AP/DC U.S. History – Lecture #2
Colonial America
The English Protestant Reformation
• The Reformation was launched by Henry
VIII’s decision to break with the Catholic
Church in order to make himself the
head of his own church in England and to
control its properties. He called his
church, the Church of England.
• Puritans wanted to “purify” English
Christianity of what they considered
offensive features of Catholicism such as
Catholic rituals and creeds.
• An extreme group of Puritans known as
“Separatists” vowed to break entirely
with the church of England
• They left England and ended up settling
in Plymouth and Massachusetts.
English Beginnings in America
• Elizabeth I encouraged the
conflicts between Protestant
England and Catholic Spain.
• England under Elizabeth decided
to colonize as well. The 1st
attempt at colonization is
Roanoke Island – it was a
complete failure.
• Spain attacked England with the
“Invincible Armada” and loses
due to faster English ships and
the “Protestant Wind” which
scatters the crippled Spanish
fleet. The defeat = English naval
dominance
• With the Spanish as no longer a
threat on either continent,
England begins a more active
role in colonization.
Jamestown Colonization and The
Settlement of Virgina
• Virginia Company of London in 1606
receives a charter from James I to settle
a colony in the New World. Jamestown
is founded in 1607.
• The charter guaranteed the same rights
of Englishmen to all colonies.
• “Green-horn” colonists were too busy
looking for gold to care about survival.
Most of the original settlers were
gentlemen and their servants.
• Many died on the voyage or in the first
year due to disease and
mismanagement of the colony.
• John Smith made them work to eat.
• Pocahontas later saved John Smith
and married John Rolfe. Their
marriage brought peace to
Jamestown.
• John Rolfe saved Jamestown with
the introduction of tobacco as an
industry.
• While tobacco was a profitable
crop, it was very hard to find
workers to work on the plantations.
This would lead to indentured
servitude in Virginia.
• Indentured servants would work
for the person who paid their way
for a set number of years in return
for passage to the colonies. Most
indentured servants were poor
young men from England.
• This the beginning of English
mercantilism and the colony of
Virginia.
• Colonization appealed to
farmers and “second sons”
because of the headright system
which granted fifty acres of land
to settlers who paid their own
transportation to the colony.
• A hierarchy would form in the
Chesapeake region with land
ownership being the deciding
factor as to where a colonist was
within the social structure of
society. The more land a man
owned, the higher he was on
the hierarchy.
• After the death of Pocahontas,
the Powhatan Indians eventually
fell to Lord De La War.
Add: Mercantilism is an economic theory which
believes that a country is only as powerful as the
amount of gold and silver in its treasury. Therefore,
the colonies exist to benefit the mother country
through trade which will in turn build up the
treasury.
• The English West Indies developed
to produce sugar and therefore
began to practice large scale
slavery.
• 1619 – 1st slaves arrive in
Jamestown (unsure of their official
status as slaves or indentures)
• The reason that slaves would
eventually replace indentured
servants was the fact that the
slaves provided a constant labor
force and servitude was for life.
• In time, Virginia would create a
local burgesses or governing body
in which free adult males were
allowed to vote on local issues. It
was the beginning of democracy in
the colonies.
Other Plantation Colonies
• Maryland – Lord
Baltimore creates a
haven for Catholics and
the colony will practice
religious tolerance.
• Carolina – named for Charles
II, originally practiced Indian
slavery. Their primary crop
was rice and they eventually
used slavery much like the
West Indies.
• North Carolina was settled by
mostly “squatters” who raised
tobacco on small farms. They
did not have a great need for
slavery. There were Indian
wars with the Tuscaroras who
fled to join the Iroquois.
• Georgia originated as a
buffer state that was
founded by England.
• It separated Spanish
Florida from French
Louisiana.
• It was founded by James
Oglethorpe as a refuge
for debtors and became
a melting pot
community.
Similarities of Plantation Colonies
“Southern Colonies”
• They exported
commercial agricultural
staple crops
(tobacco/rice)
• They all used slaves to
some degree
• Large amounts of land
ended up in the hands of
aristocrats (except N.
Carolina)
• The large plantations and
farms retarded the
growth of cities.
• All permitted some form of
religious toleration.
• All were eventually
expansionary due to
overuse of soil.
• All had conflicts with
Indians due to expansion.
• These colonies were not
founded for religious
reasons.
• All paid taxes to the Church
of England
• Through the sale of
tobacco, rice and indigo,
the Southern colonies
became the richest of all
the colonies.
New England
Plymouth Colony (1620)
• A group of Separatists leave
Holland on the Mayflower and
settle in Plymouth Bay outside of
the domain of the Virginia
Company.
• They sign the Mayflower
Compact setting the precedent
for later written constitutions. It
was the 1st attempt at selfgovernment.
• Many died during the 1st winter –
only 44 of 102 survive (16201621)
• It later merged with the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony (1629)
• It was granted a charter which was
unique because it allowed for Mass.
government to exist in the colony
instead of in England.
• They left England to escape anti-puritan
persecution in England.
• Mass. included large-scale settlement
which included Puritans, but not all
Puritans.
• John Winthrop became the 1st governor
who required the colonists had to live
by a strict code of religious rules. He
wanted to create a “city on a hill” that
would serve as an example for others
around the world.
• He preached a great deal about God’s
wrath if colonists failed to lead the life
prescribed for them by the Puritan
church.
• Winthrop believed there was a
family hierarchy which demanded
that women serve their husbands
and children serve their parents or
elders.
• Puritans only wanted “visable saints” to be given
church membership. This belief caused membership to
drop over time.
• They created the Half-Way Covenant in order to allow
the unconverted children of visable saints into the
church as members. They believed that this action
would keep the community centered on “godly issues.”
• Puritans tended to conform to
the beliefs of their church and
that conformity in many ways
determined how they lived their
lives.
• The colony prospered as a fur
trading, fishing and ship building
colony.
• They didn’t have a lot of
problems with native Indians
because disease had previously
reduced the number of natives
in the area.
• Most colonists who came to
Mass. were farmers and
tradesmen from the middle
class of England.
Rhode Island (1636)
• Founded as a haven for people of
all religions and backgrounds.
• Founded by Roger Williams who
was banished from Mass. For
promoting a separation of church
and state. In Rhode Island, he
promoted complete religious
tolerance.
• Anne Hutchinson moved to Rhode
Island after being accused of
heresy due to the fact that she
claimed to get “direct” divine
intervention from God and she
criticized the minister John
Wilson. She was also accused of
“antinomianism.,” which teaches
that you don’t have to follow a
moral code to reach salvation.
• The colony was also called
”Rogues Island” because of
population including dissenters
and exiles.
Roger Williams
Anne Hutchinson
Connecticut (1639)
• The colony drafted the
“Fundamental Orders”
which established a
“democratic” society
ruled by the
“substantial” citizens.
• Hartford and New Haven
were established as
colonies in Connecticut.
New Hampshire (1641)
• The colony sprang from
fishing and trading
activities.
• It was absorbed by the
Mass. Bay colony.
• In 1679, it was turned
into a royal colony.
The Middle Colonies
New Netherland (New York)
• The colony was founded on the
Hudson River in 1623-1624 by the
Dutch West India Co. for quick
profits in the fur trade.
• The Dutch bought Manhattan
Island for worthless trinkets
(22,000 acres).
• Vast feudal estates were granted
along the Hudson River
• Diverse populations were attracted
to the colony.
• Sweden tried to settle along the
Delaware and Peter Stuyvesant
drove them out.
• The Duke of York later drives the
Dutch from the colony and
renames it New York, making it an
English colony.
Pennsylvania (1681)
• Quakers needed a place of refuge – they
were persecuted for their beliefs:
– They refused to support the Church of
England with taxes
– They refused to take oaths
– They paid no taxes and “spoke up” in
meetings
– They refused to take their hats off in
front of their “betters” (all the same in
the sight of God)
– They refused to participate in military
service
– They believed that God spoke to them
through an “inner light” and that
neither a minister nor Bible was needed
to understand God’s word.
– Because of their beliefs, they were not
welcome by Puritans and were often
persecuted by branding, having their
tongues “forked” and in come cases
executed.
• William Penn, a Quaker, founded
Pennsylvania as a refuge for
Quakers. Philadelphia became a
major city (Brotherly Love)
• The Quakers got along well with
the Indians and welcomed anyone
to their colony. They were able to
purchase land from the Indians as
well.
• Religious tolerance was welcomed
and the colony had a very diverse
population.
• Like indentured servants, many
Germans called “redemptioners”
would gain their passage to
Pennsylvania by selling themselves
to a friend or relative as servants.
William Penn
• The economy of Pennsylvania
prospered with a relatively
high standard of living. This
led to the doubling of
imported goods from England
which fell in line with
mercantilism.
• Non-Quakers undermined the
Quaker benevolent policies
and war came again.
• Non-Quakers soon
outnumbered the Quakers and
everything changed.
West New Jersey (1676) – East New Jersey
- Delaware
• The two Jerseys
combined in 1702 into
one New Jersey.
• Delaware (1703)
granted its own
assembly, but under
Pennsylvania control.
Similarities in the Middle Colonies
(New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Delaware)
• The Middle colonies were called
the “bread colonies” due to their
large export of grain. They also
produced beef and other
agricultural products.
• There was active trade and
industry along the many rivers.
• There was a large amount of
industry which included
lumbering and shipbuilding.
• Their population was ethnically
mixed.
• They had more economic and
democratic control.
Indians and Europeans as “Americanizers”
• What Colonists learned from the Indian:
– The names of plants and animals
– What to eat and how to catch and grow it. Corn helped to
create success in regards to English colonization.
– What to wear, including leggings and moccasins
– How to get from one place to another
– How to fight
• What the Indian Learned from the Colonists:
– How to use metal objects such as, guns, pots,
pans, tools, knives etc.
– How to drink alcohol, on which many would
become addicted.
– How to use new technology to tyrannize their
enemy.
Advantages of the Fur Trade
• In some ways a perfect business arrangement
– Both groups profit greatly
– The colonists get “valuable furs” for “cheap”
European products.
– The Indians got “priceless” tools, knives and other
trade goods for “cheap” furs.
– Indians became more efficient hunters and
trappers due to demand.