History Plus

 

All of the following information are very critical to know.

Massachusetts

 

• In the 1500’s King Henry VIII broke his country’s ties to the Catholic Church and established the Church of England (Anglican Church)

 

Separatists: wanted to break away because they thought the church of England was too much like the Catholic Church. The current King, King James persecuted them.

 

• Some sought refuge in the Americas

 

 

Pilgrims

 

• Were seeking religious freedom

• Arrived in a boat called the Mayflower

• Made landfall in what is present day Massachusetts

 

 

Mayflower

 

• Governing agreement signed by the Pilgrims before they landed in Plymouth Harbor

• Puritans, led by John Winthrop, in charge of Massachusetts Bay Colony

• Pilgrims in charge of Plymouth Colony

• Both wanted to freely practice their religion

• Pilgrims wanted to separate from the Anglican Church and had a low social status

• Puritans wanted a more pure form of their religion and had more social status

 

 

Congregations: a group of people who belong to the same church

 

John Winthrop

 

• Active energetic leader

• Authoritative rule

• Power limited to puritans

 

Puritan values

 

• Hard work, as a way of honoring God

• Education: wanted everyone to read the Bible. War law for all children to learn reading.

• Representative Government: All males who were puritan landowners to vote on policies and laws for the colony.

 

 

Connecticut

 

• Fundamental orders of Connecticut says:

• All men who owned land (even if they were not puritan) could vote

• Limit the power of the governor

• The founder, Thomas Hooker, was dissatisfied in Massachusetts because he believed more power should be in the hands of more people!

 

New Hampshire

 

• Colonial population rising

• Settlers seeking new opportunities

• The founder was another dissenter (someone going against the authority)

• Challenges the puritan church authority and will be banished

• Settles in New Hampshire

 

Indentured Servants: One who worked for a set time without pay in exchange for a free passage to the Americas

Rhode Island

 

• Beliefs of Roger Williams:

• Williams argued the puritan church had too much power

• He believed that the church and the government should be entirely separate

• The government, Williams said, should “create order and peace in society but should not promote one particular religion”

• Williams also believed in religious toleration, in puritan massachusetts, non-puritans were not allowed to worship freely

 

Toleration: willingness to let others practice their own beliefs

 

• These are important American ideals:

• Freedom of Religion

• Separation of church and state

 

Climate/Economy

Climate

 

• Long winters, short growing seasons. Rocky soil

• Most people were subsistence farmers: Farmers who grew food for themselves

 

Economy

 

• Fishing the Atlantic waters

• Forests allowed for ship building

• Rum, alcohol

• All will be trading with England (mercantilism)

 

New York/New Jersey

 

• Established a trading post for the dutch with the Native Americans for furs

• Originally a Dutch colony, called New Amsterdam

 

Patroon: person rewarded with a large land grant for bringing 50 settlers to New Amsterdam

 

• Governor of the colony of New Amsterdam: Peter Stuyvesant

• The English Colony of New York began as a Dutch Colony known as New Amsterdam

• New Amsterdam founded by Henry Hudson

• The focus on trade led to few restrictions on religion

• Catholics, French Protestants, and Jews were all allowed to buy land

• English and Dutch are colonial rivals, and the English will force their way in

• King Charles II of England: gained control of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam by invading the city of New Amsterdam while at war with the Dutch

• Duke of York James II: Charles passed control of New Netherlands on to his brother James who was the Duke of York. James renamed the colony “New York”

• Lord John Berkley and Sir George Carteret partner up to become the colony of New Jersey

 

Pennsylvania

 

• William Penn founded Pennsylvania

• The head of the Quakers was George Fox

 

 

• The Quakers were a branch of Christianity which valued spiritual Communication with God. The Quakers downplayed the importance of Clergy

• The Quakers believed in equality among men

• There is no single holy book or written set of beliefs that all quakers follow

• Quakers alienated the Anglican Church as well as the English political elites

• William Penn: Gets to create a new colony where the Quakers can freely practice their religion

• King Charles II: Gets to get rid of a bunch of unpopular Quakers and gets to help his friend

• Why did Penn call this colony a ‘holy experiment’?

 

He wanted it to be a place where Quakers, protestants, Catholics, and Jews could escape religious persecution

Delaware

 

• Shorter winters and a larger growing season. Fertile soil

• Large farms and cash crops of grain

• What are cash crops?

• A grown crop for the purpose of being sold for money

• This area is referred to often as the ‘breadbasket’ colonies

• Besides grain, other cash crops included fruits and vegetables

• Tobacco was also a big cash crop in Delaware

• We also see some of the largest cities in this region. New York and Philadelphia were big port cities that benefitted from trade. They traded such items such as whale oil, furs, bread, and flour

• We see a diverse population (look back at the groups drawn from Frame of Pennsylvania)

 

Tolerance: a true acceptance of peoples religion;. Much better relations with the Natives.

Quakers condemn slavery: Quakers were the first group to condemn it, we do not see a large slave presence in this region (7% enslaved)

 

• The Dutch in New York and Quakers in Pennsylvania were religious groups that promoted religious tolerance, so we see a large number of different religious groups in the region

• Diversity also allowed for new ideas and inventions to develop

• German formed one of the largest groups in the region… Most arrived as indentured servants fleeing religious intolerance… Were excellent

 

 

• farmers and were also good craftspeople, becoming ironworkers and makes of glass, furniture, and kitchenware

 

Conestoga Wagon: covered wagons introduced by the German immigrants

 

• These carried goods from the farm to town to be sold in the cities

 

Virginia

 

• Both European Colonists and Native Americans believed they were entitled to the land

• European colonists believed they were entitled to the land because: They thought they had a right to it, They had a charter, Natives weren’t ‘using it’, became more POWERFUL

• Natives believed to be entitled to the land: they were there first, they had been living on this same land for generations

• After one particularly bad conflict, the frontier farmers asked the Governor of Virginia to help stop the fighting

• Problem was he traded furs to the Natives and did not want to cause conflict

• Led to Bacon’s Rebellion

• Nathaniel Bacon organized a group of farmers attacking Natives and almost burnt down Jamestown

• Only lasted a short period of time, due to his sudden death

• Shows us that conflicts between Natives will not be giving away any time soon

 

Government

 

• 1st representative Government in the Americas

• Called the house of burgesses

• Had the authority to create local laws and pass local taxes as needed

• Was almost abolished by the King at one point but massive amounts of protests changed the king’s mind and the house of burgesses continued

• We see here the first examples of democracy taking root in America

 

Maryland

 

• Founded by SIr George Calvert

• Settlers took advantage of abundant natural resources like the chesapeake bay and the rich farmlands

• Maryland welcomed protestants but passed the Act of Toleration to ensure that both protestants and Catholics could practice their religion freely

 

The Carolinas

 

• It was not only until 1729 that the two colonies separated and became North and South Carolina

• Carolina plantation owners needed a large work force so they turned to slaves

 

Georgia

 

• English Debt Law: People who owed money could be put in jail until the debt was repaid

 

Climate and Economy

 

• Nearly year-round growing season

• Fertile soil, allowed for cash crops

• Tidewater was flat land near the coast that was ideal for planting and had easy access to waterways

 

 

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