Untitled Flashcard Set
Here are notes with all key details from the provided sources:
From "America in 1491.pdf"
Native People in North America:
An estimated two to ten million native peoples lived across what is today the United States.
Peoples were grouped in tribes, with tribal life focusing on the natural resources of their region.
For example, the Makah of the Pacific Northwest focused on whaling and fishing, and their word for "fish" and "food" were the same.
The Iroquois Confederacy was a union of five tribes: Cayuga, Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, and Onondaga. This confederacy stretched along the St. Lawrence River in today’s state of New York and Canada.
A Council of Fifty helped guide the tribes, and women were also key leaders.
Native Americans viewed land as for the common good, which conflicted with the European and later American view of land as private property. This conflict occurred repeatedly.
A quote regarding their land view states, "The Great Spirit gave it to his children to live upon and cultivate as far as necessary for their subsistence and so long as they occupy and cultivate it; they have a right to the soil".
From "Columbus (1).pdf"
Age of Exploration:
Columbus’s voyages created a permanent connection between the New World and Europe.
Four key states financed exploration:
Portugal, led by Prince Henry, were leaders in navigation.
Spain sought to spread Catholicism and gain wealth.
England, with figures like Sir Francis Drake (Sea Dogs).
France, with explorers like Cartier and Champlain.
Christopher Columbus:
Grew up in Genoa, a coastal town on the west side of Italy.
He was skilled at both sailing and navigation.
Columbus studied geography and concluded that trading cities in Asia were 2400 miles west of Europe. However, he miscalculated the distance to the Far East (Japan and China), believing it to be 10,000 miles west of Europe.
He approached different monarchs to finance his voyage.
In 1492, he went to Spain a second time, and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to finance his trip, partly because Columbus vowed to take the Catholic faith to people.
Columbus sailed with three ships and a crew of 90 sailors. He left Spain on August 3rd, sailed 800 miles to the Canary Islands. After a month at sea, land was spotted on October 12th, believed to be the Bahamas.
Encounter in the "New World":
Columbus believed he was in India and thus called the natives "Indians".
The natives were Tainos, living in villages of 100-300 people.
Columbus believed it would be easy to convert them and force them to work.
Return to Spain:
Columbus's first settlement was established on the island of Hispaniola (modern Haiti and Dominican Republic).
He sailed back to Spain in January 1493 with two dozen captured natives.
Despite bringing back little gold, Columbus was hailed as a great success by the Spanish court.
Columbus as Governor:
Columbus’s second voyage to the New World involved 17 ships and 1,500 men.
Native resistance to the Spaniards continued, and despite Columbus's increased numbers, settlements did not prosper. He made four voyages in all.
Legacy of Columbus:
Despite the view that he discovered America (as the first European), he never set foot on territory that is today the United States.
The view of Columbus as a great explorer peaked in the late 1800s to early 1900s.
The Downside: Naval historian Samuel Eliot Morrison’s 1941 biography praised Columbus’s abilities but gave only slight attention to the fact that his cruel policies toward the natives resulted in genocide. European diseases also devastated native populations.
Columbus Today:
Columbus Day became an official U.S. holiday in 1971. It was previously celebrated as a patriotic day and a celebration of Italian-American heritage.
By the end of the 20th century, the celebration was in decline, and states such as Colorado, Hawaii, Alaska, Minnesota, South Dakota, New Mexico, Vermont, and Maine have replaced it with Indigenous Peoples Day.
Other Explorers:
Ponce de Leon was the first explorer to step foot in what is today the United States. He arrived in 1513, five years after a successful expedition to Puerto Rico.
From "English Settlements (1).pdf"
Florida and Early European Presence:
Juan Ponce de Leon became the first European to set foot in what is today the United States. He came to Florida in 1513, landing somewhere between modern St. Augustine and Melbourne. He later died in 1521 from wounds sustained in an Indian attack.
St. Augustine was established in 1565, making it the oldest permanent settlement by Europeans in the U.S.. Santa Fe, New Mexico, founded in 1610, is the second oldest.
Pedro Menendez founded St. Augustine and only allowed Catholics in the territory. He led a massacre of French Protestants at Fort Caroline and killed shipwrecked French sailors near St. Augustine.
England’s Sir Francis Drake burned St. Augustine in 1586. Spain maintained control until a brief British takeover (1763-1783) and then regained it until it became a U.S. territory in 1821.
England and Protestantism:
In 1526, King Henry VIII wanted a divorce for not having a male heir, but the Pope refused.
Henry then pulled England out of the Catholic church and began the Church of England, with himself as its head. His daughter, Elizabeth I, continued England as a Protestant nation.
The Invincible Armada in 1588:
King Philip II of Spain aimed to punish England for piracy of Spanish ships and for leaving the Catholic Church.
A fleet of 141 ships, 10,000 sailors, and 19,000 soldiers sailed from Portugal.
Elizabeth I famously declared, "I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman but I have the heart and stomach of a king…".
The Spanish Armada was defeated by both English ships and hurricane-strength winds, which the English called the "Protestant wind".
Religious Groups Seeking Reform:
Those who believed the Church of England needed to be "purified" were called Puritans.
Those who felt they must separate from the "corrupt" Church of England were called Separatists and later Pilgrims.
English Settlements (First Efforts):
Early efforts in the late 1500s failed, with the Lost Colony of Roanoke being the most famous example.
Jamestown was settled in 1607 by a joint-stock company aiming to make investors rich.
The early years were difficult, particularly the "Starving Time" in the winter of 1609-1610, when only 61 of 500 settlers survived.
Captain John Smith became a leader, training settlers to fish and farm, proclaiming, "He that will not work, will not eat". His capture by Powhatan's tribe and intervention by Pocahontas is believed by most historians to have been part of a tribal ritual.
Tobacco and cheap labour (indentured servants and enslaved people) made Jamestown profitable. By 1680, the colony shipped 30 million tons of tobacco to England. The first enslaved people arrived in 1619.
Pilgrims and Puritans (Beliefs):
Both Pilgrims and Puritans focused on their belief in God and His church.
John Wycliffe, often called the "Morning Star" of the Protestant Reformation (150 years before Martin Luther), was an English Catholic priest and professor who called for reforms like translating the Bible into English, ending the sale of indulgences and simony, and advocating for the church to sell property and clergy to live in poverty.
The Mayflower and the Pilgrims:
The Pilgrims left England and lived in Holland for a time, but felt it was the wrong place to raise their children.
They sailed on the Mayflower in 1620, aiming for Virginia but arrived far north on November 19th.
Half of the company died the first winter.
Native American Squanto lived with the Pilgrims for 20 months as a guide, interpreter, and advisor, teaching them how to plant crops and assisting with fur trade and expeditions.
The Pilgrims formed the Plimouth (Plymouth) colony.
The Puritans and Massachusetts Bay Colony:
By 1629, Puritans faced increased persecution in England. From 1629-1640, between 10,000 and 20,000 Puritans fled to the New World.
They formed the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Their most famous leader was John Winthrop, who preached that they were a "city on a hill" and owed it to God to make their effort a success.
Pilgrims vs. Puritans (Distinctions):
Pilgrims arrived in 1620 on the Mayflower and formed Plymouth Colony.
Puritans arrived in groups about ten years later, tended to be wealthier, and founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the city of Boston.
Puritan beliefs had a profound impact on American society in the New World.
Puritan Beliefs and Their Impact:
Puritans believed that each congregation would govern itself, without a top-down hierarchy like the Catholic church.
They valued the ability of each member to read the Bible for themselves and interpret its meaning.
It was the duty of parents to ensure their children could read.
Puritans formed the first public schools and the first college (Harvard) in the colonies.
From "NOTE HIS.pdf"
Key Dates:
1492: Columbus arrived in the Bahamas.
1607: Jamestown was founded in Virginia.
1620: Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts.
A Different Voice: Roger Williams:
Roger Williams was an ordained minister who held "New and Dangerous Ideas".
Dangerous Idea 1: Church and State: Williams believed the government had no authority over the "first table" of the Ten Commandments, which covered idolatry, Sabbath-breaking, false worship, and blasphemy. He famously stated, "forced worship stinks in God’s nostril".
Dangerous Idea 2: Colonial Charters: Williams questioned whether the King of England had the right to grant land that belonged to the Narragansett people.
Williams faced trial for his ideas, and while the first conflict was smoothed over, a tract he wrote may have been destroyed, with no copy surviving.
Williams Leaves: He left in the winter, travelling over 50 miles on foot.
A New Colony is Formed: Williams and some followers from Salem were given land by Native sachems (chiefs). They formed a new colony, believing it was by God's providence, and named it "Providence". This became the colony of Rhode Island.
Rhode Island and Religious Freedom: Williams wanted his colony to be open to citizens of any religion. He advocated for full separation of church and state, views that would later be incorporated into the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The separation of Church and State is vital to the SDA (Seventh-day Adventist) denomination.