Chapter Four

 

Compared with its seventeenth-century counterpart, eighteenth-century colonial society became more complex and hierarchical, more ethnically and religiously diverse, and more economically and politically developed.

 

1. How democratic was colonial society? Why was it apparently becoming less equal?

 

2. How were the various occupations and activities of colonial America related to the nature of the economy? Why were occupations like lawyer, printer, and artisan taking on greater importance?

 

3.  What were the causes and effects of the Great Awakening? How did such an intense religious revival affect those who experienced “conversion” as well as those who did not?

 

4. In what ways was colonial life attractive, and it what ways would it seem tedious and dull to the average 21^st century American? How were the educational, cultural, and leisured sides of colonial life affected by the basic nature of the economy?