Chapter 3, Section 2

1
Chapter 3, Section 2

• The New England Colonies

2
Pilgrims and Puritans

• Religious tension in England after the Protestant
  Reformation
• Puritans
• Protestant groups that wanted to purify (or
  reform) the Anglican Church
• Believed that bishops and priests had too much
  power over church members

3
Pilgrims and Puritans

• Pilgrims on the Move
• The most extreme English Protestants were
  Separatists
• Wanted to cut all ties with the Church of England
  
• Formed their own churches
• Were punished by Anglicans
• Pilgrims
• Separatist groups that fled England in the 1600s
• Immigrants
• First fled to Holland but soon left because they
  did not want their children learning Dutch
  language and traditions
• Preserve English traditions
• Decided to leave Europe
• Formed a joint-stock company with some merchants
  and received permission from England to settle in
  Virginia
• Left Europe on September 16, 1620 on a ship
  called the Mayflower
• Not all were Puritans
• Pilgrim Leader William Bradford

4
The Mayflower Compact

• Pilgrims traveled rough oceans for 2 months
• Sighted land far north of Virginia
• Because the land was not in Virginia, it was
  outside of the authority of Virginias colonial
  government
• Decided to establish their own basic laws and
  social rules

5
The Mayflower Compact

• Mayflower Compact
• Signed November 21, 1620 by 41 male passengers
• Agreement to have fair laws and protect the
  general good
• Late 1620, Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in
  modern day Massachusetts
• Struggled thought the winter
• Nearly half died from sickness and freezing

6
Pilgrims and Native Americans

• Samoset
• Met the colonists in March of 1621
• Spoke some English that he had learned from crews
  of English fishing boats
• Provided the colonists with useful information
  about peoples and places in the area
• Introduced the colonists to Squanto
• Squanto
• Patuxet who had lived in Europe and spoke English
  well
• Taught Pilgrims to fertilize soil with fish
  remains
• Helped Pilgrims establish good relations with the
  local Wampanoag
• Because of Squanto, conditions in the colony
  began to improve

7
Pilgrims and Native Americans

• Harvest feast
• The Pilgrims invited Wampanoag chief Massasoit
  and 90 others to join them for a harvest
  celebration
• The First Thanksgiving
• Pilgrims killed wild turkeys for the event
• Marked the survival of the Pilgrims in the new
  colony

8
Pilgrim Community

• Pilgrims still continued to struggle
• Rocky soil made for poor farmland
• Hopes of trading furs and fishing industry faded
  due to poor hunting and fishing in the area
• Some colonists traded corn with Native Americans
  for beaver furs
• Made little money but formed a strong community
• New arrivals from Europe helped to strengthen the
  colony and allow for more farming rights

9
Pilgrim Community

• Pilgrim colony very different from Virginia
• Many families
• Children/Indentured servants educated
• Families served as centers of religious life,
  health care, and community well being
• All family members worked together to better the
  colony
• Women cooked, cleaned, spun wove wool, and
  sewed
• Men farmed, repaired tools, chopped wood, and
  built shelters

10
Women in the Colony

• Women had more legal rights in Plymouth than they
  did England
• Could sign contract
• Could sue
• Widows could own property

11
Puritans Leave England

• England suffered an economic crises in the 1620s
• King Charles I worsened the situation by raising
  taxes, leading to a political crisis as well
• Church of England began to punish Puritans as
  dissenters

12
Great Migration

• Between 1629-1640, many thousands of English men,
  women, and children left England
• King Charles I granted a group of Puritans and
  merchants a charter to settle New England
• Formed the Massachusetts Bay Company
• 1630, a fleet of ships carrying Puritan colonists
  left England for Massachusetts seeking religious
  freedom
• Led by John Winthrop

13
A New Colony

• Puritans arrived in New England well prepared to
  start their colony
• Brought many tools and livestock
• Faced little resistance from Native Americans
• Traded with the Plymouth Colony
• Region around Boston promoted a healthful climate
• Few died from sickness
• 1691, Massachusetts Bay Colony expanded to
  include the Pilgrims Plymouth Colony

14
Religion and Government in New England

• The Massachusetts Bay Colony had to obey English
  laws per their royal granted charter
• However, their charter provided more independence
  than the royal charter of Virginia
• Created a General Court to help run the
  Massachusetts Colony
• Turned the court into a self-government to
  represent the needs of the people
• Each town sent 2 or 3 delegates to court
• After John Winthrops term of service, the
  General Court elected a governor and his
  assistants
• 1644, the General Court became a bicameral (2
  House) legislature

15
Religion and Government in New England

• Politics and Religion were closely linked in
  Puritan New England
• Government leaders were church members
• Ministers were powerful
• Voting privileges were reserved only for male
  church members
• Thomas Hooker
• Minister who left Massachusetts in 1636 to help
  found Connecticut
• Wrote the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
• Made Connecticuts government more democratic
• Allowed men who were not church members the right
  to vote
• Outlined the powers of the General Courts

16
Religion and Government in New England

• Not all Puritans shared the same religious views
• Minister Roger Williams
• Did not agree with Massachusetts leadership
• Called for his church to sever ties with all
  other New England churches
• Criticized unfair land practices towards Native
  Americans
• Worried that Williams may damage colonial unity,
  he was forced to leave Massachusetts
• Williams formed a new settlement called
  Providence, which later developed into the colony
  of Rhode Island
• In Providence, Williams supported a separation of
  church and state as well as promoted religious
  toleration

17
Religion and Government in New England

• Anne Hutchinson
• Publicly discussed religious ideas that colonial
  leaders viewed as radical
• Believed that human relations with God did not
  need guidance from ministers
• Colonial leaders did not believe that women
  should be religious leaders and Anne Hutchinson
  was put on trial
• Court decided to force her out of the colony
• Left Massachusetts with her followers for Rhode
  Island

18
Religion and Government in New England

• Salem Witch Trials
• 1690s, a group of girls in Salem, Massachusetts
  accused people of casting spells on them
• Largest number of witchcraft trials
• People were often pressured or forced to confess
  to practicing witchcraft
• 19 people were executed for practicing witchcraft
  before the hysteria ended
• Term witch-hunt

19
New England Economy

• Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and
  Rhode island were very different from the
  Southern Colonies
• Rocky soil
• Not suitable for cash crops
• Subsistence Farming growing only enough to
  support your family
• Little demand for farm laborers
• Slavery not important to New England

20
Merchants

• Trade was vital to New England
• Local trade furs, pickled beef, and pork
• Trade with other Colonies
• Trade overseas
• Merchants grew wealthy
• Became colonial leaders

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Fishing

• Rich fishing waters
• Cod, Mackerel, and Halibut
• Exportation of dried fish
• Whaling
• Killed with harpoons and dragged to shore
• Provided oil for lighting

22
Shipbuilding

• Shipbuilding emerged as an important industry
• New England forests provided ship building
  materials
• As trade expanded, seaports grew and more
  merchant ships were needed

23
Skilled Craftspeople

• New England needed skilled craftspeople
• Younger sons were often sent to learn skills such
  as blacksmithing or printing
• Apprentices
• Lived with master craftsman and learned from him
• In exchange for room and board, apprentices
  performed simple tasks such as cleaning or
  sweeping
• After a certain amount of time, apprentices
  became journeymen
• Traveled and learned new skills in their trade
• Eventually became trade masters themselves

24
Education in the Colonies

• Education was important in New England
• Families wanted their children to be able to read
  the Bible
• Massachusetts Bay Colony passed some of the first
  laws requiring parents to provide their children
  with education

25
Education in the Colonies

• Public Education
• Communities established town schools to ensure
  that future generations would have educated
  ministers
• 1647, the Massachusetts General Court passed an
  order that every township have a school
• More schools in New England than in other
  colonies
• Most colonial children stopped their education
  after elementary school

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Education in the Colonies

• Higher Education
• 1636, Harvard College founded by John Harvard and
  the General Court
• Educated ministers and met the needs of the
  colonys higher education demands
• 1700
• About 70 of New England men could read
• About 45 of New England women could read