UNIT 1:
THE AGE OF EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY
CHAPTER 3:
ENGLISH COLONIZATION IN AMERICA
CHAPTER 3 SUBTITLES:
“THE AMERICAN DREAM”
-OR“A LAND OF OPPORTUNITY”
-OR“A LAND OF MILK AND HONEY”
-OR“THE POOR GET RICHER”
SECTION 3:
PLYMOUTH
MATERIALS
TEXT BOOK:
Page 69 – “The Plymouth Colony”
Page 69 – “The Mayflower Compact”
Page 70 - “The First Thanksgiving”
Page 76 – “King Philip’s War”
Page 62-63 picture
CARTOON BOOK:
Page 50 – all
Page 51 – all
Page 52 – all
Page 53 – all
VISUAL MATERIALS:
Plymouth video
KEY POINTS:
1. Plymouth was settled for religious freedom from the King’s Church.
2. Not everyone on the Mayflower were Separatists. Others were hired or came for
economic opportunity.
3. The Pilgrims established the first self-government in America with the Mayflower
Compact.
4. The Pilgrims were pilgrims (religious travelers) and pilgrims (unprepared
newcomers).
5. The Pilgrims chose probable death over returning to England with its religious
tyranny.
6. The Pilgrims came as families to start new homes, not to gain wealth for
themselves or investors.
7. The Pilgrims were helped by the Indians. Later, the Pilgrims killed the Indians
with disease and war.
NOTES:
1) Separatists founded Plymouth in 1620 for religious reasons.
a) What are Separatists?
i) People who wanted to separate from the Anglican Church – the King’s
Church
ii) In America, they became Baptists
b) What was the religious problem the Separatists were having in England?
i) Harassment for disagreeing with the king
c) Before they came to America, where did the Separatists go?
i) Moved to Holland
(1) Tolerant of all religions
(2) Kids were becoming Dutch
d) How did they get permission to come to North America?
i) King wanted them gone
(1) Hope they don’t survive
ii) Virginia Company of Plymouth
(1) 38 degrees to 45 degrees north
e) Where was the colony of Plymouth?
i) Near Cape Cod in present-day Massachusetts
f) Why did they settle there?
i) Supposed to be somewhere around present-day New York City
ii) Blown off course by a storm
g) Where did the name “Plymouth” come from?
i) name from Plymouth, England
(1) their port of departure
ii) colony and settlement are both called Plymouth
2) We refer to the settlers who came over on the Mayflower as
Pilgrims; however, most were not.
a) What is the definition of a pilgrim?
i) A pilgrim is a religious traveler.
(1) Hajj
(2) Jerusalem
(3) Bethlehem
b) Under what circumstance is the word “Pilgrims” capitalized?
i) When it refers to the people on the Mayflower
ii) other pilgrims come to Plymouth
(1) they weren’t Pilgrims
c) How many of the 102 settlers were Separatists coming for religious freedom?
i) ~35
d) Why were the other ~67 coming to America?
i) Economic opportunities
(1) Craftsmen
(2) Laborers
ii) two separate groups, one hired by the other
iii)
35 Separatists (religious travelers - pilgrims)
+ 67 others (hired workers – NOT pilgrims)
= 102 Mayflower passengers (Pilgrims)
iv) all incorrectly
v) but all Pilgrims
vi) different classes
e) What was Captain Miles Standish’s job?
i) Protect the colony
(1) Common people didn’t use guns
(a) Cf. John Smith
f) What happened on the way over?
i) Ship almost sank in a storm
(1) Deck cracked
(a) Had to be jacked up
(b) Captain wanted to turn back
ii) Crew made fun of Separatists
(1) Worst offender drowned
(2) Other crew stopped their comments
iii) Billington brothers
iv) Oceanus
v) Peregrine White
(1) Cf. Virginia Dare
3) The Mayflower Compact established the first self-governing colony
in America.
a) What was the government problem with settling in Plymouth?
i) no government
ii) Outside of London Company’s jurisdiction
b) What is a compact?
i) A compact is an agreement
(1) In this case, an agreement to establish a government
c) What kind of government did it set up?
i) A self-governing colony in which the men chose the governor
d) Who was excluded from the government?
i) Women and children
ii) Later, indentured servants and slaves (non-freemen)
e) Who came up with the idea for this government?
i) The Separatists
ii) There was some concern whether the non-Separatists would agree
(1) They eventually did
(2) No government and no laws would not be good
f) Who was elected as the governor of Plymouth?
i) John Carver was elected at first but died soon after
ii) William Bradford was then elected
(1) Served for 30 years
(2) Wrote a “History of Plymouth Plantation”
4) When the newcomers got off the boat, many of them died because
they were unprepared for life in the American wilderness.
a) What was the physical problem with settling in Plymouth?
i) They arrived in November
ii) Got off the boat and started their settlement on December 25
iii) unprepared
(1) no houses
(2) minimal food
(3) no winter clothes
iv) total isolation from the Old World and other New World English settlements
b) What term has come to refer to unprepared newcomers?
i) A pilgrim is an unprepared newcomer.
(1) western pilgrims
c) How many people died during the first winter?
i) Half
ii) Died from disease
iii) Only 5-7 stayed healthy
(1) Had to take care of everyone else
(2) Had to bury the dead
5) The Pilgrims chose death in America over conditions (tyranny) in
England because they had religious freedom in America.
a) Why didn’t they leave when they had the chance?
i) The Mayflower stayed over the winter
(1) Winter storms would be hard to deal with in return to England
ii) The Mayflower captain offered to take the settlers back with him in April
iii) use balance scale:
(1) paper w/death written on it in American side
(2) something heavy representing life on the British side
(3) then put something very heavy on the American side representing freedom
(4) a paper w/tyranny written on it on the British side
6) With the help of the native people, the settlers survived their first
year and gave thanks.
a) Why didn’t the natives attack the settlers?
i) That area had no natives
(1) Entire tribe had died from diseases
(a) European fishermen made contact with the natives
(b) Natives had no immunity or treatment for the diseases that were
brought
ii) Nearby natives thought the newcomers might be able to help them against
other tribes
b) What Indians saved the settlers by teaching them how to survive in America?
i) Samoset
ii) Squanto
iii) Massasoit
c) How did the natives help the settlers?
i) They taught them what foods to eat
ii) They taught them what crops to plant
(1) Corn/maize
(a) Fish as fertilizer
d) What was the reason for the first Thanksgiving?
i) A time of thanksgiving was held because enough food had
been grown that the settlers could survive the next winter
ii) The settlers invited a few of the helpful Indians to dinner to thank them
(1) About 90 showed up
(2) Stayed for 3 days
(3) Brought lots of food
iii) This is a harvest festival
(1) Would have been celebrated in late September or early October
(a) NOT LATE NOVEMBER!
(b) Our Fair Week
7) Plymouth did have some successes.
a) What was one reason for the success of Jamestown that was duplicated in
Plymouth in 1623?
i) Private ownership of land
b) What other good things happened in Plymouth?
i) Self-government
(1) Bought out Plymouth Company in 1627
(2) All freemen met in the towns to make local laws
(a) Town meetings
(3) General Court made laws for the colony
(a) Two representatives from each of the 10 towns
8) Overall, Plymouth was not very successful.
a) What were the problems that kept Plymouth from growing?
i) New pilgrim pilgrims arrived in December of 1621
(1) Used up the food supply
(2) More people died
(3) By 1627, the population had only risen to 200
ii) Indians caused problems
(1) Pequot War of 1637
(2) King Philip’s Wampanoag federation attacked the settlers in 1675
(a) Hundreds of settlers were killed
(i) 40 towns burned
(ii) 12 totally destroyed
(b) Metacomet, aka King Philip, was Massasoit’s son
(c) Plymouth wasn’t as much of a problem as Massachusetts
(i) 40,000 settlers by 1675
(ii)
kept expanding into Indian land
b) What was different about Plymouth Colony from the Jamestown settlement?
i) Plymouth had nothing to sell back to England
ii) Plymouth brought families with them to start
iii)
Plymouth had self-government
iv) Plymouth was settled for religious reasons
v) Plymouth settlers were unprepared for the climate
9) In 1691, the Plymouth Colony was absorbed into Massachusetts, its
neighbor to the north.