Native Americans in Pre-Columbian North America

• The PreColumbian era refers to the period before Christopher Columbus' arrival in the "New World"

• North America was populated by Native Americans, not to be confused with native-born Americans

• 5% of multiple-choice questions test on this era

Culture clash between European settlers and Native Americans

• European settlers brought different culture, religion, and technology

• Native Americans had their own complex societies, cultures, and religions

• Conflicts and misunderstandings occurred between the two groups

Conflicts throughout American history

• Native Americans resisted European colonization and expansion

• Many wars and battles between Native Americans and European settlers

• Policies of forced relocation and assimilation were implemented by the US government

• Native American populations were greatly reduced and their cultures were suppressed

Native American Ancestry

• Most historians believe that Native Americans are descendants of migrants who traveled from Asia to North America.

• Migration likely occurred in multiple waves, from as early as 40,000 years ago to as recently as 15,000 years ago.

Paleo-climate and Land Bridge

• During this period, the planet was significantly colder.

• Much of the world's water was locked up in vast polar ice sheets, causing sea levels to drop.

• Ancestors of the Native Americans could walk across a land bridge from Siberia (in modern Russia) to Alaska.

• As the planet warmed, sea levels rose, and this bridge was submerged forming the Bering Strait.

Migrations

• These people and their descendants eventually migrated south.

• They migrated either by boat along the Pacific coast or possibly along an ice-free corridor east of the Rocky Mountains.

• They went on to populate both North and South America.

Native American Population at the Time of Columbus' Arrival

• Between 1 million and 5 million Native Americans lived in modern Canada and the United States

• Another 20 million populated Mexico

• Native American societies in North America ran the gamut from small groups of nomadic hunter-gatherers to highly organized urban empires

Advanced Civilizations

• In the year 1500, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was more populous than any city in Europe

• Aztecs and Maya are noted for their advances in astronomy, architecture, and art

• These civilizations were located in Mesoamerica

• Urban cultures existed in the territory that would become the United States as well, such as the Pueblo people of the desert southwest and the Chinook people of the Pacific Northwest

Smaller tribes and the name "Indians"

• The first Native Americans to encounter Europeans were smaller tribes, such as the Iroquois and Algonquian, who had permanent agriculture and lived along the Atlantic Ocean

• Columbus, mistakenly believing he had reached the East Indies, dubbed them "Indians," and the name stuck for centuries.

Early Colonization of the new world (1491–1607)

Christopher Columbus Arrival

• Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492

• He was not the first European to reach North America, the Norse had arrived in modern Canada around 1000

• But his arrival marked the beginning of the Contact Period, during which Europe sustained contact with the Americas

The Columbian Exchange

• Exchange of plants, animals, foods, communicable diseases, and ideas

• Europe had the resources and technology to establish colonies far from home

• When Columbus returned to Spain and reported the existence of a rich new world with easy-to-subjugate natives, he opened the door to a long period of European expansion and colonialism.

Colonization

• A colony is a territory settled and controlled by a foreign power

• Columbus arrival initiated a long period of European expansion and colonialism in the Americas.

Spanish Colonial Power

• During the next century, Spain was the colonial power in the Americas.

• Spanish founded a number of coastal towns in Central and South America and in the West Indies

• Conquistadors collected and exported as much of the area's wealth as they could

Encomienda System

• Under Spain's encomienda system, the crown granted colonists authority over a specified number of natives

• Colonist was obliged to protect those natives and convert them to Catholicism

• In exchange, the colonist was entitled to those natives' labor for such enterprises as sugar harvesting and silver mining.

• This system sounds like a form of slavery because it was a form of slavery.

Spanish Colonial Power

• During the next century, Spain was the colonial power in the Americas.

• Spanish founded a number of coastal towns in Central and South America and in the West Indies

• Conquistadors collected and exported as much of the area's wealth as they could

Encomienda System

• Under Spain's encomienda system, the crown granted colonists authority over a specified number of natives

• Colonist was obliged to protect those natives and convert them to Catholicism

• In exchange, the colonist was entitled to those natives' labor for such enterprises as sugar harvesting and silver mining.

• This system sounds like a form of slavery because it was a form of slavery.

Competition for Global Dominance

New World Exploration

• Once Spain had colonized much of modern-day South America and the southern tier of North America, other European nations were inspired to try their hands at New World exploration

• They were motivated by a variety of factors such as desire for wealth and resources, clerical fervor to make new Christian converts, and the race to play a dominant role in geopolitics.

• The vast expanses of largely undeveloped North America and the fertile soils in many regions of this new land, opened up virtually endless potential for agricultural profits and mineral extraction

Navigational Advancements

• Improvements in navigation, such as the invention of the sextant in the early 1700s, made sailing across the Atlantic Ocean safer and more efficient.

Joint-Stock Companies

• Intercontinental trade became more organized with the creation of joint-stock companies, corporate businesses with shareholders whose mission was to settle and develop lands in North America

• The most famous ones were the British East India Company, the Dutch East India Company, and later, the Virginia Company, which settled Jamestown.

Conflict and Prejudice

• Increased trade and development in the New World also led to increased conflict and prejudice

• Europeans debated how Native Americans should be treated

• Spanish and Portuguese thinkers proposed wildly different approaches to the treatment of Native populations, ranging from peace and tolerance to dominance and enslavement

• The belief in European superiority was nearly universal

Native American Resistance and Adaptation

• Some Native Americans resisted European influence, while others accepted it

• Intermarriage was common between Spanish and French settlers and the natives in their colonized territories (though rare among English and Dutch settlers)

• Many Native Americans converted to Christianity

• Spain was particularly successful in converting much of Mesoamerica to Catholicism through the Spanish mission system

Enslavement and African Adaptation

• Explorers, such as Juan de Oñate, swept through the American Southwest, determined to create Christian converts by any means necessary—including violence

• As colonization spread, the use of enslaved Africans purchased from African traders from their home continent became more common

• Much of the Caribbean and Brazil became permanent settlements for plantations and their enslaved people

• Africans adapted to their new environment by blending the language and religion of their masters with the preserved traditions of their ancestors

• Religions such as voodoo are a blend of Christianity and tribal animism

• Enslaved people sang African songs in the fields as they worked and created art reminiscent of their homeland

• Some, such as the Maroon people, even managed to escape slavery and form cultural enclaves

• Slave uprisings were not uncommon, most notably the Haitian Revolution

The English Arrive

English Colonization

• Unlike other European colonizers, the English sent large numbers of men and women to the agriculturally fertile areas of the East

• Despite our vision of the perfect Thanksgiving table, relationships with local Native Americans were strained, at best.

Intermarriage and Ethnic Groups

• English intermarriage with Native Americans and Africans was rare

• So no new ethnic groups emerged, and social classes remained rigid and hierarchical.

English Attempts to Settle North America

• England’s first attempt to settle North America came a year prior to its victory over Spain, in 1587, when Sir Walter Raleigh sponsored a settlement on Roanoke Island (now part of North Carolina).

• The colony had disappeared by 1590, which is why it came to be known as the Lost Colony.

• The English did not try again until 1607, when they settled Jamestown.

Jamestown and the Virginia Company

• Jamestown was funded by a joint-stock company, a group of investors who bought the right to establish New World plantations from the king

• The company was called the Virginia Company—named for Elizabeth I, known as the Virgin Queen—from which the area around Jamestown took its name.

• The settlers, many of them English gentlemen, were ill-suited to the many adjustments life in the New World required of them, and they were much more interested in searching for gold than in planting crops.

Early Struggles

• Within three months, more than half the original settlers were dead of starvation or disease

• Jamestown survived only because ships kept arriving from England with new colonists.

• Captain John Smith decreed that “he who will not work shall not eat,” and things improved for a time, but after Smith was injured in a gunpowder explosion and sailed back

John Rolfe and the Development of Tobacco

• One of the survivors, John Rolfe, was notable in two ways. First, he married Powhatan’s daughter Pocahontas, briefly easing the tension between the natives and the English settlers.

• Second, he pioneered the practice of growing tobacco, which had long been cultivated by Native Americans, as a cash crop to be exported back to England.

• The English public was soon hooked, so to speak, and the success of tobacco considerably brightened the prospects for English settlement in Virginia.

Development of Plantation Slavery

• Because the crop requires vast acreage and depletes the soil (and so requires farmers to constantly seek new fields), the prominent role of tobacco in Virginia’s economy resulted in rapid expansion.

• The introduction of tobacco would also lead to the development of plantation slavery.

Expansion in the Chesapeake

• As new settlements sprang up around Jamestown, the entire area came to be known as the Chesapeake (named after the bay).

• That area today comprises Virginia and Maryland.

• English colonies in North America, such as Jamestown, were largely motivated by financial reasons and the desire for wealth and resources

• Indentured servitude, in which individuals agreed to work for a period of time in exchange for passage to the colonies, was a common way for people to migrate to the Chesapeake

• Indentured servitude was difficult and many did not survive their term, but it provided a path to land ownership and voting rights for working-class men in Europe

• Over 75% of the 130,000 Englishmen who migrated to the Chesapeake during the 17th century were indentured servants

• The success of tobacco as a cash crop in the Chesapeake led to rapid expansion and the development of plantation slavery.

The Headright system

• In 1618, the Virginia Company introduced the headright system as a means of attracting new settlers to the region and addressing the labor shortage created by the emergence of tobacco farming.

• A "headright" was a tract of land, usually about 50 acres, that was granted to colonists and potential settlers.

House of Burgesses

• In 1619, Virginia established the House of Burgesses, in which any property-holding, white male could vote.

• Decisions made by the House of Burgesses, however, had to be approved by the Virginia Company.

• 1619 also marks the introduction of slavery to the English colonies.

French Colonization of North America

• French colonized Quebec City in 1608

• French Jesuit priests attempted to convert native peoples to Roman Catholicism but were more likely to spread diseases

• French colonists were fewer in number compared to Spanish and English and tended to be single men

• French settlers intermarried with native women and tended to stay on the move, especially if they were coureurs du bois (“runners in the woods”) who helped trade for furs

• French played a significant role in the French and Indian War (1754-1763) but overall had a much lighter impact on native peoples compared to Spanish and English

• French chances of shaping the region known as British North America were slim due to the Edict of Nantes in 1598

Impact of French Colonization

• Fewer French settlers in North America compared to Spanish and English

• French settlers intermarried with native women

• French settlers tended to stay on the move, especially if they were coureurs du bois

• French played a significant role in the French and Indian War (1754-1763) but overall had a much lighter impact on native peoples compared to Spanish and English

• French chances of shaping the region known as British North America were slim due to the Edict of Nantes in 1598

The Pilgrims and the Massachusetts Bay Company

• English Calvinists led a Protestant movement called Puritanism in the 16th century

• Puritans sought to purify the Anglican Church of Roman Catholic practices

• English monarchs of the early 17th century persecuted the Puritans

• Puritans began to look for a new place to practice their faith

• One group of Puritans, called Separatists, decided to leave England and start fresh in the New World

• In 1620, Separatists set sail for Virginia on the Mayflower, but went off course and landed in modern-day Massachusetts

• The group decided to settle where they had landed and named the settlement Plymouth.

The Pilgrims

• Led by William Bradford

• Signed the Mayflower Compact

• Created a legal authority and assembly

• Government's power derived from consent of governed, not God

• Received assistance from local Native Americans

The Mayflower Compact

• Important for creating legal system for colony

• Asserted government's power from consent of governed

Assistance from Native Americans

• Life-saving assistance

• Pilgrims landed at site of Patuxet village wiped out by disease

• Tisquantum/Squanto, an inhabitant of the village, was captured and brought to Europe as enslaved person

• Returned to homeland, found it depopulated

• Became Pilgrims' interpreter and taught them how to plant in new home.

The Great Puritan Migration

• 1629-1642

• Established by Congregationalists (Puritans who wanted to reform Anglican church from within)

• Led by Governor John Winthrop

Massachusetts Bay

• Developed along Puritan ideals

• Winthrop delivered famous sermon, "A Model of Christian Charity" urging colonists to be a "city upon a hill"

Puritan Philosophy

• Believed in covenant with God

• Concept of covenants central to entire philosophy (political and religious)

• Government as covenant among people

• Work served communal ideal

• Puritan church always to be served

Religious Tolerance

• Both Separatists and Congregationalists did not tolerate religious freedom in their colonies

• Both had experienced and fled religious persecution

Calvinist Principles

• Settlers of Massachusetts Bay Colony were strict Calvinists

• Calvinist principles dictated their daily lives

• Protestant work ethic and relationship to market economy

• Roots of Civil War may be traced back to founding of Chesapeake and New England

Religious Intolerance

• Two major incidents during first half of 17th century

• Roger Williams, a minister in Salem Bay settlement, taught that church and state should be separate

• Banished and moved to Rhode Island, founded colony with charter allowing for free exercise of religion

• Anne Hutchinson, a prominent proponent of antinomianism, banished for challenging Puritan beliefs and authority of Puritan clergy

• Anne Hutchinson was a woman in a resolutely patriarchal society which turned many against her.

Economic and Social Differences

• Plantation economy dependent on slave labor developed in Chesapeake and southern colonies

• New England became commercial center.

Puritan Immigration

• Near halt between 1649 and 1660 during Oliver Cromwell's rule as Lord Protector of England

• Puritans had little motive to move to New World during Interregnum (between kings)

• With the restoration of the Stuarts, many English Puritans again immigrated to the New World, bringing with them republican ideals of revolution

Differences between New England and Chesapeake

• Entire families tended to immigrate to New England, but Chesapeake immigrants were often single males

• Climate in New England was more hospitable, leading to longer life expectancy and larger families

• Stronger sense of community and absence of tobacco as cash crop led New Englanders to settle in larger towns

• Chesapeake residents lived in smaller, more spread-out farming communities

• New Englanders were more religious, settling near meetinghouses

• Slavery was rare in New England, but farms in middle and southern colonies were much larger, requiring large numbers of enslaved Africans

• South Carolina had a larger proportion of enslaved Africans than European settlers

Other Early Colonies

Proprietorships

• Several colonies were owned by one person, usually received land as gift from king

• Connecticut and Maryland were two such colonies

Connecticut

• Received charter in 1635

• Produced Fundamental Orders, considered first written constitution in British North America

Maryland

• Granted to Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore

• Calvert intended to create haven colony for Catholics and make a profit growing tobacco

• Offered religious tolerance for all Christians but tension between faiths soon arose

• Act of Tolerance passed in 1649 to protect religious freedom but situation devolved into religious civil war

New York

• Royal gift to James, king's brother

• Dutch Republic was largest commercial power of the century and economic rival of the British

• Dutch had established initial settlement in 1614 near present-day Albany, which they called New Netherland

• In 1664, Charles II of England waged war against the Dutch Republic and captured New Netherland

• James became Duke of York, and when he became king in 1685, he proclaimed New York a royal colony

• Dutch were allowed to remain in colony on generous terms and made up large segment of population for many years

New Jersey

• Given to friends of Charles II, who sold it off to investors, many of whom were Quakers

Pennsylvania

• William Penn, a Quaker, received colony as a gift from King Charles II

• Charles had a friendship with William Penn and wanted to export Quakers to someplace far from England

• Penn established liberal policies towards religious freedom and civil liberties

• Pennsylvania had natural bounty and attracted settlers through advertising, making it one of the fastest growing colonies

• Penn attempted to treat Native Americans more fairly but had mixed results

• Penn made a treaty with the Delawares to take only as much land as could be walked by a man in three days. His son, however, renegotiated the treaty, hiring three marathon runners for the same task, thereby claiming considerably more land.

Carolina Colony

• Proprietary colony (English-owned)

• Split into North and South in 1729

North Carolina

• Settled by Virginians

South Carolina

• Settled by descendants of Englishmen who had colonized Barbados

• Barbados’ primary export: sugar

• Plantations worked by enslaved people

Slavery in the Colonies

• Existed in Virginia since 1619

• Arrival of settlers from Barbados marked the beginning of the slave era in the colonies

• First Englishmen in the New World to see widespread slavery at work

Formation of Georgia

• Formation of South Carolina and ongoing armed conflicts with Spanish Florida prompted British to support formation of Georgia by James Oglethorpe in 1732

• Georgia initially banned slavery

Slavery in Georgia

• Ban was soon overturned due to economic advantage and growth afforded to neighboring South Carolina due to slavery

Proprietary Colonies

• Most of the proprietary colonies were converted to royal colonies (owned by the king)

• Greater control over government

Royal Colonies

• By the time of the Revolution, only Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Maryland were not royal colonies.

Slavery in the Early Colonies

Introduction of Slavery in the American Colonies

• Extensive use of enslaved Africans began when colonists from the Caribbean settled the Carolinas

• Until then, indentured servants and, in some situations, enslaved Native Americans had mostly satisfied labor requirements

Expansion of Labor Needs

• As tobacco-growing and, in South Carolina, rice-growing operations expanded, more laborers were needed than indenture could provide

• Events such as Bacon’s Rebellion showed landowners it was not in their best interest to have an abundance of landless, young, white males in their colonies either

Challenges with Enslaving Native Americans

• They knew the land, so they could easily escape and subsequently were difficult to find

• In some Native American tribes, cultivation was considered women’s work, so gender was another obstacle to enslaving the natives

• Europeans brought diseases that often decimated the Native Americans, wiping out 85 to 95 percent of the native population

Turn to Enslaved Africans

• Southern landowners turned increasingly to enslaved Africans for labor

• Unlike Native Americans, enslaved Africans did not know the land, so they were less likely to escape

• Removed from their homelands and communities, and often unable to communicate with one another because they were from different regions of Africa, enslaved Black people initially proved easier to control than Native Americans

• Dark skin of West Africans made it easier to identify enslaved people on sight

• English colonists associated dark skin with inferiority and rationalized Africans’ enslavement

The Slave Trade

• Majority of the slave trade, right up to the Revolution, was directed toward the Caribbean and South America

• More than 500,000 enslaved people were brought to the English colonies (of the over 10 million brought to the New World)

• By 1790, nearly 750,000 Black people were enslaved in England’s North American colonies

The Middle Passage

• Shipping route that brought enslaved people to the Americas

• Was the middle leg of the triangular trade route among the colonies, Europe, and Africa

• Conditions for the Africans aboard were brutally inhumane

• Some committed suicide, many died of sickness or during insurrections

• It was not unusual for one-fifth of the Africans to die on board

• Most reached the New World, where conditions were only slightly better

End of the Atlantic Slave Trade

• Mounting criticism (primarily in the North) of the horrors of the Middle Passage led Congress to end American participation in the Atlantic slave trade on January 1, 1808

• Slavery itself would not end in the United States until 1865

Slavery in the South

• Flourished in the South due to nature of land and short growing season

• Chesapeake and Carolinas farmed labor-intensive crops such as tobacco, rice, and indigo

• Plantation owners bought enslaved people for this arduous work

• Treatment at the hands of the owners was often vicious and at times sadistic

Slavery in the North

• Did not take hold in the North the same way it did in the South

• Used on farms in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania

• Used in shipping operations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island

• Used as domestic servants in urban households, particularly in New York City

• Northern states would take steps to phase out slavery following the Revolution

• Still enslaved people in New Jersey at the outbreak of the Civil War

Ownership of Slavery

• Only the very wealthy owned enslaved people

• The vast majority of people remained at a subsistence level

Slavery in the South

• Flourished in the South due to nature of land and short growing season

• Chesapeake and Carolinas farmed labor-intensive crops such as tobacco, rice, and indigo

• Plantation owners bought enslaved people for this arduous work

• Treatment at the hands of the owners was often vicious and at times sadistic

Slavery in the North

• Did not take hold in the North the same way it did in the South

• Used on farms in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania

• Used in shipping operations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island

• Used as domestic servants in urban households, particularly in New York City

Efforts to end slavery

• Northern states would take steps to phase out slavery following the Revolution

• Still enslaved people in New Jersey at the outbreak of the Civil War

Ownership of Slavery

• Only the very wealthy owned enslaved people

• The vast majority of people remained at a subsistence level

The Age of Salutary Neglect (1650–1750)

British Treatment of the Colonies

• Period preceding the French and Indian War is often described as salutary neglect or benign neglect

• England regulated trade and government in its colonies, but interfered in colonial affairs as little as possible

• England set up absentee customs officials and colonies were left to self-govern

• England occasionally turned a blind eye to the colonies' violations of trade restrictions

• Developed a large degree of autonomy

• Helped fuel revolutionary sentiments when monarchy later attempted to gain greater control of the New World

Development of the Colonies

• Colonies "grew up," developing fledgling economies

• Beginnings of an American culture, as opposed to a transplanted English culture, took root
  

English Regulation of Colonial Trade

• Most Europeans subscribed to a theory called mercantilism during the colonial period

• Mercantilists believed that economic power was rooted in a favorable balance of trade and control of specie

• Colonies were important mostly for economic reasons, which is why the British considered their colonies in the West Indies more important than their colonies on the North American continent

• Colonies on the North American continent were seen primarily as markets for British and West Indian goods, but also as sources of raw materials

British Control of Colonial Commerce

• British government encouraged manufacturing in England and placed protective tariffs on imports that might compete with English goods

• Navigation Acts passed between 1651 and 1673, required colonists to buy goods only from England, sell certain of their products only to England, and import non-English goods via English ports and pay a duty on those imports

• Navigation Acts also prohibited the colonies from manufacturing a number of goods that England already produced

• Wool Act of 1699, forbade both the export of wool from the American colonies and the importation of wool from other British colonies

• Molasses Act of 1733, imposed an exorbitant tax upon the importation of sugar from the French West Indies

• New Englanders frequently refused to pay the taxes imposed by these acts

British Control of Colonial Commerce

• British government encouraged manufacturing in England and placed protective tariffs on imports that might compete with English goods

• Sought to establish wide-ranging English control over colonial commerce

Wool Act of 1699

• Forbade both the export of wool from the American colonies and the importation of wool from other British colonies

• Some colonists protested this law by dealing only in flax and hemp

Molasses Act of 1733

• Imposed an exorbitant tax upon the importation of sugar from the French West Indies

• New Englanders frequently refused to pay the tax, an early example of rebellion against the Crown.

Colonial Governments

• Despite trade regulations, colonists maintained a high degree of autonomy

• Each colony had a governor appointed by the king or proprietor

• Governor had powers similar to the king, but also dependent on colonial legislatures for money

• Governor's power relied on cooperation of colonists, most ruled accordingly

Legislatures:

• Except for Pennsylvania, all colonies had bicameral legislatures modeled after British Parliament

• Lower house functioned similar to House of Representatives, members directly elected by white, male property holders and had "power of the purse"

• Upper house made of appointees serving as advisors to governor, had some legislative and judicial powers

• Most upper house members chosen from local population and concerned with protecting interests of colonial landowners

British Central Government:

• British never established powerful central government in colonies

• Autonomy allowed eased transition to independence in following century

Colonial Efforts Toward Centralization:

• Small efforts made by colonists towards centralized government

• New England Confederation most prominent attempt

• No real power, but offered advice to northeastern colonies when disputes arose

• Provided opportunity for colonists from different settlements to meet and discuss mutual problems

Major Events of the Period

Bacon's Rebellion:

• Took place on Virginia's western frontier in 1676

• Frontier farmers forced west into back country due to all coastal land being claimed

• Encroaching on land inhabited by Native Americans led to raids on frontier farmers

• Frontier settlers sought to band together and drive out native tribes

• Stymied by government in Jamestown, which did not want to risk full-scale war

• Class resentment grew as frontiersmen suspected eastern elites viewed them as expendable "human shields"

• Nathaniel Bacon, a recent immigrant, rallied the farmers and demanded Governor William Berkeley grant him authority to raise a militia and attack nearby tribes

• When Berkeley refused, Bacon and his men attacked the Susquehannock and Pamunkeys, who were actually allies of the English

• Rebels then turned their attention to Jamestown, sacking and burning the city

• Rebellion dissolved when Bacon died of dysentery, conflict between colonists and Native Americans averted with new treaty

• Often cited as early example of populist uprising in America

Stono Uprising:

• First and one of the most successful slave rebellions

• Took place in September 1739 near Stono River, outside of Charleston, South Carolina

• Approximately 20 enslaved people stole guns and ammunition, killed storekeepers and planters, and liberated a number of enslaved people

• Rebels fled to Florida, where they hoped the Spanish colonists would grant them their freedom

• Colonial militia caught up with them and attacked, killing some and capturing most of the others

• Those who were captured and returned were later executed

• As a result of the Stono Uprising, many colonies passed more restrictive laws to govern the behavior of enslaved people

• Fear of slave rebellions increased, and New York experienced a "witch hunt" period

Salem Witch Trials:

• Took place in 1692, not the first witch trials in New England

• During the first 70 years of English settlement in the region, 103 people (almost all women) had been tried on charges of witchcraft

• Never before had so many been accused at once, more than 130 "witches" were jailed or executed in Salem

• Historians have different explanations for why the mass hysteria started and ended so quickly

• Region had recently endured the autocratic control of the Dominion of New England

• In 1691, Massachusetts became a royal colony under new monarchs, suffrage was extended to all Protestants

• War against French and Native Americans on the Canadian border increased regional anxieties

Puritanism in America

• Feared that their religion was being undermined by commercialism in cities like Boston

• Many second and third generation Puritans lacked the fervor of the original settlers

• Led to the Halfway Covenant in 1662 which changed rules for Puritan baptisms

  • Prior to the Halfway Covenant, a Puritan had to experience God's grace for their children to be baptized

  • With many losing interest in the church, the Puritan clergy decided to baptize all children whose parents were baptized

  • However, those who had not experienced God's grace were not allowed to vote

• All of these factors (religious, economic, and gender) combined to create mass hysteria in Salem in 1692

  • Accusers were mostly teenage girls who accused prominent citizens of consorting with the Devil

  • Town leaders turned against the accusers and the hysteria ended

• Generations that followed original settlers were generally less religious

• By 1700, women constituted the majority of active church members

• First Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s

  • Wave of religious revivalism in the colonies and Europe

  • Led by Congregationalist minister Jonathan Edwards and Methodist preacher George Whitefield

  • Edwards preached severe, predeterministic doctrines of Calvinism

  • Whitefield preached a Christianity based on emotionalism and spirituality

  • Often described as a response to the Enlightenment, a European intellectual movement emphasizing rationalism over emotionalism or spirituality.

Benjamin Franklin

• Self-made, self-educated man who typified Enlightenment ideals in America

• Printer's apprentice who became a wealthy printer and respected intellectual

• Created Poor Richard's Almanack which remains influential to this day

• Did pioneering work in electricity, inventing bifocals, the lightning rod, and the Franklin stove

• Founded the colonies' first fire department, post office, and public library

• Espoused Enlightenment ideals about education, government, and religion

• Colonists' favorite son until George Washington came along

• Served as an ambassador in Europe and negotiated a crucial alliance with the French and peace treaty that ended the Revolutionary War.

Life in the Colonies

Population Growth in the Colonies

• Population in 1700 was 250,000 and by 1750 it was 1,250,000

• Substantial non-English European populations (Scotch-Irish, Scots, Germans) started arriving in large numbers during the 18th century

• English settlers continued to come to the New World as well

• Black population in 1750 was more than 200,000

• In a few colonies, Black population would outnumber whites by the time of the Revolution

• Over 90% of colonists lived in rural areas

Rural Life in the Colonies

• Labor divided along gender lines, men doing outdoor work and women doing indoor work

• Opportunities for social interaction outside the family were limited

• Patriarchy society, children and women were subordinate to men

• Children's education was secondary to their work schedules

• Women were not allowed to vote, draft a will, or testify in court

Black People in the Colonies

• Predominantly lived in the countryside and in the South

• Lives varied from region to region, with conditions being most difficult in the South

• Enslaved people who worked on large plantations and had specialized skills fared better than field hands

• Condition of servitude was demeaning

• Enslaved people often developed extended kinship ties and strong communal bonds to cope with the misery of servitude

• In the North, Black people often had trouble maintaining a sense of community and history.

Conditions in the Cities

• Often worse than in the countryside

• Immigrants settled in cities for work, but work paid too little and poverty was widespread

• Sanitary conditions were primitive, epidemics such as smallpox were common

• Cities offered residents wider contact with other people and the outside world

• Centers for progress and education

Education in the Colonies

• Citizens with anything above a rudimentary level of education were rare

• Nearly all colleges established during this period served primarily to train ministers

• Early colleges in the North include Harvard and Yale (established in 1636 and 1701, respectively)

• College of William and Mary was chartered in the South in 1693

Regional Differences in the Colonies

• New England society centered on trade, Boston was the colonies' major port city

• Population farmed for subsistence, subscribed to rigid Puritanism

• Middle colonies (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey) had more fertile land and focused primarily on farming

• Lower South (the Carolinas) concentrated on cash crops such as tobacco and rice

• Slavery played a major role on plantations, but majority of Southerners were subsistence farmers

• Blacks constituted up to half the population of some southern colonies

• Chesapeake colonies (Maryland and Virginia) combined features of the middle colonies and the lower South

• Slavery and tobacco played a larger role in the Chesapeake than in the middle colonies

• Chesapeake residents also farmed grain and diversified their economies

• Development of major cities in the Chesapeake region distinguished it from the lower South, which was almost entirely rural.