Changes to American Society and Culture 1700-1812: From Great Britains 'Subjects' to the Evolution of a Nation (KJ)
By kjackson1102
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Importing Africans for Slave Labor
By the eighteenth century the slave trade had gained momentum with the importation of over hundreds of thousands of Africans. Slave labor built a wealthy class of British Americans and the implementation of slave codes separated the races by citizens and eventually chattel. [http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MEDIA_1/history/MHL/US/documents/Servants_and_Slaves_VA_1705.html] [http://southernmiddlenewengland.weebly.com/southern-colonies.html] -
Evangelism by Means of the Great Awakening
In Massachusetts, Jonathan Edwards began spreading the word of personal conversion as the only way to escape damnation. His most popular sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" vividly described the pits of hell and how the elite were not exempt from such damnation. [Scott et al., U.S. History, 111] -
French Indian War
The end of the war brought great British pride and debt. The British Parliament had to find ways to pay off the debt, such began a series of Acts that levied duties on the colonists. [https://cristina1395.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/the-french-and-indian-war/] [Scott et al., U.S. History, 126] -
The Stamp Act of 1764
Previous taxes were indirect but the Stamp Act placed a tax directly on every piece of printed paper used by colonists. The British viewed the Act as a means to raise revenue and reduce the debt, the colonists began to protest "no taxation without representation" [Scott et al., U.S. History, 111]. -
The Declaratory Act of 1766
Although the Stamp Act was repealed in March of 1766, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act which asserted Great Britain's ultimate authority over the colonies. [Scott et al., U.S. History, 136] [http://www.theworldsgreatbooks.com/declaratoryact.htm] -
Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans
Supporters of the Constitution, Federalists were property owners that did not believe in equality and believed in distinct rank and social hierarchy. The Democratic-Republicans, Anti-Federalists, viewed the Constitution as similar to what was imposed by Great Britian and preventing states from guiding themselves. [Scott et al., U.S. History, 212]
