Chapter 4- American Life in the 17th Century

Chapter 4-Key Points• Even though initial settlements in

the Chesapeake region barely survived, colonies in that area soon spawned the powerful industry of cultivating and selling tobacco. –Helped maintain the economy of the

region– Led to the westward penetration of the

Chesapeake colonies because of its tendency to exhaust the soil

Chapter 4- Key Points• The social life and customs of the

North American colonists were shaped and affected by where they lived.–Unique cultural traits took root in New

England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

– Despite the presence of slavery in the colonies, white settlers were not quick to adopt the social stratification (division) that existed in Europe

Characteristics of Puritan Communities

Education Religion Community Difference•Important- towns of 50+ required to provide elementary ed.•Established the oldest college in US (Harvard)•Had religious influence (Primer)

•Foundation of the community•Clergy were leaders- social & political•Behaved out of fear

•Valued community•Unity good for the moral health of the community•Tight knit family structures important

•Saw difference as a sin (bad thing)•Banished those who challenged the status quo•Killed Indians•Salem Witch Trials

An African Slave Coffle

Yoked and bound, these men, women, and children were on their way to a coastal slave

market, where they would be herded aboard ship for the Americas.

Main Sources and Destinations of African Slaves, c. 1500-1860

Advertisements for Slave Sales in

Charleston, South Carolina, 1753

• Charleston had the largest slave market in the colonies

The Slave Ship Albatross, 1846

The “Middle Passage”

The “middle passage” referred to the transatlantic sea voyage that brought slaves to the New World—the long and hazardous “middle” segment of a journey that began with a forced march to the African coast and ended with a trek into the

American interior.

The Emergence of an African American Culture

A vivid illustration of the blending of the two cultures in the crucible of the New World.