Navigation Act

• The Navigation acts were a number of laws that didn't allow foreign shipping to trade between England and its colonies.

• The goal of it was to force colonial development to favor England, rather than other countries

• This was one of the acts the colonists obeyed.

Mercantilism

• Mercantilism was a doctrine that gave the government control over foreign trade

• The policies of this doctrine included high tariffs, monopolized markets, and limited wages.

The Great Awakening

• The great awakening was a period of individual spiritual awakening in colonial America

• it unified the American colonies as it spread through numerous preacher and revivals

• As of which brought the climate of the Revolution

Albany Plan

• In 1754, not long after the Great Awakening, Benjamin Franklin advanced his Albany Plan

• It called for a colonial union which dealt with problems such as defense against Indian attacks on the frontier

• Thirteen once-isolated colonies were merging together

Under One Administration

• In the 1680’s James II brought New York, New Jersey, and all of New England under one administration

• He planned to unify the southern colonies in a similar way

• His actions were resented by the colonists so after the Glorious Revolution and the collapse of the Dominion of New England, no further unification were attempted

• Instead the colonies separated even more

Colonial Policy

• In 1696 the colonial policy was determined by a new Board of Trade which nominated colonial governors and other high officials

• It reviewed all the laws passed by the colonial legislatures and recommended disapproval of certain laws

• The Privy Council and the Crown nearly always accepted its recommendations

Colonial Scientific Achievements

• America didn’t produce no Galileo or Newton, instead the colonists contributed significantly to the collection of scientific knowledge

• The unexplored continent provided a laboratory for the study of natural phenomena

• Men such as Benjamin Franklin who gained international stature for inventing the lightning rod, focal spectacles, and many other devices

Whitefield

• In 1738, Reverend George Whitefield, a young Oxford-trained Anglican minister arrived in Georgia

• He was a marvelous orator who was able to play the feelings of his audience

• Whitefield undertook fund-raising tours throughout the colonies and even managed to move Benjamin Franklin enough to make him donate money

Laws and Acts

• The British imposed many laws upon the colonists such as the Wool Act and Iron Act

• It mostly prohibited the export or new construction of certain resources

• Many were designed to steer the American industries in a certain direction, not destroying it

• It was guided to put more resources in English mills, farms, and stores, rather than American

The Enlightenment

• The Enlightenment of America focused on challenging the role of religion and divine right, it was responsible in unifying colonies and bringing about acceptance of religious tolerance

• The movement weakened the importance of a clergy as believers started relying on their own conclusions.

• It lead to the creations of different sects of other religions