Initially marked by relative eco equality. Became the dominant social group at first b/c of numbers and later b/c of wealth and influence. Pacifists, dealin w/NA by making treaties and buying land. Vision of a "peacable kingdom" attracted GERM settlers.
"Two Treatises on Government" 1690. Rejected divine-right theories of monarchical rule, argued that the legitimacy of govt rests on the consent of the governed and that individuals have inalienable natural rights to life, liberty and property. A ppl should have the right to change govt policies, or even the form of govt, through the decision of a majority. Lasting influence in America. Enlightenment: "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" 1690 emphasized the impact of environment, experience, and reason on human behavior. Character of individuals and societies was not fixed but could be changed through edu and purposeful action.
Commitment to family independence. Celebrated the husband as the head of the houshold. Women's role was subordinate. Father's duty to provide inheritances for his kids. NE gradually changed from a grain to a livestock eco and became the major supplier of salted and pickled meat to the slave plantations of the W Indies. System of community exchange allowed households, and the entire eco, to achieve max output, thereby preserving the freehold ideal.
Pietism: a Christian evangelical outlook, emphasized devout behavior, emotional church services, and a striving for a mystical union with God; appealed to the heart rather than the mind. Minister Jonathan Edwards restored spiritual enthusiasm to the Congregational churches in the Connecticut River Valley. George Whitefield transformed local revivals into a movement that spanned ENG N AMER; he preached as if inspired and told his listeners they had all sinned and must seek salvation. Controversial Movement pitting Old Lights vs. New Lights. It undermined support for established churches and challenged their tax-supported status; it also challenged the authority of ministers.
Emphasized the power of human reason to understand and shape the world, appealed especially to well-edu men and women from merchant or planter families and to urban artisans. Along with the Great Awakening promoted independent thinking and helped transform Amer intellectual and cultural life. Newton, Locke, Franklin.
French-Indian War (1754-1763)
The last of a series of Imperial Wars btwn EUR countries. Had a theater in N AMER where portions of the FR and ENG empires were conflicting. ENG colonists wanted to move W but they were blocked by NA. The FR claimed that territory and supported those NA. Ended with the Treaty of Paris: ENG received land out to the MS and SPN received the Great Plains. ENG established a Proclamation Line as a promise to the NA...the colonists could not move W of that line and NA could not move E. Played a role in American Nationalism: Americans saw they were more like themselves/each other than they were like the ENG, the increased contact btwn the two revealed a mutual disdain. Americans also felt cheated by the Proclamation Line, they had spilled out money and blood and wanted to move W. Unifiying experience.