Chapter 3: The First American Way of Life
Patterns of Existence
--The Plantation: developed in colonies where majority of people lived by growing one thing for export: tobacco, rice, or sugar. Very efficient by the time's standards, nd very oppresive when slavery = introduced. Gradual shift from English lbr to slve la
bor as life expentancy of workers inc. Also, free English ex-servants = source of trouble, since usu. impoverished and desperate, ie, Bacon's rebellion. Slaves would never = released, and could be denied traditional rights of Englishmen. Black slaves in A
merica = not oppressed as badly as elsewhere, but still discriminated harshly. Most plantations = largely self-supporting, and traded its goods via river.
--New Englnd Town: Based largely on English model. Local government by mayor and aldermen. Secular duties by parish and Church. Even as land became scarce and tensions developed in growing population, NE towns = very homogeneous and neighborly. Women went
to church, men often met in taverns.
--The Farm: Very lonely, since American farmers needed large tracts of land, often by slash and burn method. Good land = often scarce for newcomers, since titles to best = often bought by speculators. Farmers = better off materially than European counterp
arts, but there is no community. Farm families had to be largely self-sufficient. Typical 18c American.
--City: Many social vices. Key men = merchants, who shipped supplies down to very dependent sugar farms of West Indies. Many rum distillers. Shipmakers, instrument makers, craftsmen, etc. But also, sanitation problems, wandering beggars, crime, etc. Probl
ems dealt with city governments and volunteer organizations. Size of cities rivaled those in England.
The Emerging American Mind
--Most Americans = still English, despite immigrants, and thought of England as home. Great heritage of English ideas. But with time, thought of America and England diverged.
--Responsible Representative Government: In England, system of representation = corrupted with tradition, so that it actually represented ver few citizens. House of Commons tried to justify it with idea of virtual representation. Well, Americans thought t
hat he just a bunch of B.S., so changed it when they got to America. Colonial systems = much more rational, much more direct. Colonial representatives = directly dependent on voter support for their postitions.
--Clergy and Laity: As with gorernment representatives, Americans wanted clergy to serve, not to rule them. Mostly Protestant ideas. Church had no extensive secular powers. Congregations kept ministers on a short leash; they could be fired at any time. Va
st variety of sects prevented any one from getting too powerful.
--The Great Awakening: Touched off in 1740 by George Whitefield, who preached strict, fire and brimstone Calvinism with a good deal of showmanship. Similar preachers popped up everwhere. Produced Jonathan Edwards, America's most talented theologan. Moveme
nt undermined position of clergy, because leaders taught their congregations to judge their ministers boldly.
--Education: Americans = generally better educated than Europeans, mostly from having read books. Many printing presses, several newspapers. Harvard, et al. Tuition rates = fairly low.
--Enlightenment: Colleges and universities preached the Enlightenment of Locke and Newton. Great belief in power of reason. Americans, with no set traditions nd having to forge civilization out of the chaos of the wilderness, always had to use their own r
eason. Europeans, however, did not need to think as much since everything = already established. Benjamin Franklin = best man of the Enlightenment: a prolific inventor, symbolized Americans for Europeans as a sort of noble savage type.
--Social Structure: High birth meant less in America than in Europe. Fluidity of American society still made America the land of opportunity. But still, top of American social ladder = lower than the European, and harder to maintain. Also, no European = e
ver born a slave. Overall, bulk of America = far better off than bulk of Europe. Americans = better educated, and thus, in less awe of superiors, had more control over government and church, and had greater control over his own life.
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