How are the colonies changing in the period under consideration
this week? If you watched the two videos and did the reading, there will be
many options. Just choose one of them and develop it a bit.
The arrival of Indentured servants into the colonies is perhaps the biggest change. The early Colonists had alot of land to care for but nobody to care for it. Making other people tend to their land would be the easiest and cheapest way. They would provide food and shelter, and maybe pay some of them. They could now tend to their lands without even breaking a sweat. Indentured servants also allows them to mass produce their crops at a faster pace. Servants were only servants for some time and in return given land and supplies, however many of the indentured servants died before the expiration of their contract. After some time, colonists grew tired of having to pay them. In 1641 all the African Servants became slaves, losing any freedom they thought they had. Certain laws in Massachusetts and Virginia passed and most colonists turned to African slaves because they were cheaper and more profitable. In Massachusetts and Virginia, African people now had no rights and were slaves for life. They would soon be bought by the dozens, traded, beaten, bread, and murdered. The innocent lives of these African people in the New World would change forever. No longer seen as a human with rights, but as a slave. Not having to do any hard labor and still mass producing product the Colonists must have been flourishing with money and success. Slaves were probably a boost for the economy during this time period as well. Slaves were responsible for producing the major consumer goods that were the basics of world trade.
I agree people did view slaves as a boost for the economy, but they also used them for other things as well. Most of the slave owners didn't view the slave as human beings but viewed them as property so that gave them the perception that they could do anything they want to do to their slaves but could not treat their family that way. But the slave owners have wives back at home but their wives know that their husbands are having sex with slaves and are responsible for having a mulatto child but can't do anything about it but make them angry and take it out on the slaves, when the slaves are forced to have these type of interactions with their owners.
I totally agree. Slavery boosted the economy so significantly that its hard to imagine where the Colonies would have been without it. Without such a huge boost of labor for very little cost, the Colonies might not have managed to become a global center for trade. They might have relied more heavily on England and perhaps might not have sought independence eventually. Who knows?
It's sad to know many of these people had no idea they were going to be sold or treated this way especially because many of them died before even reaching their chance to enjoy their deserved homes and liberty from being indentured servants.
Indeed, slavery lead to invaluable economic growth, yet many believe that it was a critical flaw that lead to mental despair. In concurrence with many of the above writers, although indentured slavery expanded the economic world by putting ease to the labor of early colonist, many slave owners abused their authority. It is simply inhumane to engage in buying, selling, or even holding another human being captive. Most slave owners were tyrants and thought highly of themselves for being a cruel and oppressive ruler of people who shed the same blood and tears. Without slavery the production of consumer goods at the time would have been at a huge disadvantage, but it could have been done. I like how you summed everything up, great job Jeffrey
I agree with you, Jeffrey, but I think that Enlightenment was a more dramatic change in the colonies during this period of time. For example, it help to the introduction of Science and Math to the colonies, which help to the creation of “new” technology and schools. Also, the Enlightenment led to the American Revolution and it was also helpful for the basis of the American Constitution as well.
It's crazy because people had their land in this new country but were too lazy to maintain it so they were fair enough to give people land and other stuff for the price of working for them for a period of time. Then these people got greedy and did not even want to pay these workers. I feel like over time the people of this country got too demanding and they took for granted of the things they had. If they had power, they wanted more. If they wanted workers, they wanted them cheap. America became so unfair and so quickly.
Although we believe slavery to be bad, I wonder where our advancements today would be without it, as slavery allowed for growth and prosperity for the economy. With that being said I would also assume the population growth to be on the rise as well, in my eyes leading to a wealth of knowledge among the population. So who knows where we would be without slaves. Just my opinion.
The enlightenment is what developed in Europe by two philosophers John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton who were very influential in the Enlightenment era. A lot of the enlightenment ideas helped influenced the american revolution, instead of of relying on religion they relied on other resources, such as science, math, and inventions such telescope that was seen as important for astronomy. colonies who remained in contact with Europe wanted to be modernized and keep up with certain advancements that were rising in the enlightenment era. the american colonist looked at themselves as being European, they didn't look at themselves as being american yet. the enlightenment also impacted education, even though it focused on developing ministers, and focusing on religion it still opened up to more areas of education for other people to focus on. advancements of science, art, and religious freedom carried over into the modern era, and also set up an american governing system that included having power.
I agree with you because you have point out very important points about how The Enlightenment changes the colonies during this period of time. Also, I believed that science and math led to the creation of new and revolutionary things, such as, the telescope, our government system and schools. Schools help the colonies to become educated and to spread the Enlightenment all over America.
I agree with you because the Enlightenment had a huge impact the construction of America. Especially the way our government is created and the knowledge that we all gained from its expansion.
Tyler, I think that you bring out a different side of the Enlightenment era, which is good to think about all the other things that was going on during this time period, like education and how math and science was playing a major factor in improving the colonist lives.
The Scientific and Religious Transformation was an important and big change for America throughout the early years. The first puritans who traveled to the states from New England took religion very serious amongst the new settlers. People who were not born in the church were not allowed because they felt as if these people would bring more sin and less purity to the church. This became true after puritan ministers developed a Half- Way Covenant which allowed a "new category" of members that were converted to be members of the church but would not have full communion rights. It also allowed children of the converted to be full members of the church even if they were not baptized. After the Half-Way Covenant was in place the colonies were fine and it was better because more people were getting involved and participation within the church. After a while, with the Half- Way Covenant in place among the churches the church became less pure and people began to be accused of witch craft. This led to the Salem Witch Trials. People who were accused of being witches were mostly women, and men every once in a while. These people were burned, hung, and drowned, for punishment with just the assumption of being witches. It was not until 1693 when the governor prohibit any further trials and let the accused witches that were still alive free with dropped charges. This was only because his wife was accused of being a witch. Religion went through a few changes between 1690-1693. Many people died because of some misidentification with religion and the church.
Melissa Sweat I agree in your argument, because puritans took religious way too serious, and in my opinion they used religion as a way to control people. As you mentioned, the governor dropped the charges of the accused "witches" only because his wife was accused as on of them; which was not fair because he was using religion only to control the people.
. Hello Melissa! After reading your post I found many key points that were explained in the assigned reading that I found were not acceptable. I found it unacceptable how once the governor’s wife was accused of witch craft and that caused him to change the fate of the current accused witches. The governor had no mercy for previous accused witches but when it came to his wife he decided to drop all charges for everyone else to make it fair. I don’t think it was correct to base his judgment differently when the charges were now upon his spouse.
Hi Melissa, I wanted to point out the examples that you brought up on your explanation because it all makes sense. Religion did bring a big change in America. I personally think that it was the puritan ministers for developing the new covenant that accepted new member under the requirements you mentioned. But I think that there was also no reason to blame innocent people of witchcraft and that most of them were women. Most of the time people that were put on trial whether they were guilty or not just started to point fingers at anyone and I thought that wasn't fair. The same thing happened to the governors wife when she was accused of witchcraft. Most likely if the trials would not have ended that way, then the trials would still continue.
Melissa, I agree with you as well. I also do believe that you pointed out some good evidence of what was really going on during this time period. Like mentioned last time I think religion is going to continue to be something really important in the way people live their life. Religion can sometimes bring out the worst but at the same thing it also helps people find the peace that they so often search for. Religion will continue to change peoples point of views. But like mentioned before it's not fair to use things like religion or social power to give you power to control over other people.
The colonies are constantly transforming but in this period that we are looking at right now I would have to say that the religion aspect seemed to be one of most influential changes. It kicked off many changes with the Half Way Covenant in 1662. The church took a turn from only having the super religious puritans as its members to including those who were not as strong in the faith. This did create a larger church community but it because of the increase in size, the purity faded. With less purity, more suspicion arose and people questioned the lives of those who seemed different. The Salem Witch Trials broke out and people were burned at the stake because the colonies were fearful that sorcery was in their midst. To stop the trials, the governing people encouraged the colonists to start thinking more rationally. The changes in the Puritan church led to so much more than just faith, it led to the rational thinking of the colonist which helped them transform into the enlightenment and advance in many different ways such as science, art, education, and a political system. It was almost like a snowball effect. You start with the covenant and it rolls from there to the evolvement of the colonies in the next few years and so on. There is always constant change and growth in a place full of people with different mindsets and goals and that is the beauty of it.
Your description of the change in views from religious to rational thinking being like a snowball effect is interesting to me. I believe this idea was all started because somebody somewhere had a different view then the whole and their ideas weren't accepted so they were hated and shunned. This simple idea can show how difficult it is for people to accept change and new ways of thinking.
Tori I very much agree with you, It was smart for the colonies to dircet themselves away from the Salem With Trials by having them think more rationally and allowing for people to be more involved with education, art, and science. Which led to more open doors rather than to target a group of people and to claim that they are witches.
Tori I agree with you 100% because I like how at the end of your statement you said that because of the governor telling the colonist should start thinking rationally it led to the Enlightenment and began creating various amounts of ideas and goals that lead the colonist to become more aware of their surroundings rather than accusing people of using witchcraft and other irrational ideas.
I have to respectfully disagree. The Enlightenment was a way of thinking that started in Europe, and spread to the colonies. The governor's decision to put an end to the Witch Trials was a result of this increased focus on rationality, not a precursor. I even partially question the true "rational" motives for the governor's stance. I mean, he sat idly by and let people be burned, hanged, and drowned until the accusations pointed at his wife. At this point he finally came around and decided "Hey guys lets all be rational ok?"
Hi Torri, from what I understood once the govern spoke his mind most puritans encouraged rational thinking. So you're right he was an inspiration for the people to follow enlightment but I doubt he was the one who enforced it. I think that people came to that on their own.
I agree with you that where there are large crowds results in large changes. If it was not for the large population of people with many different outlooks on life, then there would not be much change. Rational thinking led to many great discoveries.
The encouragement of rational thinking was prompted by the Salem Witch Trials. With all the accusations of successful men and women in the government beginning to unwind, the amount of convicted began to become too much. The claim that the governor’s wife was a witch sparked the change throughout New England government. He automatically took action and ended all the trials and pardoned the convicted in order to end the extreme amount of finger pointing that everyone participated in witchcraft. This event marked the beginning of reason and close observation in order to understand the natural world instead of fear of the unknown and what was not easily understood. Order was observed throughout books and art and every form of expression while people tried to grasp at reason in reality. New ways of seeing the world were encouraged instead of being suppressed by religious beliefs witnessed during the witch trials. Two very significant philosophers in the Enlightenment Era were John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton. Locke and Newton presented their scientific theories and further paved the way for the scientific development and laws of nature. With these huge revelations gaining popularity religion quickly took the view of the new world as further proof of the existence of God and how he worked through these natural causes. At the same time religion and God was losing its attractiveness with reason and logic denouncing his almighty status. The Enlightenment greatly influenced changes in religious beliefs as a whole. Some important thinkers during this era including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Paine adopted a belief that God was more of a clock-maker and that he did not interfere with humanity, he just sat back and watched his design follow through. This innovative way of thinking gave way to much advancement in medicine, government and technology, thus starting a surge in the importance of knowledge as a way to power.
Talia, I agree with you. John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton, two major influences on the world we live in today were great philosophers. The Enlightenment did change religion amongst many colonies, i believe it was for the better since many citizens of the colonies were going crazy during the Salem Witch Trials. It was a good thing because people were being hung, burned alive, and drowned to death even if the assumptions of witch craft were all false.
The 13 colonies are beginning to change drastically over the time spanned between the 1600's and 1700's. During The Enlightenment, which is also called the Age of Reasons, many began to think logically and develop a sense of common sense and reasoning. It also had a huge impact on education creating the most prestigious universities that we have here in the U.S. today. For example: Brown, University of Philadelphia, Dartmouth and many more. Also, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Thomas Paine became the famous Great Thinkers of the Enlightenment. They created the way of thinking that we use today. To think that all this great way of thinking came after the accusations of the arrogance of witchcraft usage. However, it wasn't the people's fault that they weren't exposed to this kind of reasoning when Benjamin Franklin and the rest demonstrated to the colonies their massive amount of intelligence through there knowledge of logic and common sense. In the 1900's, it turns out there are still changes, unfortunately these changes would cause the biggest change within the colonies on human rights. In 1619, Africa Americans were brought to the colonies but were immediately looked down on and had very little rights. Later Massachusetts in 1941 and Virginia in 1961, passed a law that got rid of all the little rights that the African Americans had and they were now considered as slaves. This did cause labor to grow but at what cost? African Americans were now seen as "objects" and were never seen as humans. All their rights were gone, slave owners bought them and this is when racial slavery had begun in the colonies. Soon the thought of reasoning and human rights weren't to be seen as the most important thing anymore because these laws caused the individuals of the colonies to think that all African Americans were not human and their way of thinking about the African Americans was nothing more but selfish gain in for land and money.
Virginia I thought it was interesting that you pointed out how the colonies were directing themselves away from reasoning and human rights and bringning in more attention towards the usage of slavery. It's unfortunate that the colonists felt it would be more advantagous to them to start buying african amiercans as property and a way for them to become more wealthy.
I agree with you as well Maria, it is disappointing that the colonist turned to slavery when one would think that because people are starting to think rationally they would find slavery as something wrong.
Hey Virginia! I completely agree with you along with Maria and Anna. Its sad that the colonist went to slavery. Slavery may have increase economical growth but their freedom was the price to pay which I find selfish. They were treating as objects and tools just like you mentioned Virginia!
Colonists faced with many changes during the Enlightment period and one of them would fall into the category of religious beliefs. When Puritans settled in New England, they brought with them their religious belief. And magic played a big role in puritan’s life. Over time settlers began to look another direction away from church. Ministers wanted to bring the puritans back and created a new covenant. Most puritans joined the new covenant named the Half Way Covenant. Ministers wanted to bring new members to the new Covenant. But this covenant did not have any requirements because it also accepted members that were converted but did not have their whole communion rights, and also children that were not baptized. Puritans hoped that with the idea of developing the new covenant they would have more participation, and they did. But they did not count on how the religion began to decrease. Members became inpatient and concerned. These tension brought events that were known as Salem Witchcraft Trials. Members began to accuse one another, but it was mostly women and some men also. Those accused were to receive trial. The ones that were accused received punishment and were either burned, hanged or drowned. But in 1693, the unexpected happened and the governor’s wife was accused of witchcraft. The governor did not want to go any further with trials and forgave those who were convicted. Colonists developed a rational thinking when the governor made his decision. Rational thinking was known as Enlightment, and soon spread to America.
Hi Yessica. I like how you gave examples as to how the era of Enlightenment came to be. Colonist actually began to think for themselves rather than relying on magic or ideas that witchcraft existed. I guess it is a good thing the governor's wife got accused.
Hello Yessica, well i agree with you and Anna about to the Salem Witch Trials, you gave great examples explaining how it accrued. Unfortunately, after many lives were token away, it finally stopped. Just like Anna stated it was good that the governor's wife was accused. It gave the town time to think and could come to a finalization that everyone was just randomly being accused of being a witch. It all stopped, but all the ladies in town and a man being burned, drowned, and hanged was just unjustified.
Hello Yessica! Reading your statement reinforced the blog entry I submitted as well. Its interesting how people can change when it comes to them or members of their family being in trouble. I liked the fact that you provided so many examples about Puritans and life for women and men accused of witch craft. Its unfortunate that most of these people were wrongfully accused of being witches. Even though these events have occured and we cannot go back in time and fix the wrongdoings of mankind we can learn from these experiences and make sure we do not apply inaccurate judgement upon others.
According to the video the colonies were changing considerably in their ways of religion, many of the settlers began to focus less time towards church related activities simply because they had more of a responsibility in taking care of their settlements and want to become wealthy. Puritan ministers did not like that so they thought as a way to bring back settlers to church and increase religious participation was to create the Half-Way Covenant which would allow more settlers who may have been converted to that religion but were not baptized. For a while that declaration worked until it later raised problems which caused the Salem Witch Trials to begin. After problems with the Salem Witch Trials was over the colonies really began to change due to the enlightenment and The Great Awakening which really affected the way the colonies began to live their lives and their belief systems. The Enlightenment brought to the colonies a different way of thinking and gaining knowledge through art and science. For those who were Christian believed that enlightenment views fell alongside their Christian views which caused problems between the liberal Congregationalists and how they viewed God. As it came time to the great awakening numerous ministers began to provide open sermons outside of church in order for colonists as many of them were living farther away from their church and as a way to increase religious practice. Colonists were also given the occasion to worship as they wanted without state to tell them otherwise, bringing in more religious liberty into the law.
Basically, individuals began to think for themselves rather than letting others make decisions for them. So I agree with what you have to say because this period in time did allow the colonists to gain knowledge and make judgments based on their OWN personal views. Even though religion was still a big part of their beliefs, new ways of thinking permitted new beliefs to be spoken. Nice job
During these years the colonies developed and prospered significantly in many different ways. The Enlightenment brought about a change in thinking which affected all aspects of colonial life. This new focus on logic and reason was embraced by everyone, including scientific thinkers and religious leaders. The idea that the world follows a natural order, rather than being random and unpredictable, enabled scientists to rely on worldly observations when coming to conclusions. In addition, religious leaders saw this emphasis on natural order as further proof to the existence of their God. Inspired by the ideas of John Locke and Benjamin Franklin, the colonies placed a greater emphasis on education, and the idea that people can better themselves. The Enlightenment helped stir the beginnings of the Great Awakening, which enabled greater religious freedom. The effects of the Enlightenment would also be seen in the upcoming government focus on balance of powers. Another important change during this time came with the use of indentured servants. There was a lot of work to be done in the colonies, and not enough people to do it. Since passage was expensive, the wealthy were the only ones who could afford the trip. The introduction of the indentured servant system offered lower class individuals the opportunity to travel to the new world. They would be sentenced to serve for about seven years, then given their freedom as well as other benefits such as land, food and clothing. Though it eventually gave way to full-blown slavery, indentured servitude served an important purpose. It was a win-win situation for the ever-expanding colonies in desperate need for labor, and lower-class individuals seeking new opportunity.
Hello Nicole, I completely agree with you about the colonies development. The fact that it was changing for the better makes one realize how great and intelligent people were to introduce and discover, for example, electricity and a stove. Also, on how science and education became bigger and was expanding throughout the colonies. Nicole you had some great examples and also great explanations.
Nicole, I believe that the indentured servitude was not a win-win situation. It seemed to me that when the opportunity to give pass in exchange for servitude was presented it was exploited. The life of an indentured servant was not an easy one and not all of them made it to the end of their contracts in the end.
Nicole, you did a great job giving examples of the colonies changing during several events. For instance, the idea of thinking logically and with reason was a new way of thinking for the people. Because many people have different interpretations of what logic and reasoning might mean, I do not think that those early religious groups were really thinking critically and logically because there was no evidence that their God was the one who put natural order in place. However, during this time period, the knowledge of science was limited compared to what we know today. These people could not possibly think of another explanation of how the Earth and everything living on it came into existence. Another change of the colonies was when the homeowners wanted cheap labor so they hired indentured servants to do their work for them. They then became unhappy that the indentured servants were gaining higher class after their servitude, so they decided to move to cheap labor and adopting slavery. How could anyone disagree that the motives of these upper class homeowners were entirely selfish?
As I continue to read and watch the videos I learn that the colonies are definitely expanding and changing. There are many reasons that I could point out from the information given as to how they are changing, but one topic that really shows a change and caught my interest was the result of the labor troubles. Due to the expansion of land in the colonies labor was needed to tend to that land. This then led the colonial elites to turn to indentured servants for cheap labor. The indentured servants served for a period of seven years in exchange for "passage, room, board, lodging, and freedom dues (Indentured Servants In The U.S.)." Though their treatment was not the best their rights were still protected by laws. Not long after black Africans began to enter into America as well. They were first treated as indentured servants, but eventually laws were passed in Massachusetts and eventually in Virginia that stripped away their freedom. As we learned from the reading the colonial elite grew weary of the increasing cost and success of the indentured services, so as a result they turned to slavery. This change for the colonies shows how because people were looking for the best alternative for cheap labor it eventually resulted to slavery, and the beginning of many unforeseen troubles that will surface many years later. At the time of course this was probably a good alternative because the owners of the land no longer had to worry about the indentured servants or the cost of paying them to work anymore. The labor was much needed at the time due the expansion of America and its many growing needs. I think this is why I found this topic interesting because as a reader I know that once slavery was introduced it would play an impacted role in America. If any of you have anything to add please do.
I agree, Indentured servants and slaves is a huge change for the colonies. Indentured Servants played a crucial role in the of growth and expansion in the early days of the Colonies. The slaves allowed many of the colonists to expand their farm and make loads of money. Slavery not only changed the colonies but it paved the way for; racism, segregation, and many hate crimes.
The Enlightenment caused a great impact in the colonies; it was the age where numerous discoveries were found which helped the colonies to improve. One of the most important is religion. In the period of enlightenment puritans started to believe in salvation from God; this changed the world’s view completely because the majority of religious people think that all the actions they do will have consequences related to salvation. Also in this era puritans started to believe that all things that happened was the God’s will; this explanation made everything easy so people would have answers that would be hard to answer. There are many questions about from where we come from and there are many different religious and scientific theories, but for many religious people is easier just to answer all these questions by saying that God created us. Another great improvement for the colonies is the education. Benjamin Franklin published many theories on medicine, astronomy, and physics; these theories are very useful to discover new medicines, and how the universe works. Whit this aportations education had improved the colonies until now days. Benjamin Franklin created several colleges which helped improve education.
Olga, I agree with you that two of the large improvements were found in religion and education. I do think that maybe sometimes the more religious people lacked in searching for new improvements in science or even to figure out where things came from and when because there answer was right there in front of them, it was God. Also, Ben Franklin did put out many theories in certain subject which helped progress the thinking and even make some concrete discoveries.
Along with the new forms of thinking, came the strategic use of indentured servants for the colonies. In 1607, the first indentured servants arrived in Jamestown to work on the lands for a cheap price. The colonists acquired large pieces of land, but they could not tend to them alone due to the large size. They found a way to take care of their lands, while not having to do any of the work themselves. Colonists provided the servants with the passage, food, and shelter in exchange for their labor. Workers were attracted to the idea of indentured servitude because the New World allowed them to have a new sense of hope and steady work. Soon, black Africans arrived and were automatically treated as indentured servants by the colonists because they had never came in contact with them before. As time went on, the colonies soon implemented slave laws which took away any sort of freedom rights the black Africans once had. The colonies soon changed their opinions toward the indentured servants; they began to feel threatened and so they turned to hiring more slaves. The costs for indentured servants also kept increasing and the demands for it grew. Colonists most likely began to feel threatened by the indentured servants because the servants had the opportunity to work towards being part of the elite class once they served their necessary time as servants. Once their contract was up, servants could receive up to twenty-five acres along with some corn, cows, and new clothes. From there it would be up to them on how they decide to prosper in the colony. The settlers did not have these worried with the African slaves because they knew the slaves had no rights at all. This was the beginning of slavery. The colonists shifted in a way that began to dehumanize these slaves due to the fact that they were stripped from the little rights they once had. It wasn’t so much about religion, but more about the economic growths they desired to have.
Lisandra, I really like the way you were saying that the colonists saw the indentured servants as possibly getting higher than they preferred and the thought of the servant climbing the ladder in the world scared them. I'm sure they felt threatened and decided that instead of having someone to work for them and possibly be a part of the elite someday they should just enslave them and keep them lower than they should be. It's horrible that it happened this way and how inhumane they were treated. The kind puritans the colonists once were now faded and they wanted to be better than those they had working for them. Good points!
Lisandra & Tori, I couldn't agree more with both of you. Reading this just solidified my comfort with my answer as well. Although the idea of getting passage over to the Americas, the food, and shelter sounded attractive to most who were hoping to come over to America, their lives did not end up so fortunate. I like how you said that they found someone to do the work on their land for them without having to do any of the work themselves. It was so true. They wanted cheap labor and they wanted it right away, no matter what it took. And then the idea of slavery that came about for selfish reasons was just sad. Hopefully we see things get better!
I believe people most of the time act on self interest. The colonist had all this land but they weren't able to get the most out of it. To get the most out of it they needed help with tending their land. This is were indentured servants began appearing but what is more economically profitable than indentured servants? Yeah you guessed it, slaves. Slaves didn't have a contract that would end and they would work forever with no expectation of any payment. So I completely agree how you say slavery was mostly about the desire for economic growth by the colonists.
After completing both the reading and watching the videos a particular change stood out apart from the others during this time period. During this time period a lot of women were being accused of being witches. Young females were associating themselves with African American slaves causing a disturbance within the townspeople. Many African American slaves practiced their own religion that included a particular dance that was not deemed acceptable amongst their owners. The young females would report to their father’s of the event that they had witnessed in the woods causing an uprising within the town. Many women were wrongfully accused of practicing witch craft. Those who practiced witch craft were all sentenced to a trial and later on burned to death, hanged, and or drowned. In the video it mentioned how many children were claiming to be tormented by witches in Salam, Massachusetts. Soon after almost all women were being accused of being witches until one day the line was crossed. The governor’s wife was accused of being a witch causing the governor to change his point of view on witch craft trials. He dismissed all the witchcraft cases of both male and female in order to save his wife. The townspeople came to a realization that many women were being innocently killed for actions they had never committed. The Salem witch trials ended in 1693. With the conclusion of the witch craft cases enlightenment and also known as age of reason was introduced from Europe to the Americas.
This piece of history is really interesting to me as well. Its crazy how easily things as simple as their cultural dances were misconstrued into something evil, like witchcraft. It's also so strange that such a terrible time in history is now made into motion picture movies and halloween costumes. The thing that frustrated me most about this story was that as soon as the governor's wife was accused of witchcraft, everything was dropped. All of those poor men and women who had been wrongfully killed.
I completely agree with you Janai and Kaleigh, the Salem witch trials were completely absurd all those people who were tortured and killed until the governors wife was accused, it's insane to see how much the power had an influence on everyone, because as soon as the governor said it would stop it did. Great job!
After 1693, the colonies changed the way they were thinking with close observation and reliance on reason. The enlightenment provided more opportunities to enlighten thoughts which make the name fit very well to describe the change happening in the minds of the colonials. Benjamin Franklin was a colonial who contributed a lot to the Enlightenment. He was a colonial who wanted to have a positive impact in European advancement. Benjamin Franklin focused on making education more valuable by founding the college of Philadelphia. After that more colleges were opened and education was impacted more by the Enlightenment. It is interesting to look at all of the famous colonials from this time, who would have thought they were going to become scientists and philosophers like John Locke and Newton. I agree with the theory that John Locke brought up about humans being born with the mind as a blank slate. Of course this does not mean that humans are born without knowing anything, but I agree that this theory describes learning from experience as we grow in intelligence and that natural causes change how we might be. For example the first colonists didn’t know what to expect from the new land therefore they were a bit scared to explore what was new to them. Colonials who changed their thinking based on the enlightenment began to see the world in more radical thinking. Depending on how the environment was, the colonials intended to keep up with the impacts that the enlightenment brought.
hi Maricela. I like that you brought up points of some of the things Benjamin Franklin impacted the wave of the enlightenment. I see how you interpreted your view on the whole movement thing and how the colonist wanted to keep up with it.
The biggest change that occurred in the colonies during this period of time was the Enlightenment because this “movement” opened a new world to the colonials. For example, the Enlightenment open the door to science and math, which introduced the colonies to answers about their surroundings. Benjamin Franklin was one of the main characters that was able to introduced science and math to the colonies due to Enlightenment Era. However, Benjamin Franklin was influence by the revolutionary ideas of two Europeans, such as, Sir Isaac Newton and John Locke. Newton’s and Locke’s ideas help Franklin to published theories about astronomy, physics and medicine; these theories help the colonies and the Enlightenment Era to understand the world better. Eventually, all these new and revolutionary ideas led to the American Revolution and help to build up the basis of the American Constitution. Furthermore, the Enlightenment not only affected their way of thinking but also their view about life. For example, Benjamin Franklin build up several college, which at first were focus to developed ministers, but end up opening to general areas of education and thus helping the colonies to become more educated. Moreover, the Enlightenment had a great effect on religion, it help and strength their religions. For example, preachers stared to use reason to interpret God’s work. But the Enlightenment also led to questioning the divinity of Jesus. Furthermore, Enlightenment also influenced the colonials to try to keep up with the Europeans’ advancements, such as, math, art, and new technology. For example, the Enlightenment helped David Rittenhouse to build up the first telescope in America.
With the expanding colonies, new ways of thinking, advancements in religion and the sciences, the idea of indentured servants came about. In roughly 1607, the idea for indentured servants was thought of when farmers and land owners started realizing that they had lots of land, but not enough hands to take care of it. Coming over to the Americas was expensive enough as it, that these men had the idea for "cheap labor." Quickly, the indentured servants became vital to maintenance of colonies. However, the life of an indentured servant was not all that pretty. They were treated harshly and given a very humble lifestyle. Typically, they worked for 4-7 years before they could be considered "free," however, if they attempted to run away or became pregnant, their "sentence" could often be extended. Although they lived in such rough environments, they were still not considered a slave. This term did not come around until 1619 when the first African Americans were traveling the New Americas. At first, they were treated as indentured servants as well, but eventually slave laws were passed and their hope for a better life in the Americas was crushed. I believe this is important because of the displays of increasing violence, a need for power, and hatred that is being shown.
I agree with you that in the beginning of America the cruelty of the colonists was terrible. this lasted for a very long time which is also terrible. it is sad to think that just because of race they got different laws passed and were not allowed to have freedom and compensation like the rest of the servants.
I agree with you because the colonies did become cruel and it lasted quite a while. Also, before the enlightenment, people were accused for using witch craft witch in my opinion is by far terrible. Then when slavery was then enforced, it made the colonies even more cruel.
I agree, I think the colonies became more selfish and began to think of themselves as superior to the people who they believed was lower than them especially to the Africans. This just show how unjust and cruel the people were in that era.
The colonies are changing because of the people coming over and most of them are being used as indentured servants. The people are selling several years of their life to work for passage to the colonies. The immigration rules allowed the wealthy settlers to hire and pay the living expenses for certain impoverished people that were willing to become indentured servants. In return, the settlers had cheap labor and was able to make a profit. Then once the laborers time was done, land was most likely given to them and was to move up in class. The colonies were changing by allowing the poor to be able to cross boundaries to the elite class in the colonies, where in Europe this was not possible. As the indentured servant’s price grew and the amount of land the settlers were losing, it became a high cost for work for the settlers. The high cost of labor enabled for the first slaves in the colonies. This was the beginning for the colonies for the slaves from Africa. Also the colonies were expanding and venturing farther inland where they started to build. The size of the colonies then grew. Then because of the French Indian War large amounts of land was won and claimed British land, and the colonies then could grow more. With the price of war, the British began to tax the colonies, causing an uprising. But without the distress of losing money and being treated such, would the colonies ever find freedom? Would we have the freedoms of life in America today if the British did not bully the colonies?
Hello Heather, I like the point that you made when you mentioned on how the lower class were selling years of their life to work for the passage to the colonies. Don’t you think it was unjust that the people had to do this just so they can acquire their own property and belongings after serving the homeowners? The situation gets worse when the wealthy start realizing that the indentured servants were starting to move up in class after working hard for several years. The wealthy then no longer want to give the indentured servants land, crops, clothes, etc. so they decide to move on to cheaper labor by appointing slavery. How unjust and selfish of them to expect others to dedicate their lives feeding, cleaning, and serving them. I still don’t understand how people at this time were self centered, and selfish because they cared only about their class. Although slavery is illegal in the United States now, unfortunately discrimination against lower income people of certain races still takes place.
I like the points that you and Krystal had made especially about how the lower class were selling their life for work. But don't you think that the rich was only taking advantage of their workers? I mean the workers can still work for the rich, but with a better and a more safe work environment with no punishment. Yes, their working to get land, clothes, etc , but being punish for getting pregnant thats just unjust and wrong in my point of view. But I guess, hard work pays off because some servants was able to accomplish what they worked hard for.
I feel and believe that there are many things that was going on during this time period. From immigrants coming to the colonies, working the land and not being treated fair because their "masters" were the ones who were in charge to a religious aspects. I feel that the religious part of this time period was really important, people faith was being constantly being challenged, the way some churches were being so accepting when it came to having them convert to me it didn't seemed fair because they were not really doing it because they had the faith but more of a social aspect, like a way of living, which is not cool. That was one of the reasons why they came here first, so they would be able to have their own religious beliefs. People especially woman were being accused of doing which craft regardless if they were or were not they still had to suffer through all the things they had them go through. It is kind of sad to see that all the people that came here had to do a lot of things to just stay alive. In contrast during this time period there were things that were positive, more people were getting out of their comfort zone, they were learning about things that did not cross their minds before which is good but as college students we can all agree that having an education is really important. Having people learn about math and science perhaps gave them some kind of hope that they probably did not find in religion. During this time there were a lot of changes some good and some bad, but in society I think that's normal because its not very idealistic to say that we live in a perfect world or society.
I agree with your statement on how it is normal that there were many bad and good changes. The world learns from mistakes and it grows from different experiences. Your point of view really helped me understand a lot more about the religion and how it was more of social aspect. I agree with you on how they lost focus on God because they were forced to make money and try to survive this new world. Thanks.
After reading the article and watching the videos, The Enlightenment allowed me to see how the colonies were developing in so many ways. The Enlightenment was brought upon change that affected many people in many different ways. One that caught my attention the most was the Salem Witch Trials. What interested me the most in the reading was that so many innocent women and men were killed just because they were being accused of being a witch or practicing witchcraft. Well this started when young girls were witnessed African American perform rituals in the woods. The slaves that were the maids to these young girls were showing them how the ritual was being performed. One day the father of the girls was taking a stroll in the woods and had seen was being accrued. After that viewing the townspeople were informed of the actions that took place in the woods, causing trouble in the town. Soon after women all over town were being trialed for witchcraft. Many of these women were not affiliated with any sort of witch craft involvement but were sentenced to death. The women that were killed were drowned, burned, and or hanged. Ciaos spread through the town once the people of Salem were aware of involvement of witchcraft. One day the governor’s wife was accused of practicing witchcraft and that is when it all stopped. In 1693, the governor immediately dismissed all witchcraft in order to save his wife. Once the end of witchcraft came to play the two English thinkers; John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton, introduced a new way of thinking called the Enlightenment.
Jisel I enjoyed your entry because it seems like if I was reading a fairy tale where the governor saved his wife from evil, but in reality it is nothing like a fairy tale because it happened in real life. It makes us think about how this still happens today when some have more power than others.
Hey Jisel, I completely agree with you and Maricela, the Salem witch trials were extremely interesting and the fact that the governor called it all off because of his wife is in one way incredible but then again it's just a double standard like we have today, if you have power you can use it to your advantage. It's crazy to think how even younger girls were burned to death because of crazy accusations, great job!
Hi Jisel, I enjoyed reading your comment. I agree with what you say and in this time people believed in witch crafting. It is sad to think that many innocent girls were burned just because people believed they were performing witch craft. Imagine of that still happened in today's society?
Jisel, I agree with you. It is unpleasant to know that amongst the judgement of the little girls who accused the women of rituals, led to death of many women in the 1690's. I also put in my opinion that it was unfair for the governor to take act, not until his was being accused, why didn't he take play before hand. It could have saved the lives of many women.
Hi Jisel, I agree with you completely. The Salem witch trials had killed so many innocent people, mostly women. Its actually a good thing that the governor's wife was accused as a witch. Salem witch trials could have lasted longer if it wasn't for that. Jennifer, I cannot imagine if the Salem witch trials happened in today's society! Many women would have died instantly. Many people especially women in general who practice "Witchcraft like religion" would have to pretend to go to church just to survive.
During this time, the colonies were able to prosper in many ways especially in religion, education and employment. With the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment, a new thinking pattern for many colonists was available, as well as new inventions with the help of Benjamin Franklin, John Locke and Isaac Newton. The video states that the Enlightenment brought logic and reason into their world, giving them a broader way of thinking with their aspect of religion still remaining a critical aspect. In general these colonies were given an opportunity to expand their thinking process, while still keeping faith in their religion. Another major change for the colonies was the use of indentured servants. Early settlers realized the need of maintaining their land at an affordable cost. Indentured servants were treated better than slaves and were given much more. These workers were given at least twenty five acres of land, corn, a cow, and clothes in return for hard labor over a period of four to seven years. When their time of work was finally over they were able to keep the land that had originally been given to them, and some servants were even able to enter the elite class. In 1619, the first African Americans arrived to Virginia, they were given all that an indentured servant were given but when the slave laws passed everything they once had was taken away from them. Soon landowners realized that indentured workers were not as profitable as they once had been due to the demand in land, and turned to slaves for a more beneficial aspect in their business.
During this time of enlightenment, the new world had the potential to yield vast amount of cash crops, but the labor shortage prevented these settlers from expanding. The cost of the trip to the America’s was too high for the lower class to take, thus these wealthy settlers devised a new plan to attract workers. For the exchange of seven years of labor, Europeans would receive passage to the Americas, room, board, and some rights of freedom. This plan worked well until freed indentured servants began to demand more land and the elite landowners began to feel threatened. As to protect themselves, these elites decided to remove any freedom black African indentured servants had and own them as slaves. The more they felt threatened by the indentured servants, the more they turned towards acquiring slaves, as it was a safer means of tending their land. The issue with indentured servants was when they paid off their service they were to do as they please in the colonies to become wealthy and prosper. This could have led to increased competition between plantation owners, and scarcity in land. This wasn’t an issue with slavery. Slaves had no rights or freedom, thus it was less likely that they would revolt or cause threats. Also, owning slaves was a renewable and profitable method of labor, which made the transition from indentured servants to slavery easier.
I have always wondered what happened to those who were waiting to become indentured servants. Did they slowly decrease the number of contracts, or did they just stop offering this option?
I am amazed to see how much the colonists views of religion has changed, and so quickly. The Plymouth colonists from last week had made their move to this new land in search for the freedom to practice their religion. Now that they have their freedom, people do not practice religion as much as before. The ties to their religion is loosening and this is because they now have more to worry about. People now have to focus more on earning money and trying to survive and this is all because of the way of living. They used to believe that God oversaw the world at each moment through His will and now people are changing their ways of religion. Although ministers created the Half-Way Covenant in 1662, the purity of the members’ beliefs to the religion was not as strong as before. Now that people are losing their focus on the religion, that’s when the Witchcraft starts. People lose faith and then bad things begin to happen. If people had stuck to keeping their faith one hundred percent to God, innocent people would not have been accused to witchcraft and then killed. Witchcraft would not have even been thought of; how can someone who has faith in God even think that He would create a world with so-called witches? However, all of these different ideas made people think differently and rationally. It was as if people were now seeing the bigger picture to the world. Education then became important which happened by Benjamin Franklin and his impact in European improvement.
I agree with you that this event really had a big impact in the colonies. But don't you think that if the colonies could only learned how to balance their daily duties and their religion this all could have been avoided? Although, even if that were to happened, do you think the colonies would not have moved to the next era of the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason? I think this all happened for a reason because the Salem Witch Trail helped the colonies to think more rationally and more reasonable.
What we are seeing happen in this early stage of the New World is a change in how people are viewing the world around them. With more and more colonist emigrating from Europe to the New World, they are bringing the ideas from the enlightenment movement going on in Europe. During this enlightenment period people are changing how they view and live their lives to a more analytically driven way. This new approach of the way things are sets forward to scientist setting out to discover how things and not just relying on what tradition has told them but relying more on reason. In the center of this movement was Benjamin Franklin he seemed to see that the more you learn and are educated on the better you will be. To further his understanding of the world around him he would do experiments and create his own theories using what he had learned. He would publish his theories so people could share in the education he has acquired. Franklin was a huge advocate on the support of education. To assist people in their search for education Franklin founded a library and helped with the founding of the College of Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin was an example of the changing mindset going on in the colonies. With this new mindset leading more towards reason great advancements in science, medicine and technology were made during this time period. Also this enlightenment way of thinking happening helped set a seed for the future search for independence by the colonies against Great Britain.
I agree Mauricio that because of the emigration of Europe to the New World, different ideologies are being passed around which in turn led to the Enlightenment. It's cool to see that knowledge increased as well during this time which also kind of led to a decrease in religious spirituality.
Benjamin Franklin indeed played a major role in the age of enlightenment. His belief that education was to be readily accessible to the public was a huge stepping stone into setting forth new ideas and ideologies about the world. It went from only the higher class being educated to anyone having access to just about the same information.
The colonies are changing in the period under consideration this week because each colonist has their own view upon slavery. The main factor is embraced in the belief of race. In the beginning the idea of indentured slavery came across and this brought the same treatment to all slaves no matter what race you were. However, in 1641 Massachusetts started to change the laws and in 1961 Virginia came along to shift the whole thing over. Virginia was the leading factor to what I consider slavery racism. The also changed by the demand of war. The colonies viewed slaves as a way of saving their economy because they wouldn’t pay them and the winnings and trades were all for the colonists. The slaves were not valued. Also, later Virginia introduced the fact the only African Americans would work as slaves. Even though these indentured salves were promised land many of them died while working the lands which granted the colonists more power and more land. African American’s were taken their freedom and were the only ones used in slavery, since 1641. African American’s were much cheaper and brought the colonist’s many profit. African American’s were not considered as humans any more they were treated like animals. They were beaten, traded and sometimes murdered. Slavery brought many opportunities for the colonist’s to gain land and to become wealthier. They would gain money off of the trades of lands that slaves would work. The truth is that thanks to the slaves the colonists were able to expand their trades and gain profits without having to invest a lot of money and without having to work.
I also believe that the colonies were selfish. They used the lives of other people to get wealthy and they were not seen as people because of their skin color which made them ignorant and selfish.
I agree with you that if it wasn't for slavery the development of this country would have been much more slower and maybe not very significant. Another point I wanted to point out is how hypocrites were the colonist back then, believing in an all loving god who created everyone equal but would still slave African Americans.
I agree with Jennifer. Without the help of the slaves, America wouldnt have expand the way it did. At that time, the landowners were doing what was best for them, whether their decision was right or wrong.
During the Great Awakening, the colonies changed in several ways. Logic and reasoning were encouraged after the Enlightenment, but religion still continued to persist because many people believed that the way in which the natural world worked was the work of god. The Great Awakening was the time of religious revivals. Some people tried to influence and give persuasive sermons to get people to convert religions. George Whitefield was an influential preacher whom was able to capture the attention of hundreds of people. The colonies began changing or converting their religious views because of George Whitefield’s technique of field preaching. I know this assignment is to describe how the colonies are changing, but I cannot help but think how foolish these people were for believing George Whitefield’s claims despite his lack of evidence. The fact that many ministers chose not to believe George Whitefield’s personal revelation claims and that they had arguments with the preachers made people not want to go to their church anymore. This caused the ministers to change from their previous religion to Baptists, Methodists, etc. During the period of the Great Awakening, many people converted religions, even those who did not intend to do so in the first place. The growing number of people converting also caused the colonies to build colleges. The colonies changed dramatically because of a few influential preachers whom managed to influence many believing, innocent people. I am glad I was not a part of this time period because people seemed to be so gullible in their ideological views since there was a very limited understanding of science. However, had this event not taken place, many prestigious colleges and universities would not be present today.
I also agree with you Krystal because the Great Awakening (The Enlightenment) open the colonies doors to math and science; which lead to the publications of theories about physics, science and math. Also, the Enlightenment helped to creation of the first telescope in America.
hi Krystal, i like your post. I agree with you because the Enlightenment era we now think how we do today. Instead of a herd of sheep following without reasonable rationality.
During the Enlightenment the colonies made a big change. The change consisted in the old ways of thinking and beliefs. The change was in the mind of the people that in those times believed many women were witches. Many innocent women were accused of being witches. The Salem witchcraft trail was very famous for this time period. Women that were out spoken or different in any way would be seen to be related with the black arts or witchcraft. Some men were also accused of witchcraft but the majority were women. Once the governor’s wife got accused it ended this time of cruel and ignorance of burning women. The Enlightenment also got people to change their state of mind in religion and give people the opportunity and freedom to believe in anything the wanted. Another benefit of the Enlightenment is that many people started to get educated and not be ignorant. Benjamin Franklin at the time period of the enlightenment impacted the time with encouraging people to get educated. He also funded a library and published theories. Benjamin Franklin’s biggest movement was discovering electricity which made him more famous because the lightning rod enhanced science. The enlightenment was a great thing for most but not for all. There were people who did not like how people started to split from religion and stopped attending church. The Great Awakening was set to get people to start going to church and recruited groups of people. The Great Awakening also was a benefit and change to the colonies because it recruited people to churches but churches of their own selected warship,
I agree Martin that the Enlightenment was beneficial in a way that it gave people opportunities to have their own way of thinking whether it be through religion or something else. It's also good that the Enlightenment sparked knowledge of how the world worked as well
I agree with you both Martin and Jamille. It’s sad how the governor realized that they were accusing innocent people of being witches until his wife got accused and he decided to intervened and put a stop to it. It was not fair for those innocent women to get accused and get killed for something they did not do. I’m glad the Enlightenment came around and brought good ideas to the world that we still use today.
The colonies during the beginning of the 17th century changed completely in that it gave way to new ideals and religious sects that led to new ways of thinking that shaped the way they would look at the world. One new ideology that emerged during this time was the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason was the belief that the more we observe the world around us, the better it is for us to actually understand the universe. Many of the people during this time were trying to find ways of more knowledge and wisdom to get a bigger picture of the world. Many intellectuals of the Enlightenment started to see the balance of the world and many of theses intellectuals progressed in art, poetry, and music. The Enlightenment also closely corresponded with the Great Awakening. Because of the emergence of the Enlightenment, religious fervor decreased. Through the Great Awakening, many people converted into the different religions at this time and spiritual fervor was once again renewed. Many also divided and became new religious sects, which closely resembled the original religions just with different ideas. Through conversion, many children also became members of the church and many were starting to believe in a higher power once more. There were many preachers as well who emerged at this time with great speaking abilities, which made the people all the more join in the religions. Ideologies and different ways of thinking emerged at this time and it changed the colonist’s way of living as well.
I agree with you Jamille, you have point out very important points about why the Enlightenment had a dramatic impact in the colonies. Indeed, the Enlightenment Era was an era of reasoning; to understand the world better and being able to answered many questions of the time. Also, The Enlightenment’s ideas led to the American Revolution and were also helpful to build up the basis of the American Constitution.
I think one of the most important changes the colonist made was to move from the traditional way of seeing the world to seeing the world more radically and logically. The enlightenment era was brought from Europe and adopted mostly by wealthy and well informed colonist. This was very important because people stop killing themselves and people realize that their deity was not going to do everything for them. Bringing the enlightenment to the states gave the colonist the ability to start a movement which would make this country so prosperous. If this would have never happened, math and the sciences wouldn't have been introduced which would be fatal for the development of this country. If it wasn't for the enlightenment era this country or even the world still be basing everything in religious beliefs. Although this still occurs in some countries in order to make a country advance, adding math and science to their culture is fundamentally important. The enlightenment gave the key to move from a religious way of thinking to a more logical and rational ways of thinking which the outcomes are more efficient, prosperous and reliable. Although not all colonists adopted this new way of thinking, many who did were very influential in in the development of this country and became and still are role models to follow.
I totally agree with the statement you made about mathematics and sciences not developing if The Enlightenment period did not occur. The Enlightenment period brought logic and reason to the colonies. It had a great impact on the colonial elites; this period lead them to write the national Constitution that balanced power among government agencies. This period definitely influenced more efficient outcomes and prosperity. Great Job!
One change was the formation of thought progressed from religious and traditional to rational by use of observation. The change was brought about from the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 through 1693. Early settling Puritans strong ties to the church. As time passed into the new generations the population's focus began shifting from the church to the growth and prosperity of their settlement. This caused the number of converts to the church to decrease. In an attempt to increase the number of conversions to the church the “Halfway Covenant” of 1662 was created. The covenant allowed members to be converted but restrict them from having full communion rights. Along with their children having church membership without baptism. Although the number of conversions increased it came at a cost to the purity of the beliefs of the church. This led to the Salem Witch Trials where mainly women were accused of being witches and were killed as a result. The trials went on for a year until the governor's wife was accused of being a witch where he put his foot down and made a declaration stopping all trials and pardoning all who were accused. All because of a new way of thinking that was brought about by the Age of Reason also known as The Enlightenment where observations through the use of senses were used to come up with a rational idea of why something happened instead of traditional beliefs of the past. Paving the way for science and education. For which I'm sure we are all grateful.
I agree with you Jon Hardin, thanks to the Enlightenment, most people are able to think rationally and we have gained many good things from it such as education and freedom of religion.
After reading and watching the videos, I see that the colonies wanted to expand and bring about change. There are many reasons given in the readings and videos as why and how the colonies wanted to change, but the troubles the landowners were having stood out to me the most. Since the expansion of land actually outnumbered the number of workers, the earliest settlers came up with the idea of indentured servants. Indentured servants consist of leaving Europe and work in the American colonies. Most people that chose to leave viewed this as a new life in the New World. They would work for about four to seven years in exchange for passage, room, board, lodging and freedoms dues. They were not always treated the best but their rights were protected by laws. Soon after, landowners began receiving black Africans as indentured servants to work in America. They were treated like the white indentured servants at first but after Massachusetts passed laws for slavery, the black Africans eventually lost all little rights they did have. This cut cost for the landowners and brought about a new form of cheap labor. If a landowner had slaves instead of indentured servants, they wouldn’t have to pay them to work. This is a prime example of being desperate. Desperate times calls for desperate measures and slavery was the best option for the landowners at that point and time. Due to the expansion of America, the labor was in dire need. Little did the landowners know that their actions back then would play such a major role later on in American history.
Agreeing with you, the way they used indentured servants to create change and create progression within their colonies was smart. Though I find it harsh how slaves were taken away their rights, they were the main reason why the colonies has the change and progression they so wanted.
Women, along with few men, were accused of witchcraft with no logical proof, in the 1690's. The death rate arose tremendously in women, whom were brutally killed for something that they may not have taken part in. It was not until 1693 that justice came into play, when the governor's wife was accused of witchcraft. In orders of the governor, trials for what could have been FALSE accusations, were then prohibited. The Enlightenment, also known as "Age of Reason" was then established, which encouraged more rational thinking of amongst all. The method of thinking and knowing has developed throughout the years of humanity. Having that knowledge gives people the eligibility of understanding something with observations and proof, rather than the assumption that something is true. Although, people to this day, don't use the capability of themselves to fully understand something with reason, it is a safe bet that it is still in them. The Enlightenment, brought amongst many good things for the people. Benjamin Franklin, who was identified as exemplary in the Age of Enlightenment, invented the lightening rod, the glass harmonica, and the Franklin stove, with then led into greater inventions, Education being one.
One of the biggest changes during the 1600's was the arrival of indentured servants into America. It was a very wise move for the Virginia Company to develop a system for cheap labor. The system of indentured servitude was beneficial to both the early settlers and the workers. The early settlers were able to mass produce their crops at a faster pace and workers were rewarded with acres of land, a cow, clothes and other resources after their time was completed. However, a racial slavery system developed during that era. Massachusetts was the very first state to establish slavery. The system slowly changes in Virginia to consider race as an important factor. We have a similar system in today’s economy. American companies are stationed and functioning in other foreign countries, such as China. This system provides massive amounts of profits due to their fast pace manufacturing products.
Very nice conclusions Marlene, I agree that developing a system of sending indentured servants was wise. It was very beneficial to the early settlers, and not only to them but also to the indentured servants. After they have finished their contract, they gained much profit from the cheap labor. And if cheap labor was not invented at that time, I think that most of the materials that we have now would not be overflowing without their contribution.
Under the consideration this week, the colonies experienced a drastic change. One drastic change that happened during this week was the Salem Witch Trails. This all began with the first Puritans settlers who slowly lost their passion and conviction for their religion. They began to focus their attention on their daily duties for their settlements. And as a result, the Puritan ministers developed a system where anyone was allowed to join the church without being baptized, and with this, it helped increased more participation in the church, but it also weakened the church’s “purity.” Concerns about the purity of the church, people began to question each other, and began to point and accuse one another of being a witch, which were mostly women at that time. This had everyone stirred up until the governor stepped up and intervened with the witchcraft trails. The governor prohibited and dropped all the witchcraft trails because his wife was accused of witchcraft. With this, the colonies were encouraged to change to a more rational mindset. Without this event happening, the colonies would have never changed their mindset to a more rational and reasonable thinking. And with this, it allowed the colonies to be freer. I think that the Salem Witch trial helped the colonies opened their eyes to a whole new world. This event helped the colonies moved to the Age of Reason, where “intellectuals began to see the universe as an ordered creation, a place of balance and order.” Hence, the colonies began to be enlightened.
In consideration of the reading and videos this week, I thought that the beginning of sending indentured servants was one of the vital subject during the 1600s. Since the early settlers began producing more land and acres, they were limited of people tending for their crops. Therefore, they were in need of more indentured servants for cheap labor. Although indentured servants were not considered as slaves, life for them were still unbearable. They had some of their rights protected buy their punishments were greater by extending their contract. However, indentured servants also gained profit out of their labor. Stated in their contract, they were given 25 acres of land, new clothes, and arms. Also, they would grow to be successful and become one of the holders in their colonies. I feel that sending indentured servants was beneficial and very crucial at the time of the 1600s. Without the indentured servants, settlers would not be as successful as they were then and the idea of cheap labor would not be in effect today.
In addition to Tricia's comment, I think it is really important to clarify why the indentured servants were such an important event for the evolution of the colonists in that very short amount of time. Although we can definitely argue that there is never a good time or place for indentured servants in today's age, these servants were proof that the colonists were thinking better into the future and in what they were going to need in order to build a colony. It wasn't merely a vital subject in the 1600's, but the start of an immense era in american history. The evolution of the colonists with indentured servants leads to colonists with slaves. This event is the gateway for the American people doing anything for profit without thinking about ethics or morals. Their mindset in learning to become prepared betters; yet, it impairs their judgement dramatically. Everything for power, money, and independence. It opens up the doors for intense racism that leads into another era and continues today.
I agree, indentured servants were also readily available and willing to work because of the thirty year war. A glimmer of hope after a grueling war is a very powerful motivator and the colonies used it to their advantage. If I may add, Indentured servitude was not slavery but it was not minimum wage work, its more like sweat shop labor styles. Sweat shop labor might even be worst in my opinion.
Labor has always been a factor in the establishment of this nation. Early settlers noticed that they owned acres amongst acres of land; their issue was finding people to care of their land at an affordable cost. In 1607 Virginia Company developed the system of indentured servitude because that was an easy way to grasp the interest of workers. Employers would create contracts and issued them to workers for a fixed period time in exchange for their transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities. The life of and indentured slave may have been harsh but it was not slavery because some of their rights were protected by law. 1619 was the first time that Black people from Africa to Virginia to work. At First they worked as indentured servants with the same conditions and opportunities as white servants. There weren’t any slave laws until 1641 in Massachusetts and 1661 in Virginia. Although there were commands for more labor, Africans were stripped of their freedom. Indentured servitude as well as slavery triggered invaluable amounts of economic growth. Indentured servant that managed to succeed their contract began to demand for their granted land which put fear into the land owners. African slavery had completely taken the place of indentured servitude because it was viewed as a more profitable form of labor. Many slave owners began to abuse their authority and became tyrants. African slave were severely beaten with whips, chains, and weapons that shouldn’t be used on any human being regardless of their race or ethnicity.
It was a good way to create progression within their colonies by using indentured servants, but I find it a little harsh how they completely changed everything when they brought African slaves. It was smart of them to change to having slaves instead of indentured servants but mean of the way they were being treated.
The idea of indentured servants seemed to help everyone out at the time. The servants worked for a few years and they received benefits for their hard labor. Since the demand for labor increased, the landowners looked for cheaper ways to do labor thus resulting in racial slavery.
During week one's reading, we learned that the new colonists weren't very prepared for the hardships to come, not were they prepared for the amount of labor, effort, and starting from scratch with no guidelines. Instead of building quickly and efficiently, they procrastinated and tended to the tasks at hand in a slow manner unsure of their actions.
In this weeks reading the colonists sort have evolved. They were learning to make laws and govern themselves. They hit a huge obstacle with the salem witch trials; however, from that ended it with the enlightenment. They started using logic and reason in order to handle everything with more organization and efficiently; that way things could run in order to help the colonies prosper and flourish. They were preparing better for now and the future. Although they used slavery, which is completely unethical, they did have a better mindset in understanding that manual labor is an important necessity in helping their economy thrive.
All these ideas separated the first colonists from the first reading between the colonists of the second reading. They were slowly but surely learning what it was going to take in order to govern successful colonies and one day a successful independent nation.
You make a good point in bringing to light the differences between the colonists in their earliest stages and them a decade later. Although they did make some mistakes (as is human nature to do) the colonists are finding out how to grow their society to be successful and productive. Labor was needed and therefore the cheapest forms were sought out until they eventually turned to slavery. Although this was wrong, it did show the mindset of growth and success.
Definitely, personal reasons aside I completely agree with you, its simple business cheaper labor equals higher profits. China right now is a super power rivaling the U.S. in total worth and when we look at their labor we see they pay their workers close to nothing. Indentured servants are not a thing of the past sadly, as we see in third world countries. Slavery was the cheaper option of labor so the colonies went for that. I do not think it is racial slavery but more of immoral business. (Money Talks)
I agree that Mexican farm workers are vital to agriculture especially in California. They are the ones who are out picking fruit among other tasks. We need them for labor because unfortunately many others will not do jobs like picking fruit. You make good points.
The colonies are beginning to develop a sense of identity. We begin to see this from the previous readings and videos, from weeks one and two. As the colonies develop a sense of independence from their mother land they begin to question their authority. As they develop their own values and culture the patriotism or loyalty they have for Britain slowly diminishes. The French and Indian war gives the colonies a reason for unity and the victory grants them new land and ports. The war comes with a huge bill and Britain imposes that bill on the colonies already making profits for British companies. Taxes have a tremendous impact on profit. Fatigue and anger against Britain for over imposing taxes on a "nation" already struggling to survive, is sure to entail consequences. A shift from pre-scientific reasoning to scientific thought process through the enlightenment, gives the colonies the logic needed in order to establish a complex government. Tension is rising between the colonies and from the readings we can foresee action by both sides.
Digression: I am extremely happy to live in a time where we think scientifically. I find it appalling that people were prosecuted and sentenced to death based on stories. The accused really had no opportunity to defend themselves from charges put on them. The witnesses also had the weirdest reasons for accusing people. Makes you think how far we have come as a nation.
I agree with your thoughts on why the colonies finally began to feel fatigued at having to due Britain's bidding. Britain was simply trying to take as much as they could out of the colonies without taking into consideration that this would cause disdain from the colonists- and really they were just hurting themselves when imposing taxes and the like on the barely progressing new colonies. I also agree with you in being grateful for living in the time and age that we do. Being a woman and a minority, I would have had little chance for a fair and enjoyable life during the time of the colonists. Just thinking of how unjust the system was- allowing stories and superstition in the court room- makes me angry at how unfairly the early people were treated.
After reading and watching the videos posted for this week something that caught my eye was the Salem Witch Trials. Mostly woman were being accused of being a witch without any proof. They were also being convicted of being witches and led to being burned at stake, hanged, and even drowned for such accusations that were probably not true because they had no proof. That was until the governor’s wife was accused of being a witch herself that they decided to put a stop on the Salem’s Witch Trials. In 1693, the governor decided to stop these trials and he pardoned those who had already been convicted. This was not fair in my opinion because before the governor’s wife was accused, innocent people had already been convicted and killed for it as well. This was when more rational thinking came in New England also known as the Enlightenment which spread from Europe to America. This was based on an idea that the natural world is best understood through the use of close observation by the human faculties coupled with a reliance on reason. The Enlightenment also brought many benefits such as a stable foundation for education, freedom of religion, social activism, and governing systems.
Hi Mirka, i completely agree with what you said about unfair it was before the governor decided to put an end on the Salem's Witch Trial. The Enlightenment implemented a new way of thinking towards people, and created a positive movement towards building a governing system.
Indentured servants became a progressive change to the early settlers in the 1600’s. Now with so much unoccupied land being uncared for, they needed extra hands to work and take care of the land for them. That is why the Virginia Colony developed the system of indentured servants. Indentured servants were being used to do all of labor work the farmers didn’t want or could not do. This became resourceful and important to the colonial economy because now they were able to do so much more and progress the colonies with the help of the indentured servants. Life as an indentured servant was not easy; they were restricted of many things, people of “higher class” would look at them wrongly, and their duties and responsibilities and even their life style were harsh. Even though their lives were hard, there were rules that would protect them. Later in 1619 Africans were brought to Virginia for the first time and they were treated as indentured servants until 1641 and 1661. Massachusetts and Virginia created slave laws and took all of the rights away from the blacks. It was at this time where slavery began. Slaves were seen as personal property, they were sold off as if they weren’t even people at all and they were treated harshly. Slaves were expected to please their owner’s commands and had little to no rewards. After a while owners no longer wanted to deal with the contracts and having to reward indentured servants with land after their service, so majority of them turned to African slaves because they were more affordable and they didn’t have to reward them at all. Even though slaves were looked down upon, it was because of them that the colonies progressed and created change as much as they did
Tobacco and other plantation crops were a primary source of income for many wealthy landowners of the time. The need for workers was ineveitable, yet somehow African workers were not afforded the same contracts and benefits that indentured servants were. At a time that the colonies were seeking refuge from an "oppresive" and tyrannical England it is hard to miss the perversion of social heirarchy. The lack of understanding is clear based upon the burning of those convicted of witchcraft, which has not until this day had a clear definition. To be able to burn someone alive because of the belief they are "evil" is just as ridiculous as the reasoning behind using and selling workers as property. I agree fully with you Anakaren and if not for the working class and oppressive servitude of the time, I am not sure the colonies would ever have had the same outcome.
I believe the arrival of the indentured servants was a huge impact on the colonies. The idea of indentured servants was needed for cheap labor. The early settlers had vast amounts of land but no one to maintain it. In order to attract labor workers, the Virginia Company developed a system that would show the workers all the benefits that come with it. The indentured servants became significant to the economy. Due to the Thirty Years War, many skilled and unskilled workers were left with no work which made Europe’s economy severely weakened. The idea of the Virginia Company’s offer gave the workers hope. The servants would typically work four to seven years in exchange for housing, board and freedom dues among other benefits. Since this wasn’t slavery, life was not easy and very restrictive although the servants had some laws that protected their rights. Punishments were more severe than those for non-servants. Running away or getting a woman servant pregnant resulted in their contract being extended. New immigrants who came freely to the country received few benefits than those of indentured servants. Although the indentured servant life wasn’t easy, the outcomes were more satisfying than those who came freely. In 1619 the first African slaves came to Virginia. There were no slave laws in place at the time so they received the same freedoms as the whites. As demand for labor grew, the indentured servant cost drastically increased. The land owners were threatened by the free servants demand for land in which they then turned to African slaves for cheap labor thus paving the way for the beginning of racial slavery.
As is to be expected, the colonies went through various changes in the course of their development; especially in the earliest times. The arrival of indentured servants was probably one of the most significant changes to have come to the earliest colonists, as it has- as we will surely later see- great repercussions for the people of the colonies and the history of “the New World.” There was a whole new terrain that needed to be tended to, hence the need for more workers. The fact that there would be many required also made it so that the labor needed to be cheap in order to be affordable for the existing landowners in the colonies. The idea of indentured servants, while not the most ideal, was definitely able to provide certain people an opportunity that they could not have had otherwise. The laborers that took the indentured servant positions were out of work in their hometowns and wanting to make a new life in the new world; and therefore sought to pursue the opportunity presented before them. The conditions that these workers were hired under were said to be rough, with long hours and harsher punishments for committing crimes than those given to non-slaves. However, once the servant’s contract was up, he was given a fair amount of land, food, shelter, and clothes: everything needed to start a fresh new life. The use of indentured servants worked well until the colonists began to feel threatened by the servants’ claim on the land. Around this time is when the first black Africans arrived to the New World, and their arrival- coupled with the threat felt by the colonists towards their land- is what seemed to have started the use of black Africans as slaves. This change in the way that certain people are viewed differently than others is what I believe brought about so many changes in thought and in action later on that we are sure to read about soon.
I think it is very interesting that the witch trials started with a group of girls and how it snowballed from there. People left and right seemed to accused and punished for witchcraft. Watching and reading about them again, they ended much differently then I remembered. How easily the governor finally decides to end the trials once his own wife is accused is mind boggling. Whether the towns people agreed with him or not, he had a helping hand in the enlightenment period.
After reading and watching both videos, the colonies are starting to change. In the beginning, colonies had a rough beginning but now, they are constantly developing new ideas and such. What caught my attention the most was the Salem Witch trials. Religion in the past reading was not serious unlike this one. This was when individuals, mostly women were accused being a witch. People that were accused of being a witch are mostly innocent. If I was living at this time, I would be scared. You never know what is going to happen since you can be accused as a witch anytime! The accused ones were killed brutally. Burning, hanging, and drowning are their methods of getting rid of the accused witches. This ended when the government’s wife was accused of being a witch. I believe if the governor’s wife was not accused of being a witch, the brutality of murdering mostly innocent people would have continued. I find this unfair to the other innocents accused of being a witch. The governor shows no mercy to those individuals that have been accused of being a witch but when his wife was targeted, he has ended the trials. Pretty much, accusing the governor’s wife as a witch has gotten rid of the negativity. People will now understand that they have killed innocents maybe because of their looks and such. They pretty much judged people and if they see something wrong with that person, it’s automatically a witch. The other subject that caught my attention was the colonies turning to slavery. It’s very disappointing to read this. In 1641, African Americans lost their freedom and became slaves. They had dehumanized African Americans. They see them as tools and using them for profit. Slaves actually improved the economic growth for the price of their freedom. Slaves were good for the economy but it is inhumane and horrific. Reason why slaves increased economy is because they were not paid unlike indentured servants.
This period was a time of change for not only colonial America, but also Europe and the way the rest of the civilized world viewed religion and mortality. It is hard to comprehend, considering we live in a time where the " American Dream" is so inherent and distilled into our culture. The juxaposition of today's supposed land of oppurtunity is difficult to fathom in contrast to the indentured and hard class system of old. As the colonies grew and the need for workers became more apparent, the way governement and prosperous land owners approached the laws regarding those matters changed. It seems to me to be oppurtunistic and somewhat discouraging considering this is refered to as the "Age of Reason". Then again, the remedies for the sick and the justification for political action and war seem to prove that we, as a country, had a long ways to come. What I do appreciate out of the reading is that there were pioneers like Benjamin Franklin who were always pushing the envelope in theory as well as practice. I know that he was a slave owner, as almost all of his social class were in that day. However, it is his pursuit for the advancement of technology and thought that I respect. It is well documented that ideas about religion and salvation were changing during this period, but it is good to know that in addition a select few were also pursuing the advancement of knowledge which has led a larger revolution than religion or politics, being an open and educated society.
After reading and watching the videos, I am seeing how the Enlightenment was the starting foundation for immense change. The Enlightenment introduced critical thinking to the colonists, and this would spark ordinary people to observe their surroundings more. Two amazing revolutionary English thinkers were Isaac Newton and John Locke. Newton defined a set of laws that govern nature which i think opened the doors to questions people normally wouldn't think to solve, and really had a significant impact in achieving important answers . Locke, also helped create a path for new thinking by asserting that the mind is a blank state, formed and shaped by its environment and experiences. This means that depending on the way one is raised, how one sees the world, and the experiences one endures he or she will view life in a specific way. Since every person sees life a little differently, they should have the freedom to choose what they want to do in life. Benjamin Franklin, who was influenced by both Isaac Newton and John Lock, would help push forward the advancements in education with his inventions, university he helped found, library and etc. Furthermore the Enlightenment was a big step forward for the advances in knowledge, and the beginning roots for an American governing system.
The arrival of Indentured servants into the colonies is perhaps the biggest change. The early Colonists had alot of land to care for but nobody to care for it. Making other people tend to their land would be the easiest and cheapest way. They would provide food and shelter, and maybe pay some of them. They could now tend to their lands without even breaking a sweat. Indentured servants also allows them to mass produce their crops at a faster pace. Servants were only servants for some time and in return given land and supplies, however many of the indentured servants died before the expiration of their contract. After some time, colonists grew tired of having to pay them. In 1641 all the African Servants became slaves, losing any freedom they thought they had. Certain laws in Massachusetts and Virginia passed and most colonists turned to African slaves because they were cheaper and more profitable. In Massachusetts and Virginia, African people now had no rights and were slaves for life. They would soon be bought by the dozens, traded, beaten, bread, and murdered. The innocent lives of these African people in the New World would change forever. No longer seen as a human with rights, but as a slave. Not having to do any hard labor and still mass producing product the Colonists must have been flourishing with money and success. Slaves were probably a boost for the economy during this time period as well. Slaves were responsible for producing the major consumer goods that were the basics of world trade.
ReplyDeleteI agree people did view slaves as a boost for the economy, but they also used them for other things as well. Most of the slave owners didn't view the slave as human beings but viewed them as property so that gave them the perception that they could do anything they want to do to their slaves but could not treat their family that way. But the slave owners have wives back at home but their wives know that their husbands are having sex with slaves and are responsible for having a mulatto child but can't do anything about it but make them angry and take it out on the slaves, when the slaves are forced to have these type of interactions with their owners.
DeleteI totally agree. Slavery boosted the economy so significantly that its hard to imagine where the Colonies would have been without it. Without such a huge boost of labor for very little cost, the Colonies might not have managed to become a global center for trade. They might have relied more heavily on England and perhaps might not have sought independence eventually. Who knows?
DeleteIt's sad to know many of these people had no idea they were going to be sold or treated this way especially because many of them died before even reaching their chance to enjoy their deserved homes and liberty from being indentured servants.
DeleteIndeed, slavery lead to invaluable economic growth, yet many believe that it was a critical flaw that lead to mental despair. In concurrence with many of the above writers, although indentured slavery expanded the economic world by putting ease to the labor of early colonist, many slave owners abused their authority. It is simply inhumane to engage in buying, selling, or even holding another human being captive. Most slave owners were tyrants and thought highly of themselves for being a cruel and oppressive ruler of people who shed the same blood and tears. Without slavery the production of consumer goods at the time would have been at a huge disadvantage, but it could have been done. I like how you summed everything up, great job Jeffrey
DeleteI agree with you, Jeffrey, but I think that Enlightenment was a more dramatic change in the colonies during this period of time. For example, it help to the introduction of Science and Math to the colonies, which help to the creation of “new” technology and schools. Also, the Enlightenment led to the American Revolution and it was also helpful for the basis of the American Constitution as well.
DeleteIt's crazy because people had their land in this new country but were too lazy to maintain it so they were fair enough to give people land and other stuff for the price of working for them for a period of time. Then these people got greedy and did not even want to pay these workers. I feel like over time the people of this country got too demanding and they took for granted of the things they had. If they had power, they wanted more. If they wanted workers, they wanted them cheap. America became so unfair and so quickly.
DeleteAlthough we believe slavery to be bad, I wonder where our advancements today would be without it, as slavery allowed for growth and prosperity for the economy. With that being said I would also assume the population growth to be on the rise as well, in my eyes leading to a wealth of knowledge among the population. So who knows where we would be without slaves. Just my opinion.
DeleteThe enlightenment is what developed in Europe by two philosophers John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton who were very influential in the Enlightenment era. A lot of the enlightenment ideas helped influenced the american revolution, instead of of relying on religion they relied on other resources, such as science, math, and inventions such telescope that was seen as important for astronomy. colonies who remained in contact with Europe wanted to be modernized and keep up with certain advancements that were rising in the enlightenment era. the american colonist looked at themselves as being European, they didn't look at themselves as being american yet. the enlightenment also impacted education, even though it focused on developing ministers, and focusing on religion it still opened up to more areas of education for other people to focus on. advancements of science, art, and religious freedom carried over into the modern era, and also set up an american governing system that included having power.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because you have point out very important points about how The Enlightenment changes the colonies during this period of time. Also, I believed that science and math led to the creation of new and revolutionary things, such as, the telescope, our government system and schools. Schools help the colonies to become educated and to spread the Enlightenment all over America.
DeleteI agree with you because the Enlightenment had a huge impact the construction of America. Especially the way our government is created and the knowledge that we all gained from its expansion.
DeleteTyler, I think that you bring out a different side of the Enlightenment era, which is good to think about all the other things that was going on during this time period, like education and how math and science was playing a major factor in improving the colonist lives.
DeleteThe Scientific and Religious Transformation was an important and big change for America throughout the early years. The first puritans who traveled to the states from New England took religion very serious amongst the new settlers. People who were not born in the church were not allowed because they felt as if these people would bring more sin and less purity to the church. This became true after puritan ministers developed a Half- Way Covenant which allowed a "new category" of members that were converted to be members of the church but would not have full communion rights. It also allowed children of the converted to be full members of the church even if they were not baptized. After the Half-Way Covenant was in place the colonies were fine and it was better because more people were getting involved and participation within the church. After a while, with the Half- Way Covenant in place among the churches the church became less pure and people began to be accused of witch craft. This led to the Salem Witch Trials. People who were accused of being witches were mostly women, and men every once in a while. These people were burned, hung, and drowned, for punishment with just the assumption of being witches. It was not until 1693 when the governor prohibit any further trials and let the accused witches that were still alive free with dropped charges. This was only because his wife was accused of being a witch. Religion went through a few changes between 1690-1693. Many people died because of some misidentification with religion and the church.
ReplyDeleteMelissa Sweat I agree in your argument, because puritans took religious way too serious, and in my opinion they used religion as a way to control people. As you mentioned, the governor dropped the charges of the accused "witches" only because his wife was accused as on of them; which was not fair because he was using religion only to control the people.
Delete. Hello Melissa! After reading your post I found many key points that were explained in the assigned reading that I found were not acceptable. I found it unacceptable how once the governor’s wife was accused of witch craft and that caused him to change the fate of the current accused witches. The governor had no mercy for previous accused witches but when it came to his wife he decided to drop all charges for everyone else to make it fair. I don’t think it was correct to base his judgment differently when the charges were now upon his spouse.
DeleteHi Melissa, I wanted to point out the examples that you brought up on your explanation because it all makes sense. Religion did bring a big change in America. I personally think that it was the puritan ministers for developing the new covenant that accepted new member under the requirements you mentioned. But I think that there was also no reason to blame innocent people of witchcraft and that most of them were women. Most of the time people that were put on trial whether they were guilty or not just started to point fingers at anyone and I thought that wasn't fair. The same thing happened to the governors wife when she was accused of witchcraft. Most likely if the trials would not have ended that way, then the trials would still continue.
DeleteMelissa, I agree with you as well. I also do believe that you pointed out some good evidence of what was really going on during this time period. Like mentioned last time I think religion is going to continue to be something really important in the way people live their life. Religion can sometimes bring out the worst but at the same thing it also helps people find the peace that they so often search for. Religion will continue to change peoples point of views. But like mentioned before it's not fair to use things like religion or social power to give you power to control over other people.
DeleteThe colonies are constantly transforming but in this period that we are looking at right now I would have to say that the religion aspect seemed to be one of most influential changes. It kicked off many changes with the Half Way Covenant in 1662. The church took a turn from only having the super religious puritans as its members to including those who were not as strong in the faith. This did create a larger church community but it because of the increase in size, the purity faded. With less purity, more suspicion arose and people questioned the lives of those who seemed different. The Salem Witch Trials broke out and people were burned at the stake because the colonies were fearful that sorcery was in their midst. To stop the trials, the governing people encouraged the colonists to start thinking more rationally. The changes in the Puritan church led to so much more than just faith, it led to the rational thinking of the colonist which helped them transform into the enlightenment and advance in many different ways such as science, art, education, and a political system. It was almost like a snowball effect. You start with the covenant and it rolls from there to the evolvement of the colonies in the next few years and so on. There is always constant change and growth in a place full of people with different mindsets and goals and that is the beauty of it.
ReplyDeleteYour description of the change in views from religious to rational thinking being like a snowball effect is interesting to me. I believe this idea was all started because somebody somewhere had a different view then the whole and their ideas weren't accepted so they were hated and shunned. This simple idea can show how difficult it is for people to accept change and new ways of thinking.
DeleteTori I very much agree with you, It was smart for the colonies to dircet themselves away from the Salem With Trials by having them think more rationally and allowing for people to be more involved with education, art, and science. Which led to more open doors rather than to target a group of people and to claim that they are witches.
DeleteTori I agree with you 100% because I like how at the end of your statement you said that because of the governor telling the colonist should start thinking rationally it led to the Enlightenment and began creating various amounts of ideas and goals that lead the colonist to become more aware of their surroundings rather than accusing people of using witchcraft and other irrational ideas.
DeleteI have to respectfully disagree. The Enlightenment was a way of thinking that started in Europe, and spread to the colonies. The governor's decision to put an end to the Witch Trials was a result of this increased focus on rationality, not a precursor. I even partially question the true "rational" motives for the governor's stance. I mean, he sat idly by and let people be burned, hanged, and drowned until the accusations pointed at his wife. At this point he finally came around and decided "Hey guys lets all be rational ok?"
DeleteHi Torri, from what I understood once the govern spoke his mind most puritans encouraged rational thinking. So you're right he was an inspiration for the people to follow enlightment but I doubt he was the one who enforced it. I think that people came to that on their own.
DeleteI agree with you that where there are large crowds results in large changes. If it was not for the large population of people with many different outlooks on life, then there would not be much change. Rational thinking led to many great discoveries.
DeleteThe encouragement of rational thinking was prompted by the Salem Witch Trials. With all the accusations of successful men and women in the government beginning to unwind, the amount of convicted began to become too much. The claim that the governor’s wife was a witch sparked the change throughout New England government. He automatically took action and ended all the trials and pardoned the convicted in order to end the extreme amount of finger pointing that everyone participated in witchcraft. This event marked the beginning of reason and close observation in order to understand the natural world instead of fear of the unknown and what was not easily understood. Order was observed throughout books and art and every form of expression while people tried to grasp at reason in reality. New ways of seeing the world were encouraged instead of being suppressed by religious beliefs witnessed during the witch trials. Two very significant philosophers in the Enlightenment Era were John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton. Locke and Newton presented their scientific theories and further paved the way for the scientific development and laws of nature. With these huge revelations gaining popularity religion quickly took the view of the new world as further proof of the existence of God and how he worked through these natural causes. At the same time religion and God was losing its attractiveness with reason and logic denouncing his almighty status. The Enlightenment greatly influenced changes in religious beliefs as a whole. Some important thinkers during this era including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Paine adopted a belief that God was more of a clock-maker and that he did not interfere with humanity, he just sat back and watched his design follow through. This innovative way of thinking gave way to much advancement in medicine, government and technology, thus starting a surge in the importance of knowledge as a way to power.
ReplyDeleteTalia, I agree with you. John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton, two major influences on the world we live in today were great philosophers. The Enlightenment did change religion amongst many colonies, i believe it was for the better since many citizens of the colonies were going crazy during the Salem Witch Trials. It was a good thing because people were being hung, burned alive, and drowned to death even if the assumptions of witch craft were all false.
DeleteThe 13 colonies are beginning to change drastically over the time spanned between the 1600's and 1700's. During The Enlightenment, which is also called the Age of Reasons, many began to think logically and develop a sense of common sense and reasoning. It also had a huge impact on education creating the most prestigious universities that we have here in the U.S. today. For example: Brown, University of Philadelphia, Dartmouth and many more. Also, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Thomas Paine became the famous Great Thinkers of the Enlightenment. They created the way of thinking that we use today. To think that all this great way of thinking came after the accusations of the arrogance of witchcraft usage. However, it wasn't the people's fault that they weren't exposed to this kind of reasoning when Benjamin Franklin and the rest demonstrated to the colonies their massive amount of intelligence through there knowledge of logic and common sense. In the 1900's, it turns out there are still changes, unfortunately these changes would cause the biggest change within the colonies on human rights. In 1619, Africa Americans were brought to the colonies but were immediately looked down on and had very little rights. Later Massachusetts in 1941 and Virginia in 1961, passed a law that got rid of all the little rights that the African Americans had and they were now considered as slaves. This did cause labor to grow but at what cost? African Americans were now seen as "objects" and were never seen as humans. All their rights were gone, slave owners bought them and this is when racial slavery had begun in the colonies. Soon the thought of reasoning and human rights weren't to be seen as the most important thing anymore because these laws caused the individuals of the colonies to think that all African Americans were not human and their way of thinking about the African Americans was nothing more but selfish gain in for land and money.
ReplyDeleteVirginia I thought it was interesting that you pointed out how the colonies were directing themselves away from reasoning and human rights and bringning in more attention towards the usage of slavery. It's unfortunate that the colonists felt it would be more advantagous to them to start buying african amiercans as property and a way for them to become more wealthy.
DeleteI agree with you as well Maria, it is disappointing that the colonist turned to slavery when one would think that because people are starting to think rationally they would find slavery as something wrong.
DeleteHey Virginia! I completely agree with you along with Maria and Anna. Its sad that the colonist went to slavery. Slavery may have increase economical growth but their freedom was the price to pay which I find selfish. They were treating as objects and tools just like you mentioned Virginia!
DeleteColonists faced with many changes during the Enlightment period and one of them would fall into the category of religious beliefs. When Puritans settled in New England, they brought with them their religious belief. And magic played a big role in puritan’s life. Over time settlers began to look another direction away from church. Ministers wanted to bring the puritans back and created a new covenant. Most puritans joined the new covenant named the Half Way Covenant. Ministers wanted to bring new members to the new Covenant. But this covenant did not have any requirements because it also accepted members that were converted but did not have their whole communion rights, and also children that were not baptized. Puritans hoped that with the idea of developing the new covenant they would have more participation, and they did. But they did not count on how the religion began to decrease. Members became inpatient and concerned. These tension brought events that were known as Salem Witchcraft Trials. Members began to accuse one another, but it was mostly women and some men also. Those accused were to receive trial. The ones that were accused received punishment and were either burned, hanged or drowned. But in 1693, the unexpected happened and the governor’s wife was accused of witchcraft. The governor did not want to go any further with trials and forgave those who were convicted. Colonists developed a rational thinking when the governor made his decision. Rational thinking was known as Enlightment, and soon spread to America.
ReplyDeleteHi Yessica. I like how you gave examples as to how the era of Enlightenment came to be. Colonist actually began to think for themselves rather than relying on magic or ideas that witchcraft existed. I guess it is a good thing the governor's wife got accused.
DeleteHello Yessica, well i agree with you and Anna about to the Salem Witch Trials, you gave great examples explaining how it accrued. Unfortunately, after many lives were token away, it finally stopped. Just like Anna stated it was good that the governor's wife was accused. It gave the town time to think and could come to a finalization that everyone was just randomly being accused of being a witch. It all stopped, but all the ladies in town and a man being burned, drowned, and hanged was just unjustified.
DeleteHello Yessica! Reading your statement reinforced the blog entry I submitted as well. Its interesting how people can change when it comes to them or members of their family being in trouble. I liked the fact that you provided so many examples about Puritans and life for women and men accused of witch craft. Its unfortunate that most of these people were wrongfully accused of being witches. Even though these events have occured and we cannot go back in time and fix the wrongdoings of mankind we can learn from these experiences and make sure we do not apply inaccurate judgement upon others.
DeleteAccording to the video the colonies were changing considerably in their ways of religion, many of the settlers began to focus less time towards church related activities simply because they had more of a responsibility in taking care of their settlements and want to become wealthy. Puritan ministers did not like that so they thought as a way to bring back settlers to church and increase religious participation was to create the Half-Way Covenant which would allow more settlers who may have been converted to that religion but were not baptized. For a while that declaration worked until it later raised problems which caused the Salem Witch Trials to begin. After problems with the Salem Witch Trials was over the colonies really began to change due to the enlightenment and The Great Awakening which really affected the way the colonies began to live their lives and their belief systems. The Enlightenment brought to the colonies a different way of thinking and gaining knowledge through art and science. For those who were Christian believed that enlightenment views fell alongside their Christian views which caused problems between the liberal Congregationalists and how they viewed God. As it came time to the great awakening numerous ministers began to provide open sermons outside of church in order for colonists as many of them were living farther away from their church and as a way to increase religious practice. Colonists were also given the occasion to worship as they wanted without state to tell them otherwise, bringing in more religious liberty into the law.
ReplyDeleteBasically, individuals began to think for themselves rather than letting others make decisions for them. So I agree with what you have to say because this period in time did allow the colonists to gain knowledge and make judgments based on their OWN personal views. Even though religion was still a big part of their beliefs, new ways of thinking permitted new beliefs to be spoken. Nice job
DeleteDuring these years the colonies developed and prospered significantly in many different ways. The Enlightenment brought about a change in thinking which affected all aspects of colonial life. This new focus on logic and reason was embraced by everyone, including scientific thinkers and religious leaders. The idea that the world follows a natural order, rather than being random and unpredictable, enabled scientists to rely on worldly observations when coming to conclusions. In addition, religious leaders saw this emphasis on natural order as further proof to the existence of their God. Inspired by the ideas of John Locke and Benjamin Franklin, the colonies placed a greater emphasis on education, and the idea that people can better themselves. The Enlightenment helped stir the beginnings of the Great Awakening, which enabled greater religious freedom. The effects of the Enlightenment would also be seen in the upcoming government focus on balance of powers. Another important change during this time came with the use of indentured servants. There was a lot of work to be done in the colonies, and not enough people to do it. Since passage was expensive, the wealthy were the only ones who could afford the trip. The introduction of the indentured servant system offered lower class individuals the opportunity to travel to the new world. They would be sentenced to serve for about seven years, then given their freedom as well as other benefits such as land, food and clothing. Though it eventually gave way to full-blown slavery, indentured servitude served an important purpose. It was a win-win situation for the ever-expanding colonies in desperate need for labor, and lower-class individuals seeking new opportunity.
ReplyDeleteHello Nicole, I completely agree with you about the colonies development. The fact that it was changing for the better makes one realize how great and intelligent people were to introduce and discover, for example, electricity and a stove. Also, on how science and education became bigger and was expanding throughout the colonies. Nicole you had some great examples and also great explanations.
DeleteNicole, I believe that the indentured servitude was not a win-win situation. It seemed to me that when the opportunity to give pass in exchange for servitude was presented it was exploited. The life of an indentured servant was not an easy one and not all of them made it to the end of their contracts in the end.
DeleteNicole, you did a great job giving examples of the colonies changing during several events. For instance, the idea of thinking logically and with reason was a new way of thinking for the people. Because many people have different interpretations of what logic and reasoning might mean, I do not think that those early religious groups were really thinking critically and logically because there was no evidence that their God was the one who put natural order in place. However, during this time period, the knowledge of science was limited compared to what we know today. These people could not possibly think of another explanation of how the Earth and everything living on it came into existence. Another change of the colonies was when the homeowners wanted cheap labor so they hired indentured servants to do their work for them. They then became unhappy that the indentured servants were gaining higher class after their servitude, so they decided to move to cheap labor and adopting slavery. How could anyone disagree that the motives of these upper class homeowners were entirely selfish?
DeleteAs I continue to read and watch the videos I learn that the colonies are definitely expanding and changing. There are many reasons that I could point out from the information given as to how they are changing, but one topic that really shows a change and caught my interest was the result of the labor troubles. Due to the expansion of land in the colonies labor was needed to tend to that land. This then led the colonial elites to turn to indentured servants for cheap labor. The indentured servants served for a period of seven years in exchange for "passage, room, board, lodging, and freedom dues (Indentured Servants In The U.S.)." Though their treatment was not the best their rights were still protected by laws. Not long after black Africans began to enter into America as well. They were first treated as indentured servants, but eventually laws were passed in Massachusetts and eventually in Virginia that stripped away their freedom. As we learned from the reading the colonial elite grew weary of the increasing cost and success of the indentured services, so as a result they turned to slavery. This change for the colonies shows how because people were looking for the best alternative for cheap labor it eventually resulted to slavery, and the beginning of many unforeseen troubles that will surface many years later. At the time of course this was probably a good alternative because the owners of the land no longer had to worry about the indentured servants or the cost of paying them to work anymore. The labor was much needed at the time due the expansion of America and its many growing needs. I think this is why I found this topic interesting because as a reader I know that once slavery was introduced it would play an impacted role in America. If any of you have anything to add please do.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Indentured servants and slaves is a huge change for the colonies. Indentured Servants played a crucial role in the of growth and expansion in the early days of the Colonies. The slaves allowed many of the colonists to expand their farm and make loads of money. Slavery not only changed the colonies but it paved the way for; racism, segregation, and many hate crimes.
DeleteThanks Jeffrey, I'm glad you agree with me. I agree with you as well on the fact that slavery opened up new issues.
DeleteThe Enlightenment caused a great impact in the colonies; it was the age where numerous discoveries were found which helped the colonies to improve. One of the most important is religion. In the period of enlightenment puritans started to believe in salvation from God; this changed the world’s view completely because the majority of religious people think that all the actions they do will have consequences related to salvation. Also in this era puritans started to believe that all things that happened was the God’s will; this explanation made everything easy so people would have answers that would be hard to answer. There are many questions about from where we come from and there are many different religious and scientific theories, but for many religious people is easier just to answer all these questions by saying that God created us. Another great improvement for the colonies is the education. Benjamin Franklin published many theories on medicine, astronomy, and physics; these theories are very useful to discover new medicines, and how the universe works. Whit this aportations education had improved the colonies until now days. Benjamin Franklin created several colleges which helped improve education.
ReplyDeleteOlga, I agree with you that two of the large improvements were found in religion and education. I do think that maybe sometimes the more religious people lacked in searching for new improvements in science or even to figure out where things came from and when because there answer was right there in front of them, it was God. Also, Ben Franklin did put out many theories in certain subject which helped progress the thinking and even make some concrete discoveries.
DeleteAlong with the new forms of thinking, came the strategic use of indentured servants for the colonies. In 1607, the first indentured servants arrived in Jamestown to work on the lands for a cheap price. The colonists acquired large pieces of land, but they could not tend to them alone due to the large size. They found a way to take care of their lands, while not having to do any of the work themselves. Colonists provided the servants with the passage, food, and shelter in exchange for their labor. Workers were attracted to the idea of indentured servitude because the New World allowed them to have a new sense of hope and steady work. Soon, black Africans arrived and were automatically treated as indentured servants by the colonists because they had never came in contact with them before. As time went on, the colonies soon implemented slave laws which took away any sort of freedom rights the black Africans once had. The colonies soon changed their opinions toward the indentured servants; they began to feel threatened and so they turned to hiring more slaves. The costs for indentured servants also kept increasing and the demands for it grew. Colonists most likely began to feel threatened by the indentured servants because the servants had the opportunity to work towards being part of the elite class once they served their necessary time as servants. Once their contract was up, servants could receive up to twenty-five acres along with some corn, cows, and new clothes. From there it would be up to them on how they decide to prosper in the colony. The settlers did not have these worried with the African slaves because they knew the slaves had no rights at all. This was the beginning of slavery. The colonists shifted in a way that began to dehumanize these slaves due to the fact that they were stripped from the little rights they once had. It wasn’t so much about religion, but more about the economic growths they desired to have.
ReplyDeleteLisandra, I really like the way you were saying that the colonists saw the indentured servants as possibly getting higher than they preferred and the thought of the servant climbing the ladder in the world scared them. I'm sure they felt threatened and decided that instead of having someone to work for them and possibly be a part of the elite someday they should just enslave them and keep them lower than they should be. It's horrible that it happened this way and how inhumane they were treated. The kind puritans the colonists once were now faded and they wanted to be better than those they had working for them. Good points!
DeleteLisandra & Tori, I couldn't agree more with both of you. Reading this just solidified my comfort with my answer as well. Although the idea of getting passage over to the Americas, the food, and shelter sounded attractive to most who were hoping to come over to America, their lives did not end up so fortunate. I like how you said that they found someone to do the work on their land for them without having to do any of the work themselves. It was so true. They wanted cheap labor and they wanted it right away, no matter what it took. And then the idea of slavery that came about for selfish reasons was just sad. Hopefully we see things get better!
DeleteI believe people most of the time act on self interest. The colonist had all this land but they weren't able to get the most out of it. To get the most out of it they needed help with tending their land. This is were indentured servants began appearing but what is more economically profitable than indentured servants? Yeah you guessed it, slaves. Slaves didn't have a contract that would end and they would work forever with no expectation of any payment. So I completely agree how you say slavery was mostly about the desire for economic growth by the colonists.
DeleteAfter completing both the reading and watching the videos a particular change stood out apart from the others during this time period. During this time period a lot of women were being accused of being witches. Young females were associating themselves with African American slaves causing a disturbance within the townspeople. Many African American slaves practiced their own religion that included a particular dance that was not deemed acceptable amongst their owners. The young females would report to their father’s of the event that they had witnessed in the woods causing an uprising within the town. Many women were wrongfully accused of practicing witch craft. Those who practiced witch craft were all sentenced to a trial and later on burned to death, hanged, and or drowned. In the video it mentioned how many children were claiming to be tormented by witches in Salam, Massachusetts. Soon after almost all women were being accused of being witches until one day the line was crossed. The governor’s wife was accused of being a witch causing the governor to change his point of view on witch craft trials. He dismissed all the witchcraft cases of both male and female in order to save his wife. The townspeople came to a realization that many women were being innocently killed for actions they had never committed. The Salem witch trials ended in 1693. With the conclusion of the witch craft cases enlightenment and also known as age of reason was introduced from Europe to the Americas.
ReplyDeleteThis piece of history is really interesting to me as well. Its crazy how easily things as simple as their cultural dances were misconstrued into something evil, like witchcraft. It's also so strange that such a terrible time in history is now made into motion picture movies and halloween costumes. The thing that frustrated me most about this story was that as soon as the governor's wife was accused of witchcraft, everything was dropped. All of those poor men and women who had been wrongfully killed.
DeleteI completely agree with you Janai and Kaleigh, the Salem witch trials were completely absurd all those people who were tortured and killed until the governors wife was accused, it's insane to see how much the power had an influence on everyone, because as soon as the governor said it would stop it did. Great job!
DeleteAfter 1693, the colonies changed the way they were thinking with close observation and reliance on reason. The enlightenment provided more opportunities to enlighten thoughts which make the name fit very well to describe the change happening in the minds of the colonials. Benjamin Franklin was a colonial who contributed a lot to the Enlightenment. He was a colonial who wanted to have a positive impact in European advancement. Benjamin Franklin focused on making education more valuable by founding the college of Philadelphia. After that more colleges were opened and education was impacted more by the Enlightenment. It is interesting to look at all of the famous colonials from this time, who would have thought they were going to become scientists and philosophers like John Locke and Newton. I agree with the theory that John Locke brought up about humans being born with the mind as a blank slate. Of course this does not mean that humans are born without knowing anything, but I agree that this theory describes learning from experience as we grow in intelligence and that natural causes change how we might be. For example the first colonists didn’t know what to expect from the new land therefore they were a bit scared to explore what was new to them. Colonials who changed their thinking based on the enlightenment began to see the world in more radical thinking. Depending on how the environment was, the colonials intended to keep up with the impacts that the enlightenment brought.
ReplyDeletehi Maricela. I like that you brought up points of some of the things Benjamin Franklin impacted the wave of the enlightenment. I see how you interpreted your view on the whole movement thing and how the colonist wanted to keep up with it.
DeleteThe biggest change that occurred in the colonies during this period of time was the Enlightenment because this “movement” opened a new world to the colonials. For example, the Enlightenment open the door to science and math, which introduced the colonies to answers about their surroundings. Benjamin Franklin was one of the main characters that was able to introduced science and math to the colonies due to Enlightenment Era. However, Benjamin Franklin was influence by the revolutionary ideas of two Europeans, such as, Sir Isaac Newton and John Locke. Newton’s and Locke’s ideas help Franklin to published theories about astronomy, physics and medicine; these theories help the colonies and the Enlightenment Era to understand the world better. Eventually, all these new and revolutionary ideas led to the American Revolution and help to build up the basis of the American Constitution. Furthermore, the Enlightenment not only affected their way of thinking but also their view about life. For example, Benjamin Franklin build up several college, which at first were focus to developed ministers, but end up opening to general areas of education and thus helping the colonies to become more educated. Moreover, the Enlightenment had a great effect on religion, it help and strength their religions. For example, preachers stared to use reason to interpret God’s work. But the Enlightenment also led to questioning the divinity of Jesus. Furthermore, Enlightenment also influenced the colonials to try to keep up with the Europeans’ advancements, such as, math, art, and new technology. For example, the Enlightenment helped David Rittenhouse to build up the first telescope in America.
ReplyDeleteWith the expanding colonies, new ways of thinking, advancements in religion and the sciences, the idea of indentured servants came about. In roughly 1607, the idea for indentured servants was thought of when farmers and land owners started realizing that they had lots of land, but not enough hands to take care of it. Coming over to the Americas was expensive enough as it, that these men had the idea for "cheap labor." Quickly, the indentured servants became vital to maintenance of colonies. However, the life of an indentured servant was not all that pretty. They were treated harshly and given a very humble lifestyle. Typically, they worked for 4-7 years before they could be considered "free," however, if they attempted to run away or became pregnant, their "sentence" could often be extended. Although they lived in such rough environments, they were still not considered a slave. This term did not come around until 1619 when the first African Americans were traveling the New Americas. At first, they were treated as indentured servants as well, but eventually slave laws were passed and their hope for a better life in the Americas was crushed. I believe this is important because of the displays of increasing violence, a need for power, and hatred that is being shown.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that in the beginning of America the cruelty of the colonists was terrible. this lasted for a very long time which is also terrible. it is sad to think that just because of race they got different laws passed and were not allowed to have freedom and compensation like the rest of the servants.
DeleteI agree with you because the colonies did become cruel and it lasted quite a while. Also, before the enlightenment, people were accused for using witch craft witch in my opinion is by far terrible. Then when slavery was then enforced, it made the colonies even more cruel.
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DeleteI agree, I think the colonies became more selfish and began to think of themselves as superior to the people who they believed was lower than them especially to the Africans. This just show how unjust and cruel the people were in that era.
DeleteThe colonies are changing because of the people coming over and most of them are being used as indentured servants. The people are selling several years of their life to work for passage to the colonies. The immigration rules allowed the wealthy settlers to hire and pay the living expenses for certain impoverished people that were willing to become indentured servants. In return, the settlers had cheap labor and was able to make a profit. Then once the laborers time was done, land was most likely given to them and was to move up in class. The colonies were changing by allowing the poor to be able to cross boundaries to the elite class in the colonies, where in Europe this was not possible. As the indentured servant’s price grew and the amount of land the settlers were losing, it became a high cost for work for the settlers. The high cost of labor enabled for the first slaves in the colonies. This was the beginning for the colonies for the slaves from Africa. Also the colonies were expanding and venturing farther inland where they started to build. The size of the colonies then grew. Then because of the French Indian War large amounts of land was won and claimed British land, and the colonies then could grow more. With the price of war, the British began to tax the colonies, causing an uprising. But without the distress of losing money and being treated such, would the colonies ever find freedom? Would we have the freedoms of life in America today if the British did not bully the colonies?
ReplyDeleteHello Heather,
DeleteI like the point that you made when you mentioned on how the lower class were selling years of their life to work for the passage to the colonies. Don’t you think it was unjust that the people had to do this just so they can acquire their own property and belongings after serving the homeowners? The situation gets worse when the wealthy start realizing that the indentured servants were starting to move up in class after working hard for several years. The wealthy then no longer want to give the indentured servants land, crops, clothes, etc. so they decide to move on to cheaper labor by appointing slavery. How unjust and selfish of them to expect others to dedicate their lives feeding, cleaning, and serving them. I still don’t understand how people at this time were self centered, and selfish because they cared only about their class. Although slavery is illegal in the United States now, unfortunately discrimination against lower income people of certain races still takes place.
I like the points that you and Krystal had made especially about how the lower class were selling their life for work. But don't you think that the rich was only taking advantage of their workers? I mean the workers can still work for the rich, but with a better and a more safe work environment with no punishment. Yes, their working to get land, clothes, etc , but being punish for getting pregnant thats just unjust and wrong in my point of view. But I guess, hard work pays off because some servants was able to accomplish what they worked hard for.
DeleteI feel and believe that there are many things that was going on during this time period. From immigrants coming to the colonies, working the land and not being treated fair because their "masters" were the ones who were in charge to a religious aspects. I feel that the religious part of this time period was really important, people faith was being constantly being challenged, the way some churches were being so accepting when it came to having them convert to me it didn't seemed fair because they were not really doing it because they had the faith but more of a social aspect, like a way of living, which is not cool. That was one of the reasons why they came here first, so they would be able to have their own religious beliefs. People especially woman were being accused of doing which craft regardless if they were or were not they still had to suffer through all the things they had them go through. It is kind of sad to see that all the people that came here had to do a lot of things to just stay alive. In contrast during this time period there were things that were positive, more people were getting out of their comfort zone, they were learning about things that did not cross their minds before which is good but as college students we can all agree that having an education is really important. Having people learn about math and science perhaps gave them some kind of hope that they probably did not find in religion. During this time there were a lot of changes some good and some bad, but in society I think that's normal because its not very idealistic to say that we live in a perfect world or society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement on how it is normal that there were many bad and good changes. The world learns from mistakes and it grows from different experiences. Your point of view really helped me understand a lot more about the religion and how it was more of social aspect. I agree with you on how they lost focus on God because they were forced to make money and try to survive this new world. Thanks.
DeleteAfter reading the article and watching the videos, The Enlightenment allowed me to see how the colonies were developing in so many ways. The Enlightenment was brought upon change that affected many people in many different ways. One that caught my attention the most was the Salem Witch Trials. What interested me the most in the reading was that so many innocent women and men were killed just because they were being accused of being a witch or practicing witchcraft. Well this started when young girls were witnessed African American perform rituals in the woods. The slaves that were the maids to these young girls were showing them how the ritual was being performed. One day the father of the girls was taking a stroll in the woods and had seen was being accrued. After that viewing the townspeople were informed of the actions that took place in the woods, causing trouble in the town. Soon after women all over town were being trialed for witchcraft. Many of these women were not affiliated with any sort of witch craft involvement but were sentenced to death. The women that were killed were drowned, burned, and or hanged. Ciaos spread through the town once the people of Salem were aware of involvement of witchcraft. One day the governor’s wife was accused of practicing witchcraft and that is when it all stopped. In 1693, the governor immediately dismissed all witchcraft in order to save his wife. Once the end of witchcraft came to play the two English thinkers; John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton, introduced a new way of thinking called the Enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteJisel I enjoyed your entry because it seems like if I was reading a fairy tale where the governor saved his wife from evil, but in reality it is nothing like a fairy tale because it happened in real life. It makes us think about how this still happens today when some have more power than others.
DeleteHey Jisel, I completely agree with you and Maricela, the Salem witch trials were extremely interesting and the fact that the governor called it all off because of his wife is in one way incredible but then again it's just a double standard like we have today, if you have power you can use it to your advantage. It's crazy to think how even younger girls were burned to death because of crazy accusations, great job!
DeleteHi Jisel, I enjoyed reading your comment. I agree with what you say and in this time people believed in witch crafting. It is sad to think that many innocent girls were burned just because people believed they were performing witch craft. Imagine of that still happened in today's society?
DeleteJisel, I agree with you. It is unpleasant to know that amongst the judgement of the little girls who accused the women of rituals, led to death of many women in the 1690's. I also put in my opinion that it was unfair for the governor to take act, not until his was being accused, why didn't he take play before hand. It could have saved the lives of many women.
DeleteHi Jisel, I agree with you completely. The Salem witch trials had killed so many innocent people, mostly women. Its actually a good thing that the governor's wife was accused as a witch. Salem witch trials could have lasted longer if it wasn't for that. Jennifer, I cannot imagine if the Salem witch trials happened in today's society! Many women would have died instantly. Many people especially women in general who practice "Witchcraft like religion" would have to pretend to go to church just to survive.
DeleteDuring this time, the colonies were able to prosper in many ways especially in religion, education and employment. With the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment, a new thinking pattern for many colonists was available, as well as new inventions with the help of Benjamin Franklin, John Locke and Isaac Newton. The video states that the Enlightenment brought logic and reason into their world, giving them a broader way of thinking with their aspect of religion still remaining a critical aspect. In general these colonies were given an opportunity to expand their thinking process, while still keeping faith in their religion. Another major change for the colonies was the use of indentured servants. Early settlers realized the need of maintaining their land at an affordable cost. Indentured servants were treated better than slaves and were given much more. These workers were given at least twenty five acres of land, corn, a cow, and clothes in return for hard labor over a period of four to seven years. When their time of work was finally over they were able to keep the land that had originally been given to them, and some servants were even able to enter the elite class. In 1619, the first African Americans arrived to Virginia, they were given all that an indentured servant were given but when the slave laws passed everything they once had was taken away from them. Soon landowners realized that indentured workers were not as profitable as they once had been due to the demand in land, and turned to slaves for a more beneficial aspect in their business.
ReplyDeleteDuring this time of enlightenment, the new world had the potential to yield vast amount of cash crops, but the labor shortage prevented these settlers from expanding. The cost of the trip to the America’s was too high for the lower class to take, thus these wealthy settlers devised a new plan to attract workers. For the exchange of seven years of labor, Europeans would receive passage to the Americas, room, board, and some rights of freedom. This plan worked well until freed indentured servants began to demand more land and the elite landowners began to feel threatened. As to protect themselves, these elites decided to remove any freedom black African indentured servants had and own them as slaves. The more they felt threatened by the indentured servants, the more they turned towards acquiring slaves, as it was a safer means of tending their land. The issue with indentured servants was when they paid off their service they were to do as they please in the colonies to become wealthy and prosper. This could have led to increased competition between plantation owners, and scarcity in land. This wasn’t an issue with slavery. Slaves had no rights or freedom, thus it was less likely that they would revolt or cause threats. Also, owning slaves was a renewable and profitable method of labor, which made the transition from indentured servants to slavery easier.
ReplyDeleteI have always wondered what happened to those who were waiting to become indentured servants. Did they slowly decrease the number of contracts, or did they just stop offering this option?
DeleteI am amazed to see how much the colonists views of religion has changed, and so quickly. The Plymouth colonists from last week had made their move to this new land in search for the freedom to practice their religion. Now that they have their freedom, people do not practice religion as much as before. The ties to their religion is loosening and this is because they now have more to worry about. People now have to focus more on earning money and trying to survive and this is all because of the way of living. They used to believe that God oversaw the world at each moment through His will and now people are changing their ways of religion. Although ministers created the Half-Way Covenant in 1662, the purity of the members’ beliefs to the religion was not as strong as before. Now that people are losing their focus on the religion, that’s when the Witchcraft starts. People lose faith and then bad things begin to happen. If people had stuck to keeping their faith one hundred percent to God, innocent people would not have been accused to witchcraft and then killed. Witchcraft would not have even been thought of; how can someone who has faith in God even think that He would create a world with so-called witches? However, all of these different ideas made people think differently and rationally. It was as if people were now seeing the bigger picture to the world. Education then became important which happened by Benjamin Franklin and his impact in European improvement.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that this event really had a big impact in the colonies. But don't you think that if the colonies could only learned how to balance their daily duties and their religion this all could have been avoided? Although, even if that were to happened, do you think the colonies would not have moved to the next era of the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason? I think this all happened for a reason because the Salem Witch Trail helped the colonies to think more rationally and more reasonable.
DeleteWhat we are seeing happen in this early stage of the New World is a change in how people are viewing the world around them. With more and more colonist emigrating from Europe to the New World, they are bringing the ideas from the enlightenment movement going on in Europe. During this enlightenment period people are changing how they view and live their lives to a more analytically driven way. This new approach of the way things are sets forward to scientist setting out to discover how things and not just relying on what tradition has told them but relying more on reason. In the center of this movement was Benjamin Franklin he seemed to see that the more you learn and are educated on the better you will be. To further his understanding of the world around him he would do experiments and create his own theories using what he had learned. He would publish his theories so people could share in the education he has acquired. Franklin was a huge advocate on the support of education. To assist people in their search for education Franklin founded a library and helped with the founding of the College of Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin was an example of the changing mindset going on in the colonies. With this new mindset leading more towards reason great advancements in science, medicine and technology were made during this time period. Also this enlightenment way of thinking happening helped set a seed for the future search for independence by the colonies against Great Britain.
ReplyDeleteI agree Mauricio that because of the emigration of Europe to the New World, different ideologies are being passed around which in turn led to the Enlightenment. It's cool to see that knowledge increased as well during this time which also kind of led to a decrease in religious spirituality.
DeleteBenjamin Franklin indeed played a major role in the age of enlightenment. His belief that education was to be readily accessible to the public was a huge stepping stone into setting forth new ideas and ideologies about the world. It went from only the higher class being educated to anyone having access to just about the same information.
DeleteThe colonies are changing in the period under consideration this week because each colonist has their own view upon slavery. The main factor is embraced in the belief of race. In the beginning the idea of indentured slavery came across and this brought the same treatment to all slaves no matter what race you were. However, in 1641 Massachusetts started to change the laws and in 1961 Virginia came along to shift the whole thing over. Virginia was the leading factor to what I consider slavery racism. The also changed by the demand of war. The colonies viewed slaves as a way of saving their economy because they wouldn’t pay them and the winnings and trades were all for the colonists. The slaves were not valued. Also, later Virginia introduced the fact the only African Americans would work as slaves. Even though these indentured salves were promised land many of them died while working the lands which granted the colonists more power and more land. African American’s were taken their freedom and were the only ones used in slavery, since 1641. African American’s were much cheaper and brought the colonist’s many profit. African American’s were not considered as humans any more they were treated like animals. They were beaten, traded and sometimes murdered. Slavery brought many opportunities for the colonist’s to gain land and to become wealthier. They would gain money off of the trades of lands that slaves would work. The truth is that thanks to the slaves the colonists were able to expand their trades and gain profits without having to invest a lot of money and without having to work.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that the colonies were selfish. They used the lives of other people to get wealthy and they were not seen as people because of their skin color which made them ignorant and selfish.
DeleteI agree with you that if it wasn't for slavery the development of this country would have been much more slower and maybe not very significant. Another point I wanted to point out is how hypocrites were the colonist back then, believing in an all loving god who created everyone equal but would still slave African Americans.
DeleteI agree with Jennifer. Without the help of the slaves, America wouldnt have expand the way it did. At that time, the landowners were doing what was best for them, whether their decision was right or wrong.
DeleteDuring the Great Awakening, the colonies changed in several ways. Logic and reasoning were encouraged after the Enlightenment, but religion still continued to persist because many people believed that the way in which the natural world worked was the work of god. The Great Awakening was the time of religious revivals. Some people tried to influence and give persuasive sermons to get people to convert religions. George Whitefield was an influential preacher whom was able to capture the attention of hundreds of people. The colonies began changing or converting their religious views because of George Whitefield’s technique of field preaching. I know this assignment is to describe how the colonies are changing, but I cannot help but think how foolish these people were for believing George Whitefield’s claims despite his lack of evidence. The fact that many ministers chose not to believe George Whitefield’s personal revelation claims and that they had arguments with the preachers made people not want to go to their church anymore. This caused the ministers to change from their previous religion to Baptists, Methodists, etc. During the period of the Great Awakening, many people converted religions, even those who did not intend to do so in the first place. The growing number of people converting also caused the colonies to build colleges. The colonies changed dramatically because of a few influential preachers whom managed to influence many believing, innocent people. I am glad I was not a part of this time period because people seemed to be so gullible in their ideological views since there was a very limited understanding of science. However, had this event not taken place, many prestigious colleges and universities would not be present today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Krystal the Great Awakening did have a big impact on the colonies with encouraging people have freedom of worship
DeleteI also agree with you Krystal because the Great Awakening (The Enlightenment) open the colonies doors to math and science; which lead to the publications of theories about physics, science and math. Also, the Enlightenment helped to creation of the first telescope in America.
Deletehi Krystal, i like your post. I agree with you because the Enlightenment era we now think how we do today. Instead of a herd of sheep following without reasonable rationality.
DeleteDuring the Enlightenment the colonies made a big change. The change consisted in the old ways of thinking and beliefs. The change was in the mind of the people that in those times believed many women were witches. Many innocent women were accused of being witches. The Salem witchcraft trail was very famous for this time period. Women that were out spoken or different in any way would be seen to be related with the black arts or witchcraft. Some men were also accused of witchcraft but the majority were women. Once the governor’s wife got accused it ended this time of cruel and ignorance of burning women. The Enlightenment also got people to change their state of mind in religion and give people the opportunity and freedom to believe in anything the wanted. Another benefit of the Enlightenment is that many people started to get educated and not be ignorant. Benjamin Franklin at the time period of the enlightenment impacted the time with encouraging people to get educated. He also funded a library and published theories. Benjamin Franklin’s biggest movement was discovering electricity which made him more famous because the lightning rod enhanced science. The enlightenment was a great thing for most but not for all. There were people who did not like how people started to split from religion and stopped attending church. The Great Awakening was set to get people to start going to church and recruited groups of people. The Great Awakening also was a benefit and change to the colonies because it recruited people to churches but churches of their own selected warship,
ReplyDeleteI agree Martin that the Enlightenment was beneficial in a way that it gave people opportunities to have their own way of thinking whether it be through religion or something else. It's also good that the Enlightenment sparked knowledge of how the world worked as well
DeleteI agree with you both Martin and Jamille. It’s sad how the governor realized that they were accusing innocent people of being witches until his wife got accused and he decided to intervened and put a stop to it. It was not fair for those innocent women to get accused and get killed for something they did not do. I’m glad the Enlightenment came around and brought good ideas to the world that we still use today.
DeleteThe colonies during the beginning of the 17th century changed completely in that it gave way to new ideals and religious sects that led to new ways of thinking that shaped the way they would look at the world. One new ideology that emerged during this time was the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason was the belief that the more we observe the world around us, the better it is for us to actually understand the universe. Many of the people during this time were trying to find ways of more knowledge and wisdom to get a bigger picture of the world. Many intellectuals of the Enlightenment started to see the balance of the world and many of theses intellectuals progressed in art, poetry, and music. The Enlightenment also closely corresponded with the Great Awakening. Because of the emergence of the Enlightenment, religious fervor decreased. Through the Great Awakening, many people converted into the different religions at this time and spiritual fervor was once again renewed. Many also divided and became new religious sects, which closely resembled the original religions just with different ideas. Through conversion, many children also became members of the church and many were starting to believe in a higher power once more. There were many preachers as well who emerged at this time with great speaking abilities, which made the people all the more join in the religions. Ideologies and different ways of thinking emerged at this time and it changed the colonist’s way of living as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jamille, you have point out very important points about why the Enlightenment had a dramatic impact in the colonies. Indeed, the Enlightenment Era was an era of reasoning; to understand the world better and being able to answered many questions of the time. Also, The Enlightenment’s ideas led to the American Revolution and were also helpful to build up the basis of the American Constitution.
DeleteI think one of the most important changes the colonist made was to move from the traditional way of seeing the world to seeing the world more radically and logically. The enlightenment era was brought from Europe and adopted mostly by wealthy and well informed colonist. This was very important because people stop killing themselves and people realize that their deity was not going to do everything for them. Bringing the enlightenment to the states gave the colonist the ability to start a movement which would make this country so prosperous. If this would have never happened, math and the sciences wouldn't have been introduced which would be fatal for the development of this country. If it wasn't for the enlightenment era this country or even the world still be basing everything in religious beliefs. Although this still occurs in some countries in order to make a country advance, adding math and science to their culture is fundamentally important. The enlightenment gave the key to move from a religious way of thinking to a more logical and rational ways of thinking which the outcomes are more efficient, prosperous and reliable. Although not all colonists adopted this new way of thinking, many who did were very influential in in the development of this country and became and still are role models to follow.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the statement you made about mathematics and sciences not developing if The Enlightenment period did not occur. The Enlightenment period brought logic and reason to the colonies. It had a great impact on the colonial elites; this period lead them to write the national Constitution that balanced power among government agencies. This period definitely influenced more efficient outcomes and prosperity. Great Job!
DeleteOne change was the formation of thought progressed from religious and traditional to rational by use of observation. The change was brought about from the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 through 1693. Early settling Puritans strong ties to the church. As time passed into the new generations the population's focus began shifting from the church to the growth and prosperity of their settlement. This caused the number of converts to the church to decrease. In an attempt to increase the number of conversions to the church the “Halfway Covenant” of 1662 was created. The covenant allowed members to be converted but restrict them from having full communion rights. Along with their children having church membership without baptism. Although the number of conversions increased it came at a cost to the purity of the beliefs of the church. This led to the Salem Witch Trials where mainly women were accused of being witches and were killed as a result. The trials went on for a year until the governor's wife was accused of being a witch where he put his foot down and made a declaration stopping all trials and pardoning all who were accused. All because of a new way of thinking that was brought about by the Age of Reason also known as The Enlightenment where observations through the use of senses were used to come up with a rational idea of why something happened instead of traditional beliefs of the past. Paving the way for science and education. For which I'm sure we are all grateful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jon Hardin, thanks to the Enlightenment, most people are able to think rationally and we have gained many good things from it such as education and freedom of religion.
DeleteAfter reading and watching the videos, I see that the colonies wanted to expand and bring about change. There are many reasons given in the readings and videos as why and how the colonies wanted to change, but the troubles the landowners were having stood out to me the most. Since the expansion of land actually outnumbered the number of workers, the earliest settlers came up with the idea of indentured servants. Indentured servants consist of leaving Europe and work in the American colonies. Most people that chose to leave viewed this as a new life in the New World. They would work for about four to seven years in exchange for passage, room, board, lodging and freedoms dues. They were not always treated the best but their rights were protected by laws. Soon after, landowners began receiving black Africans as indentured servants to work in America. They were treated like the white indentured servants at first but after Massachusetts passed laws for slavery, the black Africans eventually lost all little rights they did have. This cut cost for the landowners and brought about a new form of cheap labor. If a landowner had slaves instead of indentured servants, they wouldn’t have to pay them to work. This is a prime example of being desperate. Desperate times calls for desperate measures and slavery was the best option for the landowners at that point and time. Due to the expansion of America, the labor was in dire need. Little did the landowners know that their actions back then would play such a major role later on in American history.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with you, the way they used indentured servants to create change and create progression within their colonies was smart. Though I find it harsh how slaves were taken away their rights, they were the main reason why the colonies has the change and progression they so wanted.
DeleteWomen, along with few men, were accused of witchcraft with no logical proof, in the 1690's. The death rate arose tremendously in women, whom were brutally killed for something that they may not have taken part in. It was not until 1693 that justice came into play, when the governor's wife was accused of witchcraft. In orders of the governor, trials for what could have been FALSE accusations, were then prohibited. The Enlightenment, also known as "Age of Reason" was then established, which encouraged more rational thinking of amongst all. The method of thinking and knowing has developed throughout the years of humanity. Having that knowledge gives people the eligibility of understanding something with observations and proof, rather than the assumption that something is true. Although, people to this day, don't use the capability of themselves to fully understand something with reason, it is a safe bet that it is still in them. The Enlightenment, brought amongst many good things for the people. Benjamin Franklin, who was identified as exemplary in the Age of Enlightenment, invented the lightening rod, the glass harmonica, and the Franklin stove, with then led into greater inventions, Education being one.
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ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest changes during the 1600's was the arrival of indentured servants into America. It was a very wise move for the Virginia Company to develop a system for cheap labor. The system of indentured servitude was beneficial to both the early settlers and the workers. The early settlers were able to mass produce their crops at a faster pace and workers were rewarded with acres of land, a cow, clothes and other resources after their time was completed. However, a racial slavery system developed during that era. Massachusetts was the very first state to establish slavery. The system slowly changes in Virginia to consider race as an important factor. We have a similar system in today’s economy. American companies are stationed and functioning in other foreign countries, such as China. This system provides massive amounts of profits due to their fast pace manufacturing products.
ReplyDeleteVery nice conclusions Marlene,
DeleteI agree that developing a system of sending indentured servants was wise. It was very beneficial to the early settlers, and not only to them but also to the indentured servants. After they have finished their contract, they gained much profit from the cheap labor. And if cheap labor was not invented at that time, I think that most of the materials that we have now would not be overflowing without their contribution.
Under the consideration this week, the colonies experienced a drastic change. One drastic change that happened during this week was the Salem Witch Trails. This all began with the first Puritans settlers who slowly lost their passion and conviction for their religion. They began to focus their attention on their daily duties for their settlements. And as a result, the Puritan ministers developed a system where anyone was allowed to join the church without being baptized, and with this, it helped increased more participation in the church, but it also weakened the church’s “purity.” Concerns about the purity of the church, people began to question each other, and began to point and accuse one another of being a witch, which were mostly women at that time. This had everyone stirred up until the governor stepped up and intervened with the witchcraft trails. The governor prohibited and dropped all the witchcraft trails because his wife was accused of witchcraft. With this, the colonies were encouraged to change to a more rational mindset. Without this event happening, the colonies would have never changed their mindset to a more rational and reasonable thinking. And with this, it allowed the colonies to be freer. I think that the Salem Witch trial helped the colonies opened their eyes to a whole new world. This event helped the colonies moved to the Age of Reason, where “intellectuals began to see the universe as an ordered creation, a place of balance and order.” Hence, the colonies began to be enlightened.
ReplyDeleteIn consideration of the reading and videos this week, I thought that the beginning of sending indentured servants was one of the vital subject during the 1600s. Since the early settlers began producing more land and acres, they were limited of people tending for their crops. Therefore, they were in need of more indentured servants for cheap labor. Although indentured servants were not considered as slaves, life for them were still unbearable. They had some of their rights protected buy their punishments were greater by extending their contract. However, indentured servants also gained profit out of their labor. Stated in their contract, they were given 25 acres of land, new clothes, and arms. Also, they would grow to be successful and become one of the holders in their colonies. I feel that sending indentured servants was beneficial and very crucial at the time of the 1600s. Without the indentured servants, settlers would not be as successful as they were then and the idea of cheap labor would not be in effect today.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to Tricia's comment, I think it is really important to clarify why the indentured servants were such an important event for the evolution of the colonists in that very short amount of time.
DeleteAlthough we can definitely argue that there is never a good time or place for indentured servants in today's age, these servants were proof that the colonists were thinking better into the future and in what they were going to need in order to build a colony. It wasn't merely a vital subject in the 1600's, but the start of an immense era in american history. The evolution of the colonists with indentured servants leads to colonists with slaves. This event is the gateway for the American people doing anything for profit without thinking about ethics or morals. Their mindset in learning to become prepared betters; yet, it impairs their judgement dramatically. Everything for power, money, and independence. It opens up the doors for intense racism that leads into another era and continues today.
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DeleteI agree, indentured servants were also readily available and willing to work because of the thirty year war. A glimmer of hope after a grueling war is a very powerful motivator and the colonies used it to their advantage. If I may add, Indentured servitude was not slavery but it was not minimum wage work, its more like sweat shop labor styles. Sweat shop labor might even be worst in my opinion.
DeleteLabor has always been a factor in the establishment of this nation. Early settlers noticed that they owned acres amongst acres of land; their issue was finding people to care of their land at an affordable cost. In 1607 Virginia Company developed the system of indentured servitude because that was an easy way to grasp the interest of workers. Employers would create contracts and issued them to workers for a fixed period time in exchange for their transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities. The life of and indentured slave may have been harsh but it was not slavery because some of their rights were protected by law. 1619 was the first time that Black people from Africa to Virginia to work. At First they worked as indentured servants with the same conditions and opportunities as white servants. There weren’t any slave laws until 1641 in Massachusetts and 1661 in Virginia. Although there were commands for more labor, Africans were stripped of their freedom. Indentured servitude as well as slavery triggered invaluable amounts of economic growth. Indentured servant that managed to succeed their contract began to demand for their granted land which put fear into the land owners. African slavery had completely taken the place of indentured servitude because it was viewed as a more profitable form of labor. Many slave owners began to abuse their authority and became tyrants. African slave were severely beaten with whips, chains, and weapons that shouldn’t be used on any human being regardless of their race or ethnicity.
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DeleteIt was a good way to create progression within their colonies by using indentured servants, but I find it a little harsh how they completely changed everything when they brought African slaves. It was smart of them to change to having slaves instead of indentured servants but mean of the way they were being treated.
DeleteThe idea of indentured servants seemed to help everyone out at the time. The servants worked for a few years and they received benefits for their hard labor. Since the demand for labor increased, the landowners looked for cheaper ways to do labor thus resulting in racial slavery.
DeleteDuring week one's reading, we learned that the new colonists weren't very prepared for the hardships to come, not were they prepared for the amount of labor, effort, and starting from scratch with no guidelines. Instead of building quickly and efficiently, they procrastinated and tended to the tasks at hand in a slow manner unsure of their actions.
ReplyDeleteIn this weeks reading the colonists sort have evolved. They were learning to make laws and govern themselves. They hit a huge obstacle with the salem witch trials; however, from that ended it with the enlightenment. They started using logic and reason in order to handle everything with more organization and efficiently; that way things could run in order to help the colonies prosper and flourish. They were preparing better for now and the future. Although they used slavery, which is completely unethical, they did have a better mindset in understanding that manual labor is an important necessity in helping their economy thrive.
All these ideas separated the first colonists from the first reading between the colonists of the second reading. They were slowly but surely learning what it was going to take in order to govern successful colonies and one day a successful independent nation.
You make a good point in bringing to light the differences between the colonists in their earliest stages and them a decade later. Although they did make some mistakes (as is human nature to do) the colonists are finding out how to grow their society to be successful and productive. Labor was needed and therefore the cheapest forms were sought out until they eventually turned to slavery. Although this was wrong, it did show the mindset of growth and success.
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ReplyDeleteDefinitely, personal reasons aside I completely agree with you, its simple business cheaper labor equals higher profits. China right now is a super power rivaling the U.S. in total worth and when we look at their labor we see they pay their workers close to nothing. Indentured servants are not a thing of the past sadly, as we see in third world countries. Slavery was the cheaper option of labor so the colonies went for that. I do not think it is racial slavery but more of immoral business. (Money Talks)
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DeleteI agree that Mexican farm workers are vital to agriculture especially in California. They are the ones who are out picking fruit among other tasks. We need them for labor because unfortunately many others will not do jobs like picking fruit. You make good points.
DeleteThe colonies are beginning to develop a sense of identity. We begin to see this from the previous readings and videos, from weeks one and two. As the colonies develop a sense of independence from their mother land they begin to question their authority. As they develop their own values and culture the patriotism or loyalty they have for Britain slowly diminishes. The French and Indian war gives the colonies a reason for unity and the victory grants them new land and ports. The war comes with a huge bill and Britain imposes that bill on the colonies already making profits for British companies. Taxes have a tremendous impact on profit. Fatigue and anger against Britain for over imposing taxes on a "nation" already struggling to survive, is sure to entail consequences. A shift from pre-scientific reasoning to scientific thought process through the enlightenment, gives the colonies the logic needed in order to establish a complex government. Tension is rising between the colonies and from the readings we can foresee action by both sides.
ReplyDeleteDigression: I am extremely happy to live in a time where we think scientifically. I find it appalling that people were prosecuted and sentenced to death based on stories. The accused really had no opportunity to defend themselves from charges put on them. The witnesses also had the weirdest reasons for accusing people. Makes you think how far we have come as a nation.
I agree with your thoughts on why the colonies finally began to feel fatigued at having to due Britain's bidding. Britain was simply trying to take as much as they could out of the colonies without taking into consideration that this would cause disdain from the colonists- and really they were just hurting themselves when imposing taxes and the like on the barely progressing new colonies.
DeleteI also agree with you in being grateful for living in the time and age that we do. Being a woman and a minority, I would have had little chance for a fair and enjoyable life during the time of the colonists. Just thinking of how unjust the system was- allowing stories and superstition in the court room- makes me angry at how unfairly the early people were treated.
After reading and watching the videos posted for this week something that caught my eye was the Salem Witch Trials. Mostly woman were being accused of being a witch without any proof. They were also being convicted of being witches and led to being burned at stake, hanged, and even drowned for such accusations that were probably not true because they had no proof. That was until the governor’s wife was accused of being a witch herself that they decided to put a stop on the Salem’s Witch Trials. In 1693, the governor decided to stop these trials and he pardoned those who had already been convicted. This was not fair in my opinion because before the governor’s wife was accused, innocent people had already been convicted and killed for it as well. This was when more rational thinking came in New England also known as the Enlightenment which spread from Europe to America. This was based on an idea that the natural world is best understood through the use of close observation by the human faculties coupled with a reliance on reason. The Enlightenment also brought many benefits such as a stable foundation for education, freedom of religion, social activism, and governing systems.
ReplyDeleteHi Mirka, i completely agree with what you said about unfair it was before the governor decided to put an end on the Salem's Witch Trial. The Enlightenment implemented a new way of thinking towards people, and created a positive movement towards building a governing system.
DeleteIndentured servants became a progressive change to the early settlers in the 1600’s. Now with so much unoccupied land being uncared for, they needed extra hands to work and take care of the land for them. That is why the Virginia Colony developed the system of indentured servants. Indentured servants were being used to do all of labor work the farmers didn’t want or could not do. This became resourceful and important to the colonial economy because now they were able to do so much more and progress the colonies with the help of the indentured servants. Life as an indentured servant was not easy; they were restricted of many things, people of “higher class” would look at them wrongly, and their duties and responsibilities and even their life style were harsh. Even though their lives were hard, there were rules that would protect them. Later in 1619 Africans were brought to Virginia for the first time and they were treated as indentured servants until 1641 and 1661. Massachusetts and Virginia created slave laws and took all of the rights away from the blacks. It was at this time where slavery began. Slaves were seen as personal property, they were sold off as if they weren’t even people at all and they were treated harshly. Slaves were expected to please their owner’s commands and had little to no rewards. After a while owners no longer wanted to deal with the contracts and having to reward indentured servants with land after their service, so majority of them turned to African slaves because they were more affordable and they didn’t have to reward them at all. Even though slaves were looked down upon, it was because of them that the colonies progressed and created change as much as they did
ReplyDeleteTobacco and other plantation crops were a primary source of income for many wealthy landowners of the time. The need for workers was ineveitable, yet somehow African workers were not afforded the same contracts and benefits that indentured servants were. At a time that the colonies were seeking refuge from an "oppresive" and tyrannical England it is hard to miss the perversion of social heirarchy. The lack of understanding is clear based upon the burning of those convicted of witchcraft, which has not until this day had a clear definition. To be able to burn someone alive because of the belief they are "evil" is just as ridiculous as the reasoning behind using and selling workers as property. I agree fully with you Anakaren and if not for the working class and oppressive servitude of the time, I am not sure the colonies would ever have had the same outcome.
DeleteI believe the arrival of the indentured servants was a huge impact on the colonies. The idea of indentured servants was needed for cheap labor. The early settlers had vast amounts of land but no one to maintain it. In order to attract labor workers, the Virginia Company developed a system that would show the workers all the benefits that come with it. The indentured servants became significant to the economy. Due to the Thirty Years War, many skilled and unskilled workers were left with no work which made Europe’s economy severely weakened. The idea of the Virginia Company’s offer gave the workers hope. The servants would typically work four to seven years in exchange for housing, board and freedom dues among other benefits. Since this wasn’t slavery, life was not easy and very restrictive although the servants had some laws that protected their rights. Punishments were more severe than those for non-servants. Running away or getting a woman servant pregnant resulted in their contract being extended. New immigrants who came freely to the country received few benefits than those of indentured servants. Although the indentured servant life wasn’t easy, the outcomes were more satisfying than those who came freely. In 1619 the first African slaves came to Virginia. There were no slave laws in place at the time so they received the same freedoms as the whites. As demand for labor grew, the indentured servant cost drastically increased. The land owners were threatened by the free servants demand for land in which they then turned to African slaves for cheap labor thus paving the way for the beginning of racial slavery.
ReplyDeleteAs is to be expected, the colonies went through various changes in the course of their development; especially in the earliest times. The arrival of indentured servants was probably one of the most significant changes to have come to the earliest colonists, as it has- as we will surely later see- great repercussions for the people of the colonies and the history of “the New World.”
ReplyDeleteThere was a whole new terrain that needed to be tended to, hence the need for more workers. The fact that there would be many required also made it so that the labor needed to be cheap in order to be affordable for the existing landowners in the colonies.
The idea of indentured servants, while not the most ideal, was definitely able to provide certain people an opportunity that they could not have had otherwise. The laborers that took the indentured servant positions were out of work in their hometowns and wanting to make a new life in the new world; and therefore sought to pursue the opportunity presented before them.
The conditions that these workers were hired under were said to be rough, with long hours and harsher punishments for committing crimes than those given to non-slaves. However, once the servant’s contract was up, he was given a fair amount of land, food, shelter, and clothes: everything needed to start a fresh new life.
The use of indentured servants worked well until the colonists began to feel threatened by the servants’ claim on the land. Around this time is when the first black Africans arrived to the New World, and their arrival- coupled with the threat felt by the colonists towards their land- is what seemed to have started the use of black Africans as slaves. This change in the way that certain people are viewed differently than others is what I believe brought about so many changes in thought and in action later on that we are sure to read about soon.
I think it is very interesting that the witch trials started with a group of girls and how it snowballed from there. People left and right seemed to accused and punished for witchcraft. Watching and reading about them again, they ended much differently then I remembered. How easily the governor finally decides to end the trials once his own wife is accused is mind boggling. Whether the towns people agreed with him or not, he had a helping hand in the enlightenment period.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading and watching both videos, the colonies are starting to change. In the beginning, colonies had a rough beginning but now, they are constantly developing new ideas and such. What caught my attention the most was the Salem Witch trials. Religion in the past reading was not serious unlike this one. This was when individuals, mostly women were accused being a witch. People that were accused of being a witch are mostly innocent. If I was living at this time, I would be scared. You never know what is going to happen since you can be accused as a witch anytime! The accused ones were killed brutally. Burning, hanging, and drowning are their methods of getting rid of the accused witches. This ended when the government’s wife was accused of being a witch. I believe if the governor’s wife was not accused of being a witch, the brutality of murdering mostly innocent people would have continued. I find this unfair to the other innocents accused of being a witch. The governor shows no mercy to those individuals that have been accused of being a witch but when his wife was targeted, he has ended the trials. Pretty much, accusing the governor’s wife as a witch has gotten rid of the negativity. People will now understand that they have killed innocents maybe because of their looks and such. They pretty much judged people and if they see something wrong with that person, it’s automatically a witch. The other subject that caught my attention was the colonies turning to slavery. It’s very disappointing to read this. In 1641, African Americans lost their freedom and became slaves. They had dehumanized African Americans. They see them as tools and using them for profit. Slaves actually improved the economic growth for the price of their freedom. Slaves were good for the economy but it is inhumane and horrific. Reason why slaves increased economy is because they were not paid unlike indentured servants.
ReplyDeleteThis period was a time of change for not only colonial America, but also Europe and the way the rest of the civilized world viewed religion and mortality. It is hard to comprehend, considering we live in a time where the " American Dream" is so inherent and distilled into our culture. The juxaposition of today's supposed land of oppurtunity is difficult to fathom in contrast to the indentured and hard class system of old. As the colonies grew and the need for workers became more apparent, the way governement and prosperous land owners approached the laws regarding those matters changed. It seems to me to be oppurtunistic and somewhat discouraging considering this is refered to as the "Age of Reason". Then again, the remedies for the sick and the justification for political action and war seem to prove that we, as a country, had a long ways to come. What I do appreciate out of the reading is that there were pioneers like Benjamin Franklin who were always pushing the envelope in theory as well as practice. I know that he was a slave owner, as almost all of his social class were in that day. However, it is his pursuit for the advancement of technology and thought that I respect. It is well documented that ideas about religion and salvation were changing during this period, but it is good to know that in addition a select few were also pursuing the advancement of knowledge which has led a larger revolution than religion or politics, being an open and educated society.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading and watching the videos, I am seeing how the Enlightenment was the starting foundation for immense change. The Enlightenment introduced critical thinking to the colonists, and this would spark ordinary people to observe their surroundings more. Two amazing revolutionary English thinkers were Isaac Newton and John Locke. Newton defined a set of laws that govern nature which i think opened the doors to questions people normally wouldn't think to solve, and really had a significant impact in achieving important answers . Locke, also helped create a path for new thinking by asserting that the mind is a blank state, formed and shaped by its environment and experiences. This means that depending on the way one is raised, how one sees the world, and the experiences one endures he or she will view life in a specific way. Since every person sees life a little differently, they should have the freedom to choose what they want to do in life. Benjamin Franklin, who was influenced by both Isaac Newton and John Lock, would help push forward the advancements in education with his inventions, university he helped found, library and etc. Furthermore the Enlightenment was a big step forward for the advances in knowledge, and the beginning roots for an American governing system.
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