MJ+Chapter+5+Notes

Chapter 5 England ruled some 32 colonies in North America in 1775 including Canada, the Floridas, and many Caribbean Islands. For some reason, 13 of these colonies decided that they were done with their connections with England. The other 19 colonies were perfectly content under the rule of the King. In 1700, the 13 colonies contained fewer than 300,000 people. By the year 1775, the population had doubled three times. The most populated colonies were Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Maryland. People in the English colonies were not just English. In 1775, Germans made up about six percent of the population which equated to 150,000. Irish-Scots made up about seven percent of the population which equated to 175,000. Five percent of the colonists were from other European countries and a whopping twenty percent of the population was African slaves. The most honorable profession of the time period was going into Christian Ministry. Surprisingly, Physicians were not very highly esteemed because they weren’t well trained and the first medical school wasn’t created until 1765. Lawyers were actually frowned upon in some instances but overtime started to get some recognition. In America, agriculture was the leading and most profitable industry with nearly 90 percent of the population growing mainly tobacco or wheat. The New England colonies relied heavily on cod fishing and whaling for their money and it also stimulated the ship building industry. Merchants were also common because of the Triangular Trade of molasses, whiskey, and slaves. Manufacturers were relied on for iron work, spinning and weaving, lumbering, and beaver hats. Politics were very sketchy in the United States. County governments maintained much of the rule in the south. In many colonies, you had to own a certain amount of land and belief in certain religions in order to vote. Regardless, America was far more democratic than England.