Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

the enemy. Franklin was not alone in his love of science and interest in public affairs. There were other men in Pennsylvania only less distinguished than he, whose names are still remembered,' and there were flourishing societies, and the first medical school in the country was established in Philadelphia.

6. Life in the South. The colonies lying to the south of Mason and Dixon's Line differed from those of the North in being wholly agricultural and in having their labor done by black slaves. The chief products were tobacco in the northern parts, rice, indigo, and a little cotton, in the southern. The land was held in large estates, so that power was in the hands of a comparatively small number of families.

In Virginia, the water ways were so excellent that vessels from England or the Northern colonies could receive and discharge cargoes at the wharves of the several plantations. Thus towns were insignificant, and the merchants were few; the planter shipped his tobacco direct and received in return, landed at his own door, whatever he needed that his own plantation did not produce.

Baltimore was the only town of importance in the tobacco country. Farther south, in the rice country, was Charleston. The planters in South Carolina divided their time between their plantations and Charleston. They could not live much of the year on their estates, and the care of the black slaves was left largely to overseers. Thus slavery in Virginia was less harsh than in South Carolina. In the former colony, masters and servants formed one great household; in the latter, the unhealthy country led to frequent deaths among the slaves; their number was filled up with fresh importations from Africa, and the masters and mistresses might have slaves whom they never saw.

[ocr errors]

Early Influence of Slavery. Since almost all manual labor in the Southern colonies was done by slaves, the free men felt

1 Among these were John Bartram, the botanist; David Rittenhouse, the astronomer; Benjamin Rush, the physician.

The better

it to be beneath them to work with their hands. class, who owned the slaves, had no need to labor; the poorer sort were unwilling to do what slaves did. Thus, between the planters and the blacks, there came to be a class of poor whites who lived from hand to mouth and learned no habits of industry and saving. The planters often sent their sons to Europe to be educated, and they had teachers for their younger children at home.

There were, therefore, not many schools, and the poorer people grew up in ignorance. The rich had books and pictures, and were a courteous, generous class, high-spirited and welleducated. In Maryland the proprietary government continued. In Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, the governors and other officers were appointed by the king, while the members of assemblies were chosen by the people. The people who chose the members were the landholders and slave owners, and they naturally took a great interest in politics.'

1 A good many interesting items of life in the colonies will be found in the narratives I have brought together in Men and Manners in America a Hundred Years Ago. Another book which goes over much general ground in a picturesque fashion is Charles Carleton Coffin's Old Times in the Colonies. See also Kellogg's Good Old Times, dealing especially with western Pennsylvania.

QUESTIONS.

What was the general character of the country occupied by the thirteen English colonies? How many inhabitants were there, and what proportion were blacks? Name the thirteen colonies in their order beginning with the one farthest north. Describe life in Massachusetts. What determined the industries of the colony? Name the occupations of the people. Describe their houses; the rooms; the fireplaces; the fuel; the food; the clothing; the best room. How did the people amuse themselves? What were the social distinctions? What was at the center of the town? What was the local government? Explain the difference between a New England town and a Western township. What was Faneuil Hall? What was the difference between town life and country life? What constitutes the chief industry of Maine and New Hampshire? What effect did the French war have on New England industry?

Where were the settlements in New York? Why was the Dutch lan

guage used there? Describe the houses; the fireplaces; the chests of drawers; the glass cupboards. Of what trade was Albany the center? Describe the farms. Describe the town of New York. What was lacking among the Dutch to cultivate the spirit of liberty? What Indians were in New York, and what Englishman had great influence among them ? Describe New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the people who lived there. Where was the most thickly settled portion of America ? Describe Philadelphia. Give the story of Benjamin Franklin. What was Poor Richard's Almanac? Describe the planters' manner of living. What is said of the governments of the Southern colonies? of the people who composed all the colonies ?

SEARCH QUESTIONS.

Who were the Huguenots, and what brought them to this country ? Name some instances in recent history when Faneuil Hall has been used for great public meetings. What are the principal colleges in New England, and when were they established? What old scientific association has its home in Philadelphia? What part did Franklin have in the establishment of public libraries? Why did slavery die out in the Northern colonies? When did it disappear by law in Massachusetts ? in New York? What customs inaugurated by the Dutch in New York remain in Vogue? How did ten ministers bring about the founding of Yale College?

SUGGESTIONS FOR LITERARY TREATMENT.

COMPOSITIONS:

A New England town meeting.

Franklin's boyhood.

How Franklin once flew a kite and what came of it.

A Sunday service in a Puritan church.

Poor Richard's Almanac and some of its maxims.

DEBATES:

Resolved, That Franklin became of greater importance to the country by taking up his residence in Philadelphia.

Resolved, That the absence of towns in Virginia was of advantage in the development of the colony.

[blocks in formation]

7. The thirteen colonies were thirteen distinct governments, but they had also much in common. They were English colonies; they obeyed English laws; they called the King of England their king; they traded with one another, both by land and by water; families moved from one colony to another; letters and newspapers were sent back and forth. There was no such quick movement as is now possible. The roads were

rudely made and ill kept. People traveled chiefly by their own conveyances.

In 1756 the first stage ran between New York and Philadelphia, and was three days making the journey. Those who traveled by sloop packets were dependent on the winds. They might be three days in going from New York to Providence, Rhode Island, and they might be three times as long. The mails were carried mainly on horseback, and connected the line of settlements regularly from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Philadelphia.

South of Philadelphia the rider went only when he had collected what he thought enough matter. In North Carolina the mail passed through the coast towns only about once a month. The different colonies had also their separate postal arrangements within their own borders.

Early Newspapers. The people in different parts of the country depended for news chiefly on the letters which they received. The newspapers did not at first tell much of what was going on in the places where they were published. They contained advertisements, and news about European affairs copied from the London papers. The first newspaper was the Boston News Letter, established in 1704. In 1763 there were only between thirty and forty newspapers in the entire country. The printer, who was often the postmaster, did not usually write many articles himself. He printed letters written to him by his fellow townsmen, and these letters told what the writers thought of the government or of public affairs. Thus, when the colonies began to have common interests, the newspaper came to be of importance.

8. Plans for Union. The dangers which threatened the colonies had more than once led them to seek some union among themselves. This is seen in the confederation of the New England colonies in 1643, in the congress held in New York after the destruction of Schenectady, in 1690, and in the congress held at Albany in 1754. These all arose from difficulties with the Indians.

Franklin, who was a delegate from Pennsylvania to this last congress, drew up a plan on his way to Albany for a more perfect union of all the colonies under one government. When he met the other delegates he found that some of them had drawn up similar plans. There was a growing belief that some union was necessary. The congress at Albany discussed the matter, and agreed upon a plan which was mainly that of Franklin. He impressed his view of a Federal union upon the people in a characteristic fashion, for his newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, for a long time bore a device which

« ZurückWeiter »