How did literacy rates among eighteenth-century colonists?

Answer 1

Literacy rates during the 18th century were quite good comparatively. Only about one-third of English men could read, compared with about half of the men in the colonies were able to. This does not include women or people of color, however. In the North, especially New England where public education became law early on in the colony's creation, education was much higher. This was partly due to the groups that moved to the area, such as the Puritans who generally wanted their congregations to be able to read The Bible, but also the diverse economy of the Northern colonies led to many to prosper in multiple professions. In the South, there was a small Planter (elite) class with the majority of the population being small farmers. Thus, in the South only the Planter class would often be literate. The Enlightenment occurred in America during this time, so people were looking to reason and science to find answers, versus looking towards religion. (However, the Great Awakening, occurring at roughly the same time was a revival of religious doctrine.) With these movements, many written documents were printed and spread throughout the colonies. The higher literacy rates helped spread many of these ideas throughout the colonies during the 1700s.

Danzer, Gerald A. "The Commercial North." The Americans. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Print.