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Georgia was established on strict moralistic principles. Slavery was forbidden, as was alcohol and other forms of supposed immorality. However, the reality of the colony was far from ideal. The colonists were unhappy about the puritanical lifestyle and complained that their colony could not compete economically with the Carolina rice plantations. Georgia initially failed to prosper, but eventually the restrictions were lifted, slavery was allowed, and it became as prosperous as the Carolinas.
Georgia was established on strict moralistic principles. Slavery was forbidden, as was alcohol and other forms of supposed immorality. However, the reality of the colony was far from ideal. The colonists were unhappy about the puritanical lifestyle and complained that their colony could not compete economically with the Carolina rice plantations. Georgia initially failed to prosper, but eventually the restrictions were lifted, slavery was allowed, and it became as prosperous as the Carolinas.
==Unification of the 13 colonies==
===A common defense===
One event that reminded colonists of their shared identity as British subjects was the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] (1740-1748) in Europe. This conflict spilled over into the colonies, where it was known as "[[King George's War]]"; most of the fighting took place in Europe, British colonial troops attacked French Canada.
At the [[Albany Congress]] of 1754, [[Benjamin Franklin]] proposed that the colonies be united by a Grand Council overseeing a common policy for defense, expansion, and Indian affairs. While the plan was thwarted by colonial legislatures and [[George II of England|King George II]], it was an early indication that the British colonies of North America were headed towards unification. This enabled former Whigs in Britain to become Tories and former Tories in the colonies to become Whigs.
===Great Awakening===
{{main|First Great Awakening}}
One event that began to unify the religious background of the colonies was the [[First Great Awakening]], a Protestant revival movement that took place in the 1730s and 1740s. It began with [[Jonathan Edwards]], a Massachusetts preacher who sought to return to the Pilgrims' strict [[Calvinist]] roots and to reawaken the "Fear of God". Edwards was a powerful speaker and attracted a large following with sermons such as "[[Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God]]". English preacher [[George Whitefield]] and other itinerant preachers continued the movement, traveling across the colonies and preaching in a dramatic and emotional style.
Followers of Edwards and other preachers of similar religiosity called themselves the "New Lights," as contrasted with the "Old Lights", who disapproved of their movement. To promote their viewpoints, the two sides established academies and colleges including [[Princeton University|Princeton]] and [[Williams College]]. The Great Awakening has been called the first truly "American" event, and as such represented at least a small step towards the unification of the colonies.
A similar pietistic movement took place among some of the German and Dutch Lutherans, leading to internal dvisions. By the 1770s the Baptists were growing rapidly both in the north (where they founded [[Brown University]], and in the South where they challenged the previously unquestioned moral authority of the Anglican establishment.
===French and Indian War===
[[Image:WashingtonFIwar.jpg|thumb|250px|[[George Washington]] during the French and Indian War]]
{{main|French and Indian War}}
The French and Indian War (1754-1763) was the American extension of the general European conflict known as the [[Seven Years' War]].
The war is called the ''French and Indian'' because the [[Iroquois]] confederacy—which had been playing the British and the French against each other successfully for decades fought on both sides. The French were defeated and in the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)]], France surrendered its vast North American empire to Britain.
The French and Indian war took on a new significance for the North American colonists in Great Britain when [[William Pitt the elder]] decided that it was necessary to win the war against France at all costs. For the first time, North America was one of the main theatres of what could be termed a "world war". During the war, the status of all the British Colonies (including the thirteen colonies) as part of the British Empire was made truly apparent, as British military and civilian officials took on an increased presence in the lives of Americans. The war also increased a sense of American unity in other ways. It caused men, who might normally have never left their colonies, to travel across the continent, fighting alongside men from decidedly different, yet still "American," backgrounds. Throughout the course of the war, British officers trained American ones (most notably [[George Washington]]) for battle which would later benefit the American Revolution. Also, state legislatures and officials had to cooperate intensively, for arguably the first time, in pursuit of the continent-wide military effort.
The British and colonists triumphed jointly over a common foe. The colonists' loyalty to the mother country was stronger than ever before. However, a disunity was beginning to form. British Prime Minister [[William Pitt the Elder]] had decided to wage the war in the colonies with the use of troops from the colonies and tax funds from Britain itself. This was a successful wartime strategy, but after the war was over, each side believed that it had borne a greater burden than the other. The British populace, the most heavily taxed of any in Europe, pointed out angrily that the colonists paid little to the royal coffers. The colonists replied that their sons had fought and died in a war that served European interests more than their own. The British answered that the colonists' poor discipline made them inferior soldiers anyway. This dispute was a link in the chain of events that soon brought about the American Revolution.
===Ties to the British Empire===
Although the colonies were very different from one another, they were still a part of the [[British empire]] in more than just name.
Socially, the colonial elite of [[Boston]], New York, Charleston, and [[Philadelphia]] saw their identity as British. Although many had never been to England, they imitated British styles of luxurious consumption, dress, dance, and etiquette. This social upper echelon built its mansions in the Georgian style (named after King George), copied the furniture designs of [[Thomas Chippendale]], and participated in the intellectual currents of Europe, such as [[Enlightenment]]. To many of their inhabitants, the seaport cities of colonial America were truly British cities.
All of the [political structures of the colonies drew upon various English political traditions, most notably the [[republicanism]] and the [[Whig]] traditions. Many Americans at the time saw the colonies' systems of governance as modeled after the [[British constitution]] of the time, with the king corresponding to the governor, the [[House of Commons]] to the colonial assembly, and the [[House of Lords]] to the governor's council. The codes of law of the colonies were often drawn directly from English law (Scotland had a different legal system which did not carry over to the colonies); indeed, English [[common law]] survives not only in Canada, but also in the modern United States. Eventually, it was a dispute over the meaning of some of these political ideals, especially political representation, and a growing unity among the new generations that led to the [[American Revolution]].
Another point on which the colonies found themselves more similar than different was the booming import of British goods by international merchants based in American seaports. The British economy had begun to grow rapidly at the end of the 17th century, and by the mid-18th century, small factories in Britain were producing much more than the nation could consume. Finding a market for their goods in the British colonies of North America, Britain increased her exports to that region by 360% between 1740 and 1770. Because British merchants offered generous credit to their customers, Americans began buying staggering amounts of English goods. From [[Nova Scotia]] to [[Florida]], including all thre 13 colonies, all British subjects bought similar products, creating and Anglicanizing a sort of common identity.
==From unity to revolution==
===Royal Proclamation===
The general sentiment of inequity that arose soon after the [[Treaty of Paris]] of 1763 was solidified by the [[Proclamation of 1763]], which temporarily prohibited settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. Colonists resented the measure, and it was never enforced.
===Acts of Parliament===
Parliament had generally been preoccupied with affairs in Europe and let the colonies govern themselves. It was no longer willing to do so. A series of measures resulting from this policy change, while affecting the New England colonies most directly would continue to arouse opposition in the 'thirteen colonies' over the next thirteen years:
*[[Sugar Act]] (1764)
*[[Stamp Act 1765]]
* First [[Quartering Act]] (1765)
*[[Declaratory Act]] (1766)
*[[Townshend Revenue Act]] (1767)
*[[Tea Act]] (1773)
* The [[Intolerable Acts]], also called the ''Coercive'' or ''Punitive'' Acts
** Second [[Quartering Act]] (1774)
**[[Quebec Act]] (1774)
**[[Massachusetts Government Act]] (1774)
**[[Administration of Justice Act]] (1774)
**[[Boston Port Act]] (1774)
*[[Prohibitory Act]] (1776)
*[http://earlyamerica.com/ Archiving Early America]
*[http://earlyamerica.com/ Archiving Early America]
*[http://www.dinsdoc.com/colonial-3.htm ''Classics of American Colonial History'' complete text of older scholarly articles]
*[http://www.dinsdoc.com/colonial-3.htm ''Classics of American Colonial History'' complete text of older scholarly articles]
==References==
==References==
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[[category:Colonial America]]
[[category:Colonial America]]