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The Planting of English America

1500-1733. The Planting of English America. North America in the 1600. South America and Mexico had been radically altered by European contact North America in 1600 largely unclaimed and unexplored Early 1600s – 3 European powers make claims in the 3 different parts of North America

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The Planting of English America

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  1. 1500-1733 The Planting of English America

  2. North America in the 1600 • South America and Mexico had been radically altered by European contact • North America in 1600 largely unclaimed and unexplored • Early 1600s – 3 European powers make claims in the 3 different parts of North America • 1607- English in Jamestown • 1608 – French in Quebec • 1610 – Spanish in Santa Fe

  3. England’s Imperial Stirrings • Why England colonized Americas late • First ½ of 1500s, England was Spain’s ally and had little interest in competing with Spain • In the 1530s, Henry VIII broke with the Catholic Church, setting off decades-long religious conflict • Protestantism became dominant in England when Queen Elizabeth took the throne in 1558 • This intensified the rivalry with Catholic Spain • Ireland became an early scene of conflict between England and Spain • Catholic Irish wanted independence from England • 1570 – 1580s English troops crushed Irish uprising using extremely brutal tactics • English soldiers developed contempt for Irish “savages”; attitudes brought New World Indian “savages” • Protestant landlords “planted” on confiscated Irish land (plantations”

  4. Elizabeth Energizes England • Queen Elizabeth (1533-1603) • Powerful and popular queen • Encouraged English expansion • “sea dogs” • English pirates who plundered Spanish treasure ships and settlements (even though England and Spain were technically at peace) • Encouraged by ambitious Queen Elizabeth • Most famous was Sir Francis Drake • Traveled world; brought back huge amount of treasure to England stolen from Spanish • Newfoundland • First English attempt at colonization • Collapsed when its promoter, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, died at sea (1583) • Roanoke • 1585 – island settled off coast of Virginia by Gilbert’s half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh • Roanoke colonists disappeared; still a mystery as to what happened to them

  5. Elizabeth Energizes England • Spanish Armada • Catholic Spanish King Philip II assembled “Invincible Armada” of ships to invade England • Spanish goals were to end the Protestant Reformation and take revenge for English raids by sea dogs • In 1588, the Spanish sailed for England • English sea dogs attacked using better ships (faster, more maneuverable, with better crew) and inflicted heavy damages on the Spanish • Then huge storm (the “Protestant wind”) finished off the Spanish • Spanish Armada was the beginning of the end for the Spanish empire • Took 3 more centuries for empire to fully unravel as Spain lost its overseas colonies • Spain had overreached itself, sowing the seeds of its own destruction • Importance of the Spanish Armada to England • England’s navy dominant in North Atlantic, eventually led to England becoming world’s strongest ocean power • Dampened Spain’s fighting spirit • England now displayed characteristics that Spain earlier had: a strong unified country, under popular monarch, religious unity (Protestants had put down Catholics), and a strong sense of nationalism • 1604 – peace treaty between English and Spanish

  6. England on the Eve of Empire • England’s “surplus population” • Population expanding (increased 1 million to 4 million by 1600) • English land owners enclosed croplands for sheep grazing, removing many people from the land • Late 1500s depression hit wool industry, putting many people out of work • Puritans strong in these areas • Laws of primogeniture – only eldest sons inherited estates; ambitious younger sons (like Gilbert, Raleigh, Drake) had to seek fortunes elsewhere • Early adventurers (on their own) were unsuccessful • Joint-stock company, forerunner of the modern corporation, were perfected in the early 1600s • Investors (“adventurers”) pooled capital to finance trips to the New World

  7. England on the Eve of Empire • The stage was now set for English colonization • Peace with Spain • Population Growth • Unemployment • Thirst for adventure, market, religious freedom • Joint-stock companies

  8. England Plants the Jamestown Seedling • Virginia was vaguely defined area in the New World named for “virgin” Queen Elizabeth • Virginia Company of London • Joint-stock company chartered by King James I • Purpose was gold and desire to find passage through America to Indies • Few investors thought of long-term colonization • Only intended for the company to exist for a few years; investors would then liquidate it for profit • Enormous pressure put on colonists to quickly find riches or risk being abandoned • The charter of the Virginia Company • Guaranteed to colonists same rights as Englishmen as if they had stayed in England • This provision incorporated into future colonists’ charters • Became controversial when rebellious colonists insisted on “rights of Englishmen” against government they believed were taking these rights away

  9. England Plants the Jamestown Seedling • Late 1606 Virginia Company sent out 3 ships • Spring 1607 landed at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay; attacked by Indians there and moved up the bay • May 24, 1607 about 100 colonists (all men) landed at Jamestown, along banks of James River (both named for the king) • The site was easily defended, but swarmed with disease-causing mosquitoes • Nightmare of Jamestown during the early years • 1606-1607 about 40 people did on voyage to New World • 1609 another ship from England lost leaders and supplies in a shipwreck off Bermuda • At Jamestown, settlers died by the dozens due to disease, malnutrition, starvation • “gentlemen” colonists would not work themselves • Settlers wasted time looking for gold instead of hunting and farming • 1608 John Smith took control of colony and set up strict rule • Smith was credited with saving the colony • “He who shall not work shall not eat.” became the rule of the colony

  10. England Plants the Jamestown Seedling • In spite of Smith’s efforts, Jamestown endured the “starving time” during the winter of 1609-1610 • Colonist still died in huge numbers • Forced to eat “dogges, Catts, Ratss, and Myce” • Some even resorted to cannibalism: digging up corpses for food • One man killed an ate his wife (and then was executed) • Of the 400 colonists who had arrived by 1609, only 60 survived by 1610 • In December 1607 Smith was captured and subject to a mock execution by the Indian chief, Powhatan • Pocahontas “saved” Smith in ritual designed to show Smith the power of Powhatan and the desire of the Indians to live in peace • Pocahontas became the intermediary between Indians and colonists, preserving peace and providing colonists with food

  11. England Plants the Jamestown Seedling • In 1610, the colonists tried to sail back to England • They were met at the mouth of James River by relief party headed by Lord De La Warr • De La Warr ordered colonists back to Jamestown, imposed harsh military discipline, and took aggressive action against the American Indians • Disease continue to kill many • 1625 1200 people lived in Virginia, out of the 8000 who had come there

  12. Cultural Clash in the Chesapeake • Powhatan Confederacy • Powhatan dominated a few dozen small tribes in the area of the James river when the English arrived • English called Native Indians in area Powhatans • Powhatan may have seen English as allies in struggle to control other American Indians • Relations between the American Indians and English grew worse • General mistrust because of different cultures and languages • English raided American Indian food supplies during starving times • First Anglo-Powhatan War 1610-1614 • De La Warr had orders to make war on American Indians • Veteran of wars against Irish, De La Warr brought “Irish tactics” to fight American Indians • English raided villages, burned houses, took supplies, and burned cornfields • Peace between Powhatan Indians and English 1614-1622 • In 1614, peace was settled by the marriage of Pocahontas to Englishman John Rolfe

  13. Cultural Clash in the Chesapeake • 1622 – 1624 periodic attacks between the American Indians and settlers • American Indians pushed back off land and killed by European diseases • 1622 American Indians attacked English, killing 347 including John Rolfe • Virginia Company called for “perpetual war” against American Indians • English raids reduced native population and droved them further westward • 1644-1646 Second Anglo-Powhatan War • Last effort of natives to defeat English • American Indians are defeated • Peace Treaty of 1646 • Removed Powhatan Indians from their original land • Formally separated American Indian and English settlement areas

  14. Cultural Clash in the Chesapeake • By 1685 there were only 2000 American Indians in Virginia (about 10% of the 1607 population) • By 1689 the English considered the Powhatan Indians extinct • Powhatan Indians fell victim to the 3 Ds: • Disease • Natives very susceptible to European diseases • Epidemics of smallpox and measles killed huge numbers • Disorganization • Natives not united enough to fight militarily disciplined whites • Disposability • Natives served no economic function for whites • Not a reliable source of labor • No valuable commodities to trade (after Virginians began growing their own crops • Natives stood in the way of what whites wanted most: land • Foreshadowed what would happen to the rest of the natives as white settlers moved inland

  15. The Indians’ New World • Benefits to natives from the European invasion • Horses brought about large-scale Indian migration to Great Plains in 1700s • Diseases decimated native population and were the biggest disruptor to native life • Could extinguish entire cultures • Some peoples had to reinvent new cultures • Elders who held oral traditions in memory were died • Remnant groups of native peoples joined together to form completely new tribe • Trade • Replaced barter system between natives • European goods (especially firearms) intensified competition among natives for access to best hunting grounds, leading to increased native-on –native violence • Indians on the Atlantic Coast were most affected by Europeans • Inland Indians had advantages of time and space to adjust to changes • European traders who went inland had to conform to some native traditions • Created a middle ground between natives and European cultures where both were forced to accommodate the other • Middle ground ended when Europeans arrived in large numbers

  16. Virginia: Child of Tobacco • Cultivation of Tobacco • Grew as a weed in Virginia • 1612 John Rolfe perfected curing the weed to eliminate its bitter taste • Soon grown everywhere to fill unquenchable desire for it in Europe • Virginians pushed inward (against native population) for more land • Tobacco’s effect on Virginia’s economy • Vital role in putting Virginia on firm economic footing • Ruinous to soil when continuously planted • Chained Virginia’s economy to a single crop • Tobacco promoted use of plantation system (and need for cheap, abundant labor) • In 1619 a Dutch ship sold 20 Africans to Jamestown • It is not clear whether they were indentured servants (for a fixed period of time) or lifelong slaves; however, this voyage planted seeds of the slave system of enslaving Africans

  17. Virginia: Child of Tobacco • During most of the 1600s, whites were too poor to buy many slaves • But slave number in Virginia did increase • By 1700, 14% of the population was black; most of these were slaves • Representative self-government in Virginia • In 1619, the Virginia Company authorized settlers to form an assembly (House of Burgesses) • This was the first of many mini-Parliaments in America • Virginia soon became a royal colony • James I grew hostile to Virginia; he hated tobacco and distrusted the House of Burgesses (a “seminary of sedition”) • In 1624, the king revoked the charter of the bankrupt Virginia Company • Virginia was made a royal colony, under the king’s direct control

  18. Maryland: Catholic Haven • 1634 – Maryland was founded by Lord Baltimore • Wanted profit and refuge for fellow Catholics (who were discriminated against by Protestant England) • Baltimore’s plan was to govern as absentee proprietor in a feudal relationship • He granted huge tracts of land to his Catholic relatives and hoped that English settlers would be willing to come work on this land as peasants did in England • However, English colonists were only willing to come to Maryland if they received land • Colonists who did come received modest farms dispersed around the Chesapeake backcountry • Catholic land barons were soon surrounded by mostly Protestant small farmers • Conflict between the barons and farmers led to Baltimore losing his proprietary rights at end of 1600s

  19. Maryland: Catholic Haven • Maryland relied on tobacco and indentured servants (like Virginia) to sustain economy • Only in the late 1600s did black slaves begin to be imported in large numbers (again like Virginia) • Freedom of religion in Maryland • Initially, Baltimore permitted a high degree of freedom of worship to foster a spirit of toleration for his Catholics • Soon, the large number of Protestants coming to Maryland threatened to overwhelm rights of Catholic minority • In 1649, Catholics threw their support behind the Act of Toleration, which was passed by Maryland’s assembly • The law guaranteed toleration to all Christians, but decreed death to those who denied divinity of Jesus (Jews, atheists) • So in some ways, Maryland was less tolerant than before law was passed

  20. The West Indies: Way Station to Mainland America • In the early 1600s Spain lost control of West Indies • Weakened by military overextension and rebellion in Dutch provinces • England moved in to take over • By the mid 1600s, England controlled several important islands (including Jamaica) • Crucial difference between tobacco and sugar • Tobacco was poor man’s crop: planted easily, produced sellable leaves in 1 year, required simple processing • Sugar was rich man’s crop: had to be planted extensively to yield commercially viable quantities, large-scale planning meant large-scale land clearing, elaborate process of refining needed • Only planters with abundant capital to invest could succeed in sugar growing • Sugar was foundation of West Indian Economy • Sugar planters had to import huge number of African slaves • From 1640 – 1690, 250,000 were imported • By 1700, blacks outnumbered whites 4 to 1 • West Indies are predominately black to this day

  21. The West Indies: Way Station to Mainland America • “Codes” written to control slaves • Defined slaves’ legal status and masters’ rights • Example – Barbados Slave Code of 1661 • Took fundamental rights from slaves • Gave masters almost complete control over their laborers, including right to inflict vicious punishments • Sugar growing crowded out almost all other forms of Caribbean agriculture • West Indies came to depend on North American for basic food and supplies • In 1670, a group of small English farmers from West Indies arrived in Carolina • Had been squeezed out of West Indies by sugar barons • Brought a few black slaves and the model of the Barbados slave code • They laid the foundation for statutes governing slavery and the slave system in mainland colonies

  22. Colonizing the Carolinas • From 1642-1651, the English Civil War took place between Parliament (led by Oliver Cromwell) and King Charles I • In 1649, Charles I was beheaded • Cromwell ruled England as a Puritan dictator until 1658 (when he died) • In 1660 the period known as the Restoration began • Charles II (son of Charles I) was restored to the throne • Colonialism of American had been interrupted during the chaos of the Civil War • After the Civil War, colonialism began with greater intensity and greater royal involvement during the Restoration period • In 1670, Carolina was founded, named for Charles II (Carolus in Latin) • The King granted Carolina to 8 supporters (Lord Proprietors) • These 8 hoped to use Carolina to supply their plantation in Barbados with food and export wine, silk, and olive oil to Europe

  23. Colonizing the Carolinas • Carolina prospered by developing close economic ties to the West Indies • Shipped food to sugar plantations on West Indies • Many Carolinian settlers were originally from West Indies and brought slaves and the slave system with them • Used local Savannah Indians to enslave other American Indians (about 10,000) and send them to the West Indies (and some to New England) • 1707 Savannah Indians decided to migrate to Pennsylvania • This new colony founded by William Penn promised better relations between whites and American Indians • Carolinians decided to “thin” the Savannahs before they could leave • By 1710 bloody raids killed almost all American Indians in Coastal Carolina

  24. Colonizing the Carolinas • Rice became primary export of Carolina • Rice was an exotic food in England • Rice was grown in Africa, so planters imported West African Slaves • These slaves were ideal because they were experienced in rice cultivation and had genetic trait that made them relatively immune to malaria • By 1710 black slaves were a majority in Carolina • Charles Town also named for King Charles II, became the busiest port in the South • Religious toleration attracted diverse inhabitants to the city • Catholic Spanish hated mass of Protestants on their borders, leading to conflict between Carolina and Florida • During the Anglo-Spanish wars the Spanish conducted border raids on Carolina by either inciting the Indians to attack or attacking themselves • By 1700 Carolina was too strong to be wiped out by Spanish

  25. The Emergence of North Carolina • Northern part of Carolina shared border with Virginia • Virginia was dominated by aristocratic planters who were generally members of Church of England • Dissenters from Virginia moved south to Northern Carolina • Poor farmers with little need for slaves • Religious dissenters • Distinctive traits of North Carolinians • Poor but sturdy inhabitants • Irreligious and hospitable to pirates • Strong spirit of resistance to authority • 1712 after fighting among North and South Carolinians, North Carolina was officially separated from South Carolina • Both became royal colonies

  26. The Emergence of North Carolina • North Carolina shares some distinctions in common with Rhode Island • Both were the most democratic (and least aristocratic) and most independent of the English colonies • Both regions fought bloody battles with local American Indians • Carolina’s relations with American Indians • 1711 Tuscarora Indians attacked North Carolina at Newbern • North Carolinians (with South Carolinians) defeated and destroyed Tuscaroras • 1715 South Carolinians defeated Yamasee Indians • By 1720 all of coastal Indians wiped out in south • Powerful Indian tribes (Cherokee, Creeks, Iroquois) inland resisted British expansion for 50 more years.

  27. Late-Coming Georgia: the Buffer Colony • Georgia • Founded in 1733 • Last of the 13 colonies • 126 years after 1st (Virginia); 52 year after the 12th (Pennsylvania) • Named in honor of King George II • Founded by James Oglethorpe • Purposes of Georgia • Chiefly was to serve as a buffer between the valuable Carolinas , Spanish Florida and French Louisiana • Received subsidies from British government to offset costs of defense • Exported silk and wine • Served as a haven for debtors thrown into prison • Determined to keep slavery out

  28. Late-Coming Georgia: the Buffer Colony • The port city of Georgia was Savannah • Savannah was a diverse community where all Christians except Catholics enjoyed religious toleration • Missionaries worked among debtors and American Indians in Savannah • John Wesley was the most famous of these missionaries; he later founded Methodist Church (in England) • Georgia grew slowly and was the least populous of all the colonies • The plantation economy in Georgia was stopped by • An unhealthy climate • Early restrictions on black slavery • Frequent Spanish attacks

  29. The Plantation Colonies • England’s southern mainland colonies shared some characteristics • Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia • Devoted to export of commercial agricultural crops • Profitable staple (principal) crops like rice and tobacco • Slavery found in all colonies, including Georgia after 1750 • Strong aristocratic tradition because of huge tracts of land in hands of few • Except North Carolina and Georgia • Wide scattering of settlement slowed growth of cities; made schools and churches difficult and expensive • Some religious toleration existed • Church of England was dominant faith • Expansionary • Excessive tobacco growing drove settlers westward

  30. 1619-1700 Settling the Northern Colonies

  31. Regional Differences • North, Middle, and South had commonalities • Language, allegiance to England • Colonies also developed differently; differences lasted well after colonial era • Southerners came for riches (especially from tobacco) • Northerners came for religious devotion

  32. Protestant Reformation Produces Puritanism • 1517 – Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses on door of Wittenberg, Germany cathedral • Denounced the authority of (Catholic) priests and popes • Claimed that the Bible alone was the source of God’s word • Luther began a period of religious reform in Europe called the Reformation • John Calvin • Religious leader in Geneva, Switzerland • Calvinism was an elaboration of Luther’s ideas • Profoundly affected religious emigrants to America including the Puritans, Scottish Presbyterians, French Huguenots • Calvinism • Calvin wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536, exalining his ideas • God was all-powerful and all-good • Humans (because of Original Sin) were wicked and weak • Predestination • God knew (because he is all-knowing) who was going to heaven and who was going to hell • Some souls (the elect) were destine d for heaven; others were destined for hell

  33. The Protestant Reformation Produces Puritanism • Predestination and works • Good works could not save those predestined for hell • Elect could not count on their status to live lives of sin • No could be certain of his/her status • Gnawing doubts led them to constantly seek signs of “conversion” • Conversion was an intense, personal experience in which God revealed to that person his/her elect status • After conversion, elect were to live “sanctified” lives, demonstrating that they were “visible saints” • 1530 - Calvinism swept England as Henry VIII broke ties with Roman Catholic Church and appointed himself the head of the Church of England (Anglican) • Henry still kept most of the Roman Catholic practices

  34. The Protestant Reformation Produces Puritanism • “Puritans” • Want to totally reform (purify) Church of England from Catholicism • Many came from economically depressed areas • Calvinism fed on social unrest and comforted the poor • Puritans grew increasingly unhappy with slow process of Protestant Reformation in England • Separatists • Puritans who believed only “visible saints” (those who could demonstrate in front of their fellow Puritans their elect status) should be admitted to church membership • Because the Church of England enrolled all the king’s subjects, Separatists felt they had to share churches with the “damned” • Therefore, Separatists believed in a total break from Church of England

  35. The Protestant Reformation Produces Puritanism • After Henry VIII, the king was the head of the country and the spiritual leader of church • James I saw that if his subjects could defy him in spiritual affairs (the Separatists breaking from the Church of England) then they would eventually defy him in political affairs • Therefore, the king decided to harass the Separatists until they left England • In 1608, the most famous congregation of Separatists left for Holland; they spent 12 years in Holland in difficult circumstances • Separatists worried about “Dutchification” of their children; they wanted a place where they could live as Englishmen

  36. The Pilgrims End Their Pilgrimage at Plymouth • In 1620, a group of 102 people (about ½ of who were Separatists) set sail on the Mayflower for America • They negotiated with the Virginia Company to settle in its jurisdiction • Non-Separatists included Captain Myles Standish, who would later help the colony in fighting the natives • Mayflower sailed for 65 days and landed off course in New England • The colonist searched around New England for suitable place to land, finally landing at Plymouth Bay • Because Plymouth was well outside the domain of the Virginia Company, there people became squatters without legal rights to the land and no specific authority to establish a government.

  37. The Pilgrims End Their Pilgrimage at Plymouth • The Mayflower Compact was written and signed before the Pilgrims disembarked from the Mayflower • Not a constitution, but an agreement to form a crude government and submit to majority rule • Signed by 41 adult males (not signed by women, slaves, and 2 seamen) • Led to adult male settlers meeting in assemblies to make laws in town meetings • During the winter of 1620 – 1621, only 22 (of 102) survived at Plymouth Colony • At one time only 7 well enough to bury the dead • Still, none chose to leave in 1621 when the Mayflower sailed back to Europe • In the fall of 1621, the first “Thanksgiving Day” was commemorated, celebrating their successful harvest • The colony survived because of fur (especially beaver), fish and lumber

  38. The Pilgrims End Their Pilgrimage at Plymouth • One of the most important Pilgrim leaders was William Bradford • A self-taught scholar who was chosen governor 30 times in early elections • Bradford worried about settlements of non-Puritans springing up nearby and corrupting Puritan society. • Plymouth stayed small and economically unimportant • By 1691, only 7000 people lived in the colony when it merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony

  39. The Bay Colony Bible Commonwealth • Non-Separatist Puritans • Less radical than Separatists; sought to reform Church of England from within • Gathered support, especially in Parliament • In 1629, Charles I disbanded Parliament and supported Archbishop William Laud, an archconservative who attacked the Puritans • Also in 1629, non-Separatist Puritans got royal charter to form Massachusetts Bay Colony • They wanted to escape attacks by Laud and other conservatives in Church of England • They denied they wanted to leave Church of England, just its impurities. • In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay expedition set out in 11 well-supplied ships with almost 1000 people • These people established a colony in the Massachusetts area; Boston became its hub

  40. The Bay Colony Bible Commonwealth • The “Great Migration” of 1630s • Turmoil and persecution in England sent more Puritans (about 70,000) to America • Not all were Puritans • Only about 20,000 came to Massachusetts; 50,000 went to the West Indies • Many prosperous, educated persons migrated to Massachusetts Bay • John Winthrop • Well-off attorney and manor lord in England • Became first governor in Massachusetts • Belied he had a “calling” from God to lead there • Served as governor or deputy-governor for 19 years

  41. Building the Bay Colony • Massachusetts’ Economy • Based on fur trading, fishing, shipbuilding • Quickly became New England’s biggest and most important colony • Massachusetts’ Religious Mission • “We shall be as a city upon a hill” – Winthrop • Colonists shared a sense of purpose that they had a covenant with God to build a holy society to serve as an example to the rest of the world. • Democratic Beginnings in Massachusetts • Franchise (voting) in colony-wide elections given to all “freemen” – adult males who belong to Puritan congregations (by going through conversion) • Unconverted Puritans, non-Puritans, and women were not allowed to vote • 2/5 of adult men allowed to vote, a far larger percentage than in England at the time • Town government conducted in town meetings by majority vote • More inclusive than colony’s elections – all male property holders allowed to participate and vote

  42. Building the Bay Colony • Massachusetts (though liberal for the times) was not a democracy • John Winthrop distrusted “commons” and believed democracy was the “meanest and worst” form of government • Freemen elected governor, his assistants, and representatives in General Court (colonial assembly) • Only “Visible Saints” in Puritan Church were allowed to be freemen • Doctrine of the Covenant • Government’s purpose was to enforce God’s law (which applied to believers and non-believers) • Non-believers and believers both paid taxes for the government-supported church • Religious leaders held enormous influence in Massachusetts • Influenced admission to church membership (and therefore voting rights) by conducting public interrogations of people who claimed to have experienced conversion

  43. Building the Bay Colony • John Cotton, a prominent man among the early clergy • Educated at heavily Puritan Cambridge University in England • Emigrated to Massachusetts to escape punishment for criticizing the Church of England • Devoted himself to defending right of government to enforce religious rules • Congregational Church • Collective of all the individual Puritan congregations meeting in Massachusetts • Power of clergy was not absolute • Congregation could hire and fire minster and set his salary • Clergyman were barred from holding political office, an early example of the separation of church and state • Puritans in England had suffered from “political” Anglican minsters in England

  44. Building the Bay Colony • Puritan Worldliness • Believed in “calling” to do God’s work on Earth • Shared “Protestant ethic” of hard work and engagement in worldly pursuits • Saw worldly blessings (riches) as a sign of God’s grace on the elect • Enjoyed simple pleasures such as eating, drinking, and monogamous sex • “sumptuary laws” (also called “blue laws” for the color paper they were printed on) were passed to control worldly pleasures • Puritan Concept of Hell • They believed in a real hell where sinners withered in pain for eternity • This belief kept most Puritans strictly obedient to (what they saw as) the word of God

  45. Trouble in the Bible Commonwealth • The Puritan believers were tightly knit community in Massachusetts • Most followed the Puritan orthodoxy (conforming to what is generally seen as right and true), although there were some dissenters • Quakers • Ignored authority of Puritan clergy • Fined, flogged, banished as punishment • 4 Quakers hanged in Boston for refusing to obey an order to leave

  46. Trouble in the Bible Commonwealth • Anne Hutchinson • Intelligent, strong-willed, well-spoken woman • Preached the doctrine of antinomianism • Carried to logical extremes Puritan doctrine of predestination • Holy life was no sure of salvation • Truly saved didn’t need to obey the law of either God or man • Antinomianism comes from Greek – “against the law” • In 1638, Anne Hutchinson was put on trial by the Puritans • She confounded the Puritan leaders for days • She eventually bragged that she received her beliefs directly from God • The claim of direct revelation was even more serious than the heresy of antinomianism • Because of this, the Puritan leaders banished her • Anne Hutchinson and family traveled to Rhode Island and later New York • Hutchinson and all but 1 in her family were killed by American Indians in New York • Puritan leader John Winthrop saw God’s hand in this

  47. Trouble in the Bible Commonwealth • Roger Williams • Young and popular minister in Salem • Williams was an extreme Separatist; he argued with his fellow clergy about breaking with the Anglican Church • Condemned Massachusetts Bay’s charter because it did not give fair compensation to the American Indians • Denied authority of civil government to regulate religious behavior • In 1635, Williams found guilty of preaching “newe & dangerous opinions” and was exiled • Puritans in Massachusetts Bay wanted to exile him to England to prevent him from founding a competing colony

  48. The Rhode Island “Sewer” • Before he could be sent back to England, Williams fled to Rhode Island in 1636 • Williams established religious toleration in Providence, Rhode Island • More liberal than any other American colony, more liberal than most Old World cities • Complete freedom of religion, even for Jews and Catholics • No oaths regarding religious beliefs • No compulsory church attendance • No taxes to support a state church • Williams also set up remarkable political freedom in Providence, Rhode Island • Universal manhood suffrage, although later restricted by a property qualification • Opposed to special privilege of any kin • Tried to grant freedom of opportunity to all

  49. The Rhode Island “Sewer” • Other dissenters gathered in settlements around Rhode Island • Many had little in common with Roger Williams, apart from not being welcome anywhere else • Puritan clergy in Boston believed “that sewer” was a rotten collection of the “Lord’s debris” • Made Rhode Islanders much more individualistic and independent than other colonists • 1636 – Rhode Island began as squatter colony without legal standing • 1644 – Parliament granted charter to Rhode Island

  50. New England Spreads Out • Fertile Connecticut River Valley attracted a few English and Dutch settlers • In 1635 Hartford was founded • In 1636 the Boston Puritans led by Reverend Thomas Hooker settled in Hartford • In 1639 the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were passed • The orders were a modern constitution, establishing a democratic government by the “substantial” citizens • Later used as basis for colonial and state constitutions of Connecticut • New Haven, Connecticut • Settled (without charter from king) by Puritans who wanted an even closer relationship between church and state than at Massachusetts • Fell into disfavor with Charles II because they harbored 2 judges who had condemned his father (Charles I) to death • In 1662, Charles II granted a charter to Connecticut • Merged New Haven with more democratic settlements of Connecticut River Valley (including Hartford) • Puritans in New Haven did not support this, but had little choice

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