Chapter 3, Section 2

The New England Colonies

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

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 1600’s• 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

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 Virginia’s colonial government– Decided to establish their

own basic laws and social rules

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

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

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

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

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

Women in the Colony

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

Puritans Leave England

• England suffered an economic crises in the 1620’s– 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

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

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 Pilgrim’s Plymouth Colony

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 Winthrop’s term of service, the General

Court elected a governor and his assistants

• 1644, the General Court became a bicameral (2 House) legislature

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 Connecticut’s government more democratic – Allowed men who were not church members the right to vote– Outlined the powers of the General Courts

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

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

Religion and Government in New England

• Salem Witch Trials– 1690’s, 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”

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

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

Fishing

• Rich fishing waters– Cod, Mackerel, and Halibut– Exportation of dried fish– Whaling

• Killed with harpoons and dragged to shore• Provided oil for lighting

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

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

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

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

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

colony’s higher education demands

– 1700• About 70% of New England men could read• About 45% of New England women could read