Colonies Project Class Notes/Information to Study for the Test
* Note: Read through these notes and insert information into your packets for presentations too!
New England:
Consists of the following Colonies – Massachusetts w/Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut
New England – Geography: In general it has long cold winters, short growing seasons, poor rocky soil and therefore is not well suited for large scale agriculture. Rivers and streams move quickly out of the mountains and hills and are well suited for industry as a source for power.
Massachusetts – Native American for “Near Great Hill”
1619/20 Plymouth Plantation – Founded by the Pilgrims who were separatists from the C of E who had left England and gone to the Netherlands for freedom from religious persecution. In short time the Pilgrim Fathers became unhappy with life in the Netherlands.
· Their children were working far too hard in jobs that were stooping them over and aging them
· The Pilgrims lacked any political or social standing in the Netherlands
· The Dutch did not keep the Sabbath near as holy as the Pilgrims had preferred and practiced
· Their children were adopting Dutch ways and in Pilgrim eyes quickly becoming “Dutch”
Plymouth Plantation/Colony
Pilgrims were open minded and believed in religious freedom, were of middle class backgrounds and left Plymouth England and settled in Massachusetts in the winter of 1619/1620 near the area just north of Cape Cod.
Because the Pilgrims had no legal charter to settle in Massachusetts {supposed to go to Virginia} and because their indentured servants were becoming a bit mutinous-they created the Mayflower Compact
An agreement among all male colonists to help make laws, select representatives for roles in government and to obey the decisions made by the representatives of the settlers.
Pilgrims are known for Thanksgiving, and remember Squanto, Samoset and Massasoit
Some of the key founders include William Bradford, John Alden, and Miles Standish the military advisor
Massachusetts Bay Colony 1629 founded by the Puritans and governed by John Winthrop
· Puritans – Middle to upper middle class in status, disagreed with the practices of the C of E.
· The C of E had not changed enough , had many of the disliked Roman Catholic practices
· Was too ornate, with the silk robes, gold and silver chalices, and the related ceremonies
· Puritans wanted to simplify and purify the faith of the practices that offended them
Unable to make these changes-the Puritans felt their only choice was to start a colony of their own where they could practice their Christian faith as they wished.
Religion dominated almost every aspect of their lives, it dominated their government, the Sabbath was observed for the entire day and people missing church observance were looked down upon.
Puritans established the General Court- and elected assembly to help run the colony but membership in it was limited to only to the most-wealthy people in the colony.
Back in England, the Puritans were instrumental in creating problems for the monarchs and faced persecution.
The Great Migration lasted from about 1630 to 1640 nearly 20,000 Puritans came to Mass. Bay during the period.
Side Facts: Did you know that from 1642-1649 England was torn by a Civil War – King Charles dissolved Parliament
but by 1649 Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan/Parliamentary forces overthrew Charles and he was executed.
· This civil unrest became an important reason for people leaving England and settling in the 13 colonies
The Puritans in Massachusetts were very intolerant of other Puritans/Christians who did not believe as they did…
This intolerance pushed people to leave, found new settlements and to eventually start new colonies!
Massachusetts has poor rocky soil with short growing seasons that are not suitable for large farms and so it became a center of trade/commerce, rum production, ironworks, fishing, whaling, and small subsistence farms for grain, with some cattle and dairy.
Maine – part of Massachusetts was founded as a spillover colony of Massachusetts by Ferdinando Gorges
It has the shortest growing season in N.E., poor rocky soil, it produced furs, lumber, and had shipping centers along the coast-especially at Falmouth
Rhode Island – founded in 1631 named for the Isle of Rhodes by Verrazano
Was founded for the purpose of permitting religious freedom of all faiths by Roger Williams. Why?
Williams had originally settled in Massachusetts and preached/spread the following ideas:
· He disagreed with the Puritan ministers in Mass. who had too much control over civil gov’t
· He wanted to separate church and state affairs
· Believed all people should be permitted to worship as they pleased
· Believed Indians not the monarch of England owned their lands so they should be paid for it!
As a result, members of the General Court {the governing body of Massachusetts Bay} were greatly angered, Gov. Winthrop secretly urged him to leave the colony – he got aid from the Native Americans and founded the city of Providence on the banks of Narragansett Bay-in time it became the colony of Rhode Island
Later, others who disagreed with the Puritans came to Rhode Island would come to Rhode Island.
1638 Anne Hutchinson is another example.
Married and having had 15 children {12 back in England}, Anne began holding church meetings in her own home – her teachings went against Puritan beliefs, her meetings were well attended and she too was ordered to leave.
Rhode Island offered more religious freedom than any other English Colony, it also welcomed Catholics and Jews. In fact the Jews went on to build one of the earliest synagogues in the 13 colonies. As a colonial government-the separation of church and state was firmly in place.
Trade/Commerce/Products:
Rhode Island, esp. Newport became a center for trade/commerce, rum production, ironworking and other coastal areas became important centers for shipbuilding, fishing and whaling. Rhode Island’s economy was largely ocean based.
Connecticut – 1636 is Native American for “along side the tidal river” was founded by Thomas Hooker
He had led a group of settlers out of Massachusetts for 2 reasons:
· They felt their voice in government was not as strong they thought it should be
· Sought better farmland than what existed back in Massachusetts
Hooker and his followers found fine land with the richest soil in all of New England along the Connecticut River, several settlements were started and in areas it was very well suited for farming.
1639 representatives of the many settlements drew up the Fundamental Orders as their basis of self government. It is often called the world’s first written constitution and provided the people of Connecticut with one of the most democratic governments in the 13 colonies.
· All men who owned land/property could vote including those not members of the church
· The powers of the governor were also limited – people got greater representation
Geographically: Connecticut in time becomes a center for trade/commerce, shipbuilding, ironworks, fishing and whaling and unlike most of New England, the better soil/land permitted more productive somewhat larger farms for raising grains and cattle
New Hampshire founded in 1680 as a spillover colony of Massachusetts – named for Hampshire, Eng.
Early founders include Ferdinand Gorges and John Mason for profit from trade and fishing
It has cold wet winters and a short growing seasons. The terrain is hilly/mountainous with poor rocky soil that is suitable for small subsistence farms. The colony produced some furs, rum, lumber, shipbuilding and had a center of trade/commerce at Portsmouth
Life in New England
Church was a dominant part of the lives of most settlers – the observance of the Sabbath was all day with church attendance being almost mandatory.
In some colonies church ideas intruded into the running of the civil government. Church doctrine was civil law!
The Church was itself in the center of town and in many cases served as the town meeting place as well.
People married young –between the ages of 14 – 20 and had very large families often numbering over 8
Children died frequently from childhood diseases and were needed to help out around the farms
New England produced various forms of self-government, passed the first law requiring public education supported by public taxes and had local elected assemblies or legislatures to make laws for the colonies.
Voting was possible but only for white property owning males over 21 who had lived in the colony for a period of time. Voting was not generally done by secret ballot but done so out loud in public.
Ivy League Schools came out of each colony, Harvard the first college in the 13 colonies was started and later Dartmouth, Yale, Brown would be founded.
The Puritan Work Ethic and deep observance of their faith have become the basis of some U.S. beliefs.
Many Americans are deeply religious but almost all believe in separation of church and state laws
Americans traditionally believe in the “American hard work ethic” or “Puritan work ethic” as examples:
There are 2 sayings attributed to the Puritans.
“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop” and “keep your nose to the grindstone”
Men ran the households, had the legal rights and property ownership and so could vote.
Middle Colonies: Consists of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware
Background: Original settlers include the Swedes and the Dutch in New Netherlands + New Sweden
New Netherlands 1624 – Peter Minuit and later governed by Governor Peter Stuyvesant
The Dutch settled up the Hudson River Valley, the western ½ part of Long Island, along the west coast of Connecticut and in the east coast region of what we today call New Jersey
New Amsterdam was their major center for trade – later it came to be known as New York City
It was founded by the Dutch for the purpose of expanding trade and commerce opportunities – providing resources to the mother nation of the Netherlands
It was run by the Dutch West India Co. and to improve profits it gave Gov. Peter Stuyvesant nearly total power to govern. Stuyvesant was a harsh, disliked governor who had lost his leg in battle in the West Indies. Any lawbreakers under his charge could expect whippings and heavy fines as punishment.
In addition to Stuyvesant’s harsh rule, the Dutch used a system called the Patroon System whereby large parcels of land were given to a few wealthy families who would then rent out the land to tenant farmers for use…this idea did not attract many settlers and again as a result the colony grew slowly.
Stuyvesant drove the colony into debt by waging costly wars against the Native Americans and in defeating the Swedes in New Sweden - southern New Jersey/northern Delaware. To pay the expenses, he imposed heavy taxes and when questioned he said his authority to govern came form God and the D. W. Indies Co. He was a bit of a tyrant?
1660s rivalries between Netherlands and England led to war in Europe-England seized the opportunity to try and capture the Dutch colonies in New Amsterdam. Charles II wanted to connect all his colonies in North America and in 1664 sent a naval invasion force into the Hudson. Although Stuyvesant refused to surrender-he was so hated by his settlers that they refused to fight for him and surrendered.
The Dutch settlers only had to swear and Oath of Allegiance to England in order to keep their possessions
New York
New Netherland was given to the Duke of York {Charles’ brother} and it was named for him
The Duke of York ruled harshly too but after many appeals he permitted the colony an assembly in 1688
New Jersey: Was founded as a means to earn profit from land sales, trade and for freedom of religion
Named by the English for the Isle of Jersey near the English Channel
1664 the Duke of York gave 2 friends the property he owned to the south called New Jersey
The 2 proprietors were Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley-they divided it into East and West
Both proprietors cared little, the property passed hands and in time became prosperous Royal Colony
Delaware 1638 was originally settled by Swedes who lost it to the Dutch and later it passed to England
Named for Lord De La Warr – an early governor of Virginia.
The land was given to William Penn because Pennsylvania was nearly landlocked…lacked an outlet to the sea.
For many years it was part of Pennsylvania but the people grew tired of traveling to Philadelphia for government meetings and in 1701 William Penn granted the colony permission to form its own legislature and was looked upon as a separate colony
Pennsylvania 1682 was founded by William Penn and he looked upon it as a “Holy Experiment”
Founded for religious reasons by Penn because he was a member of the Quakers or “Society of Friends” who were facing persecution back in England. Quakers faced persecution because:
· They did not believe in killing, believed wars to be wrong +would therefore not join the military
· They refused to pay their taxes because those taxes went for building up the military