•Massachusetts
•Rhode Island
•Connecticut
•New
Hampshire
The two main groups
Pilgrims (Plymouth) and
Puritans (Massachusetts Bay)
settled for religious freedom
• An agreement signed in 1620
by the Pilgrims in Plymouth,
MA
• A social contract that
established a self governing
colony based on rule by the
People (majority rules)
-Thomas Hooker = founder
-Hooker – “The Father of American
Democracy”
-Believing in the principle of
equality for all mankind. He
favored the vote for men
regardless of religion or
property.
- He believed the government
is based on the rights of
individual citizens
• 1st written constitution in America
(written by Hooker)
– It described the organization of
Representative government in detail
– Allowed more men to vote (non church
members)
– Made the CT government
more democratic
-Roger Williams = founder
- He dissented from the Puritans in
Massachusetts. He supported the
the separation of church and state.
- Religious Toleration – practice
your religion freely
- Questioned the
religious authority of the
colony’s ministers
- Claimed God spoke
directly to her
- She was exiled from
Massachusetts and
went to Rhode Island
• Rocky soil
• Cold climate (long winters!)
• Fishing, shipbuilding
(lumber), fur trading, small
businesses (mills)
• Due to the geography,
farming was not profitable
in New England. The
colonists only grew enough
for their family with little left
over to sell (subsistence
farming)