Colonial America

1. Colonial America European Settlement SSUSH 1

2. Pre-Historic Settlement • First inhabitants of North America migrated from Asia, probably across a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska during the last Ice Age • These societies developed; some even established sophisticated civilizations; some were nomadic hunter gatherers

3. Bering Strait Land Bridge

4. First Europeans Arrive • 15th and 16th Centuries saw Europeans establishing colonies. • Colonies – territories established by the government in a foreign land. • The three countries that had the most impact were Spain, France, and Great Britain.

5. Spain New World Empire • The Spanish were the first to arrive and establish strong colonies. • They dominated much of South America, modern-day Mexico, and what eventually becomes the U.S. Southwest, Florida, and parts of Georgia.

6. France Goes Hunting! • France took advantage of the inland waterways and rivers to control parts of the interior. • France focused on the fur trading business through trapping themselves and trading with the Native Americans. • Native Americans and French Trappers came to rely on one another for commerce SSUSH 1d

7. Quebec • France’s first successful colony in North America established in 1608. • The colony rested high on the banks of the St. Lawrence River; excellent location for carrying out fur trading and establishing more colonies. • Good Military position SSUSH 1d

8. Jamestown, Virginia • First successful British Colony in North America founded in 1607 • A joint-stock company, the Virginia Company sponsored the colony to make money off raw materials and products. • New settlers came to get rich and obtain land. SSUSH 1a

9. Jamestown, Virginia • Colonists were not use to manual labor that was needed to build a colony. • Most wanted to search for gold to get rich quick, instead of raising crops to support colony. • Jamestown was built in a swampy area – prone to infectious diseases, not good for agriculture. • Many died from sickness, starvation, and cold winters. SSUSH 1a

10. Jamestown, Virginia • John Rolfe saved the colony by introducing a new crop: tobacco! • England was not happy about the crop because of its association with corrupt behavior • Crop proved to be very profitable for growers • To attract more settlers, Virginia instituted the headright system. • This promised 50 acres of land to those who settled in the colony. SSUSH 1a

11. Virginians and Native Americans • Most Native Americans lived under a tribal confederation (loose alliance) led by Chief Powhatan. • Hostility broke out when 200 Natives attacked the settlement; colonists repelled the attack and negotiated a peace. • Powhatan kept a close eye on settlers, hoping to establish trade with them, but weary of their true intentions. SSUSH 1a

12. Virginians and Native Americans • The colony would not have survived its first winter had Natives not given them food. • Relations were tense; Native Americans attacked Jamestown in 1622 killing 300 colonists – Colonist responded by killing as many Natives in their own attack. • 1644 – Indian leader, Opechancanough, attacked but he was killed – colonists were now in firm control of the colony. SSUSH 1a

13. Virginia’s Social Structure • Most colonial Americans accepted class distinctions. • Wealthy landowners exercised most of the power in each colony. • In Virginia, society eventually became divided between large landowners, poor farmers, indentured servants and slaves. SSUSH 1a

14. Indentured Servants • People who could not afford to come to North America on their own. • They agreed to work for a landowner for up to seven years in exchange for the landowner paying for their trip. • Once the indentured servants served their seven years, they became small landowners. SSUSH 1a

15. Virginia’s Social Structure • As the population of small landowners increased, settlement pushed farther west. • Poor farmers in western Virginia experienced conflicts with the Natives • They became impatient with the Governor in Jamestown, who favored the rich and did not do enough to protect western Virginians. SSUSH 1a

16. Bacon’s Rebellion • In 1676, this tension led to an armed conflict known as Bacon’s Rebellion. • Nathaniel Bacon, a Virginia Planter and wealth aristocrat, rallied forces to fight Native Americans on the Virginia frontier. • The Governor condemned his actions, so Bacon turned his forces on Jamestown. • The governor was forced to flee and Bacon’s men burned Jamestown to the ground. SSUSH 1a

17. Bacon’s Rebellion • Bacon suddenly died – ending his rebellion • Uprising showed that colonists expected a government that served everyone. • Wealthy realized the discontent among the poor farmers – planters turned away from indentured servants as labor. • Planters turned to another source of labor – slavery! SSUSH 1a

18. Slavery in Virginia • Slavery is a system in which people are owed as property. • It became essential to the colony’s economy as indentured servitude decreased. • First African slaves arrived in Jamestown in 1619. • Originally came as indentured servants with the same rights as white indentured servants. SSUSH 1a

19. Slavery in Virginia • The institution of slavery helped to establish the plantation system in Virginia and throughout the southern colonies. • Plantations were huge farms owned by wealthy landowners who raised cash crops • Cash crops are crops grown for trade or profit. • By the late 1600s, slavery was firmly rooted in the southern colonies. SSUSH 1a

20. Virginia’s Government • Due to the colonies’ great distance from England, the British adopted a policy known as salutary neglect. • Except for limited efforts by the crown to assert its control in the mid-1600s, the English government let the colonists govern themselves. SSUSH 1a

21. Virginia’s Government • The colonies established representative governments (governments in which the people elected their own officials and had a voice.) • Colonial governors appointed by the crown were in charge, colonial legislatures consisting of local residents came to possess most of the power. SSUSH 1a

22. House of Burgesses • 1619, Virginians elected the first legislative body. • Members were selected directly by the people and along with the governor comprised Virginia’s government. • Upper class generally served in the government. • It helped to lay a foundation for the ideas about representative government that would develop in other colonies. SSUSH 1a

23. The Colonies • Some colonies were established as royal colonies, governed by the King through an appointed royal governor. • Some colonies were proprietary or charter colonies • Proprietary colonies were granted to a group of private owners for development -Pennsylvania • Charter colonies were granted a charter by the King for the purpose of establishing a government. - Georgia

24. Southern Colonies • Maryland • Virginia • North Carolina • South Carolina • Georgia

25. Southern Colonial Society • Southerners generally accepted class distinctions and the idea that the wealthy, upper class (known as the gentry) is superior to the lower, poorer class • Public education did not exists in the Southern Colonies; poor were educated at home; wealthy educated at home with private tutors or sent off to school in Europe.

26. Southern Colonial Society • Great Britain established the southern colonies for economic reasons rather that religious. • Maryland was started as a refuge for Catholics. • The Gentry remained a part of the Church of England because it was in their economic and political interest • Methodist and Baptist over time became common among the poorer southerners.

27. Southern Colonial Economy • Tobacco became very popular in Europe and became an important cash crop for Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland. • South Carolina and Georgia made rice and indigo important cash crops. • Southern colonies also produced tar, pitch, and turpentine from the abundant pine forest.

28. Southern Colonial Economy • The South’s reliance on staple crops (crops that are in large demand and provide an income) gave rise to the plantation system and a reliance on slavery. • Plantation owners often had direct access to shipping, so large cities did not develop across the South.

29. New England Colonies • Massachusetts • New Hampshire • Rhode Island • Connecticut SSUSH 1b

30. New England Colonies • In addition to wealth, there were other reasons people came to North America. • Religious dissent (disagreement with the Church of England) was one of the most common. • English leaders viewed any protest of refusal to follow Anglican church leaders as a betrayal. • Those with different views saw North America as a place to escape religious persecution. SSUSH 1b

31. Puritans • Puritans wanted to build a community built solely on “pure Biblical teaching” rather than Anglican traditions. • 1620, Puritans established the Plymouth, Massachusetts Colony. • These Puritans became known as the Pilgrims and celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621 • Another group settled further north and established the Massachusetts Bay Colony SSUSH 1b

32. New England Colonial Economy • NE Colonies relied heavily on the Atlantic Ocean. • Shipbuilding, trade, and fishing became leading industries in the region. • New Englanders traded English Goods for West Indian products, slaves, etc. • Boston, Massachusetts became a booming urban center for shipping and commerce. • Farming in New England was for self-sufficiency SSUSH 1b

33. New England Education • Puritans believed that everyone should be able to read the Bible • They were the first to promote public education. • 1647, Massachusetts required all towns with 50+ families to have a public school. • Grammar schools were required to prepare young men for College • Women were trained in “womanly duties” at home. • Harvard (1636) and Yale (1701) were founded to train ministers. SSUSH 1b

34. New England Government • The First Efforts at self-government were defined in the Mayflower Compact.(1620) • It established an elected legislature and asserted that the government derived its power from the people of the colony. • It also implied that the colonists desire to be ruled by a local government, rather than England. SSUSH 1b

35. Town Meetings • The belief in representative government often took the form of town meetings. • Local, tax-paying citizens, (usually property owners) met together to discuss and vote on issues. • Despite advocating representative government, The Puritans still believed that government should seek to enforce the will of God. • Power tended to rest in the hands of church leaders; often very authoritative. SSUSH 1b

36. Religion and Dissent • The Puritan Church was a central part of life in New England. • Every settler in Massachusetts had to attend and support the Puritan Church. • Dissenters were often banished from the colony. SSUSH 1b

37. Roger Williams • Disagreed with Puritan Church leaders • Proponent of separation of Church and State; that every individual should be free to follow his own convictions in religious matters • Founded Rhode Island Colony • Advocating fair treatment of Indians. • Founded the first Baptist Church SSUSH 1b

38. Anne Hutchinson • Disagreed with Puritan leaders; felt that women could discern the will of God. • Banished from colony for teaching a Bible study to men and women. • Resettled in Rhode Island and New York. • She and her family were killed by Native Americans. SSUSH 1b

39. Thomas Hooker • Hooker maintained that any adult male who owned property should be able to vote and participate in civil government, regardless of church membership. • Left Massachusetts to found the new English settlement at Hartford, Connecticut. • He is also remembered for his role in creating the "Fundamental Orders of Connecticut". This document is one of the modern world's first written constitutions and an influence upon the current American Constitution. SSUSH 1b

40. Religion and Dissent • Unrest in Massachusetts took its toll. • The colony lost its charter in 1684 • Massachusetts was made a Royal Colony in 1691; established a representative legislature • Abolished the requirement that every member must be a member of the Church. SSUSH 1b

41. The Half-Way Covenant • Original settlers in New England shared deep religious convictions; as new generations took their place, leaders feared their offspring would not share the same “conversion experiences”. (coming to faith in Jesus Christ) • This was necessary to obtain Puritan Church membership. SSUSH 1b

42. The Half-Way Covenant • This threatened the very core of New England Society. • To fix the problem, the church adopted the Half-way covenant. • It established partial membership for children of full members regardless of conversion experience. • So long as they were baptized, they were considered church members but without voting privileges. • Church leaders hoped that younger Puritans would reject the non-religious world in favor of Puritan teachings SSUSH 1b

43. Salem Witch Trials • 1692, the commitment to Puritan faith resulted in a dark episode in American history – the Salem Witch Trials. • Claiming to have been possessed by the devil, several young girls accused townspeople of being witches. • 14 Women & 5 men were hanged; one was crushed to death for refusing to plead; others died in prison. SSUSH 1b

44. New Englanders and Native Americans • Relations were peaceful at first; Natives taught the Pilgrims how to grow corn that helped them survive the harsh winters. • A series of wars broke out that pushed the Natives off lands they had lived on for generations. • 1675, King Phillip ( Native American name was Metacom) united the tribes to fight the settlers. SSUSH 1b

45. King Phillip’s War • Despite killing nearly 2,000 settlers, Metacom’s forces retreated when the settlers fought back. • Colonial soldiers killed Metacom in a Rhode Island cave. • The confrontation became known as King Phillip’s War and resulted in the English gaining firmer control over New England. SSUSH 1b

46. Middle Colonies • New York • New Jersey • Pennsylvania • Delaware SSUSH 1c

47. Middle Colonies • Located between New England and the Southern Colonies. • The middle colonies were more culturally diverse because of their location, the degree of religious tolerance, and the fact that other countries (Sweden, Dutch) had originally settled them before England. SSUSH 1c

48. Mid-Colonial Economy • Middle Colonies depended on both farming and commerce. • Farmers raised staple crops like wheat, barley, and rye. • Large cities like Philadelphia and New York were home to a diverse group of people. • Slaves were not as numerous • Good waterways gave access to wooded interior, fur trading, and an economic relationship with the Iroquois Indians. SSUSH 1c

49. Diversity in the Middle Colonies • William Penn founded Pennsylvania as a homeland for the Quakers. • Quakers did not recognize class differences, promoted equality of the sexes, practiced pacifism (non-violence) and sought to deal fairly with Native Americans. • Pennsylvania was a place of religious tolerance – attracting many different denominations. SSUSH 1c

50. Diversity in the Middle Colonies • New York was originally a Dutch colony, so its residents spoke other languages. • Jews, as well as, Christians made New York home – the colonies first synagogue was located there. • Urban areas continued to grow and develop and Philadelphia became the largest city in the colonies. SSUSH 1c