Colonial Foundations
The American Pageant
Chapter 3
New England Settlements
Pilgrims (Separatists)
Puritans (Non-separatists)
Pilgrims
 Few
 Poor class
 No formal
education for
ministers
 Separatists
 Plymouth, Mass.
 William Bradford
and Myles
Standish
vs.
Size of settlement
Social status
Ministers
Philosophy
Location
Prominent Leaders
Puritans
 Many
 Upper middle class
 College education for
ministers
 Work within Church of
England to change
 Salem and Boston, Mass
 James Endicott, Cotton
Mather, Thomas Hooker,
and John Winthrop
Pilgrims
 “Separatists” Pilgrims wanted
clean break from the Church
of England
Holland
1607-1608
England
1617
Colonies
1620
the "children" of the group being "drawn
away by evil examples into extravagance and
dangerous courses“…W. Bradford

 Contracted with VA company
land in Plymouth...oops
Become squatters



1st permanent New England settlement
 1620-21: 102 passengers leave
England



Not all separatists
2 month journey
Only 44 of 102 survived 1st winter
 Colony survived with fur [especially
beaver], fish, and lumber
Plymouth stayed small and
economically unimportant.
 1691  only 7,000 people
 Merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony
Mayflower Compact
Written and signed before the
Pilgrims disembarked from
the ship.
Not a constitution, but an
agreement to develop a “civil
body politic”…“for the general
good of the Colony” and work
for glory of God
 Signed by 41 adult males.
 Elected William Bradford
governor
Led to adult male settlers
meeting in assemblies to
make laws in town meetings.
 “Just and equal laws”
Puritans: Bay “Bible” Colony Formation
1629: King Charles I (son of James I)
dismisses Parliament



sanctioned persecution of Puritans
Catholic influence increases
1629: Puritans (Non-separatist or
“Congregationalists”) secure royal
charter to form Massachusetts Bay
Company


Loved Church of England; but not its
“impurities”
1630: 11 ships carrying almost 1,000
settlers – well equipped. Largest start
of any colony.



Landed in Boston
Great Migration: observations on map
John Winthrop’s Impact
Covenant made to build
a holy society


Puritan ideas:





“City on a Hill”
“calling” to God’s work
Protestant work ethic and
value to all jobs
limited worldly pleasures
All adult males who
were church members
could vote~40%
For wee must consider that wee
shall be as a citty upon a hill. The
eies of all people are uppon us. Soe
that if wee shall deale falsely with
our God in this worke wee haue
undertaken, and soe cause him to
withdrawe his present help from
us…
Source: A Model of Christian Charity
Covenants
“Covenant of Grace”:
 between Puritan communities and
God.
“Social Covenant”:
 Between members of Puritan
communities with each other.
 Required mutual watchfulness.
 No toleration of deviance or
disorder.
 Gambling, idleness, adultery,
etc.
 Varied punishments
Participation or Purity
 New settlers increasingly interested in land and
wealth; not spiritual growth
 By 1643 only 11% church membership


Preaching of “Jeremiad” begins
What are they?
 1657: Half-Way Covenant introduced
 Line blurs between Elect and others
 Baptism of children of members
 1691: Puritan churches allow all people regardless if
converted or not to become members

Great loss of political influence of church
Puritan Dissent
 Anne Hutchinson: Holy life
doesn’t assure salvation

Antinomianism
More individualistic approach to
religion
 No need for clergy to interpret
Bible
 Guilty of heresy

 Roger Williams: banished
over conflicting views


Buy land from Indians
End tax support for churches
Punishing free religious thought
 Rhode Island established
Religious freedom

Independent spirit comparable
to which other colony?
"If God has predetermined
for me salvation or
damnation, how could any
behavior of mine change my
fate?"
New England Family
• Low mortality  average life
expectancy was 70 years of
age!
• Strong bonds
• extended families…grandparents
• Average 6 children per family.
• Average age at marriage:
o Women – 22 years old (27)
o Men – 27 years old. (29)
Colonial Education
 Attendance not required
 New England far exceeded other
regions in literacy


Why?
Must be able to read the Bible

New England Primer (shown right)
 Massachusetts towns of 50 families
or more required to hire a teacher,
100 or more build a grammar school

Only boys went initially
 Southern colonies hired private
tutors if needed
 Colonial colleges primary purpose
was to train ministers initially

Harvard 1636
Colonial Women
 No legal or political standing
 Property to husband once married


Wouldn’t undercut family
English law allowed husbands to beat wives

Puritans most liberal divorce laws
 Men depended heavily on women to run the household
 Goal was to be a self-sufficient household
 Family structure in NE compared to indentured servants in VA
 Women acted as moral compass
 Helped steer men and children to do the right things
 Salem Witch trials
 Most of accused were property owning women
 Ended after nearly 20 deaths
New England and Indians
Indians especially weak in New England
 epidemics wiped out ¾ (possibly
more) of the native population.
Wampanoags [near Plymouth]
befriended the settlers.
 Cooperation between the two
helped by Squanto.
1621  Chief Massasoit signed
treaty with the settlers.
 Autumn, 1621  First
Thanksgiving.
•
Praying towns established to convert
local Indians
•
Ulterior motive?
The Pequot Wars: 1636-1637
Pequots  very powerful tribe
in CT river valley.
1637  Pequot War
 Whites, with Narragansett
Indian allies, attacked
Pequot village on Mystic
River.
 Whites set fire to homes &
shot
fleeing survivors!
 Pequot tribe virtually annihilated an uneasy peace lasted
for 40 years.
King Philip’s War: 1675-1676
Metacom [King Philip to white settlers]
 Massasoit’s son united Indians and
coordinated attacks on New England
settlements.
 Frontier settlements forced to retreat to
Boston.
The war ended in failure for the Indians
 Metacom beheaded and drawn and
quartered.
 Family sold into slavery.
 Never a serious threat in New England
again!!
 60-80% native population decimated
 5% colonial population
Colonial Economy
•Soil was rocky and infertile which led many to the sea to
make their living
• Codfish fisheries soon became the “goldmine” of New
England
• Whale hunting became profitable
• Rum from New England used in Triangular Trade routes
• Small factory manufacturing became common
• British government paid bounties for maritime products
such as pitch, tar, and rosin
•Merchant class become sizeable
• Called the breadbasket of the colonies because of the large
amount of grain they produced
• Forests provided raw materials for ship building and
lumber industries
• Manufacturers also sold iron, glass, and pottery products
• Some estates were similar to southern plantations, but
relied on free labor and indentured servants rather than
slaves
 Two distinct regions: the Tidewater (close to water
transportation) and the Piedmont (inland/backwoods)
 Chief products of the Southern Colonies included rice,
indigo, and tobacco
 Tidewater residents and Piedmont residents
frequently clashed (as in Bacon’s Rebellion) as
Piedmont residents felt their concerns were ignored by
colonial legislatures
New England Colonies
People: Overwhelmingly from
England; strong families; valued
education for community
Economies: Fishing, shipbuilding,
manufacturing, lumbering, small
farming, Rum
Climate: Cool weather, long winters;
short growing season
Geography: Mostly hills and rocky
soil.
Natural Resources: Fish, whales,
trees, and furs.
Religion: The established religion of
the New England Colonies was
Puritan. Religious freedom did not
exist in New England except for
Rhode Island
Pilgrims
vs.
Puritans
People: Most ethnically and
religiously diverse; Polish, English,
Dutch, French and Germans
Economies: Manufacturing, textiles,
glass, agricultural breadbasket of
colonies, great ports for trade
Climate: Moderate temperature;
mild winters; longer growing season
Geography: Varied hills and flat
land with fertile soil.
Natural Resources: Iron Ore, good
soil
Religion: Quakers (led by William
Penn), Catholics, Lutherans, Jews,
and others
Middle Colonies
People: Mostly from England, but
some diversity; large gap rich-poor;
region dominated by men
Economies: Plantation system cotton,
rice, tobacco, sugar etc.; slave labor
replaced indentured servants
Climate: Warmest of the three
regions; boasted the longest growing
season.
Geography: Broad, coastal plain that
was hilly and covered with forests.
Natural Resources: Rich farm lands,
forests, and fish.
Religion: Religion did not have a large
influence on the daily lives of
southern colonists. The Southern
colonists had a mixture of religions
including Baptists and Anglicans.
Colonies Chart
Colony
Region
Roanoke
Southern
Founder
Sir Walter Raleigh1585
Ethnic
Purpose
English
Establish English colony in New World
English
Scots-Irish
African
American
Trade and profits
Virginia
Southern
John Smith-1607
Plymouth
New England
William Bradford-1620
New York
Middle
Peter Minuit-1626
Massachusetts Bay
New England
John Winthrop-1630
New Hampshire
New England
John Mason-1630
English
Scots-Irish
Escape for those constricted by religious and
economic rules
Maryland
Middle
Lord Baltimore-1634
English
German
Religious freedom for Catholics
English
English
Dutch
English
Religious freedom for Separatists
Trade and profits
Religious freedom for Puritans
Colonies Chart
Colony
Region
Founder
Connecticut
New England
Thomas Hooker-1636
Rhode Island
New England
Roger Williams-1636
Delaware
Middle
Peter Minuit-1638
North Carolina
Southern
English
Group of proprietors- German
Trade and profits
1653
Scottish
African American
New Jersey
Middle
Lord Berkeley-1660
South Carolina
Southern
Pennsylvania
Middle
Georgia
Southern
Ethnic
English
English
English
English
Dutch
Purpose
Religious and economic freedom
Religious freedom
Trade and profits
Trade and profits
English
Group of proprietors- African American
Trade and profits
1670
Scots-Irish
French
German
William Penn-1682
Scots-Irish
Religious freedom for Quakers; trade and profits
Dutch
James Oglethorpe1733
English
Scots-Irish
French
Debtor colony. Buffer for Spanish colonies
Restrictions on blacks, size of plantations kept
colony small.