New England Colonies

1. New England Colonies

2. The Pilgrims in Plymouth • Pilgrims were separatists who refused to worship in the Anglican Church, fled to Holland to avoid compromising religious beliefs • Migrated to America in order to maintain distinct identity & settled in New England • Formed the Mayflower Compact to create a “civil body politick” among settlers (became the 1st American form of self-gov’t)

3. Reforming England in America The origins of Thanksgiving • PilgrimsfoundedPlymouthin1620 • Faced disease & hunger; received help from local natives like Squanto & Massasoit • Plymouth was a society of small farming villages bound together by mutual consent but faced serious recruitment issues • In 1691,Plymouth was absorbed into the larger, more successful Massachusetts Bay colony

4. “The Great Migration” • Puritans were more conservative than Pilgrims & wished to remain within the Church of England: • Believedinpredestination,fought social sins, & despised Catholic rituals in the Anglican Church • In 1629, many Puritans felt King Charles I was ruining England • From 1630-1640, John Winthrop led 16,000 Puritans to the Massachusetts Bay colony

5. The Great Puritan Migration

7. “A City on a Hill” • Winthrop emphasized a common spiritual goal: to create a “city on a hill” as beacon of righteousness • New England experienced unique demographic & social trends: • Settlers usually came as families • NE was a generally healthy place to live • Settlers sacrificed self-interest for the good of the community

8. “A City on a Hill” • As Mass Bay colony grew beyond Boston, towns began to develop their own unique personalities: • Each town was independently governed by local church members (Congregationalism) • Allowed voting by all adult male church members (women & blacks joined but could not vote) • Officials were responsible to God, not their constituents

9. Limits of Dissent: Roger Williams • Puritans never supported religious toleration, esp Roger Williams: • Williams was a separatist who questioned the validity of the colony’s charter because the landwasnotboughtfromnatives • Promoted “liberty of conscience” where God (not leaders) would punish people for their “wrong” religious ideas • Expelled to Rhode Island in 1636

10. Limits of Dissent: Anne Hutchinson • Anne Hutchinson believed she was directly inspired by God: • Believed that “converted” people are not subject to man’s laws, only subject to God’s laws (Antinomianism) • Hutchinson challenged Mass Bay’s religious leaders • ShewasbanishedtoRhodeIsland

11. Mobility and Division • After absorbing Plymouth, the Massachusetts colony grew & spawned 4 new colonies: • New Hampshire • Rhode Island • Connecticut • New Haven

12. New England Colonies, 1650

13. The Middle Colonies:New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware

14. The Middle Colonies, 1685

15. New York • NY was established as “New Netherlands” by the Dutch West India Co. (the great economic rival to England & Spain) • Its small population was diverse; included Finns, Swedes, Germans, Africans, & Dutch • In 1664, the English fleet captured the colony with little resistance

16. New York • After begin taken by England, New York (which included New Jersey, Delaware, & Maine) became the personal property of James, the Duke of York • Inhabitants had no political voice beyond the local level • James gained little profit from the colony

17. Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania founded by a radical religious sect called Quakers • Quakers believed in “Inner Light”: • Rejected idea of original sin & predestination • Believed that each person could communicate directly with God • All are equal in eyes of God & can be saved (conversion was essential to faith)

18. Penn's "Holy Experiment" • Quakers were persecuted in New England for their beliefs; William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1681 as a “holy experiment” • As a society run on Quaker principles that promoted religious toleration & protection of the rights of property-less • Appealed to English, Welsh, Irish, German immigrants

19. William Penn & Native Americans Quick Discussion Question: In what ways was Penn’s “holy experiment” in Pennsylvania similar to Winthrop’s “city on a hill?”

20. Settling Pennsylvania • Immigration to PA led to a very ethnically, nationally, & religiously diverse population • Quarrels were common (unlike homogeneous VA & Mass Bay colonies), but PA prospered • In 1701, Penn granted self-rule to PA colonists & independence to Delaware counties

21. What did the English colonies look like in 1650?

22. What did the English colonies look like by 1700?

23. Families in New England Possibly the 1st society in history to reasonably expect to live long enough to see their grandchildren • New England society was much more stable than other colonies: • New England Puritans migrated to America as families • Marriage was easy as most people shared common values • Colonists lived longer due to more a dispersed population, purer water, & a cooler climate New England “invented” grandparents Towns became networks of intermarried families

24. Education in New England • NE towns regarded education as fundamental family responsibility; towns began to create elementary schools funded with local taxes: • NE had, by far, the highest literacy rate in America • In 1638, Harvard became America’s first college

25. Women in New England • Was the colonial era the “golden age” for women? • Women contributed to society as wives & mothers, devout church members, & ran small-scale farms • But were not equals with men: • Women could not legally own or sell property; divorce was difficult • Women did what “God ordained”

26. Social Hierarchy in New England NE churches focused on its members; outsiders were not welcomed & often moved away Local gentry of religiously devout families guided town meetings Large population of yeomen farmers loyal to the local community Small population of landless laborers, servants, & poor

27. Colonial Society in the 17th Century: African Slaves

28. The Roots of Slavery • The importation of African slaves was based on a “need” for labor: • Native Americans made poor slaves because they were decimated by European disease • Indentured servant-pool waned after 1660 • An estimated 11 million slaves (mostly males) were brought to the English American colonies

29. The Roots of Slavery • Slaves were originally treated as indentured servants but the growing black population in VA by 1672 prompted stricter slave laws: • Africans were defined as slaves for life; permanent slave status was passed on to slave children • By 1700, slavery was based exclusively on skin color

30. Origins & Destinations of African Slaves, 1619-1760

31. The Slave Population Free & enslaved blacks were much less numerous in NE & Middle colonies 40% in VA 60% in SC • In the Chesapeake & Southern colonies with large black populations, slaves found it easier to maintain their African culture • By 1720, the African population became self-sustaining: • Fertility rates exceeded immigration rates for the 1st time • Did not occur in the Caribbean or in South America

32. The Slave Population 150 blacks rose up & seized munitions hold killed & killed several white planters • Widespread resentment of their slave status led to resistance in the 18th Century: • Armed resistance such as the Stono Rebellion of 1739 (SC) • In 1741, 106 slaves were hung or deported due to a rumor that slaves planned to burn NYC • Runaway slaves were common

33. The Colonial Economy in the 17th Century: Commercial Empire

34. Economic Diversity of the English Colonies

36. Rise of a Commercial Empire • English gov’t largely ignored the colonies until the 1650s (salutary neglect); The colonies were not state-funded nor state protected • But…Charles II initiated colonial intervention in 1660 to maximize exports, decrease imports, & generate more gov’t revenue

37. Response to Economic Competition “Enumerated goods” (tobacco, sugar, cotton, rice, rosin, tar) could only be sent to English ports • “Mercantilism” became the blueprint for England’s empire: • Wanted more money & a favorable balance of trade • Wanted to eliminate Dutch rivals • Wanted a stronger navy • Began to restrict colonial trade: • Navigation Act of 1660 • Navigation Act of 1663 No ship could trade in colonies unless it was made in England Goods shipped to English colonies must pass through England (Increased the price paid by colonial consumers)

38. Implementing the Acts • NE merchants found loopholes to avoid paying taxes so the English made more restrictions: • In 1696, created a Board of Trade to oversee colonial trade • Created maritime courts to mediate disputes • The Navigation Acts eventually benefited the colonial merchants & smuggling virtually ended

39. Colonial Factions Spark Political Revolt, 1676-1691

40. Colonial Factions Spark Revolt • The English colonies began to experience unrest at the end of the 17th Century: • This unrest was not a social revolution (or a forecast of the American Rev) but a contest between colonial “ins” & “outs” • Bacons’ Rebellion, King Philip’s War & witchcraft panic

41. King Philip’s War • In 1675, Metacomet (“King Philip”) led the Wampanoag Indians against NE colonists: • 1,000+ Indians & colonists died • Large war debt led James II to annul the Mass Bay charter & create the “Dominion of New England” by combining Mass, Conn, RI, Plymouth, NY, NJ, & NH under a new royal charter

42. King Philip’s War

44. Dominion of New England • Edmund Andros was hated by Puritans, moderates, & merchants • In 1689, Andros was deposed when William & Mary began reign • Massachusetts was given a new charter that incorporated Plymouth but shifted power from the “elect" to those with property

45. Witchcraft in New England • Charges of witchcraft were common in New England • But the “Salem panic” of 1691 led to 20 public executions before the trials were halted in 1692 • Possible causes: • argument over church ministers • poor farmers accusing rich farmers to gain land • reactions to independent women

46. Salem Witch Trials

47. By 1700: • England’s attitude toward the colonies had changed dramatically • Sectional differences within the colonies were profound • All the colonies were all part of Great Britain but had little to do with each other

48. The Great Awakening

49. Decline in Religious Devotion The Half-Way Covenant (1662) was a way for NE churches to increase membership to the “unconverted” children • The 1700s saw a decline in religious devotion: • Outside of NE, 1 in 15 people was a member of a church • NE suffered a decline in church attendance (1:5 were members) • Church sermons were seen by many as “cold” & impersonal • Led to a rise in Arminianism(free will, not predestination)

50. The Great Awakening Was not really “American” either as similar phenomena occurred in Europe • The Great Awakening was a series of revivals among Protestants in which of people experienced religious conversion in response to gifted preaching • It was not a unified movement; Great Awakenings occurred in many denominations in different places at different times The Great Awakening hit New England in the 1730s & in Virginia in 1750s & 1760s