Pre Colonial America Summary

By the 1750s, the American colonies had come a long way from their original struggles and failures. They had grown in both population and economic stability. Even so, relations between the colonies and Great Britain were strained. The colonists became more and more discontented with England’s control of their political and economic affairs. The colonies were dissatisfied with the rules of British Mercantilism, or the idea that the colonies were a mere source of raw materials and market for the British mainland. This animosity for the motherland had then been seeded by the lack of economic freedom and the harsh taxes that had been set on everyday luxuries and necessities;

The life women lived in colonial america ,for the lack of a word the showed just how horrible it was, sucked. In Carol Berkins book, first generations women in colonial america, Almost all women had a life mainly filled with marriage, babies and death though not necessarily in that order or having all three occur in everyone's lives. Almost every example in the book have women either having fathers who are domineering, husbands who are domineering or both such as the case with Grace Galloway. Carol Berkin describes graces' father as "a powerful and egotistical man" and her husband as "unstable, temperamental, argumentative, haughty, and disturbingly suspicious of others" which seems to be a running theme throughout the book. A woman owned

The history and foundation of America was forged through the blood, sweat, and the tenacity of the colonists in the mid- 1700s. During this time of new hope and perspective, the colonists felt stifled by Britain’s tight hold on their country. They insisted on independence for their colonies and were enraged by their original land’s refusal to acknowledge their rights. Britain ignores the colonists’ natural rights and took advantage of America’s reliance on their finances and support. Britain’s government terrorized the colonists by denying their natural rights and abusing their power, leading to revolutions that would further shape the history of America.

By the 1700’s, New England, the Chesapeake region and the Southern Colonies developed into three distinct societies, despite coming from the same mother country, England. The regions of Colonial America each had a distinctive culture and economy entirely different from the other regions. Religion and religious tolerance was completely different in each region, running from being free to complete persecution. Ethnicity and racial composition ranged from almost complete British descent to a wide range of composition. Each region was politically and economically structured different and had its own identity. Each developed differently based on immigration trends, geography and other features. Throughout the colonization of Colonial America,

The democracy established in colonial America developed greatly as the rights of colonists were recognized, however, the early establishment caused many of the features to be undemocratic. The history in colonial America as shown in the documents imply that equality among people of different races, genders and beliefs was not yet established during this time. America was filled with inequality and undemocratic features, allowing prejudice to occur between men and women, and the difference races. In 1763, the qualifications that one needed in order to vote varied depending on the colony. Although, each colony required that the voter was to be of the christian religion, white race, and male gender.

Between the years of 1607and 1763, the British North American colonies developed experience and the expectation of self government in the political such as the Mayflower Compact, religious dealing with the Puritans, economic with the establishment of tobacco, and social such as Indians, aspects of life.

By 1600, England’s feudal system was nearing extinction, as a new family (Tudor’s) came to power and wanted support from the middleclass and the establishment of new liberties for Englishman (i.e. trial by jury and no arrest without a warrant), which resulted in a large amount of local and self initiative to prosper in the community: yet many beggars now existed, culminating in an increased need for colonial expansion both for personal prosperity and more space for the existing population.

From 1607 to 1754, people’s views on governing themselves changed greatly. It began in 1607, with the settlement of Jamestown. They were a corporate colony, working for the Virginia Company, they were whole-heartedly British. The Great Awakening, the Enlightenment, and the Tradition of Neglect all introduced new ways for the American colonies to think of themselves as more independent. Although they still considered themselves part of the British Empire, by the end of this era they had discovered that they could make their own laws and constitutions that fit the way that their world worked as opposed to Great Britain.

All of us alive today have grown up learning about the American Revolution. Although it contains the word “revolution” in its name, there are many who don’t consider the American Revolution a real revolution. After considering the definition of a revolution – a radical change of an entire system, usually by war, resulting in a change of the way of life of the people involved – and the American society before and after the American Revolution, it is obvious that those who don’t consider the American Revolution a revolution are mistaken. Among the many aspects of colonial society affected by the American Revolution, those most greatly affected by the revolution were the attitude towards slavery, the role of women, and the role of trade.

The American Colonies for the past 20 years have become accustomed to living a thousand miles from their sovereign, the King of England and Parliament. This separation from “monarchial” control and power has created a tough and independent society, which although they believe themselves to be subjects of the crown, has molded an experience and lifestyle unlike any found within the “Crown’s” realm. Subsequently, these differences in lifestyles bond both Mother Country and colony on a path that veers from the typical empirical rule that has ruled the known world for the last century.

     Religion was a very important part of everyday life in colonial America. Sometimes people were not allowed to question what they were taught, and if they did so they were punished accordingly. Before 1700 some colonies had more religious freedom then others. While others colonies only allowed religious freedom to a select group, others allowed religious freedom to all different kinds of religions. In the overall there was quite a bit of religious freedom in colonial America

The Massachusetts colony, otherwise known as the ‘Massachusetts Bay colony’ was originally settled by Puritans in 1630. They were plagued by the religious persecutions of King Charles I and the Church of England. Weary from this dogged torment, they left England under the leadership of John Winthrop. These original colonists quickly established many small towns in the name of high religious ideals and strict societal rules. They also planted churches, spread Puritanism and religiously educated the masses, as these were some of their goals. A utopian society that other colonies looked upon with high regards was the ultimate goal.

The European conquest for establishing North American colonies began with various motivations, each dependent on different, and/or merging necessities: economics, the desire to flee negative societal aspects, and the search for religious freedoms. Originally discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 in search for a trade route to Cathay (China), North America remained uninhabited, excluding the Native American establishments. Following this discovery, Spain –along with other European nations such as France, England, Sweden and the Netherlands– soon began the expedition to the new land with vast expectations. Driven by economic, societal, and religious purposes, the New World developed into a diversely structured colonial establishment

The people of the American revolutionary era had no choice but to rapidly modify their social agendas to keep up with the steady pace of governmental change. “Americans in the years following their revolution set about reforming their culture, in their strenuous efforts to bring their ideas and manners into accord with their new republican governments” (Wood 122). The area that was most distinctly affected by the revolution was the issue of slavery and the differentiations in beliefs among the various regions of the U.S.

Anglicization of the Britain’s American colonies was a big event for the course of not only American or British history, but world history. The colonists adopting many British ways and becoming very patriotic towards the “mother country” had a large effect on the events that unfolded in the late 18th century. While it is true that the American colonists were incredibly British during the beginning to the mid-18th century, the colonies had been around long enough to develop their own culture and way of doing things. The series of events and acts that were imposed on the colonists post French and Indian War got the ball rolling on what came to be known as the American Revolution. The colonists were so fed up with the way in which the British were tightening their hold on the colonies to the point where they were driven to rebellion. The combination of British and underlying American ideals in the pre-revolution era were a necessarily pre-requisite and important component of what would become the American Revolution.