Chapter 2 & 3 Notes
Overview
 expansion in England put a strain on agrarian economy – competition for land and food drove
prices up
 there were other options besides America (Ireland, Holland, Leyden)
 motivations:
o purer forms of worship based on their interpretation of Scripture
o dreams of owning land and improving their social position
o escape bad marriages, jail terms, and lifelong poverty
o economic and fear of poverty were perhaps the largest factors
 royal policies fueled popular discontent, as well as the royalty’s hostility
 during times of political turmoil, religious persecution, and economic insecurity, people moved to
the New World in hopes of peace and prosperity
Virginia
 join-stock company – business organization in which many people could invest without fear of
bankruptcy
 King James issued the first Virginia charter – authorized the developments of plantations
 Jamestown:
o disease-ridden, contaminated drinking water
o an ideal place to fend off attacks from Spaniards and Native Americans
 labor system to be successful in the New World was more rigorous than in England – settlers
were unused to the culture
 Captain John Smith
o brought order to Virginia by trading with Indians for food and maps
 Virginia government was remodeled; henceforth, all commercial and political decisions were
made by the Virginia Company
 from 1609-1611, Virginia lacked leadership
 driven to cannibalism
 settlement was in the territory of local Indians – constant battles and will to survive
 became more authoritative by 1610 under deputy governors
 economic solution – tobacco (discovered by John Rolfe) – very profitable
 procedure set up by Sir Edwin Sandys allowed for investors to buy estates of land – profitable
 most emigrants were young males who came as indentured servants – for free board across the
ocean, they were required to work for their masters for a certain amount of years
 this labor system set up the idea of slavery
 death was omnipresent – huge mortality rate
 failure was due to:
o poor preparation for the settlers
o ignored colonies’ poor defenses
 in 1624, Virginia was transformed into a royal colony – changes in government
Maryland
 owned by a the Catholic George Calvert (Lord Baltimore)
 Charles I granted Calvert’s son, Cecilius, a charter for Maryland
 Leonard (Cecilius’ brother) was the governor of Maryland
 a sanctuary for Catholics, settlers swore allegiance to Lord Baltimore
 on paper, Baltimore had a feudal system, but people refused to be in their assigned caste – this
caused tensions between higher and lower classes
 colony drew both Protestants and Catholics
 Baltimore established “Act concerning Religion”, which extended all toleration to those who
believed in Christ
 Puritans still seized the government despite the act
 main crop was tobacco
Pilgrims
 Pilgrims believed the Church of England retained too many traces of its Catholic origin
 became called the Separatists
 received a patent for a charter in Virginia – navigational error landed them in New England
 decided to form a government, though not a formal constitution
 William Bradford was a successful governor who helped establish Thanksgiving
 Plymouth offered only limited economic prospects
Puritans
 focused solely according to Scripture, battled sin, and eradicated corruption
 wanted to purify the Church of England, not break away from it
 never supported religious toleration – moved only to preserve their own freedom but were
indifferent about heretics
 John Winthrop
o future governor of Massachusetts Bay was a true Puritan
o secretly signed the Cambridge Agreement
 established a Massachusetts Bay charter
Massachusetts
 initially, a large percentage of migrants were Puritans
 moved in nuclear families, as opposed to the single person migration in Virginia and Maryland
 life expectancy was longer than their southern neighbors – clean water and a healthy climate
 settlers went about the business of forming a new colony as if they intended to transform a
Puritan religious vision into a social reality
 came to accept Congregationalism – each village church was independent of outside interference
 churches became voluntary institutions – those who did not attend were compelled to attend
regular religious services
 Bay Colonists enjoyed much more voting rights than in England
 two popular misconceptions:
o it was neither a democracy or theocracy
o Congregational ministers possessed no formal authority in the Bay
 town became the center of public life
 by using civil courts, settlers managed to live in relative peace
 colonial legislature, the General Court, drew up “Lawes and Liberties” – first code of law for
America
 challengers of Puritan orthodoxy
o Roger Williams
 preached extreme separatism in a Puritan community
 questioned the validity of the colony’s charter
 believed that the civil rulers had no business in punishing settlers for their
religious beliefs
 banished from the colony and instead founded Providence, Rhode Island
o Anne Hutchinson
 did not believe in solely Scripture
 a civil and religious anarchist
 sparked misogynist responses from male leaders
 exiled to Rhode Island
New Hampshire
 slowly growing population
 relied economically on Massachusetts
Connecticut
 created a similar society to that of Massachusetts
 Thomas Hooker
o helped to define Congregational church polity
 fundamental Orders was a blueprint for a civil government
Rhode Island
 a site that appreciated religious toleration
 political turmoil between villagers
 had a profitable commerce in agricultural goods
New York
 Dutch West India Company sponsored outposts, Fort Orange and New Amsterdam
 first Dutch settlers were salaried employees – attracted few Dutch immigrants
 contained diverse ethnic backgrounds
 lacked capable leadership – adopted autocratic procedures
 in 1664, the English took over the Dutch settlement
 despite the Dutch’s director-general Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch accepted the English conditions
 under English, New York was guaranteed religious toleration and created local governments

in whole, it was a loose collection of independent communities ruled by an ineffective central
government
New Jersey
 Duke of York (New York) gave parcels of land to Lord Berkeley and George Carteret
 chaos resulted as people fought over New Jersey
 colonists from almost every European nation and religious groups of all kinds managed to live in
relative peace
Quakers
 saw no need for an educated ministry
 George Fox was a founder of Quakerism
 religion believed that everyone could be saved
 practiced humility and were devout pacifists
 constantly preached conversion though they were constantly persecuted
 William Penn
o founded Pennsylvania through a charter
o had a devout faith to Quaker principles
o launched the “Holy Experiment”
 designed his government threw the writings of James Harrington
Pennsylvania
 advertised the new colony in many European countries
 ethnic and religious diversity were crucial in the development of public institutions
 the settlement prospered – agricultural products, especially wheat, were in high demand
 despite economic success, factions remained divided
 new Charter of Liberties established a one-house legislature that was in effect until the
Revolution
Carolinas
 learned from Virginians’ mistakes – reasoned they would obtain a steady income from rents
 offered a generous land policy to attract settlers, yet, surviving proprietors decided to give up on
Carolina
 Anthony Ashley Cooper
o believed the remaining proprietors should invest their own capital in the company
o mobilized more settlers to come to Carolina
o devised the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina – created a local aristocracy yet this
had little impact on the structure of the actual government
 Barbadians looked to Carolina for more land
 many of these travelers brought gangs of slaves – helped create the slave trade
 commercial resources along with tar and rice allowed Carolina to have a successful market
 proprietary was in constant political uproar – in 1719, the colonists overthrew the last proprietary
government
 in 1929, the king created two separate royal governments: North and South Carolina
o North Carolina
 designed as a buffer state for Virginia
 no law or court system – state was run by vigilantes
o South Carolina
 refugee state for Barbadians
 becomes an aristocratic colony
 rice and indigo were main crops
Georgia
 its settlement was an act of aggression against Spain – a buffer colony
 James Oglethorpe
o a British general who helped found Georgia
 a penal colony where criminals were sent
 settlers discontent – wanted voice in government and demanded slaves
New England
Family
 the New World’s extraordinary growth was due to survival rather than fertility
 parents had says in their children’s courtships
 adolescents would not stray far from the community values in the highly religious society
 household was a place of hard, laborious work – early American farmers were not self-sufficient

religious values, a sense of common purpose, and the importance of family reinforced traditional
communal ties
towns became collections of families
Congregational churches became more focused on family life
family-based education system became key in the teachings of religion
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Women
 feminization of colonial religion – more women than men in churches
 played a part in family life though they were inferior to their spouses
Social Status
 lack of noblemen, but also a lack of paupers in the New World
 leaders came from men of more moderate status
 a flexible caste system – people could rise and fall within the social order
 while few became rich, few fell into deep debts
Chesapeake
Family
 did not move in as families – often as unmarried servants
 most immigrants died on arrival – diseases, contaminated water – high mortality rate
 low demographics due to mortality rates, indentured servant-hood, and unbalanced sex ratio
 family life was vastly more impermanent
 the lifespan of women was much shorter than anywhere else
Social Status
 tobacco was the Chesapeake staple but did not provide wealth to the people – in fact it generated
inequality
 upper class members in Chesapeake society were ambitious men with capital – involved in the
government and church affairs
 freemen – traveled as indentured servants before becoming free – then living on the edge of
poverty
 indentured servants – a temporary status, they were still treated like animals – lacked social
relationships and decent amounts of food and clothes
 rise of an indigenous ruling elite – took to greater interest in local government
 as time went on, the ruling elite became harder to enter
 social institutions were poor and nonexistent in Chesapeake colonies
Slavery
 colonists were not hesitant in enslaving African Americans
 decision to bring slaves to the colonies was primarily on economic conditions
 blacks were slaves for life, as were their children after them
 stricter slave codes were established as more slaves were brought in
 slave experience varied from colony to colony
o size and density of the slave population determined how successfully blacks could
maintain a separate cultural identity
 managed to preserve elements of their African heritage
 expansion of the African American population owed more to natural increase than importation
of slaves
Economic Competition
 English mercantilism
o more trade increased general prosperity
o mother countries controlled products that were imported and exported and added
taxes/tariffs to the goods
o had a list of enumerated goods that could and could not be sold
o provided prosperity for England while taking away from the colonies
Revolt
 Bacon’s Rebellion (Virginia)
o Virginia economy steadily declined as English mercantilism reduced profits
o Nathaniel Bacon
 envied the government patronage monopolized by England
 Bacon decided to go after Indians himself though it turned to be a massive
failure
 tried to kidnap the governor, William Berkeley, but in the end failed
 Berkeley regained full control of the colony and put Bacon’s followers to trial

Bay Colony Revolution
o Massachusetts had developed a stronger sense of independence from England
o charter of Massachusetts was annulled by the Court of Chancery
 colony was placed back under royal rule and under a tyrannical ruler
o as news of the Glorious Revolution came, the colonists over the royal governor
o received a new royal charter
 Maryland and New York Revolution
o Jacob Leisler
 resented the success of the Anglo-Dutch in New York
 raised a group of militiamen and seized a local fort – never established a secure
political base
 when he was to be relieved of his command, he hesitated, and was acused of
treason
o John Coode
 Anti-proprietary and anti-Catholic sentiment exploded
 Overtook Maryland government
o New assembly dominated by Protestants declared Anglicanism the established religion
as Catholics were excluded
Witchcraft
 the instability of the Massachusetts government led to a fear of increased witchcraft throughout
the community
 skepticism turned into men and women being sent to the gallows
 town acted on impulse
 under Cotton Mather, they realized it was an act of hysteria
 poorer, undesirable people were believed to be the witches