CH5 – Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution

Time Frame: 1700-1775

Objectives: At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Describe the demographic, ethnic, and social character of Britain’s colonies in the eighteenth century, and indicate how colonial society had changed since the seventeenth century.
• Explain how the economic development of the colonies altered the patterns of social prestige and wealth, and brought growing class distinctions and class conflict to British North America.
• Identify the major religious denominations of the eighteenth-century colonies, and indicate their role in early American society.
• Explain the causes of the Great Awakening, and describe its effects on American religion, education, and politics.
• Describe the origins and development of education, culture, and journalism in the colonies.
• Describe the basic features of colonial politics, including the role of various official and informal political institutions.
• Indicate the key qualities of daily existence in eighteenth-century colonial America, including forms of socialization and recreation.