Overview
This lecture focuses on key terms from APUSH Chapter 4, highlighting major social, religious, and economic themes in 18th-century colonial America.
Economic and Social Structures
- Tenancy was common in New York, where manorial lords offered long leases and rights to tenant improvements.
- Competency referred to a family's ability to remain independent and provide for future generations.
- The household mode of production involved exchanging goods and labor to cope with limited farmland in New England.
- Squatters settled on unsurveyed land, hoping to gain purchasing rights when sales began.
Labor Systems and Migration
- Redemptioners were indentured servants in the Middle Colonies who contracted for labor after arriving in America, not before leaving Europe.
Religion and Philosophical Change
- Enlightenment thinkers emphasized reason and questioned traditional doctrines.
- Pietism promoted Bible study and a personal relationship with God, aiming to reform the church.
- Revivals sparked renewed religious enthusiasm, often led by evangelical preachers.
- Old Lights were conservative ministers who resisted the emotionalism of evangelical revivalists.
- New Lights, inspired by John Wesley and George Whitefield, promoted spiritual rebirth and emotional faith.
Political and Consumer Movements
- The consumer revolution increased demand for British goods but also led to rising debt in the colonies.
- Regulators were landowning protestors in the Carolinas demanding fairer courts, taxation, and representation.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Tenancy — the rental of property, often with long leases and rights to sell improvements.
- Competency — a family's ability to remain self-sufficient and support future generations.
- Household Mode of Production — system of exchange helping families survive on shrinking farms.
- Squatter — someone who settles on land without legal title or lease.
- Redemptioner — a type of indentured servant who arranged work after arriving in America.
- Enlightenment — a movement prioritizing reason and scientific thought over tradition.
- Pietism — a Christian movement focusing on personal faith and Bible study.
- Natural Rights — basic rights including life, liberty, and property.
- Deism — belief that God created the universe but does not intervene; the world runs by natural laws.
- Revival — renewed religious enthusiasm, often evangelical.
- Old Lights — conservative ministers opposing evangelical revivals.
- New Lights — evangelical preachers emphasizing spiritual rebirth.
- Consumer Revolution — period of increased consumption of British goods.
- Regulators — protest groups seeking fairer government in the Carolinas.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review each key term and be prepared to provide definitions and historical context for potential exam questions.