Thirteen Colonies

1. Thirteen Colonies Cross Curricular Writing Activity Social Studies Grade 4

2. Fourth Grade Social Studies Standard • The learner will determine the reasons for colonial settlement.

3. The Thirteen Colonies • When the first people came to America they settled in areas that later became states. • States had not been formed yet so these areas of settlement were called colonies.

4. The Thirteen Colonies • A colony is "a region that is ruled by a faraway government." • In most of the American colonies, the government that ruled from afar was that of England.

5. There were many reasons why people wanted to move to the colonies. • Economic problems or difficulty getting and keeping things that people need or want • Human rights problems caused when a person's basic rights are denied • A right is "the freedom to do a certain activity" for example freedom of speech or the freedom to practice the religion of your choice.

6. A New Start • The colonists viewed coming to the new world as a way to make a new start and each group had their own reasons for leaving Europe. • The differences between the groups were the reasons they went to the New World, for example looking for religious freedom or hoping to get rich, and how each group's colony was set up in the New World.

7. Reasons for Coming to the New World: • They could not find work in Europe. • They did not have the opportunity to practice their chosen religion. • They could not afford to own land in Europe.

8. Moving to the New World provided solutions to each problem. • There was work for every trade in the New World. • In the New World the colonists were able to practice whatever religion they chose. • Land was offered for free or at a very low cost to the colonists.

9. St. Augustine • Menendez founded a new city and named it St. Augustine. • The year was 1565. • They built a fort called a presidio for protection, the Castillo de San Marcos.

10. Ranches and Haciendas • Some ranchers in the borderlands of northern Mexico built large estates called Haciendas where they raised cattle and sheep.

11. Missions • The Spanish king wanted to bring the holy Catholic faith to the people. • They sent missionaries called Franciscans who built missions for small religious communities. Nombre de Dios is the oldest Spanish Mission in the U.S. Missions were used to spread Christianity.

12. Indians • The Spanish and the Indians learned from one another. • The Indians taught the Spanish how to build adobe houses and how to use herbs as medicines. • The Spanish taught the Indians how to guide a plow instead of using a stick and hoe in the Indian way. The Indians also learned to use other tools and machines the missionaries brought from Spain. • The coming of the Spanish missions changed the way many Indians lived, worked, and worshiped.

13. France • Most French people were not interested in settling North America. • From 1608 to 1763 the French built only two towns in New France - Quebec and Montreal. • Their interest in fur trading caused conflicts between the English, Dutch, and Iroquois.

14. Exploring the Mississippi • The members of the expedition were Jacques Marquette, a Catholic missionary who knew several Indian languages; Louis Joliet, a fur trader; and five others.

15. Founding Louisiana • Another French explorer, Rene-Robert Cavelier, known as Sir La Salle, claimed the entire Mississippi River Valley for France. • Sir La Salle named the area Louisiana to honor King Louis XIV. • In 1712 the French king made Louisiana a proprietary colony - owned and ruled by one person.

17. The New England Colonies • Ten years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, another group founded an English colony in North America. • They wanted to change some of their religious practices and make these more pure. • For this reason, they were known as the Puritans.

19. Contributions of the Puritans • Puritans wanted every person to be able to read the Bible so they passed a law, requiring parents to teach their children to read. • Some parents paid other people to teach their children, but the children learned only reading. Math and writing lessons cost extra.

20. Puritan Schools • Puritan schools were the first community schools in the English colonies. • They were run by women. • Schools were open year round. • Puritan’s believed that vacations were a waste of God’s precious time. • The Puritans also founded the first college, Harvard College.

21. New England Grows • Reverend Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts Bay because he did not like the Puritan leadership. • Reverend Hooker thought the colony should be governed by what the “people” wanted not by what the “leaders” wanted. • In 1639, the Connecticut colony adopted his beliefs as Fundamental Orders - the first time colonists could elect officials.

22. Massachusetts Bay Colony • The Massachusetts Bay Colony continued to expand its commerce. From the middle of the 17th century onward it grew prosperous, and Boston became one of America's greatest ports. A Inscription on a Rock in Gloucester, MA Describing the Founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

23. THE MIDDLE COLONIES • In the middle colonies Pennsylvania and Delaware owed their success to William Penn. • Under his guidance, Pennsylvania grew rapidly. The heart of the colony was Philadelphia. The city became one of the thriving centers of colonial America. • Though the Quakers dominated in Philadelphia, elsewhere in Pennsylvania others were well represented. Cottage industries such as weaving, shoemaking, cabinetmaking and other crafts were important.

24. THE SOUTHERN COLONIES • These colonies were rural southern settlements: Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. • Charleston, South Carolina, became the leading port and trading center of the South. • The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia was dotted with farms. • Living on the edge of the Indian country, frontier families built cabins, cleared tracts in the wilderness and cultivated maize and wheat.

25. Resources • 13 Colonies Map/Quiz Printout • The Thirteen Colonies • A Picture of Daily Life in the Colonies • Colonial Times • The Outline of American History • Colonial America

26. Writing Assignment: • Write a letter to a relative in Europe explaining why you traveled by ship to settle in America.