1. New England Colonies, 1650
2. Plymouth Colony (The Pilgrims)
The Separatists or Pilgrims wanted to separate from the Church of England. First, they went to
Holland to be able to practice their religion separately from the Anglican Church (In England you
HAD to be a member of the Anglican Church). They did not like that their children were becoming
more Dutch than English. As a result, in 1620, the Pilgrims came to America and founded the
Plymouth Colony.
The Mayflower Compact
November 11, 1620
On their voyage to the New World, the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower created and signed an
agreement known as the Mayflower Compact. They agreed to form a civil body and to abide by
the “just and equal laws” that would be passed.
Plymouth’s settlers were not well prepared to survive in the wilderness. Despite able leadership
from William Bradford, the colony remained poor and small until it was absorbed by the
Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691. Plymouth’s greatest contribution to history may have been
the Mayflower Compact. By agreeing to accept the rule of the majority and by putting it into
written form, Plymouth’s settlers set a precedent for written constitutions that would follow.
3. Massachusetts Bay Colony (The Puritans)
A man named John Winthrop obtained a charter from the king for a joint-stock company called
the Massachusetts Bay Company and set out for America in 1630. The original settlers in
Massachusetts Bay were Puritans. They wanted to purify the Anglican Church, not separate like
the Pilgrims. Eventually, the Plymouth Colony was included into the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
4. Government in Massachusetts Bay Colony
In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, all adult males who belonged to the Puritan Church were
allowed to vote.
Those allowed to vote were called “freemen” and they voted once a year to elect members of the
lawmaking body called the General Court. Then, the General Court elected the governor of the
colony.
There was a close relationship between the government and the Puritan Church. The elected
leaders were members of the church who believed they were “God’s elect”. Puritan laws made
sins a crime and watched and controlled families and people to make sure they lived according to
the beliefs of the church.
Government in the form of town meetings was also common in New England. At town meetings,
local, tax-paying citizens would meet to discuss and vote on issues. It gave citizens a say in the
government, but Puritans ultimately believed that government should seek to enforce the will of
God. For this reason, power usually rested in the hand of church leaders who were very
authoritative, dictating to colonists what the rules of society would be.
5. Native American Relations
As the colony grew, more and more land was taken away from the Native Americans. This led to
conflicts between the Native Americans and European settlers. Part of the problem was a
difference between the way Native Americans viewed land and its’ use and the way colonists
viewed the land.
The Native Americans in the area did not have the same concept of land ownership as the
European settlers. To them, a person could not own the land, the land was for the people to use
but it could not be individually owned.
The growth of the colony meant that the Native Americans lost their land and their way of
survival. They were forced to work for the colonists and obey Puritan laws.
6.King Phillip’s War
Metacom, a.k.a. King Phillip
Wampanoag chief Metacom, who the colonists called King Phillip, finally grew tired of this. He
decided to wage war as a last hope of getting rid of the intruders in 1675. For over a year, the
Native Americans and colonists fought a brutal war.
Finally, disease, food shortages, and heavy casualties caused the Native Americans to either
surrender or flee. Chief Metacom was killed, and his defeat marked an end to Native American
power and resistance in the region. As a result of King Phillip’s War, the English colonists gained
firmer control over New England.
8. Massachusetts Bay becomes a Royal Colony
Unrest in Massachusetts Bay eventually led to the loss of the colony’s charter in 1684. In 1691,
despite the Puritan’s best efforts to resist the Crown, Massachusetts became a royal colony
under the leadership of the king’s appointed governor. The Crown also established a new,
representative government and abolished the requirement that every member must be a member
of the Puritan Church.
9. Half-Way Covenant
Original settlers to New England shared deep religious convictions that led them to travel across
the Atlantic to establish a new homeland. As many of these settlers died and a new generation
took their place, many Puritans feared that their offspring would not share the same “conversion
experiences”(experience of coming to faith in Christ). Since a valid “conversion experience” was
necessary to obtain Puritan church membership, this threatened the very core of New England
society. To fix the problem, the church adopted the half-way covenant. It established partial
membership in the church for the children and grandchildren of all full members regardless of any
conversion experience. So long as the partial member was baptized, they were considered a
church member, without certain benefits, such as voting on church matters. Church leaders
hoped that despite the growing influence of the non-religious world around them, younger
Puritans would come to see the value in obtaining full membership.
10. Salem Witch Trials
In 1692, commitment to protect the Puritan faith resulted in one of the darkest episodes in
American history – the Salem Witch trials. Claiming that certain citizens had been possessed by
the devil, several young girls in Salem, Massachusetts accused various townspeople of being
witches. Before it was over, colonial authorities actually brought the accused to trial and
condemned at least 25 people to death.
Tituba was a slave from Barbados accused of introducing young girls to witchcraft
7. Puritan rebels
Roger Williams had two problems with the government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He
thought that the royal charter that granted land to the colonists was wrong and that the Native
Americans had rights to the land. He also thought people should be allowed to worship however
they wanted to.
The General Court ordered Rogers to be arrested, but he fled Massachusetts and founded the
colony of Providence in Rhode Island. Williams guaranteed separation of church and state and
religious freedom.
Anne Hutchinson was also banished by the Puritan leaders. She led Bible readings in her home
and soon she had many people coming to hear her speak.
The leaders felt threatened by her because she was a woman and also because she taught her
followers that to worship God people did not need the church or the ministers to interpret the
Bible for them.
She fled to Rhode Island in 1638 when the Puritan leaders banished her from the colony.
New England carousel
1. New England Colonies Map
a. In what region of the United States were the New England colonies located?
b. List the New England colonies:
c. New England lies on the coast of what body of water?
2. Plymouth Colony
a. Why did the Pilgrims come to the New World?
b. What was the Mayflower Compact?
c. Why is the Mayflower Compact significant?
3. Massachusetts Bay Colony
a. Why did the settlers of Massachusetts Bay come to the New World?
b. How were the Puritans different from the Pilgrims that settled at Plymouth?
c. How did John Winthrop enable the Puritans to come to Massachusetts Bay?
4. Government in Massachusetts Bay
a. What was the General Court?
b. How did a colonist become a member of the General Court?
c. What was the purpose of a town meeting?
d. What did Puritans believe about government?
e. Who held most of the power in Massachusetts Bay?
5. Native American Relations
a. What was the difference between the way Native Americans viewed the land
treaties with the settlers and the way the European colonists viewed the treaties?
b. How do you think Native Americans felt about being forced to work for the colonists
and obey Puritan laws?
6. King Phillip’s War
a. What was the cause of King Phillip’s War?
b. What led to the defeat of the Native Americans?
c. Ultimately, how did the outcome of King Phillip’s War affect New England?
7. Puritan Rebels
a. What problems did Roger Williams have with the government of Massachusetts
Bay?
b. Why did Roger Williams found Rhode Island?
c. How were Rhode Island and Massachusetts Bay different?
d. What founding ideals of Rhode Island are protected rights in the United States
today?
e. Why was Anne Hutchinson banished from Massachusetts Bay?
f. What did she teach her followers?
g. List the similarities between Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson:
8. Massachusetts Bay becomes a Royal Colony
a. How did Massachusetts Bay become a royal colony?
b. How did this change things for the colonists in Massachusetts Bay?
c. Give 3 examples of unrest in Massachusetts Bay that contributed to the colony
falling under the control of the Crown.
9. Half-Way Covenant
a. What was the half-way covenant?
b. Why did Puritan leaders feel the need to create the half-way covenant?
10. Salem Witch Trials
a. Why do you think the Salem Witch Trials occurred?
b. What was the outcome of the trials?