8th Grade, American Republic Chapter 4 "Daily Life in the Colonies"

patriarchy

A social system in which males hold primary power and dominant roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property. In the family, fathers hold authority over women and children. The Puritans believed that if the family did not function properly, neither the church nor the state would function properly. Men could be punished for not suitably leading or providing for their families.

Samuel Davies

An evangelist and Presbyterian minister, he was a pastor in Hanover County from 1748-1759, followed by a term as the fourth President of Princeton University, then known as the College of New Jersey. One of the first non-Anglican preachers in Virginia, he was a strong advocate for religious freedom, and helped to institute significant religious reforms in the colony. He was also a prolific writer, authoring several hymns and publishing a book of poetry.

Unitarianism

A Christian movement named for the belief that God is one entity only, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism, which defines God as three persons in one being (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). This belief states that Jesus is in some sense the "son" of God (as all humans are children of the Creator), but that he is not God himself. This belief also states that Jesus was inspired by God in his moral teachings and can thus be considered a savior, but was ultimately only human. In the United States, this belief spread first in New England, and the first official acceptance on the part of a congregation in America was by King's Chapel in Boston.

dame schools

A broad term for a private school with a female teacher during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The education provided by these schools ranged from basic to exceptional. Motivated by the religious needs of Puritan society and their own economic needs, some colonial women in 17th century rural New England opened small, private schools in their homes to teach reading and catechism to young children. For a small fee, women, often housewives or widows, offered to take in children to whom she would teach a little writing, reading, basic prayers, and religious beliefs. These women received "tuition" in coin, baked goods, and other valuables. Teaching materials generally included a hornbook, primer, Psalter, and Bible. Both girls and boys were provided education through this school system. These schools generally focused on the four R's of education-Riting, Reading, Rithmetic, and Religion. In addition to primary education, girls might also learn sewing, embroidery, and other "graces". In the 18th and 19th centuries, some schools offered boys and girls from wealthy families a "polite education". The women running these elite schools taught "reading, writing, English, French, arithmetic, and music, and dancing". Schools for upper-class girls were usually called "female seminaries" or "finishing schools".

parish

A church territorial unit that is under the pastoral care and jurisdiction of a priest. By extension this term refers not only to the territorial unit but to the people of its community or congregation as well as to church property within it.

Half-Way Covenant

A form of partial church membership created by New England in 1662. It was promoted in particular by the Reverend Solomon Stoddard, who felt that the people of the English colonies were drifting away from their original religious "fire". First-generation settlers were beginning to die out, while their children and grandchildren often expressed less religious purity, and more desire for material things. Full membership in the Puritan church required an account of a conversion experience, and only persons in full membership could have their own children baptized. Second and third generations, and later immigrants, did not have the same conversion experiences. These individuals were thus not accepted as members despite leading otherwise upright Christian lives. In response, this covenant (or promise) provided a partial church membership for the children and grandchildren of church members. Those who accepted this agreement and followed the creed within the church could participate in the Lord's supper. Puritan preachers hoped that this plan would maintain some of the church's influence in society, and that these 'half-way members' would see the benefits of full membership and be exposed to Christian teachings, which would lead to the "born again" experience,

Enlightenment

A movement that influenced many colonists, especially those who were educated in Europe. Members of this movement believed that science and reason are the only reliable ways to find truth. Unfortunately, people's ability to think was often deemed more important than God's truth as revealed in Scripture. Often, if people disagreed with God's truths, they discarded them.

Moravians

A religious group in the colonies who were followers of the early reformer John Huss. This group was named after the place in eastern Europe where Huss's followers had lived. Fleeing from persecution, they settled in Germany. When they were persecuted there too, they came to Georgia in 1735. But they were not welcome in Georgia, either, and many moved to North Carolina and Pennsylvania. This group did not believe in fighting wars against the Native Americans or anybody else, but instead wanted to become missionaries to the slaves, German settlers, and Native Americans.

Jonathan Edwards

A revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist Protestant theologian. His colonial followers later distinguished themselves from other Congregationalists as "New Lights" (endorsing the Great Awakening), as opposed to "Old Lights" (non-revivalists). He is widely regarded as "one of America's most important and original philosophical theologians". He played a critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening, and oversaw some of the first revivals in 1733-35 at his church in Northampton, Massachusetts. This pastor delivered the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", a classic of early American literature, during another revival in 1741, following George Whitefield's tour of the Thirteen Colonies. He died from a smallpox inoculation shortly after beginning the presidency at the College of New Jersey (Princeton). Trivia fact: He was the grandfather of Aaron Burr, third Vice President of the United States.

David Brainerd

An American missionary to the Native Americans who had a particularly fruitful ministry among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey. During his short life he experienced many difficulties. As a result, his biography has become a source of inspiration and encouragement to many Christians.

George Whitefield

An English Anglican cleric who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he studied at the University of Oxford in 1732. There he was introduced to the Wesley brothers, John and Charles, who he would work closely with in his later ministry. He was ordained after receiving his BA and immediately began preaching, but did not settle as the minister of any parish. Rather he became a "wandering" preacher and evangelist. In 1740, he traveled to America, where he preached a series of revivals that came to be known as the "Great Awakening". His methods were controversial and he engaged in numerous debates and disputes with other clergymen. He is probably the most famous religious figure of the 18th century. He preached at least 18,000 times to perhaps 10 million listeners in Great Britain and the American colonies.

Old Deluder Satan Act

An education in reading and religion was required for children by the Massachusetts School Law of 1642. This law was later strengthened by the famous Old Deluder Satan Act. According to Puritan beliefs, Satan would assuredly try to keep people from understanding the Scriptures, therefore it was deemed that all children be taught how to read. Dame schools fulfilled this requirement if parents were unable to educate their young children in their own home.

deism

Derived from a Latin word "deus" meaning "god", this is a theological or philosophical belief that reason and observation of the natural world are enough to prove the existence of a single creator of the universe. A belief that "A" god exists, not necessarily "THE" god. This belief grew more popular during the Age of Enlightenment when people raised as Christians believed in one God but became weary of organized religions. Christians (and others) also began to think that the Bible had to be tested by human reason, that human reason showed them all they needed to know about God and moral duties, that God rarely intervened in human affairs, and that biblical miracles didn't actually take place.

Harvard College

Founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. This school came into existence in 1636 by vote of the colonial legislature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1638, the college became home for North America's first known printing press. Three years later the college was renamed in honor of deceased Charlestown minister John Harvard (1607-1638) who had bequeathed to the school his entire library and half of his monetary estate. This college's first instructor, schoolmaster Nathaniel Eaton (1610-1674), was also its first instructor to be dismissed—in 1639, for overstrict discipline. In 1665, Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, a Native American, graduated from this college, the first "Indian" to do so in the colonial period.

indentured servant

Gained passage to America in return for four to seven years' labor. They were usually single men who were between 18 and 30 years old (a few women also came). Could not marry without his master's permission, and few masters consented because they would have to pay the cost of raising children that might result from the marriage. If they ran away from their master, they were usually caught and paid for their action with additional years of service. Sometimes they were whipped. Some lived in comfort, but others lived difficult lives. When his service was completed, he received land and his "freedom dues" - a new suit, an ax, a hoe, and even cash. Some moved into the middle class and became quite successful.

Congregationalists

In colonial America, Anglican and Presbyterian churches were governed by bishops, elders, or other leaders. This approach, in comparison, was the belief that the members of a church congregation should have a say in the church and that the responsibility of a church's congregation was to build a Christian society based on biblical teaching. People who follow this approach believe their model of church governance fulfills the description of the early church and allows people the most direct relationship with God.

hornbook

Most colonial children first learned to read from one of these. A book that serves as primer for study. It originated in England as long ago as 1450. In children's education, in the years before modern educational materials were used, it referred to a leaf or page displaying the alphabet, religious materials, etc., covered with a transparent sheet of horn (or mica) and attached to a frame provided with a handle.

apprenticeship

Not all colonial children completed formal schooling. For many children outside of the upper class, education was limited to what they needed to make a living, so they participated in a system of on-the-job training. Most of the training was done while working for an employer who helped the trainee learn their job or profession, in exchange for their continued labor for an agreed period after they had learned the job. This arrangement typically lasted 7 years, or until the student reached 21 years of age. People who successfully completed this training reached the "journeyman" level.

aristocrats

The "upper class" of the colonies. All three colonial regions had this upper class, known for refined tastes and manners. In New England, this class generally included merchants, traders, and clergymen. In the middle and southern colonies, this upper class included those who owned large pieces of land. A few gained their positions by holding high offices or marrying wealthy people. In all three regions, this upper class enjoyed more comforts and luxuries than the lower classes. They imported their fabric, clothing, furniture and other goods from Europe. Their sons received a good education. Their servants helped perform the household chores. Most of these wealthy colonists, however, were not lazy. They worked hard to earn their money, and they had to work hard to keep it.

grammar schools

These schools, based on the British model, were founded during the colonial period. They were similar to modern elementary schools, but children learned far more in colonial America. The first one was the Boston Latin School, founded as the Latin Grammar School in 1635. In 1647 the Massachusetts Bay Colony enacted the Old Deluder Satan Law, requiring any township of at least 100 households to establish one of these schools, and similar laws followed in the other New England colonies. These schools initially taught young men the classical languages as a preparation for university, but by the mid-18th century many had broadened their teachings to include practical subjects. Nevertheless, they declined in popularity because of competition from the more practical academies.

Great Awakening

This term can refer to several periods of religious revival in American religious history. Historians and theologians identify three or four waves of increased religious enthusiasm occurring between the early 18th century and the late 19th century. Each of these events was characterized by widespread revivals led by evangelical Protestant ministers, a sharp increase of interest in religion, a profound sense of conviction and redemption on the part of those affected, an increase in church membership, and the formation of new religious church denominations. These events all resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of personal guilt and of their need of salvation by Christ. Pulling away from ritual and ceremony, these events made religion intensely personal to the average person by fostering a deep sense of spiritual guilt and redemption, and by encouraging a commitment to Christian living. It brought Christianity to African-American slaves. It created arguments between old traditionalists who insisted on the continuing importance of ritual and doctrine, and the new revivalists, who encouraged emotional involvement and personal commitment. The first of these events mainly impacted existing church members, while the second, which began about 1800, reached out to the unchurched.

redemptioners

Usually came from continental Europe and brought their families and possessions with them to the New World. Because they could not pay the whole fee for their passage, they hoped to find a relative or friend to pay the remaining fees after they arrived. Otherwise, the fees were paid by a wealthy colonist who required several years of service as payment.