What's Wrong with this Colonial picture?

Presenters:  Lynn Manring & Barbara Mathews

What to Look for in Books about Colonial America

A good book contains:

Artwork from the time period

Good copies of period artwork

Pictures of artifacts

Primary sources

Possibly a focal period, i.e., the Revolutionary War, someone’s life span

Description of something that really happened

Distinction between city and country life

Good communication between text & illustrations

Watch our for books that:

Give a number of absolutes on daily life, i.e., children went to dame school for 2 years, most people had 2 outfits

Lump all or most of American life from before 1800 under the “Colonial” umbrella

Common 18^th C. myths:

The colonists were self-sufficient – A number of food stuffs were imported from England and other American colonies, including sugar, molasses, rice, tea, coffee, chocolate, spices, wine, hard alcohol, citrus fruit, and for New Englanders, wheat, so they were not totally self-sufficient.

The colonists made all of their own fabric at home- It is important to remember that as colonies, we were supposed to depend upon England for many, many goods.  At the top of the list were textiles.  A little weaving of simpler fabrics was done in America, but by far, the bulk of our textiles were imported from or via England.

Ladies made quilts- The firs quilts were “whole cloth”, made up of one whole piece for the top and another for the back, with stitching in fancy patterns holding the layers together.  These quilts start to be seen near the end of the 18^th C.  Pieced quilts would appear after that, however, in general, making quilts was not a popular activity until the 19^th C.

All children received an education; everybody could read and write- Schooling was not mandatory until the 1840’s.  It is hard to know how much education children in the 18^th C.  did or did not get.  The literacy rate in New England was higher than in the other colonies and England, but the 18^th C. description of the word “literacy” meant to be able to read the printed word and no more than that.  More people could read than could write.  There were men and women who might be able to read a passage of the Bib le but had to sign their names with X’s.  Dame school teachers taught the youngest children and schoolmasters were provided for those over the age of about 6.  Town taxes paid both kinds of teachers.  Parents could also pay to send their sons off to academies or colleges.

Children who misbehaved in school word dunce caps- We don’ts see evidence of dunce caps being used in the New England colonies.  Possibly they were used in Europe or other colonies.

People within the American colonies had similar lifestyles and customs- What holds true in New England, does not necessarily hold true in Williamsburg, or elsewhere.  For instance, in the colonies settled by Germans, the colonists might eat sauerkraut, but they didn’t in New England; Christmas was celebrated in the German and Dutch colonies and Williamsburg, but not in New England; there were big differences between northern and southern slavery systems.