New England Colonies in the 17th century:

By: Adrian Garcia and Christian Alfaro

Family Structure• New Englanders believed God created the family for

human benefit• The patriarch was the father. Wife would raise children.• New Englanders arrived in nuclear families.• These families preserved customs more than people

who came by themselves.• Some believed they married young. So kids followed

quickly.• First time children were able to see their grandparents

because of longer life expectancies.

Families:

Population:

• Ratio of men to women was 3:2• In 1630’s 20000 came to New England. • Civil war caused a sharp decrease in this number.• By end of the 17th, century New England had

reached 120,000• Life expectancy was 70 or so for males and

slightly lower for females.• The Suitable environment made survival easier,

so the population greatly increased.

Commonwealth of Families• Young men and women generally initiated courtships.• Parents had a strong voice in this. Usually intervened to

prevent marriage with person of bad moral character.• Most people married. Single life was tough in the

seventeenth century• A groom usually brought land to the marriage while a

women brought a dowry usually ½ of what the groom offered.

• A couple without land was worthless. They could not support their new coming family.

Family Duties:• The house was a place of work. Very demanding work.• Primary job was to clear enough land to feed family.

Secondary job was to create profit from crops.• Men and women usually lived where their families had

lived. Family was very important.• Colonists believed that education was a family

responsibility.• Parents were supposed to instruct children on principles

of Christianity.• Most males could read once they reached adulthood.

New England society:

• Towns were collection of big families.• Intermarriage was common.• Once the excitement of establishing a new society had passed,

New Englanders focused more on spiritual welfare of families.• The problem was the status of the children within a gathered

church.• Infants baptized grew up to adulthood and could not provide

testimony of their own *election*.• New England colonist were mostly puritan

Education

• The literacy rate for women was somewhat lower. But still impressive.

• Harvard was the first college founded in England’s mainland colonies.

• Yale was founded in 1702• Universities often taught based on religious

principles like theology

Women's lives in England: • Historians generally have a positive view on the lives of

women in New England.• Women worked on the farms there families owned and did

variety of jobs including cooking, washing clothes, sewing, planting, and raising cattle.

• Women were generally religious in the New England colonies and the amount of women in the church outnumbered men. For every one male member of the church there was two.

• Legally, women were inferior to men. They had fewer rights and were not allowed to divorce, sell land, or own land.

• Women were generally happy in the colonies and historians agree that domestic issues were relatively low.

Female Duties:

Social Classes in New England:• Not many wealthy individuals moved to New England, so

there weren't many social classes. • the Colony generally consisted of the middle class, so the

wealthiest members were church officials and government leaders.

• Most people owned farms and lived off the land. • Communities were generally united and there were few social

distinctions or disagreements. • A lot of families made there kids work and become

apprentices to learn a certain trade.

Farms in New England:

New England society: