Native American Societies, European Colonization, and Colonial America (Pre-Columbian to 18th Century)

Native American Societies Before European Contact (Pre-Columbian Society)

  • Northeast Settlements
    • Lived in permanent villages.
    • Engaged in hunting and farming.
    • Examples: Iroquois, Mohawk (located around the Great Lakes).
  • Southeast Settlements
    • Lived in permanent villages.
    • Practiced farming.
    • Examples: Cherokee, Seminole.
  • Great Plains Settlements
    • Nomadic hunters who hunted bison and buffalo.
    • Example: Sioux.
  • Southwestern Settlements
    • Lived by farming.
    • Utilized irrigation systems for agriculture.
    • Examples: Pueblo, Apache.

European Exploration and Spanish Settlement of America

  • European Motivations for Exploration
    • Economic: Wealth acquisition, specifically seeking silver, silk, and spices.
    • Military and Political: Desires for expanded military dominance and political power.
    • Religion: Intent to spread Christianity to the New World.
  • Spanish Exploration and Christopher Columbus
    • First Voyage (1492): Christopher Columbus set sail looking for a direct water route to Asia, resulting in the discovery of the New World.
    • Effects: Sparked widespread subsequent Spanish exploration and territorial expansion.
  • New Spain and Relations with Native Americans
    • Spaniard Governing of New Spain: Conquistadors/conquerors established military and political control, instituting a strict caste system with Spaniards positioned at the top of the social hierarchy (enduring for several decades).
    • Encomienda System: A forced slave labor system authorized to Spanish settlers by the Spanish monarchy.
    • Effects: Decimated Native American populations due to European diseases; subsequently led to the importation of enslaved labor from Africa.
    • The Pueblo Revolt: A major revolt waged against Catholic missionaries and political officials in the New Mexico colony of New Spain.
    • Effects: Successfully forced the Spaniards out of New Mexico.

The Columbian Exchange and New France

  • The Columbian Exchange
    • Defined as the multi-directional exchange of food, goods, resources, culture, and disease between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
    • Key exchanged elements included language, warfare, religion, slave labor, food crops, and infectious disease.
  • New France and Relations with Native Americans
    • Social Relations: Driven by French Catholic Missionaries attempting religious conversions.
    • Economic Relations: Over time, the French established and taught the fur trade.
    • Effects: Formed enduring political and diplomatic alliances with indigenous groups (such as the Hurons); resulted in conflict with the English.

The English Chesapeake Colonies (1607–1754)

  • General Characteristics
    • Established beginning in 1607 with Virginia, and later Maryland.
    • Formed initially as commercial business ventures seeking gold.
    • Initial relations with the Powhatan Confederacy were friendly regarding food exchange and trade.
  • Jamestown Settlement
    • Starving Time of 1609–1610: Resupply ships failed to arrive due to severe weather on the Atlantic Ocean; relations with the Powhatan Confederacy deteriorated into tension, leading to severe food shortages.
    • Effects: Approximately 80% of the colonists died. Jamestown ultimately survived to become the first permanent English settlement. Greedy colonists subsequently seized native land following the discovery and cultivation of tobacco.
  • Economics
    • Major Crop: Tobacco, with a specific strain becoming exceedingly profitable.
    • Indentured Servitude: Provided the primary labor force for tobacco fields. Indentured servants were individuals who agreed to work for a fixed period of years (typically 4 to 6 years) in exchange for paid passage to America.
    • Effects: As indentured contracts expired, enslaved labor was increasingly imported from Africa.
  • Politics and Religion
    • House of Burgesses: Established in Virginia in 1619 as the first legislative assembly in the English colonies.
    • Religion: Maryland was established as a safe haven for Catholics. The Maryland Act of Toleration was passed, extending religious freedom to all Christians.
  • Bacon's Rebellion (1676–1677 in Virginia)
    • Causes: Nathaniel Bacon, a tobacco planter, led a rebellion driven by high taxation and ongoing Native American attacks along the frontier due to territorial colonial expansion.
    • Events: Bacon mobilized a force composed of indentured servants, enslaved people, and landless English immigrants who were promised land upon arrival. Bacon's forces attacked and burned Jamestown during the protest.
    • Effects: The English army was dispatched to assist in suppressing remaining resistance. It marked the first rebellion against authority in American history and prompted the enactment of formal slave codes in Virginia.

The New England Colonies (Established 1620)

  • The Puritans
    • Originally religious separatists in England who opposed the official Church of England.
    • Departed England aboard The Mayflower (referred to as Pilgrims) to escape religious persecution.
    • Mayflower Compact: An agreement drafted to establish a self-governing colony operating under majority rule.
  • The Great Migration
    • Occurred between 1630 and 1660, bringing roughly 200,000 Puritans to the West Indies, the Chesapeake region, and the New England Colonies.
  • Characteristics of the New England Colonies
    • Characterized by small villages, family-oriented subsistence farming, and small industries.
  • Religion in the New England Colonies
    • John Winthrop: Delivered the famous sermon "A Modell of Christian Charity" while aboard ship.
    • Promoted the concept of a "City upon a hill"—an exemplary society for all others to emulate.
    • Emphasized working collectively for the "common good of the community".
    • The New England Way: Characterized by complete cooperation between church and state across all societal matters, enforced by strict laws.
    • Roger Williams and Religious Dissent:
    • Advocated for "Liberty of Conscience" (free will) and the absolute separation of church and state.
    • Served as an early precursor to the modern concept of Freedom of Religion.
  • Politics and Education in New England
    • General Court: Established in 1629 as the legislative assembly of Massachusetts.
    • Town Meetings: Regularly convened local gatherings held to deliberate and decide on civic issues.
    • Old Deluder Act (1647): Mandated that every town reaching 50 households must hire a teacher. Established a system of church-centered education, laying the foundation for the American Education System.
  • Conflict with Native Americans
    • Major Wars: The Pequot War (1636–1637 in Connecticut) and King Philip's War (1675–1676 in Massachusetts).
    • Causes: Rooted in English desires for complete control over trade and land in New England, alongside land takeover attempts.
    • Effects: Caused massive loss of land for native tribes, high mortality rates for both tribes and colonists, and the permanent dissolution of several tribal structures.
  • Economic Aspects and Mercantilism
    • Mercantilism: An economic policy where colonies served strictly as a source of raw materials for the Mother Country.
    • Navigation Acts (1650s–1690s): Laws requiring colonial trade to be conducted exclusively with England or through colonial ports.
    • Purpose: Designed to eliminate trade competition from rival world powers.
    • Effects: Generated deep resentment among colonists that persisted for decades throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Middle and Southern Colonies

  • The Middle Colonies
    • The English seized the New Netherland territory from the Dutch without firing a single shot, renaming the area New York.
    • Characteristics: Known as the "breadbasket colonies" due to massive wheat production; enjoyed high living standards and marked religious diversity.
    • Pennsylvania (1681): Founded by William Penn and the Quakers.
    • Characteristics: Stood as the most diverse colony; established on principles of universal equality, pacifism, and opposition to slavery.
    • Relations with Native Americans: Practiced buying land directly from Native tribes rather than seizing it.
    • Demonstrated extensive tolerance of diverse ideals and cultures.
  • The Southern Colonies
    • Characteristics: Founded predominantly for commercial/business purposes; heavily reliant on chattel slavery in the Carolinas.
    • Georgia (1732): Established as the final English colony.
    • Purposes:
      1. Buffer Zone: Served as a military defense zone between the valuable Carolina crop fields (rice) and Spanish Florida.
      2. Philanthropy: Designed as a humanitarian experiment to rehabilitate English debtors.

Transatlantic Trade and Early Slavery in the English Colonies

  • Transatlantic Trade (18th Century / Triangular Trade)
    • 1st Leg: From America to Europe and Africa.
    • Transported raw lumber and crops to Europe.
    • Exported rum and gunpowder to Africa.
    • 2nd Leg (Middle Passage): From Africa to the West Indies.
    • Transported enslaved Africans; many died aboard ships or jumped into the Atlantic Ocean while shackled together.
    • 3rd Leg: From the West Indies to the English Colonies.
    • Shipped molasses and enslaved Africans.
  • Early Slavery in English Colonies
    • Reason for First Slaves: Expiration of indentured servant contracts created labor shortages.
    • August 20, 1619: First arrival of African slaves at Jamestown aboard a vessel coming from Angola ("Jamestown's Angola").
    • Chattel Slavery: A system defining enslaved individuals legally as property.
  • Stono Rebellion (1739)
    • Location: Occurred in Charles Town, South Carolina.
    • Events: Enslaved people revolted and headed south toward freedom in Spanish Florida before being caught.
    • Effects: Led directly to the enactment of strict slave codes, prohibiting slaves from possessing weapons.

Colonial Society, Culture, Enlightenment, and the Great Awakening

  • Scots-Irish Immigrants
    • Reasons for Immigration: Driven by political unrest and exorbitant land rental prices in Europe.
    • Areas of Settlement: Settled mainly in the Carolinas and Pennsylvania.
    • Cultural Impact: Heavily influenced speech and language development in the American South.
  • German Immigrants
    • Reasons for Immigration: Escaping religious persecution, economic distress, and ongoing wars with France.
    • Areas of Settlement: Settled in the Carolinas and Pennsylvania (becoming known as Pennsylvania Dutch).
    • Effects: Fueled rapid population growth in Pennsylvania and introduced German cultural traditions.
  • John Peter Zenger Trial (1738 in New York)
    • Background: Zenger used his printing press to accuse corrupt New York officials of pocketing public funds.
    • Accusation: Zenger was charged with Libel (printing malicious lies).
    • Effect: Established the crucial foundational concept of freedom of the press.
  • The Enlightenment
    • Defined: A philosophical movement grounded in human knowledge, scientific reasoning, and the questioning of traditional authority.
    • Benjamin Franklin:
    • Authored "Poor richards Almarac", incorporating scientific concepts and Enlightenment views.
    • Embraced Deism: The belief that God created the earth and its natural laws, then stepped aside for humanity to govern it.
  • The Great Awakening
    • Defined: A major religious revival movement emerging as a direct reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment.
    • Jonathan Edwards: Delivered the famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", widely regarded as the start of the Great Awakening.
    • George Whitefield:
    • Prominent itinerant preacher who traveled from place to place.
    • Recognized as the most powerful minister of the movement, relying on intense emotionalism and open-air field preaching.
    • Old Lights vs. New Lights:
    • Old Lights: Traditional clergy members who opposed emotionalism in religious practice.
    • New Lights: Modern religious thinkers who supported emotionalism and revivalism.
    • Results of the Great Awakening:
    • Geographic and Social Impact: Most influential across the South and the Appalachian region; attracted large audiences of women, African Americans, and Native Americans.
    • Educational Impact: Led to the founding of new religious universities, including Princeton and Columbia.
    • Resulted in the creation of new Protestant denominations.