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Lesson 1:
I. The New World
1492: Christopher Columbus arrives in New World. Searches for gold.
II. Jamestown
1. The Significance of Jamestown
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The first permanent English settlement in
North America was founded at Jamestown, Virginia,
in 1607.
2. The Founding of Jamestown
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England’s colonies were originally founded by joint stock companies. Stock companies allowed
several investors to pool their wealth in support of a colony that would hopefully produce a
profit.
The joint stock company that founded Jamestown was the Virginia Company.
In 1607, Virginia Company sends 150 people to found Jamestown
3. A Disastrous Start
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The colony endured a disastrous start. Many of the colonists just wanted to find gold and
refused to do work. John Smith took control and made the colonists work. He also persuaded
the Powhatan (nearby Native Americans) to provide food.
After Smith’s departure, Jamestown endured attacks by the Powhatan and famine during
“starving time.”
4. Jamestown Begins to Flourish
 New arrivals revive and expand colony; grow tobacco
 Tobacco becomes profitable
5. Labor after “brown gold” becomes profitable
A. Early laborers
 Virginia Company needed more laborers
 Introduced headright system-- purchaser of passage gets 50 acres—lures settlers
 Plantation owners use indentured servants— work 4–7 years for passage
B. African laborers and the development of slavery
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First Africans arrive (1619); treated as
indentured servants
Late 1600s, owners begin importing costly slaves as indentured servant population decreases
and colonists become wealthier
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6. The Settlers Battle Native Americans
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Continued hostilities between Powhatan and English after starving time
Renewed fighting; king makes Virginia royal colony under his control
Former indentured servants settle frontier, not represented, pay high taxes. They battle natives.
There was tension between poor whites and wealthy landowners. Governor refuses to give
them money to help fight local natives.
Bacon’s Rebellion-Bacon sets fire to Jamestown.
7. House of Burgesses
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Virginia’s House of Burgesses was the first representative body in the colonies
First met in Jamestown in 1619; claimed authority to raise taxes, make laws
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LESSON 2: NEW ENGLAND
THE FOUNDING OF A “NEW ENGLAND”
Puritans, religious group, want to purify Church of England. Separatists, including Pilgrims, form
independent congregations.
A. Plymouth Colony : Founded in 1620 by Pilgrims trying to escape persecution.
B. Massachusetts Bay Colony: Founded in 1630 by a joint-stock company.
• John Winthrop is Puritan colony’s first governor
PURITAN COMMUNITY
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Puritans generally migrate as families
Community makes sure family members behave in “God-fearing” way
Congregational (Puritan) Church fostered the development of towns and educational
institutions and shaped New England society
“CITY UPON A HILL”
The first Pilgrims and Puritans migrated for religious freedom for themselves but not for religious
freedom for other religious groups.
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Very little religious tolerance in New England. Puritans persecuted Quakers.
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Puritans wanted to create a “city on the hill” as model of godliness
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**Although these settlers came for religious reasons most other settlers came to the New
World to get land to improve their economic/social standing.
DISSENTERS
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Roger Williams—extreme Separatist minister with controversial views. Puritans did not want
their community defiled with other religious beliefs, so they exiled him to Providence, which
later became the capital of Rhode Island
Another famous dissenter was Anne Hutchinson, who taught that church members did not need
the church or its ministers to interpret the Bible for them. She, like Williams, was banished from
Mass. Bay.
Thomas Hooker left Mass. to found Connecticut and helped write Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut, which said government’s power came only from the “free consent of the people”
and limited government’s power.
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NOTE: Religious intolerance in the colonial period was a prime factor in the establishment of the
principle of separation of church and state after the American Revolution.
PURITAN GOVERNANCE
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All adult males who belonged to Puritan church could vote.
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Voted for a general court which picked governor.
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Mayflower Compact –document drafted by Puritan settlers on Mayflower. Defined first efforts
at self-government.
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Church and State were combined.
ECONOMY
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Keep in mind: Economic development depended on the geographic location of the colonies and
the natural resources and human capital available. Geographic conditions only afforded New
England settlers a subsistence farming economy.
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Thus, they turned to forests for shipbuilding and to the sea as merchants and fishermen.
New Englanders were not as dependent on slavery as Southern colonists because of geographic
conditions, such as rocky soil and a short growing season. This impacted their view of
democracy.
Leading industries: Shipbuilding, trade, fishing.
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LESSON 3: MIDDLE COLONIES
NEW YORK
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In 1664, England takes over New Netherland from the Dutch. Renames it New York.
Later part of it is given away and named New Jersey.
PENNSYLVANIA
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In 1681, William Penn founds Pennsylvania on Quaker principles. Quakers ideas: equality,
cooperation, religious toleration, pacifism. Everyone had an “inner light”
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Pennsylvania meant to be a “holy experiment”: adult males get 50 acres, right to vote.
representative assembly , freedom of religion
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Penn treats Native Americans fairly; over 50 years without conflict
A Thriving Colony
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Penn recruits immigrants; thousands of Germans go to Pennsylvania
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Quakers become minority; slavery is introduced
ECONOMICS IN THE MIDDLE COLONIES
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Fertile soil, moderate climate, and large families allowed settlers to develop an export trade in
food stuffs and were not dependent on slave labor
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Often called the “bread” colonies because of the great quantities of grain they produced.
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Home to large port cities New York and Philadelphia.
SOCIETY IN NEW ENGLAND AND MID-ATLANTIC COLONIES
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Initially somewhat egalitarian based on religious equality
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As economic prosperity developed and immigration increased, so did class distinctions
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LESSON 4: THE SOUTHERN COLONIES
The Rural Southern Economy
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Wide expanses of fertile soil lead to growth of agriculture. Farmers specialize in cash crops
(such as tobacco, rice, and indigo) grown for sale, not personal use.
Cotton was not an important export crop during the colonial era. It became an important part of
southern economy after the invention of the cotton gin in 1793.
A Diverse and Prosperous People
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Southern population mostly small farmers
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Planters are minority but control economy
Social Structure
• Hierarchical (top-down) social structure developed early because of plantation system and
dependence on indentured servants and later on slaves.
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Slave system was transplanted to the Carolinas from Barbados.
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Development of towns and schools was impeded by large land holdings.
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James Ogelthorpe founds Georgia as haven for debtors. Initially outlawed slavery in order to
promote a more egalitarian society but soon became a plantation colony that allowed slavery.
Political system in the south
• Dependence on slavery and the development of the plantation economy impacted the South’s
less democratic political system
• Coastal planters had more political power than ordinary farmers
Religion in the South
• Southern colonies founded for economic reasons and religion did not play large role until Great
Awakening
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Church of England (Anglican) was established church in the South, but religious toleration was
the norm.
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Lord Baltimore, a Catholic, founds Maryland. Act of Toleration promoted to protect the rights of
Catholics. It is evidence of intolerance practiced by Puritans in Maryland.
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By 1752, there are 13 British colonies in North America
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LESSON 5: COMMERCE / GREAT AWAKENING-ENLIGHTENMENT
TRADE
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The three regions developed an interdependent network of trade with the British Caribbean and
with Africa and Europe. “Triangular trade”—goods were sent from New England to Africa in
exchange for slaves. See p. 76 and final slide.
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This trade and the resulting economic development impacted mercantilist policies of the mother
country. (We will talk about this particular point in the next unit.)
THE ENGLIGHTENMENT
For centuries philosophers used reason, science to explain world
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Enlightenment—movement in 1700s emphasizing reason, observation. Enlightenment ideas
spread quickly through books, pamphlets. Benjamin Franklin embraces Enlightenment ideas.
Other colonial leaders also adopt Enlightenment views. Would lead people to question the
authority of the British monarchy.
THE GREAT AWAKENING
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Puritans lose grip on Massachusetts society, membership declines
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Jonathan Edwards preaches people are sinful, must seek God’s mercy
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Great Awakening—religious revival of the 1730s and 1740s
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Both movements question authority, stress individual’s importance