1605-1774
 English Colonists traveled to New England to gain religious
freedom
 The Pilgrims and Puritans came to America to avoid
religious persecution
 Religion and government were closely linked in the New
England colonies
 The New England economy was based on trade and
farming
 Education was important in the New England colonies
 Puritans wanted to purify, or reform, the Anglican Church
(Church of England)
 Pilgrims wanted to separate from Anglican Church
 Some pilgrims left England to escape persecution. They
became immigrants, people who leave the country of
their birth to live in another country
 Left Netherlands in 1620
 Arrived at Plymouth Rock in present-day Massachusetts in
late 1620
 Mayflower Compact: early attempt at self-government
 Pilgrims agreed to have fair laws
 Authority of government based on covenants
 Squanto taught Pilgrims to fertilize soil
 Pilgrims celebrated first Thanksgiving with the
Wampanoag Native Americans
 Most were farmers
 Family members worked together
 Cooked, sewed clothing, wove wool
 Had more legal rights than in England
 Puritans were dissenters who disagreed with official
opinions and church actions in England
 Many thousands left England in Great Migration from 1629
to 1640
 Puritan colonists led by John Winthrop went to
Massachusetts to seek religious freedom
 Established Massachusetts Bay Colony
 Puritan colonists led by
John Winthrop went to
Massachusetts to seek
religious freedom
 Established Massachusetts
Bay Colony
“For we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a hill.
The eyes of all people are upon us. Soe that if we shall deal
falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so
cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be
made a story and a byword throughout the world.”
-John Winthrop, 1630
 The colonists established a General Court that turned into
a type of self-government
 Government leaders were also church members
 Dissenters were forced out of the colony
 Thomas Hooker and
followers founded
Connecticut to make
government more
democratic
 “Father of American
democracy”
 Roger Williams founded
Providence and supported
the separation of church
and state
 Anne Hutchinson
questioned teachings of
Puritan leaders and was
forced out of the colony
 Believed that people could
have a relationship with
god without ministers
 In the 1690s Salem held
the largest number of
witchcraft trials. Nineteen
people were put to death
 Farming
 Harsh climate and rocky soil meant few cash crops
 Most farming families grew crops and raised animals for
their own use
 Little need for slaves
 Trade
 Merchants traded goods locally, with other colonies, and
overseas
 Fishing was one of region’s leading industries
 Shipbuilding was also an important industry
 Women
 Ran farms and businesses
 Practiced Medicine
 Public Education
 Communities established town schools.
 Students used New England Primer, which had stories
from the Bible.
 The ability to read the bible was the main reason for
public education.
 Most children stopped education after elementary
grades.
 Higher Education
 Important to colonists
 John Harvard and the General Court founded Harvard
College in 1636.
 College of William and Mary founded in Virginia in 1693.
 English Colonists traveled to New England to gain religious
freedom
 The Pilgrims and Puritans came to America to avoid
religious persecution
 Religion and government were closely linked in the New
England colonies
 The New England economy was based on trade and
farming
 Education was important in the New England colonies
1. What made the Pilgrims decide to immigrate to America?
2. Which of Anne Hutchinson’s beliefs angered Puritan Church
3.
4.
5.
6.
leaders? Why?
New England had plenty of forests. How do you connect this fact to
the economic importance of certain industries in the region?
What factors helped the Puritans succeed in establishing the
Massachusetts Bay Colony?
How did Squanto aid the Pilgrims in Plymouth colony?
Why did New England colonists think education was especially
important?
 What made the Pilgrims decide to immigrate to America?
 Religious tension in England remained high after the Protestant Reformation.
Tension arose between Pilgrims and the Church of England because Pilgrims
thought bishops and priests had too much power over church members. Pilgrims
were Separatists, people who wanted to separate from the Anglican Church.
Anglican leaders punished Separatists. To escape punishment, Pilgrims
immigrated to the Netherlands. When they began to fear that their children were
losing their connection to the Dutch culture and language, they got a charter from
England to start a colony in America.
 Which of Anne Hutchinson’s beliefs angered Puritan Church leaders? Why?
 Anne Hutchinson believed that people could have relationships with God without
the help of ministers. This belief posed a threat to the authority of the Church in the
community. If people didn’t need ministers, they didn’t need the Church.
 New England had plenty of forests. How do you connect this fact to the economic
importance of certain industries in the region?
 The shipbuilding industry benefited economically from the huge supply of wood
provided by the region’s forests. They used it to build different types of ships and
boats in order to meet the demands of various traders. The ships they built helped
the fishing industry as well as merchants who used the ships for trading purposes.
Shipbuilding also attracted skilled craftspeople to the region.
 What factors helped the Puritans succeed in establishing the Massachusetts Bay
Colony?
 The best answers will name at least three of the following factors: Puritans arrived
well prepared to start their colony, having brought tools and livestock. The climate
around Boston was healthful so few Puritans died from illness. The local Native
Americans offered little resistance to the Puritans. The Massachusetts Bay Colony
also benefited from trade with the Plymouth Colony.
 How did Squanto aid the Pilgrims in Plymouth colony?
 Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to fertilize the soil with fish remains. Squanto also
helped the Pilgrims establish relations with the Wampanoag Indians. Both of these
things led to the improvement of conditions in Plymouth colony.
 Why did New England colonists think education was especially important?
 They thought it was especially important for religious reasons. They wanted their
children to learn to read the Bible. They also wanted to educate future ministers.