USA as a British Colony

(1606-1783)
Subject: US History 4 CSS

By: Imran Zahoor

M. Phil-International Relations
M.A Political Science
M.A Diplomacy and Strategic Studies
Diploma in US History
imranzahoor17@gmail.com
 Lecture Outline

1. Past Papers questions

2. Why British came to USA?
3. Three Types of British Colonies in USA
1. New England Colonies
2. Middle Colonies
3. Southern Colonies
4. Colonial Life
5. Education System under British in USA
6. Causes of the American War of Independence
 Past Papers Questions

 Why England failed to take the initiative in the colonization of

the American continent? What factors were responsible for
the British interest in establishing their colonies in the areas
that are now part of the United States of America? (CSS-2009)

 Discuss in detail Advent of British impacts in USA?(CSS 2017).

 Discuss the conditions that led Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth,

Connecticut and New Haven Colonies to form the New
England Confederation in 1643 (CSS 2014).
 Past Papers Questions

• Why England failed to take the initiative in the

colonization of the American continent? What
factors were responsible for the British
interest in establishing their colonies in the
areas that are now part of the United States of
America.(CSS 2009)
 Expected Questions CSS 2020

• Critically Analyse the various features of British

educational system established in British Colonies in
North America?

• Highlight the major causes and events which were

led to American Independence and end of British
rule in North America?
 Why British Came to USA?

• Englishmen came for religious

freedom.

• Desire for land and wealth.

• Freedom from the King’s rule.

• New beginning of their life.

• Doing adventure in new world.

Three Types of British
Colonies in USA
 Three Types of British Colonies in USA

• New England
– (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut),

• The Southern Colonies

– (Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia).

• The Middle Colonies

– (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware).
Each colony was unique in it’s characteristics. However,

The Colonies
they are grouped together based on location, reasons
they were founded, and what types of industries they
had.
New England Colonies
Rhode Island
Connecticut
Massachusetts
New Hampshire

Middle Colonies
Delaware
Pennsylvania
New York
New Jersey
Southern Colonies
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
New England Colonies
 Puritans – Who were they?

The Puritans
 A group of English Reformed
Protestants in the 16th and 17th.
 Came to New England to escape the
King who punished them for their
religion.
 They governed a strict colony that was
based around the bible and the church.
 No women could serve in the Puritan
government
New England Colonies
The settlers here made a great deal of
fur business.

 Other economic opportunities in New

England were based around the sea:
fishing, shipbuilding, and whaling.

 The soil was rocky

 the New England Colonies were
not suitable for cultivation
New England Colonies

Facts Closely Attached

 People lived, worked, and
worshiped close together.

The meeting house and

the church
 The most important places
in the town.
 New England Colonies

Facts The Colonies of New

Hampshire, Connecticut, and
Rhode Island were friendlier
more tolerant of people’s
differences.
 New England Colonies

By 1750, busy cities cropped up around the New England

colonies.

Boston became world famous for its shipping port.

Middle Colonies
Middle colonies were comprised Pennsylvania, Delaware,
New York, and New Jersey.
Immigrant– What is an immigrant?
A person that comes into a country to start a new life.
People came to America from many different places to start a
new life.

Diversity– What is diversity?

A group of people from very different backgrounds.
The Middle colonies were an interesting place to live because of the diversity
among the people.
Middle Colonies
Govern by English monarchy
By governors.

However it was difficult for

the King to have much power
over the colonies

Many colonies were

considered to be self-rules.

The Middle Colonies were based on

agriculture; small farms that produced
many different crops.
Middle Colonies
Facts
•Sometimes called the “The
Bread Basket” colonies
because they grew so many
crops for making bread.
•The land was lush and fertile.
• The Conestoga wagon was invented in
Pennsylvania and used for trade.
Southern Colonies
 Southern Colonies
Overseer– What is a overseer?
Someone that was hired to watch slaves as they worked.
Plantation owners hired overseers to watch the slaves and
make sure they did their jobs.

Indigo– What is indigo?

A plant that was used in making blue dye.
The farmers grew indigo plants.
Indigo was an important cash crop for the Southern colonies.
Southern Colonies

The settlers here, for the

most part, wanted to make
money.

They brought their families
and the slaves worked the
land.

Many settlers here were rich
and owned large farm lands.
 Features & Economy of Southern Colonies

• Slavery was legal

• Children born to slaves became
slaves themselves
• Slaves were imported from Africa.
• Slave traders made a great deal of
money
• Almost entirely agricultural
• Plantations were abundant
• A large part of the workforce was
African slaves
• Plantations grew tobacco, rice, and
indigo(Neel)
Colonial Life…
 Conflict in the Colonies

As colonists settled and spread across New England, they entered land that was already
lived on by Native Americans.
Conflict in the Colonies
The Native Americans and colonists
began attacking each other’s villages.

They had very different ideas about

owning land.
 Natives believed no one could
own land .

Conditions led to war.

 Some tribes were nearly
completely wiped out.
 English settlers had many
advanced weapons.
Education System under
British in USA
Facts About School
• Boys normally went to grammar
schools

• Girls went to dame school.

• There were no chalkboards, maps, or

paper.

• School teachers were strict

• Teachers allowed to punish their
students.

Lll
Dame School
A small primary school run by elderly women,
especially in their own homes. Some Dame
Schools also provided Day Care facility.
 First Public School
• Oldest and first public school in USA
• Established in 1635.
• A place for educating the sons of the 
Boston elite

• Tough curriculum
• Low attendance
•  Emphasized the learning of
– Religion
– English
– Latin
– Literature
 Establishment of Colleges
• The first colleges were Harvard
in 1636
• The college of William and
Mary in 1693
• St. Johns college in 1696
• Yale in 1701, the college of New
Jersey which is known as
Princeton in 1746,
• King’s college known as
Columbia in 1754
• the college of Philadelphia in
1755
 More About Schools
 In the New England colonies
 Children were taught to read so they could study the Bible.
 Boys got to also learn Latin and Math and other subjects to get
into college.
 In the Middle Colonies
 Most schools were private.
 Students also learned other subjects so they could get into
college..

 In the Southern Colonies

 Children were mostly taught at home.
 Southern girls did not go to higher schooling.
 Characteristics of US Education System Under British
Rule

• The literacy for the general public had grown during the
18th century.

• During the 18th century

– More and more girls being sent to school to get educated.

• Most of the girls that were going to the schools came

from the middle class society.

• Secondary schools were very rare outside of major

towns.
 Characteristics of US Education System Under
British Rule
 The literacy rate was lower in the south than
the north.

 At early time, most of the schools were taught

about religious practices.

 Girls were restricted from learning about

science and politics.
 Characteristics of US Education System Under
British Rule
• Colleges were meant for men and only white men.

• Some of the college experimented by admitting Native American students

in 18th century.

• Concept of Private Tutor was active in wealthy families.

• In 18th century, main subjects in the colleges were

– Physics
– Astronomy
– Politics
– Modern history
• At early time, most of the schools were taught about religious
practices.
 Protestant clergymen

• In the mid 18th century, a

majority of American college
graduates became Protestant
clergymen

• They started to serve for

religion
 Vocational Education

• Also established in 18th

century
• Usually taught:
 Trade to the boys
 Sewing to the girls
 Reading
 Religious knowledge.
 The American Academy

• The American Academy was

founded in Philadelphia in 1751
by Benjamin Franklin

• Teach practical skills, including

planting, natural history,
mechanics and other sciences.
Causes of the American War of
Independence
 1-Defective Administration

• The Administrative System of England in the

American Colonies was defective.
– Each Colony had its Assembly and the elected
members.
• Appointed governor colonies were
intolerable with Colonists.
– Many times conflict between the Governors and
the elected representatives of different colonies.
 1-Defective Administration

• The Governors did not do anything without

the permission of British Parliament.
– The British Parliament did not recognize the
colonial problems.

• Thus, the colonists raised their voice against

the defective administrative system of
England.
2-The French and Indian War (1754−1763)

 The French and Indian War took place

between the American colonies and New
France.
 Both sides allied with various Native American
tribes.
 After War, British troops were stationed in
the colonies for protection of people.
 These troops weren't free
2-The French and Indian War (1754−1763)

• British Parliament decided to tax the American

colonies to help pay for the troops.

• British got more control over new occupied

territories.
 3-Taxes, Laws, and More Taxes 

• In 1764, British government began to impose

new laws and taxes.
• They implemented a number of laws including :
– The Sugar Act
– The Currency Act
– The Quartering Act
– The Stamp Act.
• The colonists were not happy with the new
taxes.
 4-Role of the Writers and Philosophers

• The Writers and Philosophers

played an important role in the
American War of Independence.

• Thomas Paine through this writing

‘Commonsense’ inspired the
Americans to raise their voice
against the British Government.
 4-Role of the Writers and Philosophers

• Samuel Adams, another writer

sowed the seed of independence
among the Americans through
his writings.

• Besides this, the Americans were

influenced by the writings of
Locke, Rousseau, Adam Smith
and Milton.
 5-The Proclamation of 1763

• England’s King George forbade colonists to

settle west of the Appalachian Mountains.

• British government declared lands for

those who fought for the crown against
France.

• The Proclamation angered American

colonists who wanted to continue their
westward expansion into new farm lands.

• A major reason toward road to

independence.
 6-Protests in Boston 

• Many colonists began to protest

against new British taxes and laws.
– A group called the Sons of Liberty
formed in 1765 in Boston and soon
spread throughout the colonies.
• During one protest in Boston, a
fight broke out and several
colonists were shot and killed.
– This incident became known as the
Boston Massacre. 
 6-Protests in Boston 

• In 1773, the British imposed a new

tax on tea.

• Several patriots in Boston protested

this act by boarding ships in Boston
harbor and dumping their tea into
the water.

– This protest became known as the

Boston Tea Party. 
 7- Townshend’s Policy

• Imposed duties on tea, glass, lead, paper and

color imported into the American colonies.

• This gave a serious setback to the colonists

and they became rebellious.

• They boycotted the trade relationship with

England.
8-The First Continental Congress
• September 5 – October 26, 1774
• Attended by representatives from
all the colonies except Georgia.
• They met in Carpenter’s Hall in
Philadelphia
– To protest the Intolerable Acts.
– Decided to stop trade with Britain
unless the Acts were abolished.
– They also advised colonists to prepare
for war.
– They agree to meet again in May
1775.
 9-The Declaration of Independence

• On 4 July 1776, the thirteen American Colonies

met at Philadelphia for the second time.
• A paper was drafted by Thomas Jefferson
– This Declaration of Independence was unanimously
accepted in the Congress by the 13 American Colonies.
• The declaration was:
– These United Colonies are free from the British crown
– All political connection between Colonies and Great
Britain to be dissolved.”
 The Course of War

• Then started the war between the American

Colonies and England.
– On October 17, 1777, Burgoyne, the British
Commander surrendered.
• The American War of Independence came to
an end.
• The American colonies fought a war against
Britain from 1775 until 1783
Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783.

• Britain formally recognized

America independence with the
signing of the Treaty of Paris on
September 3, 1783.
 Declaration of Independence

• July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence

 Assignment
• Advent of British impacts in USA?
Clues
• Language
• Food
• Dress
• Education
• Games
• Technology( Textile industry-iron making)
• Warfare
• Transition of Religion
• Weapons
• Cultivation
• Arts(American Theater, Music, Fiction)
 Assignment-2

• Critically Analyse the various features of

British educational system established in
British Colonies in North America?