Thursday, September 18, 2014

US History I Notes 9-18-14


British Colonies Grow

13 is the lucky number!

Why leave Europe?

Conflict over religion

Search for political freedom

Widespread unemployment

Economic upheaval

Conflict over religion

Protestant Reformation placed Catholics and Protestants at odds with one another

Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin – spread Protestantism throughout Europe

England broke with the Catholic Church in 1534 under Henry VIII

Englishmen objected to the Anglican Church – called Dissenters

Separatists, Puritans, and others sought freedom from persecution by going to the New World

Search for Political Freedom

Political problems in England came to a boiling point with the Stewart kings

James I thought of himself as an absolute monarch and that he was not responsible to an earthly power for his actions

The problem became worse with Charles I, son of James I, came to the throne in 1625 – for 11 years Charles refused to call Parliament into session

English Civil War

The English Civil War broke out in 1642 between the Cavaliers (Loyalists) and the Roundheads (Puritans)

The war ended in 1649 with Charles I being beheaded for treason

Puritans ruled England for the next 11 years with Oliver Cromwell as their leader until his death in 1658

Which ever group was in charge, persecuted the group that was on the outs at the time

Widespread Unemployment

1500’s and 1600’s many large estates converted to raising sheep and forced farming tenants off the land

Displaced farmers went to towns and villages to find work – not enough for all of them – many turned to criminal activity to find food, slept in doorways, etc.

No all turned to crime, large numbers of them signed contracts to be indentured servants

Indentured servants worked for a set period to time to pay back their passage

Then they were free to become landowners on their own

Economic Upheaval

Inflation was rising quickly due to gold and silver flowing into Spain from the New World

As prices continued to rise, many of the poor could afford less and less – leading to poverty

English businessmen such as merchants, traders, and manufacturers made money, which they in turn invested in New World adventures

Pilgrims arrive in the wrong place!

Band of Pilgrims made up of Strangers and Separatists

Separatists were religious dissenters who refused to follow the teachings of the Anglican Church

Strangers were not Separatists but joined the voyage for a host of reasons

Separatists were persecuted in England; removed to Holland where they had religious freedom; then received permission to settle in Virginia

Mayflower blown off course – landed on rocky coast of what would become New England

Mayflower Compact

Arrived in the New World without a form of government

Separatists wrote and signed the Compact and all agreed to be submissive and obedient to the laws they would pass for themselves

While the Compact was not a form of government, it was another beginning in North America for self government

Plymouth

Choose the site that had been named Plymouth by English explorers

Plymouth Advantages: good harbor, fresh water, easily defended hill, and already cleared fields since it had once been a Native village

Began to build the first house on December 25, 1620

HELP!!!!

Half of the colony died the first winter

Squanto and other Natives helped them to survive

Massasoit, local Native chief, did not oppose them due to his small numbers

November, 1621 – held their first Thanksgiving

1691 – Plymouth became a part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Puritans

Puritans were religious dissenters in England

Unlike the Separatist, they wanted to remain in the Anglican Church, but they wanted to “purify” the Anglican Church; hence; they were named Puritans

Charles I persecuted them in England

1629 – they secured a charter from Charles I to establish a colony in the New world

They became a self-governing colony

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Puritans began to arrive in the summer of 1630 – almost a 1,000 arrived aboard 17 ships

Puritans were well stocked with supplies and tradesmen; they were not penniless refugees as the Pilgrims had been

They quickly spread up the coast from Plymouth and built villages such as Boston, Salem, etc.

By 1640 – 20,000 Puritans has arrived in the colony

Puritan Government

They wanted to build a shining city on a hill and develop a perfect world

Religion and government continued to exist together

Only property owners and church members were allowed to vote

The religious government controlled every aspect of life

Established the General Court which operated under the idea of representative government

Rhode Island

Roger Williams was a Puritan minister of Salem, Massachusetts

Taught that colonists had no right to their land unless they bought it from the Natives

Argued every individual had the right to worship as he pleased

Argued for the separation of Church and State

Puritan authorities decided to send him back to England for trial, except he escaped



1636, he founded the settlement of Providence with friends who agreed with him from Massachusetts

1644 – Williams procured a charter for the Colony of Rhode Island

Colony offered freedom of religion

Connecticut

Rev. Thomas Hooker and his church members petitioned the General Court for permission to move out the established Massachusetts area – granted

Founded the settlement of Hartford

1639 – settlements adopted the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, which functioned as the plan of government

1662 – secured a charter from King Charles II; charter gave settlers the right to govern themselves

New Hampshire

1622 – the right to settle this area was granted to John Mason

Settlers came in from Massachusetts

Massachusetts exercised control over the area

1679 – New Hampshire received a charter from Charles II and became a royal colony

New England Colonies

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Connecticut

New Hampshire

Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820 – not one of the original 13 colonies in British America

Middle Colonies

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Delaware

New Netherland

1609 – Henry Hudson, an Englishmen, exploring for the Dutch East India Company explored the river that still bears his name today – the Hudson River

Dutch traders made voyages to the area and reported favorable aspects for colonization of the area

The Dutch West India Company was organized and received a charter from the government of the Netherlands

At the southern tip of Manhattan Island, they planted the settlement of New Amsterdam

Forts and trading posts were established on the Hudson, Connecticut, and Delaware Rivers


1629 the Dutch West India Company offered large tracts of land to any member of the company who, within four years, settled at least 50 tenants on his estate

These large landowners were called patroons, function as a feudal lord

Colony grew slowly because of the lack on interest the Dutch had to live under feudal lords – never more than 10,000

New Amsterdam held the largest number of people with 18 various languages being spoken there

England takes New Netherland

New Netherland posed the following threats to the English:

1.From strategic armed base at new Amsterdam, Dutch warships could strike English vessels

2.Dutch controlled the trade on three vital river valleys

3.1655 – Dutch seized Swedish settlements in New Sweden – strengthening their position in North America

4.By controlling the Hudson, they had a passage into the Great Lakes area where the Natives traded furs with the Dutch. Fur trade was a very valuable trade to control.

England seizes New Netherland

1664 – English fleet sailed into the mouth of the Hudson River, during the reign of Charles II

Peter Stuyvesant, Dutch governor, was forced to haul down the Dutch flag

Without a shot being fired, England had taken Netherland

Now is was clear that England would control the East Coast of North America

New Jersey

Charles II presented New Netherland to his brother James, the Duke of York

It is James that named the area New York

James gave away sections of the land to his friends

His largest gift, being of New Jersey went to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret

1664 – New Jersey was a wilderness with only a few hundred settlers


Berkeley and Carteret attempted to gain more settlers for their area, but to no avail

The land known as New Jersey was owned by several people in the late 1600s

1702 – King of England stepped in and claimed New Jersey as a royal colony

Pennsylvania

William Penn had all the advantages possible as a son of an English admiral

It appeared that he would have a role at Court, but the did not happen when he converted to the Society of Friends or Quakers

Penn’s father was shocked that his son would join such a group – the Quakers, at this time, was one of the most disliked religious groups in England


Quakers were pacifist, refused to bow before the King, etc.

Penn’s father forgave him and left him a large inheritance, among it was a debt that Charles II owed his father

Penn and the King settled the issue by Charles II granting a charter to Penn giving him full ownership, proprietary colony, of a large tract of land

Penn founded the colony of Pennsylvania as a place for Quakers to remove too in order live without being harrassed



Pennsylvania also granted freedom of religion

Penn offered 500 acres of free land to any family who would establish their home in the Colony

Settlers poured in by the thousands – Quakers from England; Swiss and German Protestants, Catholics, Jews from many countries of Europe.

Penn dealt fairly with the Natives

Pennsylvania developed more rapidly than any of the other Colonies

Middle Colonies

Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York – among the most prosperous

Philadelphia was the largest and busiest

 sea port in America; New York was a close second

Middle Colonies were known as the “breadbasket” of the New World

Not only was agriculture a major pursuit, but also known for iron mines, shipyards, and the manufacture of glass, paper, and textiles

Middle Colonies were the true “melting pots” of different nations and cultures

Maryland

Sir George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, wanted to create a colony as a refuge for persecuted Catholics, but with no restrictions upon Protestants

First Lord Baltimore died before he could accomplish this, but the Second Lord Baltimore, his son, was successful in developing the colony his father had hoped for

1634 – 200 settlers established St. Mary’s

Protestants outnumbered Catholics, Lord Baltimore secured the passage of the Toleration Act of 1649, which guaranteed religious toleration to everyone who believed in Jesus Christ

Only Christians were permitted to settle in Maryland

Maryland functioned as a Proprietary Colony

Carolina

1663 and 1665– Charles II granted Carolina to the Eight Lords Proprietors, this included all the territory from Virginia to Spanish Florida, and westward to the Great South Sea

From the beginning Carolina started dividing into two separate areas

North Carolina was the northern section settled primarily by people moving south from Virginia  `


The pine forests of North Carolina provided naval stores – tar, pitch, rosin, turpentine, which were all needed by the English Royal Navy (England has been purchasing these items from Scandinavian countries

Develop of North Carolina was hindered by the lack of a deep water sea port


South Carolina proved more attractive to settlers coming from Europe

Established the major settlement of Charlestown (Charleston)

South Carolina grew rice in the coastal plain

The Proprietors failed to establish a honest government in Carolina


South and North Carolina started the process of dividing in 1719

The lack of good government and harsh conditions often saw revolts by colonists in North Carolina

1729 – Proprietors sold 7 of the 8 shares of Carolina back to the Crown

Lord Granville refused to sell his share and Granville’s District was laid off in northern North Carolina

North and South Carolina became a royal colony with representative assembllies

Georgia

1732 – charter was granted that established Georgia as a buffer between the Spanish to the south and the other English colonies to the North

The colony was established by people who were allowed to leave Debtor’s Jail

James Oglethorpe saw an opportunity for these people to have  a new start


1733 the first settlement, Savannah, was established

Each settler was to receive 50 acres of land

Slavery and rum were not to be allowed in the colony

1752 – Georgia became a royal colony

Many people were sent to Georgia instead of Debtor’s Prison

Oglethorpe will live to see Georgia declare its independence in 1776


Tobacco plantations were established in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina

Rice plantations were established along the coastal lowlands of South Carolina

In order to solve the labor shortage, the enslavement of Africans became entrenched in the colonies 1650-1680

Georgia eventually did allow both slavery and rum to enter

Slavery was legal in all colonies, but the most profitable in the south where crops were exported in large numbers

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