Unit 1 Colonization Essentials & Study Guide

Causes of European Exploration

• POLITICAL (competition between nations, national pride, expand empires (nations) by claiming new
territories)
• ECONOMIC (mercantilism – increase the wealth of the parent country; find gold and other resources; seeking
new trade routes including the Northwest Passage)
• SOCIAL (explorers seeking fame and adventure, desire to spread Christianity, curiosity)

GEOGRAPHY
Key Locations: Physical characteristics of
• New World and Old World North America: • Atlantic & Pacific Oceans
• Europe (Spain, France, England) • Appalachian Mountains • Hudson Bay
• North and South America • Backcountry • Great Lakes
• Mississippi River • Chesapeake Bay

Immigrant Groups Interacted with the Environment

• French trappers/traders • British farmers • African slaves • Spanish Catholic missions

EARLY COLONIAL SETTLEMENTS

Reasons for Colonization
POLITICAL ECONOMIC SOCIAL/RELIGIOUS
o Britain, Spain and France o Mercantilism o Escape religious persecution
compete for land in North o Seeking gold and other o Religious freedom (some
America to increase their power economic opportunities and colonies)
o Settlers seeks political freedom better way of life o Adventure
o Social mobility

Massachusetts
Jamestown (VA) -first permanent English settlement in North America, located near Bay
present-day Williamsburg, Virginia. Established for commercial profit in 1607, the colony Plymouth
gave England its first foothold in the European competition for the New World.
The Virginia Company authorized a general assembly so that colonists could govern on a
Jamestown
local level. Voters in each of the colony’s four cities and seven plantations elected two
burgesses to represent them at the House of Burgesses. The House of Burgesses served
as a model for future colonial legislatures.
Know where
Jamestown is
located on a
map.
Plymouth (MA)
Plymouth Colony (or Plantation), the second permanent English
settlement in North America, was founded in 1620 by settlers including
a group of religious dissenters commonly referred to as the Pilgrims.
In the landmark Mayflower Compact, the Pilgrims decided that they
would rule themselves, based on majority rule of the townsmen. This
independent attitude set up a tradition of self-rule that would later lead
to town meetings and elected legislatures in New England
 Both Pilgrims and Puritans left England to escape religious persecution.
Massachusetts Bay (MA)
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was a colony located near modern-day Boston and Salem Massachusetts. The
Puritans established Massachusetts in 1620. The Puritans were different from the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims wanted
complete separation from England, while the Puritans wanted to purify the church.

Although many people assume Puritans escaped England to establish religious freedom,
however, they proved to be just as intolerant as the English state church. When dissenters,
including Puritan minister Roger Williams and midwife Anne Hutchinson, challenged
Governor Winthrop in Massachusetts Bay in the 1630s, they both were banished from the
colony.

GROWTH OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT

The distance from England created a need for colonists to make their own laws and keep peace and order. They wrote
documents such as the Mayflower Compact, charter for the House of Burgesses, and the Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut.

VIRGINIA HOUSE OF BURGESSES

• connected to principle of republicanism • 1st representative assembly
• an example of self-government • served as a model for future colonial legislatures
• Virginia law-making body

MAYFLOWER COMPACT (1620 in PLYMOUTH, MA) 1st "experiment" in self-government

• connected to principle of popular sovereignty • Established the idea of self-government based on a
(majority rule) and self-government social contract
• Obey laws agreed upon for the good of the
colony

FUNDAMENTAL ORDERS OF CONNECTICUT

• connected to principle of limited government and popular sovereignty
• 1st written Constitution in colonies; influenced tradition of self-government
• Non-church members could vote (precedent for separation of church and state)
• Founded by Thomas Hooker

Role of Religion/Virtue in Representative Government

• Pilgrims and Puritans were escaping religious persecution
• Quakers allowed all persons to worship freely
• Rhode Island and Pennsylvania were founded on religious freedom (accepted other faiths/religious diversity)
• New England town meetings allowed Puritan to deal with community issues (self-government)
• First Great Awakening: fostered anti-intellectualism in religion and began the development of denominational
colleges; encouraged the ideas of equality and the right to challenge authority. Churches welcomed groups of women,
African Americans, & Native Americans & inspired colonists to help others. It contributed to the revolutionary idea of
independence from Britain years later.
• 1791 — Bill of Rights is added to the US Constitution. The 1st Amendment guarantees freedom of religion and
freedom from government interference
GREAT AWAKENING
The Great Awakening was a series of religious revivals during the mid-1700’s that served as one of the first shared
experiences of the colonies. During these "awakenings," a great many colonists found new meaning (and new comfort) in
the religions of the day.
In a way, the Great Awakening also paved the way for the American Revolution. The "awakening" of more and
more people to the teachings of various churches resulted in more people being exposed to the idea that all people
were equal under God and if people were treated the same by God, then those same people could certainly be treated
equally by their government.

THE ENLIGHTENMENT
The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an intellectual and cultural movement in the
eighteenth century that emphasized reason over superstition and science over blind faith. Using the power of the
press, Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton (mathematician and scientist) questioned accepted
knowledge and spread new ideas about openness, investigation, and religious tolerance throughout Europe and the
Americas. The Enlightenment also paved the way for the American Revolution. It contributed to questioning
leaders: if a leader failed in responsibility, the people could revolt because the leader did not have divine right – he was
not put there by God

REGIONAL TRAITS OF NEW ENGLAND COLONIES

New England Colonies: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire
Towns: Boston (MA), Plymouth (MA) (Be able to locate & identify colonies and towns)
KEY DATE: 1620
o arrival of the Pilgrims
o Plymouth founded for religious reasons (fleeing religious persecution)
o Signing of the Mayflower Compact (1st social contract for self-government in the colonies

Physical/Geographic Economic Activities Human Characteristics

• Rocky soil
• Swift (fast) moving rivers
• Short growing season
• Cold climate, long winters
• Deep harbors/numerous ports
• Dense forests
• Fishing, whaling, and fur
trapping
• Forestry (timber), shipping
(shipbuilding)
• Subsistence farming
• Triangular trade
Be able to locate & identify)
• Society dominated by
Separatists (Pilgrims) &
Puritans
• New England Way – emphasis
on duty, Godliness, hard work
& honesty

Religion
Plymouth Colony (Separatist/Pilgrims): self -governing church with each
congregation independent and electing its own pastor and officers
Massachusetts Bay (Puritans): churches were fairly democratic in that they elected
ministers and other officials, but church closely tied with state government
Rhode Island - Roger Williams: the political and religious leader is best remembered
for founding the state of Rhode Island and advocating separation of church and state in
the colony. His views on religious freedom and tolerance, coupled with his disapproval
of the practice of confiscating land from Native Americans, earned him the wrath of his
church and banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Nearly a century after his
death, Williams’ notion of a “wall of separation” between church and state inspired the
founders of the United States, who incorporated it into the U.S. Constitution and Bill of
Rights.
 "Separatist" Pilgrims and Puritans left England to escape religious persecution.
Rhode Island - Anne Hutchinson was a religious dissenter in Puritan New England. She was the defendant in the
most famous of the trials intended to suppress religious dissent in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She was found guilty of
heresy in 1637 and banished from Massachusetts for leading Bible studies against the orders of church elders. She helped
to found Rhode Island.
* Women had few rights but had important roles in the family.
Connecticut - Thomas Hooker – founder of the Connecticut Colony. He was a prominent Puritan clergyman
who grew dissatisfied with the rigid (strict) practices and government of the Puritan church in Massachusetts. He led a
group of followers to start a more liberal (loose) colony in Hartford, Connecticut. He extended voting rights
beyond church members and was active in formulating the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, considered the
first constitution to establish a democratic representative government. This document later helped shape aspects of the
Constitution of the United States of America.

Slavery in the New England Colonies during Colonial Period

• Slave ownership was legal
• Cold climate & poor soil resulted in only subsistence farming. Lack of year-round agriculture made slave ownership
unprofitable.

REGIONAL TRAITS OF MIDDLE (MID-ATLANTIC) COLONIES

Middle (Mid-Atlantic) Colonies: New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania (Be able to locate & identify)
Towns: Philadelphia (PA), New York (NY) (Be able to locate & identify colonies and towns)
port cities

Physical/Geographic Economic Human Characteristics

• Fertile soil
• Deep harbors/Numerous ports
• Moderate climate/shorter
growing season
• “Breadbasket” (grew grains) • Religious & ethnic diversity
• Cash crops (“Melting Pot”)
• Shipping & trade • Land deals negotiated between
Livestock (cows) Native Americans and colonists.
• Religious tolerance (Quaker
influence) -- 1st amendment

Pennsylvania - When William Penn decided to become a Quaker, it

was dangerous. Even so, he wrote books and pamphlets and went to
Quaker meetings. As a result, he went to jail multiple times. In his writings,
William argued for religious toleration, respecting other religions and
allowing people to practice what they believe. He also advocated for
equality for all, including Native Americans and women. Penn
circulated a pamphlet in England, Wales, Holland, and Germany—countries
where the Quakers were well established. The pamphlet described a
proposed settlement in the New World. Settlers soon poured into the
region from Europe, drawn to it by Penn's attractive terms for land
purchases and rentals, as well as the promise of religious toleration and
participation in lawmaking.
The city of Philadelphia grew into one of the most important cities in colonial America, becoming the birthplace of the
U.S. Constitution.

Slavery in the Middle Colonies during Colonial Period

• Moderate climate & medium size farms made some ownership of slaves profitable but not as extensive as in the South
 REGIONAL TRAITS OF SOUTHERN COLONIES
Southern Colonies: Virginia, Maryland, North & South Carolina, Georgia
Towns: Charlestown (SC), Jamestown (VA) (Be able to locate & identify colonies and towns)
KEY DATE: 1607
o founding of Jamestown
o 1st permanent English settlement
o founded for economic reason

Physical/Geographic Economic Human Characteristics

• Rich, fertile soil
• Slow moving rivers – used for
transportation of people &
products
• Warmer/Long growing season
for crops
• Plantations depended on large • Aristocratic plantation owners
labor force • Relied on slave labor
• Cash Crops – tobacco, indigo,
rice

Reasons for Development of Plantation System

• A few Africans came as indentured servants, but most were kidnapped and
forced to come to America as slaves.
• Plantation system - Rich, fertile soil and long growing season were conducive
to growing cash crops.
• Transatlantic Slave Trade – Profitability of cash crops and the need for cheap
labor demand of plantations system led to the expansion of the Transatlantic Slave
Trade
• Spread of slavery – As cash crops became more profitable & the availability of
indentured servants decreased, the demand for a cheap labor force grew.
Slavery in the South during Colonial Period
• Slaves viewed as property and labor supply
• Aided in development of plantation system and agrarian South
• Slave codes governed the behavior and punishment of enslaved persons.

MARYLAND
Maryland’s founder, Lord Baltimore, sought to create a haven for English Catholics and to demonstrate that Catholics and
Protestants could live together peacefully. Because Maryland was generally considered more tolerant than other colonies,
many Protestants and Puritans left other colonies to settle there, as well.
In 1649, Lord Baltimore sent the Maryland Assembly a bill for religious toleration known as the "The Toleration Act." It was
an early attempt to ensure that the state and church were kept separate and was the first law requiring religious tolerance in
the colonies. The act influenced the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights—as the First Amendment to the
Constitution ensures the separation of church and state.

GEORGIA
The reach of Enlightenment thought was both broad and deep. In the 1730’s, it even prompted the founding of a new colony.
Having witnessed the terrible conditions of debtors’ prison, as well as the results of releasing penniless debtors onto the
streets of London, James Oglethorpe—a member of Parliament and advocate of social reform—petitioned King George II
for a charter to start a new colony.
George II, understanding the advantage of a British colony standing as a buffer between South Carolina and Spanish Florida,
granted the charter to Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe led the settlement of the colony, which was called Georgia in honor of the
king. Oglethorpe’s vision for Georgia followed the ideals of the Age of Reason. He saw Georgia as a place for England’s
“worthy poor” to start anew.

Civic virtue — the willingness to work for the good of the nation or community even at great sacrifice; democratic ideas,
practices & values that form a truly free society—was exemplified by Ben Franklin and other founders