American Studies

Chapters 4 and 8

Migration accounted for a large part of population growth, but most of it was
natural growth.
A lot of African slaves added to the population as well. In the 17th century,
English officials recruited German and French protestants. A large, industrious
population at home began to be seen as an asset. There were also Irish and
Scottish immigrants.

Migrants from different countries often clashed. The English tried to prevent even
long-residant immigrants from a voice in government. At the revolution of 1770,
however, they realised they needed the support of the non-English immigrants.

The large growth in population accounted for an economic increase. America

ceased to be entirely dependant of English goods. Colonial prosperity relied
heavily on the demand for American products in Europe. Money raised from this
was used to purchase European import goods.
The economy slowly increased, making for more luxury and a better diet.
Americans became consumers, with a choice in what to buy.

King George’s War was a war of British against Spanish ships. Boston, known as a
ship-building town, profited considerably from this. Then New England started
suffering losses, especially after New England’s capture of St. Louisburg from the
French, which was an expensive victory for which Massachusets taxpayers had to
pay. The shipbuilding boom ended when the war did, and the economy stagnated
while taxes remained high.
In the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 it was decided that New England was to
return St. Louisburg to France.
The middle colonies, who were farmers, profited from the war. There was
suddenly a much greater demand for their produce. Thanks to the sudden
European demand for grain, the Chesapeake started growing wheat and corn.
This meant that they were growing more than just tobacco. In the South the war
caused a massive depression for the rice trade, as this was disrupted. After the
war, however, the South experienced more growth than the rest of the country.

Georgia was founded in 1732 by James Oglethorpe. He wanted to have a colony

to defend the Southern flanks against the Spanish. Initially, there was no slavery
there, but in the end it changed into a plantation colony closely resembling
South-Carolina.

The differentiating impact of King George’s War showed how the colonies were
not a union.

Around 1750 an elitist culture started to rise in New England. Wealthy colonists
spent a lot of money, and created spaces specially deisgned for dancing, card-
playing or drinking tea. They found great pleasure in boasting about their level of
education. Women were usually excluded from higher education.

The Enlightenment made people analyze nature and physics and God’s plan for
the world. It supplied intellectuals and wealthy people from Europe and America
with a uniform vocabulary and uniform ideas. It was in this time that Benjamin
Franklin published his ideas on electricity.