American Colonial Life: History, Culture & Settler Experiences (1607-1776)

American Colonial Life Browse the article American Colonial Life

Introduction to American Colonial Life

American Colonial Life (1607-1776), the way of life in the 13 colonies that became the United States. Most of the original settlers were English. In the region between New England and Virginia, however, were early colonists of two other nationalities—the Dutch in New York, and the Swedes along the Delaware River. Each nationality brought its own way of living—styles of architecture and clothing, types of food, agricultural methods, and social activities. All, however, learned many useful things from the Indians—especially about native foods—as well as from each other. By the end of the colonial period the differences among the colonies were not those of origin, but regional differences that had developed in America.

Economic Life In the 17th Century

The colonists' first regular work was raising food for themselves, and throughout the colonial period this was the main occupation of many families. A European company that sent colonists to America, however, expected a return on its investment. There were those among the settlers, also, who hoped to win a fortune in the New World. Consequently, a commercial activities were an important part of colonial life.

Commerce and Industry

In Virginia, tobacco culture was begun in 1612. It proved so profitable that the colony went from near failure to permanent prosperity in only a few years. In Plymouth Colony, fur trade with the Indians was the first successful business. The Dutch, already engaged in the Hudson River fur trade, founded their colony, New Netherland, to expand it. A Swedish colony was settled on the Delaware River to develop the fur trade there.

The New England colonists soon found lumbering to be a profitable business, since England was running short of timber. Iron ore, another valued resource, was discovered, and in the 1640's a successful iron industry was started in Massachusetts. Commercial fishing, which had preceded permanent settlement, continued as an important occupation.

Servants and Slaves

The planters in Virginia were the first colonists to be able to afford servants. The original need was for farmhands to work in the tobacco fields. It was met by paying the passage of new colonists, who signed, or had signed for them by an official, indentures—contracts binding them to work for a certain term of years to repay the planter.

Some of the indentured servants (also known as bondsmen and redemptioners) came to America of their own free will. Those who were forced to come included convicts, blacks sold into slavery in Africa, and persons (especially children) kidnaped by ship's captains. Later, the blacks were sold as slaves in America, generally in the South. Few New England farmers could afford indentured servants, but tradesmen and industrialists often could.

Transportation

Early transportation in the colonies was largely by water, in broad-bottomed boats called shallops. The Dutch used sailboats on the Hudson and Delaware rivers. The Indian canoe was not generally adopted by the Atlantic coast settlers.

On land, Indian trails were widely used. The first roads were for bringing timber from the forests and tobacco from the plantations to the waterways. Although colonial governments called for the laying out of highways, the road system was not adequate for carriage and stagecoach travel until the 18th century.

Domestic Life In the 17th Century

Homes

The English colonists built their first permanent dwellings in the cottage style they had known at home. The structures were of wood, with a framework of heavy, hand-hewn timbers. The frame for each wall was constructed flat on the ground; the frames were then raised into position and fastened together. The outside walls were covered with clapboards (called weather-boards in Virginia), the inside walls with wide vertical boards. The space inside a wall was filled with straw and clay or with bricks for insulation.

The few windows were at first of oiled paper or thin sheets of horn, later of small, diamond-shaped panes of glass. There was an attic under a steep-pitched roof, which in the early period was covered with thatch, later with boards and shingles.

In New England stones were used to build the walls of the cellar, which was a New World innovation that provided frost-free winter storage, and the fireplace and chimney. In a one-room house the fireplace was toward the corner at the end of the room. If there was a second room, it was on the other side of the fireplace, which then opened into both rooms. When more space was needed, a one-story lean-to was added across the back, and the main roof was continued down over it. The resulting shape was the origin of the so-called saltbox house, a popular New England style for many generations.

In Virginia, where stone was scarce, bricks were used for the chimney, built outside the end wall. Because of the distance from neighbors and the hostility of the Indians, plantation homes usually had shuttered windows and often had gun slits in the walls of upper rooms.

The settlers' homes in New Sweden were log cabins, a kind of structure common in the forested Scandinavian countries. Since whole logs were used for the walls, log cabins were much easier to build than English cottages, for which it was necessary first to split the logs into timbers and planks. After New Sweden (as part of New Netherland) was absorbed into the English colonies, the log cabin was adopted by most settlers moving to the frontier.

In New Netherland the Dutch built high, narrow houses of brick, with steep red tile roofs. The windows had shutters and the doors opened in two sections, upper and lower. The homes of the Flemish who came to New Netherland were low and wide, with overhanging eaves, built of stone or wood with shingled roofs.

Furnishings

Furniture in the English colonies at first consisted largely of simple pieces that the settlers could make for themselves—a table, at least one chair for the head of the household, some stools and benches, chests for storage, and beds. As soon as possible, better furniture was imported from England, especially by the tobacco planters in the South. In New England, however, cabinetmakers were soon producing fine furniture. The Dutch settlers, who were well supplied by the Dutch West India Company with goods from home, had ornate furniture, pottery, pewter, and silverware from the beginning.

Artificial light other than from the fireplace was obtained by burning hot fat or wax. A rushlight was a dried rush soaked in grease and held upright on a metal support. A Betty lamp was a dishlike container of grease or oil with a wick. Candles were made of tallow or bayberry wax. Fire was started by the use of flint and steel. Making fire was neither quick nor easy, and an effort was made to keep the fireplace fire going always.

Family Tasks

The English settlers in both New England and the Southern colonies lived at first as pioneers in a wilderness. In the early colonial period members of the household produced all of their own food, soap and candles, clothing, household linens, and bed coverings, as well as most of their utensils.

The men and boys farmed, fished, hunted for game, butchered the domestic animals, cured the meat that could not be eaten at once, tanned the hides, and made simple footgear. The many wooden items used by the family were made at home—trenchers (dish-platters), mugs, spoons, storage kegs and barrels, farm implements, and the family loom, among others. Breaking up the stalks of flax to extract the fibers for spinning was a man's work, and the men also assisted with such domestic jobs as boiling soap.

Preparation of food by the women and girls included the hand-grinding of grain into meal or flour. However, the greatest amount of women's time was used making textiles and clothing. Flax (linen) or wool fibers were combed clean, hand-spun into thread or yarn, dyed if desired, woven into cloth, and sewed by hand into garments or household articles. (Since the home-made looms were quite narrow, all sheets and blankets had to be seamed.) Girls began learning to spin at the age of five or six and were experts at the loom by the time they were married.

As towns developed, specialists in various crafts set up in business, and articles such as boots, felt hats, iron and pottery utensils, and barrels could be bought. The establishment of tanneries, gristmills, and sawmills further reduced the home labor of the families living within convenient distance of them. In rural areas the workload was lessened by itinerant craftsmen who traveled from one farm to another, staying as long as their services were needed. These welcome specialists included the shoemaker, the weaver, the tailor, the tinker (a tinsmith who repaired metal items), and the chandler (a candlemaker who also made soap).

Food and Drink

Food was plentiful in the colonies, although at times there was little variety. The forests were full of game and fowl, and seafood was abundantly available, especially in Virginia and Maryland. Cattle were imported from Europe at an early date. At first they were kept more for their hides and for breeding oxen than for food. The Dutch, however, used milk to make butter and cheese. Pigs were the most common meat animal.

When an animal was slaughtered, as much, fresh meat as possible was eaten at once, and the rest was preserved by salting or smoking it. Salt pork was the common meat of the poorer colonists. In the South, fresh cooked meat was sometimes kept in a crock sealed with fat.

Corn was the native grain used for food by the Indians, who taught the settlers how to grow it and eat it. It became the staple starch food of the English colonists. They ate corn as a fresh vegetable, as hominy, as boiled cereal, or as the main ingredient of bread, cake, and pudding. Wheat did not grow well in New England but was a successful crop in New Netherland. The Dutch were especially fond of fried cakes and waffles made of wheat flour.

Green vegetables were a seasonal item in New England, but available much of the year farther south. Root vegetables (but not including either sweet or white potatoes in the 17th century) were stored for winter use. Pumpkin could be stored, but was also dried. A popular type of bread was made of boiled, mashed pumpkin mixed with corn meal. Apple trees, imported from Europe, were widely grown to provide fruit for making cider.

Cider, usually fermented, and beer were the most popular drinks. The Dutch imported wine and brandy, and so did the prosperous planters. Everyone, including tiny children, drank alcoholic beverages. Water was considered dangerous, and because of ignorance about sanitation it often was. Milk was generally not used as a beverage. During the 17th century tea, coffee, and chocolate were introduced in Europe and became available in the colonies.

All cooking except baking was done in great open fireplaces. Some iron pots were hung over the fire; others had legs and long handles and were set on the hearth. Stews and porridges were the common food, although meat and game might be roasted before the open fire, turned on a spit by hand, generally by a child. Corn pone and pudding could be baked in a covered pot buried in embers, but a bake oven was required for raised bread. The oven was usually built into the side of the fireplace in Northern homes, but in the South it was often outdoors.

Food was eaten from wooden trenchers, two or more persons sharing a dish, with spoons and the fingers. Linen napkins were customarily provided for each meal. Table salt was imported at first, but maple sugar and honey were American products. The English did not spread their bread with butter; this custom was later learned from the Dutch.

Dress

As much as possible, the colonists dressed in the fashion prevailing in Europe. The planters in the South soon began to send back to England for fine clothes. Even the New England Puritans liked trimmings of silver and gold lace and silk dresses. Elegant apparel, however, was considered a sign of social status, and in several colonies there were laws against the wearing of finery by the poorer classes.

Cotton was an imported luxury. The common fabrics were wool and linen, or linseywoolsey, a combination of the two fibers. Coarse linen, dyed blue with indigo, was the usual material of work shirts and women's house dresses. Leather, especially deerskin, was used for workingmen's breeches as well as for jackets.

Women wore long, full skirts throughout the colonial period. Upper-class men customarily wore knee-length breeches while men of the lower classes frequently wore pantaloons. From the time children stopped wearing baby clothes they were dressed exactly like their elders. Head coverings were worn by all adults, inside the house as well as outside. Women wore small white linen caps, covering these when outdoors with the hoods attached to their cloaks (which were usually scarlet). Men wore wool work caps or felt hats.

In the early 17th century no such garment as a coat existed. Men's tunics sometimes had separate sleeves that were tied in with tapes or ribbons. By the end of the century the sleeved tunic had developed into a coat with a flared skirt. The custom of wearing silver and gold buckles on shoes apparently was introduced by the Dutch, who had a taste for ornate dress. Another style favored by the Dutch colonists, fluted ruffs around the neck, had been given up by the English settlers, who preferred the flat collar.

Community Life In the 17th Century

Religion

Sunday was a day of rest in all the colonies, and the church was an important center of community life. In New England, largely settled and completely ruled by Puritans, the church was the very core of existence. Only members of the church were citizens, permitted to vote for public officials. The governing body of the church laid down the secular law as well as religious regulations and saw to enforcement of both.

The Puritan outlook was stern; any kind of luxury and almost any kind of enjoyment was considered dangerous to piety. On Sunday attendance at church was compulsory, and the sermon long and full of threats to sinners. Even in the bitterest winter weather there was no heat in the church. Later, as customs became more relaxed, some persons carried small charcoal stoves to use as foot warmers.

Education

An unusually high proportion of New England settlers were educated people. In 1640, about one in every 250 had attended a university in England. Such a tradition, combined with the desire that everyone read the Bible and all ministers have a classical education, led to the quick establishment of schools. The first one was opened in Boston in 1635; the first college, Harvard, was founded in 1636. In the same year the first school was opened in New Netherland. In the Southern colonies, however, there was little concern for education, and no official action was taken until late in the century. The first Southern college, William and Mary, opened in 1693.

Generally, girls were taught no academic subjects beyond reading and writing but were instructed in sewing, embroidery, and moral conduct. Arithmetic was included in elementary education for boys. For vocational training, they were apprenticed to artisans.

Recreation

In the New England colonies amusements were frowned on. However, any occasion that brought people together provided an opportunity for visiting and general sociability. Cornhuskings, houseraisings, and quilting parties were among the more festive occasions. Town meetings, elections, militia training days, and Thursday religious lectures and Sunday services were social events also. The main Puritan holiday was Thanksgiving, which lasted about a week.

In the Southern colonies there was no prohibition against entertainment. Dancing was one of the most popular recreations, enjoyed by adults and children, masters and servants. The wealthy planters were fond of horse racing and the gambling that accompanied it. They also bet on cockfights, shooting matches, athletic events, and card games. Christmas was a major holiday in the Southern colonies.

The Dutch enjoyed dancing also, along with skating, sleighing, and fishing. Bowls and ninepins were favorite games. There were numerous holidays in New Netherland, of which the most popular were New Year's Day and May Day.

The 18th Century

By the 18th century the Swedish colony had been absorbed by New Netherland, which in turn had been seized by the English and renamed New York. Although New York City was rapidly anglicized, the Dutch influence remained strong in the Hudson Valley. New influences were making themselves felt in the region between New England and Chesapeake Bay. A Quaker colony, Pennsylvania, had been founded, with its capital at Philadelphia on the Delaware River. Offering low-priced land and religious freedom to colonists, Pennsylvania attracted thousands of German settlers. Large numbers of Scotch-Irish came also, settling mainly in frontier country.

Economic Developments

The Pennsylvania Quakers and Germans were not only industrious, but they had some of the most fertile land in the colonies. In the mountain areas were bountiful forests and plentiful deposits of iron ore. Agriculture and industry brought quick prosperity to Pennsylvania, while Philadelphia thrived on commerce and soon became the busiest port in the country.

New England, which could now import wheat and flour from the Middle Colonies, turned increasingly from subsistence farming to manufacturing. Shipbuilding became a major industry along the coast, vessels being constructed for both English and colonial owners. The cod-fishing fleets were joined by far-ranging whaling fleets and by increasing numbers of merchant vessels trading with the West Indies, Great Britain, and Africa. Rum, distilled from West Indian molasses, was an important New England product, as were salt and barrels.

Of the five colonial communities that ranked as cities, four were in the North—Philadelphia, Boston, New York, and Newport. (The fifth was Charleston.) Throughout the North population was dense enough that towns grew up in the midst of farmlands as well as in industrial regions. Life took on an increasingly urban character. More and more artisans set up shop and produced commercially articles that previously had been made at home or imported.

Tobacco continued as Virginia's main commercial crop, while rice and indigo were grown for export in the Carolinas and Georgia. The great size of the plantations made each one a community in itself, complete with all the necessary craftsmen, many of whom were indentured servants or slaves. With abundant slave labor for manual tasks, there was no incentive toward efficiency or invention. Although artisans' shops were to be found in Baltimore, Annapolis, Williamsburg, and Charleston, most luxuries were still imported from England.

Domestic Developments

The Germans introduced a new style of architecture—the narrow stone house and the great barn, in part of stone and often built into a hillside that formed a natural ramp to the hayloft. Brick homes became fashionable in the South, and brick began to be used throughout the colonies for fine mansions. Dormer windows, which permitted more use of the attic, came into style.

House furnishings of prosperous families became more comfortable. Floors were covered with carpets and rugs, and walls were surfaced with wood paneling or imported wallpaper. The best candles were made of spermaceti, a wax extracted from whale oil, and were manufactured mainly in Newport. Handsome furniture was available from the cabinetmakers of Newport, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Colonial silversmiths and glassblowers produced luxury wares.

The introduction of potatoes and rice added important new staples to the diet. Rum became popular with the well-to-do, gin with the poorer classes. Fine china was imported from England, and some was produced in the colonies—but china plates were only for display, not for use. Food was eaten from silver plates in fine homes and pewter in most others, although wooden ware still served the frontier family. Table knives and spoons were common implements, forks a novelty. Cooking was still done in the fireplace, although iron heating stoves began to be used in mid-century.

Restrictions on elaborate dress were no longer enforced, and everyone emulated European styles as far as his means permitted. Among the gentry, men wore coats of fine imported broadcloth; breeches of silk, brocade, velvet, or plush; silk hose; and lace ruffles at wrist and throat. Wigs were immensely popular and were worn by servants and youngsters as well as the men of the household, especially in New England. For comfort, a man kept his head shaved and when at home exchanged the wig for a turban.

Women's overskirts were draped up in various ways, and in the 1730's hoop skirts came into fashion. Hair was still always covered with a cap, now usually frilled. In the 1760's women in the colonies began to wear the elaborate, towering coiffures then stylish in Europe. Later, fashionable women took to wearing wigs, also elaborate and towering. Shoes, too, became showy, with slender high heels.

Religion, Education, and Recreation

Religious belief in New England had become liberalized by 1700, and the church no longer ruled the community. In the 1720's, however, a revival known as the Great Awakening began in New Jersey. It was a highly emotional movement that during the next 10 years swept through all denominations throughout the colonies.

During the Great Awakening church groups founded four new colleges, bringing the total number in the colonies to nine. By the 18th century statutes calling for free elementary schools were on the books in most colonies, but little effort was made in some places to provide them. In cities and towns, however, most children received schooling.

The religious revival did not keep dancing from spreading to the North. Among the entertainments at the annual fairs held in many Northern communities were dancing and singing contests as well as races, wrestling matches, and other sports. Many men belonged to social clubs, which often held their meetings in public taverns. The social clubs helped to bring the colonial period to an end, as the exchange of news and views centered increasingly on America's grievances against Great Britain. From the clubs grew the patriotic societies of the Revolutionary War, such as the Sons of Liberty.

The Thirteen Colonies

(The dates refer to the first permanent white settlements.)

Virginia (1607)—Established by the London Company.

New Jersey (1618)—Originally settled by the Dutch, but seized by the English in 1664.

Massachusetts (1620)—Founded as two colonies: Plymouth Colony (1620), settled by the Pilgrims; and Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630), settled by Puritans. They were united in 1691, and annexed Maine, which had been colonnized by the New England Council in the 1620's.

New Hampshire (1622)—Originally part of Maine, then a colony from 1629 unitl annexed by Massachusetts, 1641-43. Became a separate colony again in 1679.

Pennsylvania (1623)—Originally settled by Dutch and Swedes. Came under English control in 1664 and was granted to William Penn by Charles II in 1681.

New York (1624)—Founded as New Netherland by the Dutch West India Company. Seized by the English in 1664 and renamed.

Maryland (1634)—Granted to Lord Baltimore.

Connecticut (1635)—Founded by settlers from Massachusetts and other colonies. New Haven Colony, founded by settlers from Massachusetts in 1638, annexed to Connecticut in 1662, when the older colony was granted a royal charter.

Rhode Island (1636)—Settled by two groups from Massachusetts and united in 1644. Chartered by King Charles II in 1663.

Delaware (1638)—Settled by Swedes; seized by the Dutch in 1655 and by the English in 1664. Granted to William Penn in 1682.

North Carolina (1653)—Settled by pioneers from other colonies. Carolina was separated from Virginia and granted to a private company in 1663; divided into two colonies in 1711. Made a royal province in 1729.

South Carolina (1670)—Originally part of Carolina Colony. Was separated from North Carolina in 1711 and became a royal province in 1729.

Georgia (1733)—Granted to a private company by George II in 1732 and settled a year later at Savannah.