Parents needed large families in order to protect themselves from poverty, and they had many children in order to ensure that some survived to work on their farms and to take care of them when they became too old to provide for themselves.
Colonial wear for men, whether casual or formal, consisted of breeches, a shirt, a waistcoat and coat. Men would wear a knee-length coat with fitted shoulders and narrow wrists over a high-collared shirt. A cravat, the forerunner to the modern necktie or bow tie, was tied around the neck.
Pennsylvania and New York were two other colonies known for their establishment of religious freedom. Quaker leader William Penn founded Pennsylvania5 in 1681, and seeking to grow the colony, made it a bastion of religious freedom.
Women wore their hair pinned up under a linen cap, called a coif, and often wore a felt hat over their coif.
Corn quickly became the stable of colonial diets. Colonists made bread and cake from corn. Colonists main meal often consisted of a stew made of meat and vegetables that would cook for days. There was an abundance of fruit colonists ate as well, with apples being a staple of the New England colonies.
At the beginning of the 1800s, little boys went into their skeleton suits at about age three, wearing these outfits until they were six or seven. Tunic suits with knee-length tunic dresses over long trousers began to replace skeleton suits in the late 1820s, staying in fashion until the early 1860s.
In the southern colonies, children generally began their education at home. Because the distances between farms and plantations made community schools impossible, plantation owners often hired tutors to teach boys math, classical languages, science, geography, history, etiquette, and plantation management.
Because young girls learned to cook and young boys learned to hunt, children today are more interested in pursuing those activities. Colonial children, especially boys, were responsible for learning trades. This resulted in the development of trade schools in America.
The typical woman in colonial America was expected to run a household and attend to domestic duties such as spinning, sewing, preserving food, animal husbandry, cooking, cleaning, and raising children. Families tended to be large, and childbearing could be dangerous prior to advancements in medicine and health care.
Most colonial women were homemakers who cooked meals, made clothing, and doctored their family as well as cleaned, made household goods to use and sell, took care of their animals, maintained a cook fire and tended the kitchen gardens.
Most of the people living in Colonial America lived and worked on a farm. Although there would eventually be large plantations where the owners became wealthy growing cash crops, life for the average farmer was very hard work. They had to work hard all year long just to survive.
In Colonial Jamestown, women generally wore a two-piece dress made up of a gown and matching petticoat. Wealthy women wore gowns of silk, while working class women wore wool, cotton or linen. Under their dresses, women wore stays, which were the precursor to the modern corset.
Colonial Americans ate a variety of food depending on when and where they lived. The colonists grew crops, hunted game, and fished for food. Many homes had gardens where they grew vegetables and herbs. When the colonists first arrived in America, one of the most important crops was corn.
The United States is usually known for western wear, which includes denim jeans, cowboy hats, and flannel shirts. These are long-sleeved shirts that are typically made from wool, though cotton varieties are also available. Flannel shirts have been and still are a major component of North American clothing.
On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which was named after their King, James I. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America.
According to archaeologists and anthropologists, the earliest clothing likely consisted of fur, leather, leaves, or grass that were draped, wrapped, or tied around the body. Knowledge of such clothing remains inferential, since clothing materials deteriorate quickly compared to stone, bone, shell and metal artifacts.
Along with clabber, porridge, and mushes, the typical dishes were various stews, soups and pot pies. Food was eaten from wooden or pewter trenchers with two-tined forks, large spoons, and hunting knives. Dishware was not popular since it was easily breakable and tended to dull knives quickly.
North Carolina colonists wore different clothing than what we wear now in modern day North Carolina. Men wore breeches, linen shirt, and a vest called a waistcoat. Children of both genders wore gowns. When boys reached the ages 4 through 7 they started wearing breeches.
Most early settlers in North Carolina earned a living by farming. They grew tobacco, wheat, and corn. Corn became a staple in colonial times. People ate corn on the cob, and made grits and cornbread from corn.
European nations came to the Americas to increase their wealth and broaden their influence over world affairs. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution. The Pilgrims, founders of Plymouth, Massachusetts, arrived in 1620.
Students sat straight on hard, backless benches. Because teachers were not well trained, students spent most of their time reciting and memorizing lessons. Most lessons did not teach students to think, just imitate. All grades were taught in one room at one time by one teacher.
sought to extend foreign domination and economic exploitation of the colony” (2) because colonial education is “directed at absorption into the metropole and not separate and dependent development of the colonized in their own society and culture” (4).
The invasion of the North American continent and its peoples began with the Spanish in 1565 at St. Augustine, Florida, then British in 1587 when the Plymouth Company established a settlement that they dubbed Roanoke in present-day Virginia.
The Boston Latin School, established in 1635, was the first school in what is now the United States. Although it has changed locations, the public school is still operating today. On April 23, 1635, the first public school in what would become the United States was established in Boston, Massachusetts.
Literacy was higher in New England and the mid-Atlantic colonies than in the South. Literacy was also higher in cities than in more rural areas. In New England the literacy rate was 60% between 1650-1670, 85% between 1758- 1762, and 90% between 1787 - 1795. In Virginia it was between 54% & 60% in the late 18th century.
In the South, public schools were not common during the 1600s and the early 1700s. Affluent families paid private tutors to educate their children. These schools educated students of all ages in one room with one teacher. Students did not attend these schools for free.
Colonial Days Scavenger Hunt
| Question | Answer |
|---|
| What was the name of the colony formed by Pilgrims in 1620? | Plymouth Colony |
| Georgia was named after which British king? | King George II |
| What grades were taught in a one-room schoolhouse during colonial times? | 1st through 8th |
Middle colonies-coastal lowlands with many harbors and bays, wide deep rivers, settlers found rich farmland, Because of the moderate climate, it was easy to farm there. Southern colonies-had good harbors and many rivers, the warm, humid climate made it ideal for growing many crops.
