
turn himself.” Nor did he forget “the shrieks of the women, and groans
of the dying.” The terrified boy refused to eat, hoping “for the last
friend, Death, to relieve me.”

Although Equiano survived the voyage, many Africans died of sickness

or despair. Even so, the Atlantic slave trade was very profitable. Many
colonial merchants built fortunes trading in human beings.

Work Without Hope The slaves' masters in America demanded that

the Africans work hard. Most enslaved Africans were put to work in the
fields raising crops. Others worked as nurses, carpenters, blacksmiths,
drivers, servants, gardeners, and midwives (people who assist women
giving birth). Unlike other colonists, slaves had little hope of making a
better life. Their position was fixed at the bottom of colonial society.

Some slaves rebelled by refusing to work or running away. But most

adapted to their unhappy condition as best they could. Slowly and
painfully, they began to create a new African American way of life.

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Religion was an important part of colonial life. Most colonists tried to

lead good lives based on their faith. Children grew up reading the Bible
from cover to cover several times over.

Puritan Church Services In New England, the sound of a drum or

horn called Puritans to worship on Sunday morning. “Captains of the
watch” made sure everyone was a “Sabbathkeeper.” Sometimes
houses were searched to ensure that everyone was at church.

Church services were held in the town meetinghouse. This was the most
important building in the community and was used for all public
meetings. Inside were rows of wooden benches, called pews, and a
pulpit (a platform where the preacher stood). A “seating committee”
carefully assigned seats, with the best ones going to older, wealthy
people.

Services could last as long as five hours. At midday, villagers would go

to “noon-houses” near the church to warm themselves by a fire, eat,
and socialize. Then they returned to church for the long afternoon
sermon.

The Great Awakening Beginning in the 1730s, a religious movement

known as the Great Awakening swept through the colonies. This
movement was spurred by a feeling that people had lost their religious
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faith. “The forms of religion were kept up,” a Puritan observed, but
there was “little of the power” of God in it.

To revive people's religious spirit, preachers traveled from town to town

holding outdoor “revival” meetings. There, they delivered fiery sermons
to huge crowds. Their words touched the hearts and souls of many
colonists. Benjamin Franklin wrote about the change he observed in
Philadelphia: “It seemed as if all the world were growing religious, so
that one could not walk through the town in an evening without hearing
psalms [Bible songs] sung in different families of every street.”

The Great Awakening had a powerful effect on the colonies. It helped

spread the idea that all people are equal in the eyes of God. Ordinary
people could understand God's will if they had an open heart and a
desire to know God's truth. By encouraging ideas of liberty, equality,
and self-reliance, the Great Awakening helped pave the way for the
American Revolution.

Except in New England, most children in the colonies received little

formal education. Neither the Middle nor the Southern Colonies had
public schools.

In the Southern Colonies, most families were spread out along rivers. A
few neighbors might get together to hire a teacher for their children.
Wealthy planters often hired tutors to educate younger children at
home. Older children were sent to schools in distant cities, or even
England, to complete their education.

In the Middle Colonies, religious differences among Quakers, Catholics,

Jews, Baptists, and other religious groups slowed the growth of public
education. Each religious group or family had to decide for itself how to
educate its children. Some groups built church schools. Others were
content to have parents teach their children at home.

Only in New England were towns required to provide public schools. The
Puritans' support for education was inspired by their religious faith.
They wanted their children to be able to read the Bible.

To encourage education, Massachusetts passed a law in 1647 that

required every town with 50 families or more to hire an instructor to
teach their children to read and write. Towns with more than 100
families were required to build a school. Similar laws were passed in
other New England colonies.

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Parents were asked to contribute whatever they could to the village

school. Contributions might be money, vegetables, firewood, or
anything else the school needed. Often, land was set aside as “school
meadows” or “school fields.” This land was then rented out to raise
money for teachers' salaries.

Schools were one-room buildings with a chimney and fireplace in the

center. There were no boards to write on or maps. Pencils and paper
were scarce. Students shouted out spelling words and wrote sums in
ink on pieces of bark. There was usually one book, the New England
Primer, which was used to teach the alphabet, syllables, and prayers.

Most colonists believed that boys needed more education than girls.
“Female education, in the best families,” wrote First Lady Abigail
Adams, “went no further than writing and arithmetic; in some few and
rare instances, music, and dancing.”

The concept of family has changed often throughout history. Today,

most people think of a family as being made up of parents and their
children. In colonial times, however, families might include
grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and stepchildren.

Marriage Colonial men and women generally married in their early to

mid-20s. Those who arrived in America as indentured servants were not
allowed to marry until they had gained their freedom.

Men outnumbered women throughout the colonies. As a result, almost

every woman was assured of receiving a marriage proposal. “Maid
servants of good honest stock [family],” wrote a colonist, could “choose
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their husbands out of the better sort of people.” For a young woman,
though, life as a wife and mother often proved to be even harder than
life as an indentured servant.

Large Families Colonial families were generally large. Most families

had between seven and ten children. (Benjamin Franklin had 16
brothers and sisters.) Farm families, in particular, needed all the hands
they could get to help with chores.

Religious and cultural backgrounds influenced colonists' ideas about

raising children. But almost everywhere in the colonies, children were
expected to be productive members of the family.

Married women gave birth many times, but nearly half of all children
died before they reached adulthood. Childhood deaths were especially
high in the Middle and Southern Colonies, where the deadly disease of
malaria raged. Adults often died young as well. After the death of a wife
or husband, men and women usually remarried quickly. Thus,
households often swelled with stepchildren as well as adopted orphans
(children whose parents had died).

Whether colonists lived in cities, in villages, or on isolated farms, their

lives focused on their families. Family members took care of one
another because there was no one else to do so. Young families often
welcomed elderly grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins into their
homes when they could no longer care for themselves. It didn't matter
if there was barely enough room for everyone. No one would turn away
a needy relative.

While most colonists worked hard, they enjoyed their periods of leisure
(time away from work). They also took advantage of gatherings, such
as town meetings and Sunday services, to talk with neighbors and
make friends.

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Bees and Frolics When possible, colonists combined work and play by
organizing “bees” and “frolics.” New settlers might hold a “chopping
bee” in which all the neighbors helped clear the trees off their land.
Other frolics included corn-husking bees for men and quilting bees for
women. Sharing the work made it faster and more fun.

The Germans introduced house and barn raisings to the colonies. At

these events, neighbors joined together to build the frame of a house or
barn in one day. The men assembled the four walls flat on the ground
and then raised them into place. Meanwhile, the women prepared a
huge feast. At the end of the day, everyone danced on the barn's new
floor.

Toys and Sports Colonial children had a few simple toys, such as
dolls, marbles, and tops. They played tag, blindman's bluff, and
stoolball, which was related to the English game of cricket (a game like
baseball). Children in New England also enjoyed coasting down snowy
hills on sleds. Adults must have thought coasting was dangerous,
because several communities forbade it.

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Adults enjoyed several sports. Almost every village had a bowling
green. Here, men rolled egg-shaped balls down a lane of grass toward a
white ball called a jack. Colonists also played a game similar to
backgammon called tick-tack and a form of billiards (pool) called trock.

In the Southern Colonies, fox hunting with horses and hounds was a
popular sport. Card playing was another favorite pastime, one that New
England Puritans disapproved of strongly. Horse racing, cockfighting,
and bull baiting were also popular in the South.

Fairs were held throughout the colonies. At these events, colonists

competed in contests of skill and artistry. There were footraces,
wrestling matches, dance contests, and wild scrambles to see who
could win a prize by catching a greased pig or climbing a greased pole.

In this chapter, you read about various aspects of life in the

American colonies during the early 1700s.

Farms and Cities The colonists developed an economy based on

farming, commerce, and crafts. Farm families produced most of what
they needed for themselves. In the villages and cities, many trades and
crafts developed.

Rights of Colonists American colonists expected to enjoy all the

rights of English citizens, especially the right to have a voice in their
own government. Colonial assemblies defined crimes and punishments.
Punishments were often harsh, but for most of the 1700s, the colonists

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were content to be ruled by English laws.

Life for African Americans Enslaved African Americans had almost

no rights or even hope for liberty. After being brought to America in
chains, they faced a life of forced obedience and toil.

Religion Religion was very important to the colonists. The Great

Awakening revived religious feeling and helped spread the idea that all
people are equal.

Education Most colonial children received little education, except in

New England. Instead, they were expected to contribute to the work of
the farm or home.

Family and Leisure Most colonial families were large. They often
included many relatives in addition to parents and their children. Much
of colonial life was hard work, but colonists also found time to enjoy
sports and games.

In the 1730s and 1740s, the Great Awakening shook up the

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English colonies. This religious movement caused an
outpouring of Christian faith. It also prompted new ways of
thinking about the church and society. As a result, it helped lay
the foundations for political changes to come.

Nathan Cole was working on his farm on the morning of October 23,
1740, when he heard the news. George Whitefield was coming.

A famous preacher, Whitefield was known for his powerful sermons. He

had traveled all over the colonies, drawing huge crowds wherever he
went. Now he was in Connecticut. In fact, he was preaching in nearby
Middletown that very morning. Cole knew he had to move fast.

I dropped my tool . . . and ran to my pasture for my horse

with all my might fearing that I should be too late to hear
him. I brought my horse home and soon mounted and took
my wife up and went forward as fast as I thought the horse
could bear . . .

And when we came within about half a mile [from the main
road] . . . I saw before me a Cloud or fog rising. I first
thought
it came from the great river, but as I came nearer . . . I
heard
a noise something like a low, rumbling thunder and
presently
found it was the noise of horses' feet coming down the road
and
this Cloud was a Cloud of dust . . . As I drew nearer it
seemed
like a steady stream of horses and their riders . . . Every
horse
seemed to go with all his might to carry his rider to hear
news
from heaven for the saving of Souls.

—Nathan Cole, in George Leon Walker, Some Aspects of

Religious Life in New England, 1897.

Thousands of people were rushing to Middletown to hear Whitefield

speak. “I saw no man at work in his field,” Cole wrote, “but all seemed
to be gone.” When Cole and his wife reached the town, they found a
large crowd gathered there. The mood was electric as they waited for
Whitefield to appear.

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What was behind all this excitement? Why would a preacher's arrival
cause a commotion like that of a rock star or a Hollywood celebrity
today?

In fact, Whitefield was a superstar of his time. He was the most famous
figure in a religious revival that was sweeping the colonies. People were
seeking a deep spiritual experience and a direct connection to God.
They found that connection in preachers like Whitefield.

Origins of the Awakening

Religion played a major role in the lives of colonists in the early 1700s.
Most people attended church regularly. There were a number of
different churches, but most provided a similar experience. They
emphasized traditional religious teachings. Their ministers were
educated men who valued reason over emotion. The atmosphere in
church was calm and orderly.

Some ministers, however, believed that the church had lost its way.
They feared that religion had become a collection of formal, empty
rituals. They wanted to wake people up and renew their faith. In their

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sermons, they offered an emotional message of sin and salvation that
was aimed at the heart, not the head.

By the 1730s, a split was developing between old-line ministers and

those favoring a new way. These two groups became known as the Old
Lights and the New Lights. The Old Lights stressed tradition and respect
for authority. The New Lights called for a more individual, personal form
of worship. They wanted people to feel the spirit of God for themselves.

Whitefield and other New Light ministers often preached at open air
revivals. They depicted the glories of heaven and the miseries of hell.
Hearing these highly charged sermons, many people were seized by
feelings of great joy or despair. They would weep, moan, and fall to the
ground. As news of the revivals spread, the movement gained strength.

Leading Lights: Whitefield and Edwards

A number of ministers played key roles in the Great Awakening. The

leading figures, however, were George Whitefield and Jonathan
Edwards. If Whitefield was the star of the movement, Edwards was its
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most important thinker.

Whitefield was a young Anglican minister in England when he joined the

revival movement. In 1739, he defied church authorities by holding
revival meetings across the country.

That same year, he traveled to the colonies, where he caused a

sensation. Whitefield was a magnificent speaker with a beautiful voice
and the skills of an accomplished actor. His words and gestures could
lift audiences into an emotional frenzy. He toured from Maine to
Georgia, appearing in towns and cities along the way. In Boston, some
20,000 people gathered to hear him speak. He was the most celebrated
man in America.

Whitefield was pleased with his success. But he was also troubled by
the wealth and vanity he saw in the colonies. Noting the fine clothing
worn by wealthy citizens, he argued that Christians should dress simply
and plainly. In Boston, he was disturbed to see young children dressed
in fancy clothes:

The little infants who were brought

to baptism were wrapped up in such
fine things . . . that one would think
they were brought thither [there] to
be initiated into, rather than to renounce,
the pomps and vanities of this wicked world.

While in Massachusetts, Whitefield visited Jonathan Edwards at his

home in Northampton. Edwards had helped start the revival movement
and had been a great influence on Whitefield. Edwards, in turn,
recognized that Whitefield had given new life to the movement. He
decided to increase his own efforts to win converts. In this way, he said,
he hoped to “make New England a kind of heaven upon earth.”

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Edwards began to preach in neighboring towns. In 1741, he gave his

most famous sermon in Enfield, Connecticut. Called “Sinners in the
Hands of an Angry God,” this sermon was directed at a congregation
that had resisted the revival message. Edwards told them that they had
angered God with their sinful ways. God held them in his hand, he said,
and could cast them into hell at any moment.

The God that holds you over the pit of hell,

much as one holds a spider . . . is dreadfully
provoked; his wrath towards you burns like
fire . . . 'Tis nothing but his hand that holds
you from falling into the fire . . . Oh sinner!
Consider the fearful danger you are in . . .

And now you have an extraordinary

opportunity, a day wherein Christ has flung
the door of mercy wide open, and stands
in the door calling and crying with a loud
voice to poor sinners; . . . many that were
very lately in the same miserable condition
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you are in, are in now a happy state, . . .
rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God. How
awful is it to be left behind at such a day!

These words had a devastating effect. The congregation began to wail

and beg for mercy. The “shrieks and cries were piercing,” wrote one
witness. The uproar was so great that Edwards could not even finish his
sermon.

The Impact of the Awakening

Over the next few years, such incidents became more common. At the
same time, the split between Old Light and New Light ministers grew
wider. Churches were breaking apart. For the sake of unity, both sides
agreed to make peace and heal their divisions. By the late 1740s, the
Great Awakening was over.

The impact of the movement was deep and ongoing, however. New
Light preachers had encouraged people to think for themselves and to
make their own choices about religious faith. As a result, the church no
longer had absolute authority in religious matters. Preachers also
taught that everyone was equal in the eyes of God. As one preacher
said, “The common people . . . claim as good a right to judge and act
for themselves . . . as civil rulers or the learned clergy.” By encouraging
people to act independently and defy authority, the Great Awakening
helped lay the groundwork for rebellion against British rule.

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