History50a Timeline

Colonists realize they are not going to find gold and begin producing "black gold"
Sir Walter Raleigh had brought it back to England in 16th century- Euros addicted
By 1700 Euros bring bees to pollinate Euro plants in America- change in the land
Late 17th century- price of tobacco drops below break even price, tobacco messes up soil in late 17th century, farmers have to switch to crops liek wheat
IMPORTANT because if signals a transfer south to the Carolinas bc of the Chesapeake's move to less labor intensive crops

Settle into Jamaica, Barbado, Antigua
Vast majority of Euro immigrants go to WI
Most valuable colonies by far
mono-crop economy based on sugar-transfer from tobacco came in 1640s when it became much less profitable to produce tobacco than sugar

Puritans who want to go to the NW and then come back to purify the Anglican church leave in 1630- abt. 21,000 migrants who go to Mass. Bay Colony

John Winthrop- leader- seeking to establish City upon a hill

Social hierarchy mixed with equality of all before God in terms of His love- the better should rule and the worse shouldn't. Believe in an organic, hierarchical society- everyone unified together to give rulers power

Believe in unity- built towns around the church- joined together by love, not coercion

Activist state- sumptuary laws- no one can wear nice clothes bc may cause conflict through jealousy

Rapid growth in sophistication- begin building infrastructure, preference to human portraiture over religious imagery, paintings based on Elizabethan style: emphasizes linearity

Literacy- New England Primer- religious book to teach children the alphabet- sells over 5 million copies- literacy very important

Founded as a colony of planters from Caribbean who wanted to expand their economy and lifestyle to Carolina

Exodus of 21,000 Puritans to NE- come in one lump migration in contrast to VA
75% of people coming come as a family
Lots of land for people- leads to issues with children listening to parents bc primogeniture no longer as important as in England

Economy in barbados and other English colonies not improving, switch from tobacco to sugar
Sugar hard to make- requires lots of labor, high cost to enter in growing it
Did not grow their own food but developed provisioning trade btw Caribbean and North america where place like NE would sell salt-cod for slave food and use NE built ships to ship the stuff
Huge plantations
First colonies to use slaves

Charter:
Creoles- savvy, linguistic skills, from West Africa, more open to assimilation, accept Christ, more social mobility (not as much of an elite planter class
Less codification of slave law- slaves treated similarly to servants
More slave economies- greater social mobility with ability to buy freedom
Greater concern with class than race
Slave could own land and live independently
Easier to maintain a family- some families even lived in social parity with whites

Plantation
Mixed African origins- strangers to Atlantic system, more concerned w/ traditions
Greater codification of slave laws- more restrictive in general
Growing inequality btw elite planters and poor whites
Greater demand on slaves- treated much more as commodities and treated much more brutally
Development of overseer position
Greater dispersion of families and development of kinship networks
less cohesive black culture for some- linguistic and tradition based barriers

Purpose to control trade within colonies
All goods coming in and out of colonies must come on "British bottoms"
Develops great age of smuggling
Helps British merchants
British especially concerned with enumerated goods- tobacco, corn, wheat, sugar, and that these were sold off Brit bottoms
Gave colonists shipping monopoly and provide them with market for what they produce

Inheritance was the old way for parents to control kids in England where there wasn't a lot of land (primogeniture laws)
Because of amount of land, primogeniture begins to be dismantled
Children no longer mind parents- community breaks down some as individualism grows a little
Land abundance opens economic and religious freedom as people move farther away from towns

HC- even though 2nd generation of Puritans don't have many visible saints, they can be "halfway" members of the church (can't vote for minister but can baptize their kids)

Religious problems:
Everyone must go to church but only a few are visible sains
Hold idea of infant depravity so they have infant baptism but only visible saints can baptize infants
Second generation- 1630-40s- expanding away from towns, not as many conversions, not as many visible saints
Third generation- 2nd generation cant baptize 3rd generation- problem bc no visible saints

Every child born of a slave mother is a slave- response to bi-racial peoples

After 1660s-70s, planters move from indenture servants to slaves bc slaves are never freed, will not eventually compete with them, and they provide continued labor

Labor shortage bc not enough indentured servants puts more demand on slaves, develops a slave society

Before 1660s, blacks did not have bad position in society but white elites must develop societal hierarchy based upon race as apposed to socio-economic class to prevent rebellion of poor whites and blacks

Begin to create slavelaws/ black codes- can't bear arms, travel without permission, can be killed, distance the idea of baptism and freedom, blacks can't be freed unless transported out of country

Norther Slavery:
Small farms mean slaves are not as important- urban slaves

100,000 Algonquians live btw Maine and Cape Cod
Puritans live among Indians and vice versa

Indians are undergoing dramatic change:
Extreme pressures on land with colonists coming to NE
Small groups led by Sachems like small towns led by mayor
Fight a lot with neighbors

Indian disunity doesn't allow them to form unified front against colonist- colonists exploit this

King Philip's war comes when Indians see their entire way of life threatened- Wampanoag resist English- indians led by Metacomet- destroyed half of NE towns- this is a war between people who coexisted

Indians lose 40% of Indians

English lose 5% of population
End of time where accommodation between Indians and colonists can occur

A time when the Jeremiad, declension narrative develops

Huge class rift btw poorer whites and plantation owners
Anger rose up against Governor Berkley in VA after he did not retaliate against Indians for attacks on frontiersman (did not retaliate to help wealthy friends maintain good trade relationships with Algonqiuan Indians)
Bacon burns Jamestown, rebellion eventually collapses, crown uses it as a chance to take more power in their profitable Virginia colony and sends Sir Herbert Jeffreys to take over

Believe that evil one is trying to overthrow Christendom and attacking the Puritans
Pre-salem- Cotton mather uses witch outbreak as a reason for reform
Theory for cause- two Salems- poor part of salem to left and wealthy, cosmopolitan Salem to the right with most accusers in the right side

Biracial society:
Planter class with huge black lower class
Much more racial amalgamation than in North

17th Century:
Huge labor shortage
Short marriages
Few women- made them powerful
The above characteristics prevent exertion of power by white men

18th century changes:
White-life expectancy increases, fathers control wives, children, and slaves more and more bc they are living longer
Rober "King" Carter great example of this- single-handedly builds lots of infrastructure, like church, controls how his kids marry
Planter aristocracy develops
Labor force in South is now consolidated to black slaves

Aristocracy need support and votes of white yeoman:
Slavery allows elite to control small planters
White elites act like bank for yeoman
Elites "protect" poor whites by building slave laws- fear of slave insurrection
System of reciprocating obligation with banking and slave law- Southern hospitality also emerges

The Southern Household:
Not introspective like New Englanders
Patriarchal society develops- women increasingly removed to household
Higher fertility rates, many women die in child birth

Development of overseer- number of slave increase and overseers supposed to keep them working and in check

Slaves begin to reproduce themselves- higher life expectancy and less importation
40% of slaves in VA born in Am.

Formation of black family life:
Only allowed to marry informally
Concept of kin network grows much greater

George Whitefield comes from England to America, starts preaching to large crowds across the entirety of colonies

1st time a preacher addressed all the colonies, first time thousands of Americans affected by religious leader- 1st celebrity and most popular man in America
Sparked revival in America and Europe
1650-early 1700s, 75% of colonists go to church, also a time of religious diversification

Whitefield's message is the same but the medium is different- preaches to common people in common language- reaching beyond visible saints- very dramatic and acted well. He made one change to Calvinism is substituting a slow conversion of many years into a single, high-powered conversion of New Birth- cultural sensibility is important because people are listening to their heart about where they are with Christ

Great Awakening breaks Protestants into old light and new light churches
old- traditional, conservative, socially higher
new- more emotional, poorer, newer- believe emotion is important
some start to think that community doesn't matter bc only emotion matters
After Great Awakening, many African Americans are converted
For new lights, emotion prioritized as key to understanding

Definite cause of Am. Rev.:
Puts Britain in huge debt
Tax colonies to fill back their coffers

The War:
Also called French and Indian War
Sparked by GW attacking French for
5 things to know: 1. war btw Britain and France wage in colones 2. indians fight to pursue own agenda 3. First global war 4. colonial militias suffer huge losses

France pushed out of NA- loss very important for Indians who lose French as an ally and can't play off the French and British in trading

Colonists begin encroaching more on Indian territory

By 1763, Britain is most power empire and colonists are tired of fighting wars for their mother country as Britain pushes into Indian country, french territory, and Spanish territory

British plunged into massive debt by war- establish standing army in the states, to pay for the army they tax British first, decide to tax colonists to help pay
Taxes no longer raised by colonial assemblies but Brits- annoys colonists, feel army has more empirical purpose than colonial purpose

British set a line over which colonists are not supposed to pass into Indian territory

Nonetheless, the colonists go into the territory and buy up the land- colonists resentful that they are not supposed to do this

Colonial currency based on each colony
Forbids colonies from issuing paper money

Reduced the tax of the 1733 Molasses Act by 50% and decided to enforce it more- actually incited the colonists fear about taxation from the empire

Colonists smuggling can be tried in vice-admiralty courts, judges elected by crown, no juries, overlapped with civil common law

Begin to fram colonial dissent within ideological thought
Colonists believe:
they have right to tax themselves
government should be limited
2 Ideas;
1. Representation- actual vs. virtual
2. Government- fight btw. power and liberty, Americans like non-interventionist governments, fear power, begin to fear British conspiracy to tax the colonists without representation and deprive them of liberties

Especially in Mass.
Boston established as center of radicalization- Sons of Liberty

Taxes all paper with a stamp, touches almost every colonists but especially the most literate people
British ask colonists to elect Stamp Masters who administer
Irritates people because it is an internal tax that is not used to regulate or support trade but simply to raise revenue to pay back what the colonists believe was a war between the British and French

Met in New York, every colony send a delegate
Write out "resolves"
Meant to address grievances to better establish themselves in the British Empire

Parliament repeals the Stamp Act- gives colonists idea that they can manipulate parliament

Dec. Act:
parliament can legislate for colonies always
parliamentary supremacy
one central power of Empire is Parliament
the act was meant to rebuke the idea that the Stamp Act is illegal

Organize first boycotts
Establish people will not buy tea and other stuff till Stamp Act repealed
Violent in some cases

wrote Letters from a Farm in Pennsylvania
moderate, wealthy, trained lawyer
argues all laws for sole purpose of raising revenue, all taxes without representation are non-British
says that duties which support mutually beneficial trade are ok

External taxes
Taxes on lead, paper, paint, glass, tea- lifestyle tax
Colonists import most of these from Britain
Pay salaries for VA courts
Meant to show superiority of Britain

Colonial response- re-start responses to Stamp Act
Pamphlet war
Petition King
Reactivate non-importation agreements around the colonies
By 1770, boycotts cut Brit import by 2/3s

Quartering act
4,000 redcoats in city of 15,000

huge surge in colonial rhetoric
British repeal Townshend Duties in response
Don't repeal tea part

tobacco, wheat, fish, rice, indigo, whale oil

Connect colonies with communication from all different colonies

Bc of Nav acts- tea ships have to sell tea to london merchants who then ship it to Am. and that makes it expensive

1767- colonists buy inferior Dutch tea- parliament calls it smuggling and trys them in VA courts- boycott East India Company
Brits fear EI company will go bankrupt

Tea Act allows EIC to ship directly, drop duty on tea, look at act as assertion of Parliamentary supremacy

Colonists turn back ships

Boston Tea Party happens

Labeled as intolerable acts by colonists
Meant to punish colonies
Closes port of Boston until price of tea is paid
Change Mass. charter
Restrict town meetings
Give governor way more power
Royal gov. of Mass replaced

Written by Jefferson
Goal was reconcilliation
Pushing for representation
Says:
Brits can't accurately represent colonists
Only a good kind can step in for colonists
Denounces many acts of Parliament as non-sensical
Desire autonomy but also reconcilliation

Every colony sends delegate
Develop plan for reconcilliation
issue Declaration of Rights and Grievances- state the right to legislate and reject Parliamentary supremacy
British decide that only force will due

George Washington chosen to lead it
Fighting begins with questions of what are they fighting for and what about reconciliation?

Gage head to seize arms cache in Mass.- militia send Brits to Boston

Very long, costly war
Second most destrutive war per capita
10% of available population in Am. fights
Killed 25,000 colonists and many more lives changed and transformed forever

Cont. Army very rag-tag

15-20,000 men made officers in Army- gave them continental view and gave the men a way to shoot up in social class- egalitarian
Army had huge democratization effect

Continental Congress
Huge issues with bankruptcy, lacking supply lines
Pay soldier in land
Starving soldiers were taking food from people, made them worry abt. Am. virtue

4 view of Am. pop.
Population continues to double every 20 years
Queisecent war- the loyalists who left never come back
Rev stirs pot of American society- begins undermining hierarchy with soldiers seeing officers not acting perfectly
Am. Rev. is critical turning point for entrenchment of Southern slavery- owners feel at odds with Rev. ideals and so hold tighter- gradual emancipation laws in the north

Am. Rev. War Phases:
1. Police Action- Brits defined Am. problem as order maintenance
1774- Am. has insurgency and center is Boston- want to make an example of Boston and separate it from colonies- colonies actually get behind Boston
2. Classical military tactics- cities not defensible
British believe that they are in a rebellion
march 1776- Brits evacuate Boston
Try to hive off NE from Southern British colonies with the Hudson
1776-1777- series of British successes, NY and NJ fall
1778- Saratoga- British forced to surrender- brings French in who recognize US as the US
3. Southern Strategy
Brits see South as soft underbelly of rebellion- pop scattered, class rift, strong Indians on frontiers
Brits try to call upon Loyalists in south

Written in january
Thomas Payne says we are fighting for freedom from British Empire
Galvanizes colonists

Says we are fighting for 2 things:
1. Exit from British Empire, says that gov. just comes from our wickedness, Kind is illogical bc he is separated from people and yet must govern people
Payne appeals for "reason" and many Brits called for reconciliation after he was published

Says:
Monarchy unreasonable bc hereditary leadership doesn't pass leaderhsip abilities

Turning point in Rev.- stirs up common support with understandable writing meant to be empower to common people

Olive branch to Cont. Congress from Parliament- go back to way it was before salutary neglect ended

States know what they don't want- powerful executive with ability to tax in unlimited way

No executive, just lots of legislature
No separate judiciary
national gov can raise an army, make war, make diplomatic treaties and negotiations, fund war, resolve problems in the Wests

What AoC can't do:
States retain all rights except those listed above
Retain especially power to tax
state delegates not required to the Congress
Need unanimous approval of all 13 states in Congres to do anything
Ex of inefficiency: languishing Treaty of paris

British surrender and war ends

Western Mass. was very commited to Rev
Farmers sent many men to die and left crops
Instead of reaping expected Republican rewards, the poor farmers are froced pay high, hard currency taxes by Mass. leg.
Shays lead rebellion- march on Federal arsenal, close court house to stop creditors, demand abolition of upper-house of Mass. legislature bc thinks they are aristocratic

1787- state militia called to queel the rebellion

All concede that Articles are a failure
Experience of war, rebellions, and national disunity shapes people
Tyranny of state legislature new issue- democratic despotism with state legislatures filled with populist rabble- mobocracy

Come together to solve 3 things:
1. Americans want a republic but it seems dangerous
2. Federal problem or problem of sovereignty within sovereignty- America is a republic within a republic
3. How to make a document that fixes this forever- no one has really written a Constitution before

Constitution becomes superior and antecedent to government

Convention:
Focuses on power sharing btw nation and states- lodges much more pwr in federal gov
Madison- federalist thinker- Virginia Plan
Virginia Plan- bicameral leg that makes laws, raises taxes, overrides state leg and use armed pwr to enforce, legislature appoints executive branch to filter out rabble from gov.
NJ Plan- Great Compromise
Two houses check pwr of one another
PWR of gov. checked by machinery of gov. itself
No more nobility unlike Britain
Anti-Federalists- opposed Const. on two ground, national gove. threatens states and lack of Bill of Rights threatens rights of individuals

Outlaws slavery in new territories