Download The Albany Plan of Union - Grade-8-Social

More Notes on
the Colonies
“OMG, Mrs.
Lynn….are you
serious?”
Family Roles
Family was the basic foundation
of colonial society.
Men were the heads
of the household.
Represented the
family in the
community.
Men worked as on their own farms or had businesses (trades). Young men could
work with fathers on their farms or become apprentices to a tradesman to learn a
skill.
Women ran the households and
cared for the children.
Many also worked in the fields
with their husbands.
Married women were
under their husband’s
authority and had very
few rights.
Young, unmarried women might work for wealthy families as maids or cooks. Some
worked in shops.
Widows and women who never married could own property and run businesses, but
women could never vote.
Education
Colonists placed a high value on education. Most parents taught their children to
read and write at home.
Schools were set up to make sure
everyone could read the Bible.
1647 – Massachusetts Puritans made
public school a requirement for any
area that had more than 50 homes in
it.
By 1750, 85% of the men and
about half the women could
read.
Widows or unmarried women usually ran schools.
In the Middle Colonies,
Quakers ran the schools.
The first colleges
established in the colonies
were to train ministers.
1636 – Harvard established by the Puritans in Cambridge, Massachusetts
1693 – William and Mary – Williamsburg, virginia
Freedom of the Press
1735 – John Peter Zenger of the New York Weekly Journal faced charges of libel.
He had printed a report in his newspaper about the royal governor of New York. The
report criticized the governor.
Zenger was arrested and tried for treason.
He was defended by a young lawyer named Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton argued
that free speech was a basic right of English people. He asked the jury to decide if
Zenger was being tried for treason because what he said was a lie, or because what
he said was just offensive to the governor.
The jury declared Zenger not guilty because what he said was true, even if it was
offensive.
The case is regarded as an important step in the development of freedom of the press in
America.
The Albany Plan of Union
When tensions between the French and English were heating up before the French and
Indian War started, representatives from several colonies met in Albany, New York, to
discuss a plan about how to handle the French.
Benjamin Franklin proposed that
11 of the British colonies all join
together under one government.
That way they would be stronger,
they could combine their
resources, and they would be
better prepared to deal with the
French.
None of the colonies agreed to it because they didn’t want to give up their individual
powers and they couldn’t figure out how to govern without having one colony rule the
others.
The Proclamation of 1763
Set the Appalachian Mountains as the temporary western border for the colonies.
Set by the King of England to
try and prevent more
fighting with the French and
the Indians
Many colonists had already
purchased land west of the
mountains. Angry that the
King didn’t recognize these
land claims.
It became another one of the growing problems between the colonies and England.
Responding to Documents
“The Dutiful Child’s Promises” is taken from the 1727 edition of The New England Primer,
the main text used in New England schools.
“ I will fear God, and honour the King.
I will honor my father and mother.
I will obey my superiors.
I will submit to my elders.
I will love my friends.
I will for forgive my enemies and pray to God for them.”
Task:
Identify at least two traits that reflect the culture of colonial America in this
document.
This is the introduction to the Albany Plan of Union
“It is proposed that humble application be
made for an act of Parliament of Great
Britain, by virtue of which one general
government may be formed in America.
Including all the said colonies, within and
under which government each colony may
retain its present constitution.”
Task:
Based on this document, what was the Albany Plan proposing? How would it have
affected colonial constitutions?
This is part of a 1755 British statement to the Acadians who were French settlers in
Nova Scotia living in the region after the British took control of it in 1710.
“Your land and tenements (houses), cattle of
all kinds and livestock of all sorts are forfeited
to the Crown with all other effects saving
(except for) your money and household goods
and you are to be removed from this
province.”
Task:
What are the Acadians being told to do? Why would Britain have issued this
statement?
ISSUE
Immigration
Race Relations
Basic Rights
Religion
Role of the Family
Education
Freedom of the Press
Treatment of Native
Americans
THEN
NOW