美国简史03Growth and Empire.docx

美国简史03Growth and Empire.docx

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美国简史03GrowthandEmpire

ABiographyofAmerica

Program3:

GrowthandEmpire

DonaldL.MillerwithPaulineMaierandVirginiaScharff

Introduction

Miller:

TheAmericancoloniesinthe1700s.Thebestpoorman’scountryintheworld.

Maier:

Surethere’sanotionthatthisisacountrywherepeoplecandobetterthantheirparentsdid.

Miller:

Unlessyouwereaslave.

Scharff:

“WhatmannerofmanisthisAmerican?

”Well,hemightbeawoman,right?

Hemightbeaslave.Shemightbeaslave.

Miller:

TodayonABiographyofAmerica,theslave’smiddlepassage.Franklin’sPhiladelphia.AllpartofAmerica’sGrowthandEmpire.

TheAmericanCharacter

Miller:

NotlongafterAmericadeclareditsindependence,aFrenchmanlivinginthiscountryaskedaquestionwe’veneverstoppedasking:

“WhatthenistheAmerican,thisnewman?

”ToHectorSt.JohndeCrevecoeur,authorofLettersfromanAmericanFarmer,Americawasaplacewherepeoplesofallnations,inhiswords,“aremeltedintoanewrace.”

InAmerica,hewrote,thereare“nogreatlordswhopossesseverything,andaherdofpeoplewhohavenothing.Herearenoaristocraticfamilies,nokings,nobishops,nogreatrefinementsofluxury.TherichandpoorarenotsofarremovedfromeachotherastheyareinEurope.”ThevastAmericanwildernesshadshapedanewman,freerandmoreself-reliantthantheaverageEuropean.

ThoughBenjaminFranklinhadreservationsaboutracialmixing,hewitnessed,andwroteabout,thegreatchangesthatCrevecoeurcelebrated.WhenFranklinwasborninBostonin1706,thesonofacandle-makerwhohadimmigratedfromEngland,thecolonieswereoverwhelminglyEnglish.By1776,halfofthecolonialpopulationsouthofNewEnglandwasofnon-Englishorigin.AndFranklinhadseentheland,theabundanceofitanditsbroadavailability,shapemanyofthedistinctivelyAmericanattributesthatCrevecouerdescribed.

Franklinhimselfwastheembodimentofthisfreer,moreexpansivesociety,alowbornapprenticeprinterwhowentontobecomeanAmericanluminary.ToadmiringEuropeans,hewasthequintessentialAmerican,Crevecoeur’sNewMan.YetunlikeCrevecoeur,Franklindidn’tseetheNewWorldenvironmentcreatingahomogeneousAmericanculture,withcommonbeliefsandsocialvalues.

Notwocolonies,heinsisted,werealike.Theyhaddifferentlaws,interests,religions,governments,andmanners.Americawasasociety,tohim,ofdistinctregions.Franklinwasright,butsowasCrevecoeur.

ThecolonistswerebecomingmoreAmericanevenassectionaldifferenceswithinthecolonieswidened.Butitwasmorecomplexthanthat.ColonistsofEnglishoriginwerebecomingmoreAmericanwithoutlosingtheirstrongattachmenttoEngland.

Thatculturalambivalence,thatprideinbeingbothanEnglishsubjectandanAmericancomesthroughinaletterFranklinwrotein1776toanoldfriendinEngland.“Thebreachbetweenyouandusgrowswiderandmoredifficulttoheal,”hewrotewithgreatsadness.Butthenhedeclared,withtheprideoftheAmericanhehadclearlybecome,“Britainwithoutuscangrownostronger.Withouther,weshallbecomeatenfoldgreaterandmightierPeople.”

NoAmericancouldhavesaidthatin1700.ThatFranklincouldin1776revealedthetremendouschangeshiscountryhadundergoneintheinterveningyears.

ColonialPopulationFlourishes

WhenJohnWinthropdiedinthemiddleofthe17thcentury,thereweretwoprincipalregionsinthemainlandcolonies:

NewEnglandandtheChesapeake.Acenturylater,thereweretwoadditionalones:

theMiddleAtlanticcoloniesofPennsylvania,NewJersey,andNewJersey,aswellasDelaware;andtheLowerSoutherncoloniesofSouthCarolina,NorthCarolina,andGeorgia.Thekeycharacteristicofthiscolonialsocietywasgrowth:

aphenomenalincreaseinwealthandpeople.

InBenFranklin’sday,Americaexperienceditsfirstpopulationexplosion.In1700,approximately250,000EuropeansandAfrican-Americanslivedinthecolonies.By1775,thatnumberhadrisentotwoandhalfmillion.

ThepeopleoftheAmericancoloniesmultipliedmorerapidlythanalmostanyothersocietyinrecordedhistory.Andthesecolonistsfarout-numberedtheFrenchandSpanishcolonistsofNorthAmerica.BythetimeoftheAmericanRevolution,theSpanishbordersettlementsofFloridaandNewMexicowerethinlypopulatedoutpostsofempire.

Thelargestofthetwo,NewMexico,hadonlyabout20,000settlers.NewFrance,orCanada,atthesametimehadover70,000people.Thesenumberstellwhowouldcontrolthecontinent.

Thispopulationboomwasfedbytwosources:

naturalincrease（Franklinhimselfwasoneof17children）,andimmigration.Englishpeoplecontinuedtopourin,butnewpeoplecamefromalloverEurope,andchieflyfromGermany,Scotland,andNorthernIreland.Yetthelargestgroupofmigrantsinthe18thcenturywereAfricans,about278,000ofthem.ThemovementofAfricanstotheAmericaswasthelargestforcedmigrationinworldhistory.

TheSlaveTrade

Inthefourcenturiesoftheslavetrade,slaverstransportedanestimated11millionAfricanstoNorthandSouthAmerica,about600,000ofthemtoBritishNorthAmerica.MostslaveswerecapturedintheAfricaninteriorbyraidingpartiesfrommorepowerfultribesalongthecoast,andweretakenonforcedmarchestocoastaltradingfortsrunbyEuropeans.Theretheywereinspectedbyshipcaptainsintheholdsofdungeonsorinopenpits.Thoseselectedfortransportwerebranded,chainedtogether,androwedouttoawaitingslaveships,wheretheywerepackedbelowdeckinspaceswithnomorebreathingroomthanacoffin.

OlaudahEquiano,anIbotribesmenfromwhatisnowNigeria,waskidnappedandenslavedwhenhewasonly11yearsold.Andhelivedtowriteanaccountofoneoftheseslaveships.Underthedeck,thegroansofthedying,thescreamsofchildrenwhohadfallenintoopenlatrines,andthevilestenchofvomitandfecescombinedtocreatewhatEquianodescribedasasceneofhorror“almostinconceivable.”

AsEquiano’sshipheadedforopensea,agreatmoanwentupfromtheslaves,whofearedtheywerebeingtakentothehomelandsofthebeardedmonsterstobeboiledinwaterandeaten.Astheyreachedtheportofdestination,thesurvivinghumancargowaspreparedforsale.Ifslaveshadbeenflogged,theiropenwoundsweredisguisedbyfillingthemwithblacktar.

Someshipsurgeonspluggedtherectumsofslaveswithclumpsofhempfibertopreventbuyersfromnoticingthebloodydischargesthatindicatedtheyweredyingfromdysentery.EquianowaspurchasedinCharleston,SouthCarolinaandtakentoatobaccofarminVirginia,therehewasunabletocommunicatewithhisfellowslavesfromotherareasofAfrica.HewaspartoftheAfricanizationoftheChesapeakelaborforce.Buthadhenotbeenresoldtoavisitingnavalofficer,andeventuallyfreed,hemighthavemarriedanAfrican-AmericanwomanandbeenamemberofthefirstgenerationofslavesintheNorthAmericanHemispheretoincreaseitssizebyprocreation.

RiceandRebellion

Inthe18thcentury,adifferenttypeofslaverydevelopedinthelowland,coastalregionextendingfromCapeFear,NorthCarolina,toGeorgia,anareawhoseecologywasunsuitedtotobaccocultivation.SouthCarolinawastherichestcolonyinthisregion.Ithadbeenfirstsettledinthe1660sbylandhungryemigrantsfromthecrowdedsugarislandsofBarbados.Thirtyyearslater,theyfoundaprofitablecashcrop--rice.

AndriceshapedthelowlandasstronglyastobaccoshapedtheChesapeake.RicemadeSouthCarolinatherichestcolonyinmainlandBritishNorthAmerica--andtheonlyonewithablackmajority.Ricecultivationwashard,human-killingwork;butgreateroppression,ironically,producedgreaterautonomyfortheslaves.

Sincetobaccorequiredmoreconstantcarethanrice,masterscloselysupervisedslavelabor.IntheCarolinalowlands,mastersstayedawayfromthericefields,wherethedeathratefrommalariawasfrightfullyhigh.TheCarolinagrandees,therichesteliteinthecolonies,builttheirmagnificentplantationhousesonhighground,farawayfromthericeditches.InthemalariaseasontheyescapedtotownhousesinfashionableCharleston.

SlavesdiedearlierintheLowCountrythantheydidinVirginiaandreproducedmoreslowly.SoownershadtobringinfreshinfusionsofAfricans,mostofthemmales.TheseslavesweremuchmorelikelytorebelthanAmerican-bornslaveswere.

Inthesesprawlingagriculturalfactories,slavesdidn’tworkinwhite-supervisedgangs,astheydidinVirginia.Instead,theyweregivendailytaskstoperformunderthesupervisionofblackforemen,ordrivers.Theworkwasdoneatakillingpace,knee-deepinthethickmuck,inmosquito-andsnake-infestedpaddies.Butwhentheirtaskswerecompleted,slavesreturnedtotheirseparatelivingquarters,wheretheywerefreetohuntandfish,growtheirownfood,andlivetogetherasfamiliesinindividualcabins.

Livingapartfrommasterswhohardlyknewthem,theydevelopedanautonomousculturethathaditsowncycleofAfricanfeastsanddances.Theydevelopedtheirownlanguage,Gullah.Andtheyalsodevelopedaculturethatwasprofoundlyconfrontational.

It’snotcoincidentalthatcolonialAmerica’slargestslaverebellion,theStonoUprising,occurredinSouthCarolina.In1759,agroupoffreshlyimportedAngolansbrokeintoastoreontheStonoRiver,nearCharleston,armedthemselves,andheadedtowardSpanishFloridaandfreedom.Alongthewaytheyplunderedplantationsandkilledabouttwodozenwhitesbeforebeinggunneddownbyamilitiacompany.

AlthoughslaverevoltswererareinmainlandNorthAmerica,ascompared,say,toBrazilandtheCaribbean,slavesresistedineverywaypossible,