Unit 2: Colonial Settlement

What motivated the English to move to the colonies?

• Eng's population was growing faster than economy, so more poor/landless families -> wanted better life
• religious freedom
• possible wealth

corporate colonies

operated by joint-stock companies, at least in early years

royal colonies

under authority & rule of king's gov't

proprietary colonies

under authority of individuals granted charters of ownership by king

The Virginia Company

a joint-stock company that founded the first permanent English colony in America in Jamestown

Early Problems in Jamestown

• Fatal outbreaks of dysentery & malaria
• Many settlers were gentlemen unaccustomed to physical work / gold hunters who refused to hunt/farm
• Goods came from trade w/ natives
  -> Conflicts stopped trade-> settlers starved

How were the early problems in Jamestown solved?

• Through leadership of Captain John Smith, colony survived first 5 years
  -> Forced ppl to work so they could eat & survive
• John Rolfe & Native American wife Pocahontas helped develop tobacco
  -> Became popular in Europe & profitable crop
  -> Required large labor force -> used combo of slaves/indentured servants

headright

• 50 acres of land provided by VA to any settler who paid for passage for a settler to the colony to recruit white settlers
  -> Helped many Euros to move to VA, but mostly aided landowners who added to their holdings by sponsoring indentured servants

Why did Virginia become a royal colony?

• death from diseases & conflicts w/ Natives kept population very low
• VA co. makes unwise decisions
  -> Fell into debt -> co. went bankrupt 1624
• VA went under direct control of King James I

Separatists

• Radical dissenters who wanted a completely separate church that was independent of royal control
• Left England for Holland in search of religious freedom
  -> Economic hardship & culture differences w/ the Dutch led them to seek another haven for religion
  -> Chose new colony in Americas then run by VA
• became known as Pilgrims

Puritans

Believed that Church of England could be reformed/purified

Settlement of Plymouth Colony

• settled by Separatists
• Went aboard Mayflower
  -> Didn't end up in VA
  -> Est. new colony @ Plymouth
  -> Helped by local Natives to adapt to land
  -> Held 1st Thanksgiving
• Furs, fish, lumber -> mainstays of economy

Settlement of Massachusetts Bay Colony

• settled by Puritans
• Seeking religious freedom
  -> Group of Puritans gained royal charter for Massachusetts Bay Company (1629)
• John Winthrop
• The Great Migration

John Winthrop

Led a thousand Puritans to MA & founded Boston

The Great Migration

Religious & political conflict in England in the 1630s that drove around 15k settlers to MA Bay Colony

Cecil Calvert

Implemented his father's plan in 1634 to provide haven in Maryland for fellow Catholics who faced persecution from Protestants in Britain

Act of Toleration

• Immigrated Catholics who est. plantations quickly outnumbered by immigrated Protestant farmers who held majority in MD assembly
• Calvert persuaded assembly to adopt Act of Toleration
  -> 1st colonial statute granting religious freedom to all Christians
  -> However, persecuted those who denied divinity of Jesus

Protestant Revolt

• in Maryland
• Protestants angered by Catholic proprietors & ignited civil war
  -> Protestants won
  -> Repealed Act of Toleration
  -> Catholics lost right to vote in elections for assembly

Roger Williams

• Puritan minister in Boston
• Believed that individual's conscience was beyond control of any civil or church authority
• His teachings created conflict w/ other Puritan leaders who ordered his banishment
• Dipped & est. Providence, RI in 1636
  -> Gov't allowed Catholics, Quakers, & Jews to worship freely
  -> Recognized rights of Natives & paid them for use of their land

Anne Hutchinson

• believed in antinomianism
• banished from MA Bay & founded Portsmouth RI

How is Rhode Island founded?

• Roger Williams granted charter, combines Providence & Portsmouth to create Rhode Island
• colony tolerated diverse beliefs
• served as refuge for many

Thomas Hooker

• Reverend who led Boston Puritans upset w/ MA authorities & founded Hartford in 1636
• Hartford settlers drew 1st written constitution in American history, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

representative gov't w/ legislature elected by popular vote & a governor chosen by that legislature

John Davenport

established 2nd settlement in Connecticut Valley called New Haven

How was Connecticut founded?

• New Haven & Hartford combined to form Connecticut
• Royal charter granted CT limited degree of self-gov't, including election of governor

How was New Hampshire founded?

• Charles II separated NH from MA Bay colony to inc. royal control in colonies
• Royal colony subject to authority of appointed governor

Halfway Covenant

Offered by some clergy so that ppl could be partial members of church if not feeling full conversion, specifically for Natives

Restoration Colonies

• Colonies founded during Restoration period in England following brief rule under Cromwell
• the Carolinas, the middle colonies, & GA

South Carolina

• royal colony
• had large rice-growing plantations worked by enslaved Africans

North Carolina

• royal colony
• Tobacco farms
• Democratic values & autonomy from British control
• some African slaves & some indentured servants

Settlement of the New York colony

• Originally Dutch colony
• Duke of York (James II) ordered new taxes, duties, & rents w/o consent of representative assembly
  -> Tax w/o rep faced strong opposition
  -> Eventually James did yield & granted civil & political rights, such as rep. gov't

William Penn

• Joined a group of Christians known as the Quakers
  -> Considered radical by British & colonists
  -> their beliefs challenged authority -> arrested & persecuted
• hoped his colony would be safe haven for Quakers & other persecuted religions
• Was respectful of Natives & didn't cheat them for their land
• founded PA & DE

Frame of Government

• in PA
• Guaranteed freedom of worship for all & unrestricted immigration

Purpose of Georgia Colony

• Only colony to receive direct financial support from gov't
• British had 2 reasons to start this colony
  1. Create defensive buffer to protect SC plantations from Spanish Florida
  2. Place to send thousands of ppl in England imprisoned for debt
     -> Relieving overcrowded jails & provide chance for ppl to start life over

James Oglethorpe

• led group of philanthropists & founded Savannah
• Georgia's 1st governor
  -> Strict regulations
  -> Ban on drinking rum & slavery

Problems in early Georgia colony

• Colony didn't prosper, partly bc of constant Spanish threat in FL
• Oglethorpe gave up -> taken over by Britain & became royal colony
• Regulations dropped (rum & slavery)
• Adopted plantation system

Why did Britain have difficulty exerting tight control on the colonies?

1. Distance across Atlantic -> slow communication
2. Consumed by domestic upheavals & wars w/ France

• These factors caused self-rule in colonies

House of Burgesses

• first representative assembly in America
• dominated by elite planters
• Virginia

Mayflower Compact

• Pilgrims created & signed doc where they pledged to make decisions by will of majority
• Early form of self gov't & rudimentary written constitution
• Communities had town meetings to debate & elect members to legislatures
• Voting rights were relatively broad
  -> MA Bay Colony -> all freemen (male members of Puritan Church) had right to elect colony's governor & rep. assem.

Limits to Colonial Democracy

• Females & landless males had few rights
• Indentured servants had practically no rights
• Enslaved people had no rights
• Many colonial governors ruled w/ unlimited powers, answering only to king/those providing colony w/ financial support
• Democratic practices existed alongside antidemocratic practices (e.g. mistreatment of natives & slavery)

mercantilism

• Economic theory that a country's wealth was determined by how much more it exported than imported
• In this system, colonies existed for one purpose only: to enrich parent country
  -> Provide raw mterials
  -> Promote country's industries

Navigation Acts

• 3 rules for colonial trade:
  1. Trade to and from colonies could be carried only by Eng or colonial-built ships, operated only by Eng or colonial crews
  2. All goods imported into colonies, except for some perishables, had to pass thru ports in Eng
  3. Specified or "enumerated" goods from the colonies could be exported to Eng only.

Positive impact of the Navigation Acts on the colonies

• Aided in shipbuilding
• Provided Chesapeake tobacco a monopoly in Eng
• Provided Eng military forces to protect colonies from any attacks from French & Spanish

Negative impact of the Navigation Acts on the colonies

• Limited development of colonial economy
  -> Colonists couldn't manufacture their own goods, so they had to pay high prices for manufactured goods from Eng

salutary neglect

• Very relaxed enforced trade regulations of mercantilism, although in theory they should be strictly enforced
• evident w/ Navigation Acts

How were the Navigation Acts reinforced in the colonies?

• Several factors made enforcement difficult
  -> Atlantic separated British gov't from colonies, so exerting any authority was challenging
  -> Eng faced larger problems than trade, e.g. Eng Civil War, revolution that replaced monarch, 4 wars w/ France
  -> Britain's colonial agents were often corrupt. Colonial merchants could evade regulations easily bc of this w/ bribes to those in charge of enforcing regulations

Dominion of New England

• By King James II to inc. royal control over colonies by combining them into larger units & doing away w/ rep. assem.s
• NY, NJ, & various New E. colonies
• Sir Edmund Andros
• brought to an end w/ the Glorious Rev (overthrow of the king) in Euro.

Sir Edmund Andros

• governor of Dominion of N.E.
• instantly unpopular
  -> levied taxes
  -> limited town meetings
  -> revoked land titles

Why was the New England Confederation established?

• N.E. in constant threat of attacks from Natives
  -> Eng in midst of civil war -> colonists expected little help

New England Confederation

• Plymouth, MA Bay, CT, New Haven
• Military alliance
• Directed by board composed of 2 reps from each colony
• Colonial rivalries & renewed control by Eng monarch brought confederation to end
• Est. important precedent for colonies taking unified action for a common purpose

What did the New England Confederation deal with?

• Limited powers to:
  -> Act on boundary disputes
  -> Return of runaway servants
  -> Dealings w/ Natives

Metacom's War (King Philip's War"

• N.E. confed. helped N.E. to win this war
• Metacom, chief of Wampanoag tribe, united many tribes in Sthrn N.E.
  -> Some tribes support the colonists b/c of their long-standing rivalry w/ Wampanog
  -> Resulted in war
• Villages burned to ground, several killed, many injured
  -Colonial forces & Native allies win
  -> Killed Metacom
• War resulted in end of most Native resistance in N.E.

Sir William Berkeley

• Royal governor of VA (1641-1652; 1660-1677)
• Used dictatorial powers to govern on behalf of large planters
• Antagonized small farmers b/c he failed to protect them from Native Attacks

Bacon's Rebellion

• in VA
• Nathaniel Bacon, poor farmer, led rebellion against Berkeley's gov't
• Series of raids & massacres against Natives, including some who were friendly w/ colonial gov't
• Berkeley's gov't accuses Bacon of rebelling against royal authority
• Bacon's army wins and burns Jamestown settlement
• Berkeley repressed remnants of insurrection
  -> Executed 23 rebels

Significance of Bacon's Rebellion

• Bacon's Rebellion highlighted long-lasting disputes in VA & other colonies:
  1. Sharp class differences btwn wealthy & landless/poor farmers
  2. Conflict on the frontiers btwn Natives & colonists
  3. Colonial resistance to royal control

Pueblo Revolt

• Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries followed aggressive program to convert Natives to Christ
• Various tribes united against Spanish
• Spanish driven from the area
• Spain regains control in 1692 & made accommodations to Natives
• By ruling less harshly, Spain found greater stability

Indentured Servants

• Early colonists of VA Co. were too poor to purchase enslaved Africans
  -> Instead, used indentured servants
  -> Those from British Isles agreed to work for a specified period in return for room & board
  -> Under absolute rule of masters

Reasons slavery became increasingly important (especially in southern colonies)

1. REDUCED MIGRATION: inc. wages in Eng reduced immigrants coming to colonies
2. DEPENDABLE WORKFORCE: small farmers/indentured servants had too many political demands (e.g. proven by Bacon's Rebellion), so landowners saw slavery as stable labor force totally under control
3. LOW COST LABOR: as tobacco prices fell, rice & indigo became the most profitable crops -> required large area of land and many people working (ppl who were inexpensive & unskilled were just fine)

• Inc. demand for slaves also supported profitable & lucrative triangular trade

Slave laws

• Importance of slavery inc. -> colonists adopted laws to ensure slaves were held in bondage for life & status would be inherited
  -> MA first colony to recognize enslavement of "lawful" captives
  -> VA enacts law in which children automatically inherited mother's enslaved status for life
  -> Eng law that converts to Christ couldn't be enslaved was getting overturned
  -> MD declared baptism doesn't change enslaved person's statues & white women couldn't marry African men

Resistance to Slavery

• Struggled to maintain family ties, even tho slaveowners could break them by selling off family members @ anytime
• Kept elements of African religious practices, even if converted to Christ
• Used songs & storytelling to maintain traditions & customs
  -Resisted slavery thru more direct action such as hunger strikes, breaking tools, refusing to work, or fleeing

Population Growth

• Resulted from immigration of over 1 mill ppl & high birthrate from colonial families
• Abundance of fertile land & dependable food supply attracted Euros & supported raising large fams
• European Immigrants
  -> Many fleeing religious persecution & wars
  Others searching for economic opportunity (farmers, artisans, merchants)

Hereditary Aristocracy in Euro v.s. Colonies

• Extremes of Europe- very wealthy nobility & masses of hungry poor- were missing in colonies
• Narrower class system
• Wealthy landowners at the top, craft works & small farmers made up majority of people

Social Mobility in Euro v.s. colonies

• White residents able to improve standard of living w/ hard work
• Acquiring land easier than in Europe

Family development in colonies

• Center of colonial life
• Expanding economy & ample food supply -> ppl married younger & reared more children than in Europe
• Most ppl lived on farms
• Higher standard of living than most Europeans

Men in Colonial Family

• Could own property & participate in politics
• Law gave man almost unlimited power in home

Women in Colonial Family

• Bore an average of 8 children, most of whom would - Cooked, cleaned, made clothes, provide medical care, educated children
• Worked next to husband in shop, on plantation, or on farm
• Divorce legal but rare
• Women had limited legal & political rights
• Shared labor & mutual dependence btwn husband & wife

New England economy

• Rocky soil & long winters limited most ppl to subsistence farming
  -> Producing just enough for family
• Most farms were small & work was done by fam or occasionally hired laborer
• Descendants of the Puritans profited from logging, shipbuilding, fishing, trading, & rum-distilling

Middle Colonies economy

• Rich soil produced abundance of wheat & corn exported to Europe & West Indies
• Often indentured servants/hired laborers worked w/ farm fams
• Variety of small manufacturing, including iron-making
• Trading led to growth of cities (Philly, NYC)

Southern Colonies economy

• b/c of diverse geography & climate, agriculture varied greatly
• Most ppl lived on small subsistence farms w/o slaves
• A few lived on large plantations relying on slave labor
  -> self-sufficient
• Tobacco in Chesapeake & NC colonies, timber & naval stores (tar & pitch) in Carolinas, and rice & indigo in SC & GA

Monetary system in colonies

• One way Brit controlled colonial economy was to limit use of $
• Forced colonies to use limited gold & silver to pay for Brit imports that exceeded value of colonial $
• However, they often issued too much $, causing it to decline in value -> inflation
• Brit gov't also claimed right to veto colonial laws that might harm Brit merchants

Transportation of goods

• Transporting goods by water was easier than over land
  -> Boston, NYC, Philly good harbors
• gradually overland travel by horse & stagecoach more common in 18th century
• Taverns provided good & lodging for travelers & served as social centers where ppl discussed politics & news

Jonathan Edwards

• Among best known leaders of Great Awakening
• Congregationalist & from MA
• Famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"
• Presented a God that was angry w/ human sinfulness
• Individuals who deeply repented would be saved
• Those who ignored God's commandments would suffer eternal damnation

George Whitefield

• Stressed God was all-powerful & would save only those who openly professed belief in Christ
• those who didn't -> damned to hell
• Taught that ordinary ppl w/ faith & sincerity could understand gospels w/o ministers to lead them

religious impact of Great Awakening

• Emotionalism became more common in Protestant services
• Caused split in some denominations
  -> e.g. Congregationalist & Presbyterians, btwn supporters "New Lights" & opponents "Old Lights" of the new expressiveness feeling
• As ppl studied Bible in their homes, ministers lost some authority over them
  -> Evangelical sects like Baptists & Methodists that often relied on travelling ministers attracted large numbers of new members
• As Great Awakening spread, new denominations challenged Congregationalists & Anglicans
• Ppl called for stricter separation of church & state

political influence of the Great Awakening

• Democratizing effect by changing the way ppl viewed authority
• If ppl made their own religious decisions w/o "higher" authority of ministers, could they also make their own political decisions w/o deferring to others?
  -> Would later challenge authority of a king & his royal governors

literature in the colonies

• Most authors wrote on serious subjects, ex. Religion & politics
• Many political writings highlighting conflict btwn American rights & Eng authority
  -> Most popular author was Ben Franklin
  -> Writing collected in Poor Richard's Almanack, a best-selling book revised annually

Philis Wheatley

• born in West Africa, enslaved, & living in Boston published poems
• Freed soon after this
• Work is noteworthy both for her triumph over slavery & quality of her verse

Primary Education in New England

• Puritan's emphasis on reading Bible led them to create first tax-supported schools
• MA law in 1647 required towns to establish primary schools for boys

Primary Education in Middle Colonies

schools either church-sponsored or private

Primary Education in Southern Colonies

• Parents gave children whatever education they could
• On plantations, tutors provided instruction for owners' children

higher education

First colonial colleges were sectarian, promoting doctrines of particular religious group

education of ministry

• Christian ministry-> only profession to enjoy widespread respect among commonppl
• Ministers often only well-educated ppl in small community

education of physicians

• Poor medical education
• Often treated ppl w/ "cures" that just made them worse

education of lawyers

• As trade expanded & legal probs became more complex, ppl wanted expert assistance in court
• Their legal arguments eventually provide intellectual underpinnings of American Rev

the press

• News spread mainly thru postal system & local printing firms
• Newspapers
  -> Provided month-old news from Europe, ads for goods & services and return of runaway indentured servants/enslaved ppl, and essays giving advice for better living
• the Zenger Case

The Zenger Case

• Newspaper printers ran risk of being jailed for libel if any article offended authorities
• Eng common law stated that it was a crime to criticize governor, no matter if criticism was true or false
• John Peter Zenger, NY publisher, tried on a charge of libelously criticizing NY's royal governor
• Zenger's lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, argued that his client had printed the truth
• Ignoring law, jury acquitted Zenger
• Impact: Didn't guarantee freedom of press, but encouraged newspapers to criticize the gov't

impact Enlightenment had on colonial development

• Greater impact on colonies b/c higher literacy rates than in Euro (more peasants in Euro)
• hand-printed printing press
  -> Led to importance of sharing info thru pamphlets and newspapers
  -> Spread ideas of Enlightenment & general news throughout the colonies

(Enlightenment) John Locke's ideas on gov't

• In Two Treatises of Government, reasoned that while gov't is supreme -> bound to follow "natural laws" based on rights that ppl have simply b/c they are human
  -> Argued that sovereignty ultimately resides within the ppl, not gov't
  -> Citizens had right & obligation to revolt against gov't that failed to protect their rights
• stress on natural rights -> later rationale for American Rev & principles of US constitution

How did the colonies become more like England?

• Built on English political traditions to develop self-governing
• Most colonists spoke English & could read the books and newspapers of colonies
• Commercial ties w/ Eng (exporting tobacco or importing manufactured goods)
• Many connected to Eng thru religion (ex. Anglicans, Puritans, Quakers)

How were the colonies distinctly American (unlike England)?

• Motivations for leaving Europe
• Eng political heritage
• Diverse mix of ppl, emergence of writers & painters
• Influence of American natural environment
• Colonists (especially white male property owners)
  -> exercised rights of free speech & press
  -> became accustomed to electing representatives to colonial assemblies
  -> tolerated variety of religions

Mistrust of the British

• Colonies eager to push westward; Brits desired peace w/ Natives
• Colonists comfortable w/ salutary neglect; Brits sometimes tried to enforce trade regulations
• Colonists took pride in governing themselves according to Eng traditions of liberty; Brits claimed sovereignty over them as part of empire
• Colonies more ethnically & religiously diverse than Eng, so many colonists didn't identify from birth w/ country that ruled them

common system of gov't in colonies (by 1750)

• Governor: chief executive
  -> either appointed by crown, elected by ppl (RI & CT), or appointed by proprietor (PA & MD)
• Legislature: votes to adopt or reject governor's proposed laws, consisting of two houses:
  1. Members of lower house (assembly), elected by White male property owners. Voted for/against new taxes. Colonists became accustomed to paying taxes only if their chosen reps approved.
  2. Members of upper house in the two self-governing colonies were also elected. In the other colonies, members appointed by king/proprietor, & were also known as the council

Local gov't in New England

town meetings in which ppl come together to vote directly on public issues

Local gov't in Southern Colonies

towns less common & plantations more widely spread -> law-enforcing sheriff & other officials who served a large territory called a county

voting in colonies

• Laws barred most ppl from voting
  -> White women, poor white men, slaves, most free Africans
  -> However, religious restrictions on voting began to decline in 18th cent
• Another variable in development of democracy-> who could serve in assemblies & councils
  -> VA: House of Burgesses restricted to small grp of wealthy landowners
  -> MA: legislature open to small farmers, but the educated, propertied elite held pwr for generations
• Political life in colonies restricted to white landowning males, but allowed greater self-gov't than in Europe

How was colonial society democratic?

• MA was democratic, at least for its times
  -> town meetings & voting -> direct democracy
• Vast majority of white males could vote & were not restricted by property qualifications
• Class differences btwn elite & masses of ppl didn't prevent latter from participating fully in colonial politics
• 2 elected independent governors (RI, CT)
• 2 house legislatures
  -> upper house = appointed
  -> lower house - elected (by landowners)
  -> direct representatives could vote on taxes
• governors generally qualified, some corrupt
  -> assemblies kept control of governors by holding pay hostage until they submit to will of assembly
• role of local gov't important

How were the colonies not democratic?

• voting not guaranteed -> religious, race, gender, land requirements to vote
• degree to which colonial assemblies/governors' councils represented either elie or larger society
  -> House of Burgesses limited to certain families or wealth landowners
  -> MA, legislature open to more small farmers (educated property owners still had an edge)
  -> commonppl relied on their experience/knowledge to govern & make decisions
• town meetings didn't provide truly open forum for debate
  -> consensus-forming ultimately limited degree of open discourse