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CHAPTER 3
Colonial Ways of Life
1607–1750
This chapter discusses what life was like in the colonial era as evidenced by demographics, gender roles,
regional differences, the development of race-based slavery, and the impact of the Enlightenment and the
Great Awakening on the colonies. The period was a time of significant change for colonial life during
which we see transition from survival to subsistence and, eventually, toward prosperity.
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Explain the major factors that contributed to the demographic changes that took place in the English
colonies during the eighteenth century.
2. Describe women’s various roles in the English colonies.
3. Compare the societies and economies of the southern, New England, and middle colonies.
4. Describe the creation of race-based slavery during the seventeenth century and its impact on the social
and economic development of colonial America.
5. Analyze the impact of the Enlightenment and Great Awakening on the colonies.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. The Shape of Early America
A. Population Growth
B. Birth and Death Rates
2. Women in the Colonies
3. Society and Economy in the Colonies
A. The Southern Colonies
B. New England
i. Religion
ii. Economy
C. The Middle Colonies
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4. Race-Based Slavery in the Colonies
A. African Slavery in North America
B. Colonial Race Relations
5. First Stirrings of a Common Colonial Culture
A. Colonial Cities
B. The Urban Web
C. The Enlightenment in America
D. The Age of Reason in America
E. The Great Awakening
i. Peak of the Great Awakening
ii. The Heart versus the Head
LECTURE IDEAS
1. Develop a lecture on the diversity of colonial settlers. This should include a discussion on both social
and economic issues and focus on cultural issues as well. See the following books:
• David H. Fischer’s Albion’s Seed (1989)
• Jack P. Greene’s Imperatives, Behaviors, and Identities (1992)
• Jack P. Greene’s Pursuits of Happiness (1988)
• Sarah Vowell’s The Wordy Shipmates (2008)
2. Examine daily life in the early colonies with a lecture on sports and recreation. This will especially
illuminate contrasting attitudes toward work and leisure and the differing levels of religious influence
in New England and the Chesapeake region. See the opening chapter in Benjamin Rader’s American
Sports (2008), as well as the documents in Steven Riess’s Major Problems in American Sport History
3. An incredibly interesting and effective way to study Puritan communities in the latter 17th century is
through a lecture on the Salem witch trials. From the enormous literature options on this topic, see
especially Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum’s Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft
(1976) and “The Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem” in James Davidson and Mark Lytle’s After the
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4. Discuss population statistics, measures of populations, and demography. Focus on the birth and death
rates within the colonies and how it affected population growth. You can expand your lecture by
looking at current demographic numbers for the United States. Useful websites include:
• “U.S. and World Population Clock”: https://www.census.gov/popclock/
• “What is Demography?”: http://demogr.mpg.de/en/education_career/what_is_demography
_1908/default.htm
5. One of the inescapably important questions in American history is why slavery arose and why it was
exclusively Africans who were enslaved. Give a lecture that traces this question from the first arrival of
Africans in the colonies in 1619 to the abolition of slavery in the North during the era of the
6. Develop a lecture on the impact of the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening on the American
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES / FLIPPED CLASSROOM SUGGESTIONS
1. An activity on British folkways may assist in teaching this section of American history. Although it
has been criticized, David Hackett Fischer’s Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America (1989)
2. For a group that makes up half of the world’s population, women have certainly been given short shrift
historically. This era of American history gives us an opportunity to discuss women’s roles in early
America and note the social, religious, and political environment that cultivated such a limited
understanding. An excellent treatment of women at this point in history is Mary Beth Norton’s
3. Have students divide the colonies into three regions: northern, middle, and southern. Have them
pick two of the three regions to compare and contrast by completing a Venn diagram. Ask students
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4. One way to better understand a colony is to study the unique crises that each one faced. The Salem
Witchcraft Trials in Massachusetts and Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia (Chapter 2) reflect the social and
economic foundations of each colony. Have students analyze the similarities and differences between
these two conflicts and how each reflects the unique colonial environment in which they emerged.
5. Divide the class into small groups and have them research the Great Awakening. Have the students
discuss and present key topics from the Great Awakening, such as the emphasis on the individual that
went against many of the established religions. Relevant websites include:
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Explain possible reasons behind the decision of English and European migrants to brave the journey to
America.
2. How and why did “women’s work” expand in the eighteenth century?
3. What made the Southern colonies seem profitable to the mother country? Discuss how this led to a
demand for enslaved labor.
4. The Puritans relied heavily on their faith. How did their religious beliefs influence their governing
method and style?
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
This chapter details how the Great Awakening brought about contention within churches that caused
many of them to divide. This period brought about an explosion in the number of denominations and
sects, which is an important feature of American life to the present. Explore this religious diversity
outside of the classroom by attending the service of a church, temple, mosque, or other religious center