Early US History: From Ancient Civilizations to the Glorious Revolution
Indigenous Foundations and Ancient American Origins
According to the foundational beliefs of the Lenape Native Americans, the creation of North America, traditionally referred to as Turtle Island, originated with the descent of Sky Woman. This narrative describes Sky Woman falling from the heavens into a watery world; she was assisted by a muskrat and a beaver and eventually landed safely upon the back of a large turtle, which served as the foundation for the continent. Most of the extant information regarding these ancient Americans is derived from the work of archaeologists. These professionals focus their efforts on physical objects, termed artifacts, which include bones, spear points, pots, baskets, jewelry, clothing, and buildings. These items serve as empirical clues to the activities and intellectual lives of the humans who created them. This methodology differs from that of historians, who predominantly focus on written records such as letters, diary entries, laws, speeches, newspapers, and court cases.
Geological shifts also played a critical role in the habitation of the continent. During periods when snow accumulated in glaciers, global sea levels dropped, exposing a land bridge several hundred miles wide known as Beringia. This land bridge connected Asian Siberia to American Alaska, facilitating migration. In the South Western region of North America, early settlers such as the Hohokams, Mogollons, and Anasazis inhabited an environment that was seemingly hostile to agriculture. To survive, these cultures developed sophisticated irrigation systems to manage limited water resources, allowing for the construction of sizable villages and towns. By approximately AD , some Anasazi groups transitioned into large, multistory cliff dwellings, the spectacular ruins of which are preserved today at Mesa Verde.
Woodland Cultures and Indigenous Technologies
In the Eastern Woodlands, Native American agriculture was defined by the cultivation of the "Three Sisters," which refers to the companion planting of corn, beans, and squash. Other groups were classified as hunter-gatherers, defined as societies that obtained food via hunting, fishing, and the collection of wild plants rather than husbandry or farming. These societies were highly mobile, moving seasonally to exploit different resources, and therefore maintained no fixed townsites or heavy material possessions. Conversely, the Cahokian culture was known for its settled complexity, characterized by the construction of massive mounds with platforms used for ceremonies and the residences of high chiefs. Cahokia supported a massive population through corn surplus and the construction of woodhenges. They were also known for playing a game called Chunkey, which is described as being very similar to the modern game of bocce ball.
Technological and environmental management was another hallmark of ancient Americans. Fire was utilized extensively as a tool with multiple advantages: it was used to frighten and drive large game like deer and buffalo into slaughter zones; it was used to clear shrubby undergrowth at the edge of woods to encourage the growth of tender plants that attracted game within range of hunters; and it promoted the growth of sun-loving food plants such as blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries. However, fire was not used for the forging of steel for tools or weapons. In the Ohio region, between BP and BP, the Adena people constructed hundreds of burial mounds. These mounds contained grave goods including stone pipes, spear points, and thin sheets of mica—a glasslike mineral—that were crafted into the shapes of animals or humans.
Eastern Tribes and Early European Contact
Iroquoian tribes were centered in Pennsylvania, upstate New York, and the hilly upland regions of the Carolinas and Georgia. They were distinguished from their neighbors by three specific features, most notably their adherence to matrilineal rules of descent. In the northernmost regions, very little is known about early Arctic cultures because as the ice melted and sea levels rose, their original home sites were flooded. Further south, archaeological evidence has identified pre-Clovis sites, such as Meadowcroft, located near Washington in Western Pennsylvania. Historical records also highlight pre-Columbian European contact; nearly years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the Norse (Vikings) discovered North America and established a settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, as recorded in their sagas.
Early English attempts at colonization included the ill-fated expeditions of Sir Walter Raleigh. His three attempts to settle Roanoke Island ended in disaster when settlers, who had been left unsupplied for several years, vanished entirely, leading to its reputation as the "Lost Colony." Later, the Virginia Company founded Jamestown, which initially consisted of all males who lacked the skills to support themselves. Despite King James I's initial distaste for tobacco, which he famously labeled a "vile weed," his attitude shifted once he realized the crop could be taxed. The colony faced significant conflict with local populations; notably, Opechancanough coordinated a surprise attack by twelve Indian chiefdoms that resulted in the deaths of English settlers, representing nearly one-third of the Virginia population. In response, the King revoked the Virginia Company's charter and transformed Virginia into a royal colony, appointing a governor and an advisory council.
The Salem Witch Trials and Religious Dissension
The Salem Witch Trials of represent a dramatic episode of social and legal crisis in Salem Village. According to historical papers, the "afflicted" girls never actually said or suggested they were being bewitched. The first three individuals accused of witchcraft were Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba. A significant case illustrating that the trials were not purely religious involved Mary Sibley. Sibley, a member of Parris' church, prompted Tituba to bake a "witch cake" using the urine of the afflicted girls to release them from the devil's influence. Despite this act, Sibley was never accused of witchcraft and served no jail time; her only penalty was a public confession of her ignorance before the church. In another case of religious and social upheaval, Anne Hutchinson was found guilty of heretical views and exiled to Rhode Island. She followed Roger Williams and preached a "covenant of grace," arguing that God saved those He predestined and that inward grace freed the individual from the rules of the church, contradicting the "covenant of works."
Colonial Systems and the Slave Trade
Early colonial governance was characterized by several distinct systems. The Headright system in Virginia guaranteed acres of land to anyone who paid the passage of a new immigrant, allowing wealthy planters to amass land by importing indentured servants and slaves. Indentured servitude involved labor contracts binding individuals to work for a master for four to five years, after which they were free to marry and work for themselves. In the Spanish colonies, the "Casta System" established a complex hierarchy of racial categories buttressed by a legal code. The French colony of New France (Canada) was strictly controlled by King Louis XIV, who forbade Huguenots from emigrating. In contrast, the Dutch established New Netherland with New Amsterdam as its capital, which is known today as New York City. Before , the English government took a very lax, "hands-off" approach to its New England and Chesapeake colonies.
Economic structures in the colonies often centered on the South Atlantic System, an agricultural and commercial order producing sugar, tobacco, and rice for international markets. This system relied heavily on the Middle Passage, the second leg of the trade route where enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas. At the height of the British slave trade, a slave ship departed from African ports as frequently as every other day. Life expectancy for slaves varied by region; it was lowest in South Carolina due to the harsh labor of rice cultivation and highest in the Chesapeake region. In Virginia, the legal system was so skewed that it was not considered a crime for a slave owner to kill a slave while "correcting" them. Slave owners lived in constant fear of revolt, such as the Stono Rebellion, where slaves attempted to flee to freedom in Florida. British sugar plantations in the Caribbean were so specialized that they did not raise any of their own food crops, importing all necessities.
Restoration, Revolution, and Governance
The later period of colonization saw the rise of "Neo-Europes," colonies that sought to replicate the economies and social structures of the settlers' home countries. The Restoration Colonies—Carolina, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—centered on proprietorships. The lands of Pennsylvania were granted to William Penn, a member of the Quaker religious sect. Penn faced persecution in England; the Bishop of London once ordered him held indefinitely in the Tower of London until he recanted his writings. In New England, the local government was often handled via the Town Meeting, where all male heads of households met to elect selectmen and regulate community affairs. Conflict during this era included Metacom's War (-), also known as King Philip's War, which resulted in the destruction of one-fifth of English towns in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and the deaths of settlers, nearly of the adult population.
Imperial control shifted as the English crown sought more authority. The Navigation Acts required that all goods be carried on ships owned by English or colonial merchants, that sugar and tobacco be exported only to England, and that all European imports to the colonies pass through England. King James II merged multiple colonies into the Dominion of New England to increase control. Following the Glorious Revolution, King William and Queen Mary were forced by Whig politicians to accept the Declaration of Rights (or Bill of Rights). This created a constitutional monarchy and shifted significant power to the House of Commons at the expense of the crown. Finally, the Columbian Exchange facilitated the movement of goods and diseases; items like potatoes, tomatoes, and syphilis were transported to Europe, while smallpox was introduced to the Americas.