Free Essays on American History

1640-1720 The period in American history from 1640-1720 can be characterized by much crisis and conflict. This era saw the establishment of the African slave trade, political unrest aimed towards England, and increasingly violent clashes with Native Americans amidst an expanding frontier. The French were settling the great lakes region, the English and Dutch in the northeast, while Spain had colonies out west. As economies grew and trading expanded, all 3 ‘Old World’ settlements began to overlap into each other which resulted in hostility and war. At the same time, all 3 groups began clashing with Native Americans, mainly over land. Many Puritans insisted on trying to convert the natives to Christianity, with limited success. As colonial populations expanded, so did their need for new land acquisitions. With colonial expansion, the slave trade began to develop, and then flourish to become the mainstay or linchpin of the American economy by 1700. Plantation owners relied heavily on manual labor to cultivate their crops, as fewer and fewer Europeans were willing to indenture themselves for long periods of time, which was common practice before slavery. They were also considered ‘free’, and therefore had better access to decent wages and living conditions elsewhere. This was a problem for landowners, and they found a solution in the â€Å"Triangular Trade†. Mass quantities of slaves were imported from Africa, often through the West Indies. A cycle soon developed, whereby goods produced by slaves were then traded to bondsmen in Africa for more slaves in return. In effect, slaves indirectly funded their own exploitation. Politics began to shift in the colonies during this time. England developed a collective theory on economics called mercantilism. From 1651 to 1673, a series of laws known as the Navigation Acts were put into effect. These were designed to isolate trade markets between England and the colonies. They include... Free Essays on American History Free Essays on American History Schools in the 1770’s Schools back in the 1770’s were very different, Massachusetts and Connecticut both had laws saying every town with fifty families or more in the town must hire a teacher and build a schoolhouse. Most schools in the 1770’s had only one room; witch was freezing cold in the winter. Some towns are considered very lucky to have a schoolhouse because most towns don’t have any! The teacher of the schoolhouse actually held classes in her home. The puritans thought paper was way too much to waste on the students. They wrote on birch bark for their lessons they worked on. There were no chalkboards, globes, or maps for the children to use. The puritans believed that everyone should be able to read the bible. When the children are not working at home, they had to go to school. In school they are taught to read, write, and do arithmetic witch is practically like math. They need to learn all of this stuff above so then they could read the bible, write letters to people, and keep track of their amount of money. Older boys went to grammar schools for the next six years. Most boys sat on hard, cold benches studying Latin, Greek, arithmetic, and geography. Puritans didn’t think that girls needed anymore education then what they all ready learned in a regular schoolhouse. For girls it ended with dame school. Some other young children went to private schools; they were also called dame schools. The villagers put their best clothes on and then walked to the meetinghouse for religious worship. Each one of the schoolmasters had one of the most important tools, a birch stick. A watchman (like a policeman) watched over the meetinghouse so no one would get in. The watchman carried a long pole type thing with a knob on one end and a squirrel tail on the other end of the pole. Some meetings and school lasted all day, but with a break for lunch. On Sundays there were no school or work.... Free Essays on American History 1640-1720 The period in American history from 1640-1720 can be characterized by much crisis and conflict. This era saw the establishment of the African slave trade, political unrest aimed towards England, and increasingly violent clashes with Native Americans amidst an expanding frontier. The French were settling the great lakes region, the English and Dutch in the northeast, while Spain had colonies out west. As economies grew and trading expanded, all 3 ‘Old World’ settlements began to overlap into each other which resulted in hostility and war. At the same time, all 3 groups began clashing with Native Americans, mainly over land. Many Puritans insisted on trying to convert the natives to Christianity, with limited success. As colonial populations expanded, so did their need for new land acquisitions. With colonial expansion, the slave trade began to develop, and then flourish to become the mainstay or linchpin of the American economy by 1700. Plantation owners relied heavily on manual labor to cultivate their crops, as fewer and fewer Europeans were willing to indenture themselves for long periods of time, which was common practice before slavery. They were also considered ‘free’, and therefore had better access to decent wages and living conditions elsewhere. This was a problem for landowners, and they found a solution in the â€Å"Triangular Trade†. Mass quantities of slaves were imported from Africa, often through the West Indies. A cycle soon developed, whereby goods produced by slaves were then traded to bondsmen in Africa for more slaves in return. In effect, slaves indirectly funded their own exploitation. Politics began to shift in the colonies during this time. England developed a collective theory on economics called mercantilism. From 1651 to 1673, a series of laws known as the Navigation Acts were put into effect. These were designed to isolate trade markets between England and the colonies. They include...