Settling the Northern Colonies
• Keep the essential question in mind as you
view the slides on this PowerPoint.
• Essential Question:
– What happens when cultures collide?
• How did the emerging American identity begin?
• How did Native Americans attempt to adapt to a
changing environment?
Settling the Northern Colonies
Early Colonial America 1607-1700
Democracy in America?
Puritan Life in New England
Pilgrims leave the Woolen districts of
England.
Why woolen? You guessed it, they were
sheep herders.
Puritans Negotiate with the Virginia
Co.
The Pilgrims
were supposed
to land in the
Virginia Colony.
The charter of
the Virginia
Company
guaranteed to
the settlers the
same rights as
Englishmen in
England.
Settling the Northern Colonies
The Pilgrims were
off course and
landed at Cape
Code in presentday
Massachusetts.
The Puritans were
not supposed to
be there but they
created a colony
anyway.
What
the…?
The
Mayflower
The puritans were
very devoted to
their religion and
the Puritan religion
greatly shaped
Plymouth Colony.
The Massachusetts
Bay Colony, who
actually had a
charter from the
King, was larger and
more prosperous
than Plymouth (but
do they get the love
the Pilgrims get?
Nope!)
Settling the Northern Colonies
The Plymouth Colony had
some good things, such as:
The Mayflower Compact,
which was an agreement
that everyone on the ship
would adhere to majority
rule (can you say
democracy?) This set the
stage for colonial selfgovernment in town
meetings.
William Bradford – governor
of Plymouth for a very
loooong time and a good
leader.
He is so hot, huh?
Massachusetts Bay Colony had
some good things going for it
too, such as:
1. A way larger population
2. A legitimate charter from
the king
3. Good business
opportunities, like fur
trading, fishing, and
shipbuilding.
4. Good leaders, such as:
1. Governor John
Winthrop
2. Minister John Cotton
John Winthrop
John Cotton
Settling the Northern Colonies
But Massachusetts Bay Colony
was not a true democracy,
even though members of the
Puritan church could vote in
provincial affairs and even nonpuritans could take part in
town hall meetings, because:
1. Only members of the
church could vote for
governor and the General
Court.
2. Purpose of government
was to enforce God’s laws.
3. Everyone paid taxes to the
church
Democracy is
the worst of all
governments
Settling the Northern Colonies
Trouble in Utopia.
1. Puritans picked on
Quakers.
2. Anne Hutchinson
questioned some Puritan
tenants and was banished
3. Roger Williams questioned
the Puritan leadership,
such as the government
enforcing religious
behavior, and he was
banished also (he founds
Rhode Island).
4. Rhode Island was the most
free when it came to
religion – even Jews and
Catholics were safe!
Be
nice
Anne
Thou are
stupid.
I guess I’ll
create my
own colony.
In yo face
suckas!
Settling the Northern Colonies
Massassoit, a Wampanoag chief,
is first to befriend the Pilgrims in
Plymouth (probably to counter
the power of the Narragansetts –
an ancient enemy).
Patuxet
Pokanoket
Wampanoag
Narragansetts
Pequot
Massassoit
Settling the Northern Colonies
Puritan missionaries attempted,
kinda-sorta, to convert Indians to
Christianity. Their half-hearted
efforts were unsuccessful.
The Spaniards, on the other hand,
were very successful because
they created encomiendas and
asked natives to live with them.
King Philip’s War
Massossoit’s son, Metacom, had
enough of the English taking their
land and bossing them around. He
unites many tribes into an alliance
and attacks the Pilgrims throughout
New England.
Metacom (King Philip)
The Narrangasetts side
with the English and
Metacom and his allies
lose the war.
The Indians are not a
threat to the English in
New England anymore.
Disease had ravaged the
Indian tribes, so they were
weak and vulnerable.
Seeds of Colonial Unity and
Independence
New England Confederation
(1643)
An alliance was created
between the New England
colonies to protect
themselves from the Dutch,
French, and the Indians.
The Confederation was a
Puritan club. Rhode Island
and the Massachusetts
frontier were excluded.
Is everyone
here a
Puritan?
Pinky
promise?
The First American Revolution
Dominion of New England
(1686)
London wants to lay the smackdown on the Puritans, who are
getting powerful in the colonies.
1. The king grants charters to
Connecticut and Rhode Island
2. London also creates the
Dominion of New England to
counter the colonist-created
New England Confederation.
All colonies were accepted into
the alliance (gasp!).
3. English Navigation Laws were
enforced, which forbade
trading with England’s rivals,
like the Dutch, French, and
Spanish.
Sir Edmund Andros:
He was seen as a jerk by
the colonists because he
restricted some of the
freedoms colonists
enjoyed, like the town
meetings and public
education, while he was
leader of the Dominion in
Boston.
The First American Revolution
Dominion of New England
The colonists in Boston get brave
when they hear there’s a revolution
brewing in England (called the
Glorious Revolution). Sensing the
King is distracted, a Boston mob
captures Andros and sends him
back to England.
The colonists were right. The King
of England was busy and so he lets
the colonists go back to doing their
own thing. The Dominion of New
England collapses and “salutary
neglect” begins. Goodbye
Navigation Laws!!
1689
America the Melting Pot – Musical
Chairs
Sweden stakes
a claim to
present-day
Delaware and
New Jersey
area.
The Dutch take the
Delaware settlements
(New Sweden) in 1655.
Dutch Colony
Not democratic!
The English take New
Netherland (and New
Amsterdam – now called New
York) – as well as the colonies in
“New Sweden” from the Dutch
in 1664.
Penn’s Holy Experiment
William Penn
takes a lot of
Quakers, who
the Puritans
treated poorly,
and established
a colony in
PENNsylvania.
He also helped
settle Quakers
and German
immigrants in
New Jersey and
Delewar.
Types of Colonies
3 types:
• No Charter
• Charter Colonies: King grants rule
directly to the colonists.
Governors and councils
appointed by property-owning
colonists.
– Connecticut and Rhode Island
• Proprietary Colonies: Land
granted by the king to a caretaker.
Governor and royal council
appointed by the caretaker.
– Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania
• Royal Colonies: Governor and
Royal Council are directly
controlled of the monarchy
– Georgia, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
North Carolina, Virginia
Emerging American Identity
Questions to consider:
1. Which colonies do you think had the
greatest ethnic diversity?
2. What documents provide evidence of
an emerging American identity?
3. What events laid the foundation for
an American identity?
4. How did the English adapt to the
environment?
5. How did Native Americans attempt to
survive in their changing
environment?
Important steps toward democracy
• Know the importance of each of these
documents:
– Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
– Act of Toleration in Maryland
– Mayflower Compact in Plymouth
– Charter of the Virginia Company
Puritan Beliefs and Values
• Unchurched men are voteless
• Women have no vote
• All men with property could take part in Town
meetings though (the beginnings of
democracy).
• Pay taxes to the church
• Purpose of government was to enforce God’s
laws.
Important Persons
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
John Winthrop (Bay Colony governor)
William Bradford (Plymouth governor)
John Cotton (Bay Colony preacher)
Anne Hutchinson (Bay Colony dissenter)
Roger Williams (Bay Colony dissenter)
Metacom (King Philip)
Massasoit
William Penn
Puritan Beliefs and Values
• Congregation can hire and fire preachers and set
salaries.
• Clergymen cannot hold office (the beginnings of
separation of church and state?)
• Doctrine of “calling” to do God’s work on earth.
– Person doesn’t find the job, the job finds the person.
– Commitment to work and engagement in public
affairs.
– Lots of social harmony