Chapter 3: Puritans, Pilgrims, and Colonial Foundations (1619–1700)

Martin Luther (1517)

Began Protestant Reformation; said Bible alone is God's word.

John Calvin (1536)

Wrote *Institutes of the Christian Religion*; taught predestination, 'elect,' 'visible saints.'

Puritans

Wanted to purify Church of England; many came from depressed woolen districts.

Separatists

Most extreme Puritans; wanted to break entirely from Church of England.

Mayflower (1620)

102 passengers; land at Plymouth Bay (not Plymouth Rock).

Mayflower Compact

Agreement for self‑government & majority rule.

First Winter

44/102 survive; none return to England.

Thanksgiving (1621)

After bountiful harvest.

William Bradford

Governor 30 times; feared non‑Puritans would corrupt colony.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Founded 1630 by non‑Separatist Puritans fleeing Charles I & Archbishop Laud.

John Winthrop

Governor; 'city upon a hill.'

Great Migration (1630s)

70,000 leave England; 20,000 to Massachusetts.

Government in Massachusetts Bay

Only freemen (Puritan church members) could vote.

Anne Hutchinson

Argued that the saved didn't need to obey God or man (antinomianism).

Roger Williams

Extreme Separatist; criticized land theft from Natives; opposed civil regulation of religion.

Fundamental Orders (1639)

First modern constitution.

Pequot War (1637)

Mystic River massacre; Pequot tribe nearly wiped out.

King Philip's War (1675-1676)

Metacom (King Philip) leads pan‑Indian alliance; 52 towns attacked; 12 destroyed.

Dominion of New England (1686)

Imposed by England; enforced Navigation Laws.

Glorious Revolution (1688-1689)

Dominion collapses; Andros arrested.

New Netherland / New York

Founded by Dutch West India Company (1624); taken by England (1664); renamed New York.

Pennsylvania (1681)

Founded by William Penn, a Quaker; best advertised colony; liberal government.

Middle Colony Characteristics

Fertile soil; 'bread colonies' (grain exports); mixed population; religious tolerance.

Essential Dates

1517 — Luther begins Reformation; 1620 — Pilgrims land at Plymouth.