Unit 1

NEW ENGLAND COLONIES

Puritans

• There were other reasons people came to the colonies besides wealth.

• Many came due to religious dissent. • English leaders had no tolerance for those who refused

to follow Anglican church teachings. • Those with different religious views saw America as a

place to escape persecution. • The Puritans (who wanted to purify the Anglican Church)

established a colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 for this reason.

• Puritans = Pilgrims• More Puritans came and established the Massachusetts

Bay Colony. • What do you associate Pilgrims with? • The real story of Thanksgiving

The Mayflower Compact

November 11, 1620

The Mayflower Compact

November 11, 1620Not a constitution, but an agreement to form a crude govt. and submit to majority rule.

Another indication of desire for self-govt. in American colonies (remember House of Burgesses?)

Est. an elected legislature & asserted that govt. derived its power from the people of the colony (democratic principles.)

Most of the power held by church leaders.

Education

• High priority on literacy b/c Puritans thought everyone should be able to read the Bible.

• 1st colony to pass laws requiring public schools (in 1647).

• America’s earliest colleges founded by New Englanders: Harvard & Yale.

Religious Intolerance: Isn’t it Ironic?

• As reflected in the govt and edu of N.E., the Puritan church was a central part of New England life.

• Religious dissenters were often banished from the colony.

• Or sometimes worse.

Covenant Theology“Covenant of Grace”:

between Puritan communities and God.

“Social Covenant”: Between members of Puritan

communities with each other. No toleration of deviance or

disorder. No privacy.

Half-Way Covenant

• As settlers died and a new generation took their place, Puritans feared their offspring would not share the same “conversion experiences.”

• To fix this problem, they adopted a Half-way Covenant. It established partial membership in the church for the descendents of full members regardless of any conversion experience.

• As long as the partial member was baptized, he/she was considered a church member but without voting rights on church matters.

• They hoped this would encourage their children to stay true to the faith and avoid secularism.

Salem Witch Trials

• In 1692, commitment to the protection of the Puritan faith resulted in one of the darkest episodes of American history- the Salem With Trials.

• Several young girls in Salem, Mass accused various townspeople of being witches, possessed by the devil.

• Colonial authorities brought many of the accused to trial and sentenced them to execution.

Dissenters

Dissenters

New England Colonies, 1650

King Philip’s War: Same Old Story

• At 1st, relations between settlers and Native Americans in New England were peaceful.

• Eventually, a series of wars broke out as settlers pushed west into Indian territory.

• In 1675, a Native American leader known as “King Philip,” (Metacom) united the Indians in an unsuccessful attempt to drive out the English settlers.

• 2000 colonists were killed, but Metacom was killed too. • This conflict became known as King Philip’s War and

resulted in English colonists gaining firm control in New England.

The Middle Colonies

• The Middle Colonies (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware). were more economically and demographically diverse & religiously tolerant than the New England or Southern colonies.

• New York & Philadelphia were large urban centers. • Under the leadership of William Penn, PA became a

homeland for Quakers. This religious group ignored class differences, promoted gender equality, practiced pacifism (non-violence), and dealt fairly with Native Americans.

• They also made PA a place of religious tolerance, attracting German Lutherans, Scottish Presbyterians, and Swiss Mennonites.

• Jews and Dutch lived in New York, making it a culturally diverse colony.

• Merchants were the aristocracy here.

Even Old New YorkWas Once New Amsterdam• The Dutch originally settled New York. They

named their colony New Netherland, and established its key trading post in New Amsterdam (NYC) at the mouth of the Hudson River.

• Prosperous merchant class flourished. • England’s King Charles II decided he wanted

the territory for himself, seized it from the Dutch and placed it under the rule of his bro, the Duke of York. Hence the name New York.

Assessment

• How do historians traditionally divide the original 13 colonies? – A) North, West, East, and South– B) North, Middle, South– C) New England, Middle, Southern– D) New England, Middle, Plantation.

Assessment

• Which colonial region was most known for plantations, large numbers of slaves, and the production of rice and tobacco?

Assessment

• How did New Amsterdam come to be known as New York?

• Why were the Middle colonies more religiously tolerant?

sources

• Ms. Susan M. PojerHorace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY: powerpointpalooza.net

• Pathways to the Present• Passing the Georgia U.S. History

EOCT