Transcript Chapter 3, Section 2 - Crown Point Community School

Chapter 3, Section 2
The New England Colonies
Pilgrims and Puritans
• Religious tension in England after the
Protestant Reformation
• Puritans
– Protestant groups that wanted to purify (or
reform) the Anglican Church
• Believed that bishops and priests had too much
power over church members
Pilgrims and Puritans
• Pilgrims on the Move
– The most extreme English Protestants were
Separatists
• Wanted to cut all ties with the Church of England
• Formed their own churches
• Were punished by Anglicans
– Pilgrims
• Separatist groups that fled England in the 1600’s
• Immigrants
• First fled to Holland but soon left because they did not want
their children learning Dutch language and traditions
– Preserve English traditions
• Decided to leave Europe
– Formed a joint-stock company with some merchants and
received permission from England to settle in Virginia
• Left Europe on September 16, 1620 on a ship called the
Mayflower
– Not all were Puritans
– Pilgrim Leader: William Bradford
The Mayflower Compact
• Pilgrims traveled rough
oceans for 2 months
– Sighted land far north of
Virginia
• Because the land was not
in Virginia, it was outside
of the authority of
Virginia’s colonial
government
– Decided to establish their
own basic laws and social
rules
The Mayflower Compact
• Mayflower Compact
– Signed November 21,
1620 by 41 male
passengers
– Agreement to have fair
laws and protect the
general good
• Late 1620, Pilgrims
landed at Plymouth Rock
in modern day
Massachusetts
– Struggled thought the
winter
• Nearly half died from
sickness and freezing
Pilgrims and Native Americans
• Samoset
– Met the colonists in March of 1621
– Spoke some English that he had learned from crews of English
fishing boats
– Provided the colonists with useful information about peoples and
places in the area
– Introduced the colonists to Squanto
• Squanto
– Patuxet who had lived in Europe and spoke English well
– Taught Pilgrims to fertilize soil with fish remains
– Helped Pilgrims establish good relations with the local
Wampanoag
– Because of Squanto, conditions in the colony began to improve
Pilgrims and Native Americans
• Harvest feast
– The Pilgrims invited Wampanoag chief
Massasoit and 90 others to join them for a
harvest celebration
– The First Thanksgiving
– Pilgrims killed wild turkeys for the event
– Marked the survival of the Pilgrims in the new
colony
Pilgrim Community
• Pilgrims still continued to struggle
– Rocky soil made for poor farmland
– Hopes of trading furs and fishing industry faded due
to poor hunting and fishing in the area
• Some colonists traded corn with Native Americans for beaver
furs
– Made little money but formed a strong community
– New arrivals from Europe helped to strengthen the
colony and allow for more farming rights
Pilgrim Community
• Pilgrim colony very different from Virginia
– Many families
– Children/Indentured servants educated
– Families served as centers of religious life, health
care, and community well being
• All family members worked together to better the
colony
– Women cooked, cleaned, spun & wove wool, and
sewed
– Men farmed, repaired tools, chopped wood, and built
shelters
Women in the Colony
• Women had more legal rights in Plymouth
than they did England
– Could sign contract
– Could sue
– Widows could own property
Puritans Leave England
• England suffered an economic crises in
the 1620’s
– King Charles I worsened the situation by
raising taxes, leading to a political crisis as
well
• Church of England began to punish
Puritans as dissenters
Great Migration
• Between 1629-1640, many thousands of English
men, women, and children left England
– King Charles I granted a group of Puritans and
merchants a charter to settle New England
• Formed the Massachusetts Bay Company
• 1630, a fleet of ships carrying Puritan colonists
left England for Massachusetts seeking religious
freedom
– Led by John Winthrop
A New Colony
• Puritans arrived in New England well prepared
to start their colony
–
–
–
–
Brought many tools and livestock
Faced little resistance from Native Americans
Traded with the Plymouth Colony
Region around Boston promoted a healthful climate
• Few died from sickness
• 1691, Massachusetts Bay Colony expanded to
include the Pilgrim’s Plymouth Colony
Religion and Government in New England
• The Massachusetts Bay Colony had to obey
English laws per their royal granted charter
– However, their charter provided more independence
than the royal charter of Virginia
• Created a General Court to help run the
Massachusetts Colony
– Turned the court into a self-government to represent
the needs of the people
– Each town sent 2 or 3 delegates to court
– After John Winthrop’s term of service, the General
Court elected a governor and his assistants
• 1644, the General Court became a bicameral (2
House) legislature
Religion and Government in New England
• Politics and Religion were closely linked in
Puritan New England
– Government leaders were church members
• Ministers were powerful
• Voting privileges were reserved only for male church
members
• Thomas Hooker
– Minister who left Massachusetts in 1636 to help
found Connecticut
– Wrote the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
• Made Connecticut’s government more democratic
– Allowed men who were not church members the right to vote
– Outlined the powers of the General Courts
Religion and Government in New England
• Not all Puritans shared the same religious views
– Minister Roger Williams
• Did not agree with Massachusetts leadership
• Called for his church to sever ties with all other New England
churches
• Criticized unfair land practices towards Native Americans
– Worried that Williams may damage colonial unity, he
was forced to leave Massachusetts
• Williams formed a new settlement called Providence, which
later developed into the colony of Rhode Island
– In Providence, Williams supported a separation of
church and state as well as promoted religious
toleration
Religion and Government in New England
• Anne Hutchinson
– Publicly discussed religious ideas that colonial
leaders viewed as “radical”
• Believed that human relations with God did not
need guidance from ministers
– Colonial leaders did not believe that women
should be religious leaders and Anne
Hutchinson was put on trial
• Court decided to force her out of the colony
– Left Massachusetts with her followers for Rhode Island
Religion and Government in New England
• Salem Witch Trials
– 1690’s, a group of girls in
Salem, Massachusetts
accused people of casting
spells on them
– Largest number of
witchcraft trials
– People were often
pressured or forced to
confess to practicing
witchcraft
– 19 people were executed
for practicing witchcraft
before the hysteria ended
• Term “witch-hunt”
New England Economy
• Connecticut, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, and Rhode island were very
different from the Southern Colonies
– Rocky soil
• Not suitable for cash crops
• Subsistence Farming: growing only enough to
support your family
– Little demand for farm laborers
» Slavery not important to New England
Merchants
• Trade was vital to New England
– Local trade: furs, pickled beef, and pork
– Trade with other Colonies
– Trade overseas
– Merchants grew wealthy
• Became colonial leaders
Fishing
• Rich fishing waters
– Cod, Mackerel, and Halibut
– Exportation of dried fish
– Whaling
• Killed with harpoons and dragged to shore
• Provided oil for lighting
Shipbuilding
• Shipbuilding emerged as an important
industry
– New England forests provided ship building
materials
– As trade expanded, seaports grew and more
merchant ships were needed
Skilled Craftspeople
• New England needed skilled craftspeople
– Younger sons were often sent to learn skills
such as blacksmithing or printing
• Apprentices
– Lived with master craftsman and learned from him
– In exchange for room and board, apprentices performed
simple tasks such as cleaning or sweeping
– After a certain amount of time, apprentices became
journeymen
» Traveled and learned new skills in their trade
» Eventually became trade masters themselves
Education in the Colonies
• Education was important in New England
– Families wanted their children to be able to
read the Bible
– Massachusetts Bay Colony passed some of
the first laws requiring parents to provide their
children with education
Education in the Colonies
• Public Education
– Communities established town schools to ensure that
future generations would have educated ministers
– 1647, the Massachusetts General Court passed an
order that every township have a school
– More schools in New England than in other colonies
– Most colonial children stopped their education after
elementary school
Education in the Colonies
• Higher Education
– 1636, Harvard College founded by John
Harvard and the General Court
• Educated ministers and met the needs of the
colony’s higher education demands
– 1700
• About 70% of New England men could read
• About 45% of New England women could read