Summary Of The Intellectual Culture Of Colonial America

Chapter 3 “Recall and Reflect” Question 4: What was the intellectual culture of colonial America, as expressed in literature, philosophy, science, education, and law? The intellectual culture expressed in literature and education was for the Americans to receive the basic reading level skills. In 1647 Massachusetts established a law, which required each town to support a public school. Others who did not support public schools, had church schools and “dame”, or private classes in the instructor’s house. Even though this does not sound familiar, people of the white race were the only ones to receive education, especially white males. Men had a higher degree of literacy than females, but Americans had a higher rate of literacy than most European

Alan Brinkley states on page ninety-five in American History Volume I: To 1865, “Changes in the law in America resulted in part from the scarcity of English-trained lawyers, who were almost unknown in the colonies until 1700.” Yes, laws were based on English political ideals, but the system of their government is self-government, who self-rule, modern day democracy, versus royal government. The people in America followed old English law traditions, but allowed the people to have representation in their

The British started to do direct taxation on the American colonies to pay off debt from the Seven Years’ War. This allowed the Parliament to earn money from the American colonies to pay off war debt and take control of trade, which profited the British. As for the colonists, this was found to be unreasonable due to the fact that the British were taxing the colonists because the British extra-curricular activities, such as the Seven Years’ War. This very much upset the colonists, but made the Parliament feel more at ease to gain money to pay off debt and make profit from colonial