Growth and Crisis in Colonial Society, 1720-1765

Introduction
1. Freehold Society in New England(New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Main, Vermont, Connecticut)
a) Farm Families : Women's Place
b) Farm property : Inheritance
c) The Crisis of Freehold Society

2.The Middle Atlantic : Toward a New Society, 1720-1765(Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York)

Middle Atlantic become home of different origins, cultures, religions and languages societies. But these people didn't meet, this was not a “melting-pot” or a “salad bowl”. It was more like a patchwork of ethnically and religiously diverse colonies.

a) Growth and Social Inequality
At first they were more egalitarian than the manorial estates of New York. In the colony of New York there were great estates owned by the gentry on which tenant farmers worked (tenant = rent land). There was a strict hierarchy.
Colonies of New Jersey and Pennsylvania offered fairly equal economic opportunities to settlers. But progressively, during the 18th century, farmers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania grew richer and richer while tenants fell behind (=être à la traine) They became as divided economically and socially as in rural England.
By 1760, 50% of all white men were property-less in the Mid-Atlantic colonies.

b) Cultural Diversity
Pennsylvania was created by Quakers, so they were the dominant group. They were fairly tolerant towards other believes. They had no formal doctrine and were pacifist (with other believers and Native Americans) and they emphasized equality even with Blacks. After 1750, they openly opposed slavery.
Because it was tolerant, Pennsylvania attracted a lot of new immigrants (especially Europeans who were fleeing wars, persecutions, poverty). The Scots-Irish and Germans were the one who migrated the most to (western) Pennsylvania. T became and even more diversified colony.
It can both increase tolerance and conflicts.
(Scots-Irish first migrated from Scotland to