Carriage_Stop_3_Williamsburg

Williamsburg

On the front of your postcard, draw and
color a picture of Williamsburg. On the
back write a 3-5 sentence summary of
your carriage stop. Include and highlight
these words: slavery, Thomas Jefferson,
education, agriculture, tobacco, and
plantation.

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Life in the Southern Colonies

Social Life in the Southern Colonies
Studies Agriculture was the basis of life in the South. Many
Success people dreamed of the wealth a successful plantation
could bring them. But few Southerners achieved their
dream of owning a plantation. The overwhelming
majority of them were indentured servants, slaves, or
simple farmers. Only a lucky few became wealthy
planters who owned fabulous houses and vast
stretches of land with their own access to the
waterways.
The plantation system limited trade because only a limited number of crops
were grown. The growth of cities, or urbanization, was limited because of the
plantation system. Plantations evolved into little towns that produced almost
everything for day to day needs. Wealthy planters could import directly from
European markets. They could buy or hire a skilled servant to create items
that weren't practical to import. With few cities, there was only a small middle
class of urban professionals like teachers, merchants, artisans, or lawyers.
The distance between plantations made community schools and sometimes even
churches impractical.

During the 1700s, the average life expectancy in the South was 10 to 30 years
lower than other English colonies due to disease and malnutrition. This had a
dramatic effect on the development of family life and other aspects of
society. Few children reached adulthood with two surviving parents. A web of
step-parents and half-siblings meant kinship was often a powerful factor when
it came to connections in business or leadership.

Education in Southern Colonies

In the Southern Colonies, children
generally began their education at home.
Because the distances between farms
and plantations made community schools
impossible, plantation owners often hired
tutors to teach boys math, classical
languages, science, geography, history,
manners, and plantation management.
Most boys then completed their
education in England. A governess usually
taught the girls enough reading, writing,
and arithmetic to run a household and
the social skills to attract a husband.

Social Class differences were the greatest in
Studies the South, where only upper-class men
Success were widely educated. In Virginia, literacy
among the male upper-class was almost
100 percent, and only 40 percent of
laborers, 25 percent of upper class
women, and 1 percent of slaves could sign
their names.

Slavery

In 1776, 20 percent of the population in the thirteen colonies was of African
descent. The legalized practice of enslaving Africans occurred in every colony,
but was focused in the south. During the Revolutionary era, more than half of all
African Americans lived in Virginia and Maryland. Most African Americans lived in
the Chesapeake region, where they made up more than 50 to 60 percent of the
overall population. The most, but not all, of these African Americans were slaves.
In fact, the first official United States Census taken in 1790 showed that eight
percent of the African American population was free.

The majority of African Americans living in the Southern Colonies worked on
tobacco plantations and large farms. Since the cultivation of tobacco was
extremely labor-intensive, slave labor was used, even with the questions about
slavery being morally right. Tobacco was an eleven-month crop. Cultivation began in
late January with the preparation of the fields for planting, mending tools, and
laying out the seed beds. Once the soil was ready in March, tobacco seedlings
were transplanted to the fields. By mid-summer, tobacco was growing in the
fields, but the delicate plant required constant care. At harvest time, tobacco was
gathered and prepared for its shipment to England.

For slaves working on farms, the work was no less
demanding. The variety of food crops and livestock
usually kept slaves busy throughout the year. Slaves on
plantations lived in complete family units, their workday
controlled by the rising and setting of the sun. Life was
harsh. Plantation slaves were more likely to be sold or
transferred than those who were enslaved for
housework. They were also subject to brutal and severe
punishments.

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History of Williamsburg

Williamsburg was the thriving capital of Virginia when the dream of American freedom
and independence was taking shape. The colony was a rich and powerful land
stretching west to the Mississippi River and north to the Great Lakes. For 81 years,
from 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the political, cultural, and educational center of
what was then the largest, most populous, and most influential of the American
colonies. It was here that the fundamental concepts of our republic — responsible
leadership, a sense of public service, self-government, and individual liberty — thrived
under the leadership of patriots such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
George Mason, and Peyton Randolph.
Near the end of the Revolutionary War and through the influence of Thomas
Jefferson, the seat of government of Virginia was moved up the peninsula to the
safer and more centrally located city of Richmond. For nearly a century and a half
afterward, Williamsburg was a simple, quiet college town, home of the College of
William and Mary.

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Interactive Map of Colonial Williamsburg

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The Governor’s Palace



Williamsburg Farm

Clothing

Slavery

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