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54 PERIOD 2 Colonial America amid Global Change: 1607–1754

Colonial society also underwent immense shifts as these religious and political
awakenings transformed colonists’ relationship to both spiritual and secular authori-
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ties. Over time, the colonial elite had developed a strong belief in the rights of the colo-
nies to control their own destinies. As this belief grew more popular, local communities
began to take steps to defend those rights, and many colonial assemblies grew accus-
tomed to control over local government.
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Yet even as aspects of a distinctly American identity began to emerge, the diver-
sity and divisions among colonists increased as class, racial, religious, and regional
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differences multiplied across the colonies. Immigrants from Germany, Ireland, and
Scotland created their own communities; economic inequality deepened in cities;
conflicts between American Indians and settlers intensified along the frontier; and
growing reliance on the labor of enslaved Africans reshaped economic and social
relations in British North America, particularly in the southern colonies.

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