Question 3: Triangle trade brought slavery to America and helped Americans get important commodities it could not otherwise obtain. In the short term, triangle trade allowed farmers, fishermen, and other businesses to export their goods and make money, also allowing them to import goods that they needed from England. Triangle trade was necessary because of the British Navigation Acts, which restricted trade on certain items. Triangle trade also came about because sometime around the 1730’s the English market had reached its saturation point with American goods. The English had no need for American products, but the Americans still needed money to buy the English goods.
The answer was in looking to foreign markets. In the early to mid 1700’s triangle trade brought prosperity and important goods to the colonists. Triangle trade did indeed bring important commodities, slaves being one of them. Slavery is the most important thing that triangle trade produced.
The issue of slavery continually caused tension between the northern and southern colonies / states until finally there was war. The issue of slavery divided a nation ironically named the United States. While on an issue with all low points there is one fact which stands above the rest, somewhat. Due to the fact that it was a longer voyage for the slaves to reach America they were much higher priced than in the Southern Americas, where slaves were considered expendable and worked until death. Accoridngly, slaves where considered important and treated much better in North America.
Slavery is a low point in American history many will try to forget, but will be embedded in the minds of all. The Great Awakening was a time of spiritual revival from the bland, monotone speakers of the past. The new speakers were crazed with enthusiasm and used unheard of methods of preaching, which greatly upset “old lights” or orthodox clergymen. The Great Awakening caused the creation of many new denominations, preaching styles, and competitiveness in America’s churches. Jonathan Edwards was one of the first men to revolutionize the nation with these new preaching techniques. His most famous speech, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” gave a graphic depiction of what eternal damnation was like.
He used an example of a spider hanging from its web over a fire to show that at any time you could die and be cast into hell. The other prolific speaker of the time was George Whitefield. He was a fiery speaker, who was said to be able to mesmerize a crowd by saying the word “Mesopotamia.” He would use it at least once in each sermon no matter what the topic. He also brought Christianity down to its lowest denominator by preaching that even if you are a sinner, but you love god, you will go to heaven. These preachers formed the foundation of the Great Awakening, which changed the ideology of American churches. It unified 4/5 ths of the Americans in a common understanding of the Christian faith and life.
The Great Awakening helped small denominations establish themselves and grow because they all had the same evangelical roots. Denominations like the Baptist and Presbyterian churches may not be around today if it were not for Great Awakening. It caused an explosion of mission efforts to the unsaved; namely the Blacks and Indians. Today mission efforts are still going strong as people travel all over the world to try and convert people to Christianity.
If it were not for the Great Awakening people may have just sat back and accepted themselves as superior beings to the unsaved. The Great Awakening also divided people as to how it should be interpreted, just as it does today. It was and is between those who take the scripture literally and those who adapt it to today’s society. Lastly, it promoted higher learning, not just for the deeply religious but for everyone. This resulted in the birth of many universities. The Scotch-Irish had vast influence on American history, yet they had an extremely small immigration.
Seven of the Scotch-Irish signed the Declaration of Independence. Eleven U. S. presidents trace their ancestry to these people.
The Scotch-Irish were forced to move from two of their homes and finally settled in the United States. The Scotch-Irish were forced to move from their homeland of Scotland when commercial farming and high rents on farmland drove them out. 200, 000 of the then Scots moved to Ireland for awhile until they realized that they had not escaped the British rent racking ways. They then made their last move to the United States.
Many of the Scotch-Irish settled here in Pennsylvania because of the liberal laws, low taxes, and political, economic, social, and religious freedom. They moved around the Quaker’s settlements to the backcountry area. Many settled right here and in the proximity of all the areas surrounding us. The Scotch-Irish were a feisty bunch and served Pennsylvania well as a shield from Indian attacks. They also many times would clear their lands and then proceed to sell them to more permanent settlers and move farther westward. The Scotch-Irish got involved with Pennsylvania politics very early and helped to erect forts on the frontier and patrol for Indians.
They adopted the slogan “the only good Indian is a dead one.” A very permanent contribution the Scotch-Irish gave to the American culture was the Presbyterian Church. By 1776 the Scotch-Irish had 500 communities and each one had at least one Presbyterian Church. The Scotch-Irish played a big part in the American Revolution. John Stark was especially commendable, as he played a big part in getting the French to ally with us. Without the Scotch-Irish and their burning hatred for the controlling British the United States would not be where it is today. Nine of the first 13 governors of the newly created states were Scotch-Irish.
The Scotch-Irish did some many important things in American history that it would take quite a while to list them all. Here are a few: Robert Fulton built the first steamboat, Edgar Allen Poe was Scotch-Irish on his father’s side, Horace Greeley created the New York Tribune. The Scotch-Irish had a profound contribution to almost every aspect of the American life. The Paxton Boys made a lasting impression on the Indians of Pennsylvania and our government. Many were still reeling over the French and Indian War after the fact, leading to a smaller uprising called Pontiac’s War. This was the second time the frontier of Pennsylvania began to feel the sting for invading the Indian’s territory.
Two times were enough for the Paxton Boys who lived. The Paxton Boys were rugged frontiersmen frustrated by their inability to inflict punishment on their Indian enemies, and were bitter over the colony’s refusal to provide any aid. The Paxton Boys took their revenge on December 15, 1763 by killing a village of peaceful Conestoga Indians in cold blood. They then began their march to Philadelphia, the Capital.
Lucky, Ben Franklin and his delegation of burghers talked them out of it by telling the frontiersmen they would vote on putting a bounty on all Indians scalps. The effects of the Paxton Boys march caused many alarm bells to go off. It forced Philadelphia to quickly form a ragtag militia. Secondly, many people sympathized with the frontiersmen, especially the Lutherans and Presbyterians, which caused the delegation to rethink its eastern ways. It pressured the Pennsylvania government to move the friendly Indians to the eastern side of the state so they would not be attacked again. At one point they tried, unsuccessfully, to move the Indians to New York.
Finally, Franklin’s conservative attitude toward the whole situation cost him his seat in the assembly. Late in 1764 he was sent back to England. The Paxton Boys were another group and set of events to affect Pennsylvanian and U. S.
history.