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Toolbox Library, primary resources thematically organized with notes and discussion questionsOnline Seminars, professional development seminars for history and literature teachersBecoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1763
Becoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1763
Theme: GrowthTheme: PeoplesTheme: EconomiesTheme: IdeasTheme: American
Theme: Ideas





IDEAS

Framing Questions
  •  What central ideas distinguished the eighteenth- from seventeenth-century American colonies?
  •  How were these ideas shaped, and how did they influence the colonists' perception of themselves and their relationships with God, with each other, and with Britain?
  •  How did their concepts of liberty, rights, equality, and independence change in this period?
  •  To what extent were the shaping ideas "American"?


1.  Religion I» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- On religion and reason: A Puritan discussion, 1720s, 1770s
- On God and earthquakes: A Puritan debate, 1727, 1755
- On God, electricity, and lightning rods: A Puritan "quarrel," 1755

2.  Religion II» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- Whitefield revivals described
- Clergymen debate revivalism, 1742-1743
- Poets laud and fault revivalists, 1739, 1740, 1771

3.  Religion III» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- Is slavery Christian? A pamphlet debate in Boston, 1700-1706
- What about slavery is unChristian? Puritan, Anglican, and Quaker views, 1690-1760

4.  Learning» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- Becoming a Learned Citizen
- Colleges
- Clubs, Societies, Salons, and Taverns

5.  Communication» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- Newspapers
- Pamphlets and Broadsides

6.  Science» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- The Christian "philosopher": Rev. Cotton Mather compiles the scientific knowledge of the day, 1721
- Electricity, light, and pokeweed: Benjamin Franklin and Cadwallader Colden correspond on science, 1750-1753
- Venus "crossing the sun": Prof. John Winthrop's reports on the transit of Venus, Newfoundland, 1761

7.  Health» Text Links / Note / Discussion Questions

- "Every man his own doctor," home medical guides, selections, ca. 1727
- "A very desperate disease," the paper war over smallpox vaccination, 1721



Images:
- John Adams: Pastel portrait by Benjamin Blyth, ca. 1766 (detail). Massachusetts Historical Society. Reproduced by permission.
- Cadwallader Colden: Engraving by Vistus Balch, n.d. (detail). New York Public Library, Digital ID: 465959. Permission pending.
- Benjamin Franklin: Engraving by G. F. Storm, n.d. (detail). University of Pennsylvania Library, Edgar Fahs Smith Collection, #P/F857.17M. Permission pending.
- Cotton Mather: Engraving by Peter Pelham captioned "Cottonus Matherus S. theologiae doctor regia societatis Londonensis . . . ," 1728, restrike 1860 (detail). Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, #LC-USZ72-224.
- Annis Boudinot Stockton, portrait, unidentified creator. Princeton University Art Museum, Boudinot Collection. Permission pending.
- John Winthrop: Oil portrait by John Singleton Copley, ca. 1773 (detail). Harvard University Art Gallery. Permission pending.




IDEAS
1. Religion I   2. Religion II   3. Religion III
4. Learning   5. Communication   6. Science
7. Health








TOOLBOX: Becoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1763
Growth | Peoples | Economies | Ideas | American
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