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 • 1607- English in Jamestown • 1608 – French in Quebec • 1610 – Spanish in Santa Fe

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”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

1619-1700 Settling the Northern Colonies

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Planting of English America