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INTRODUCTION
The United States was started by English speaking people who lived in 13 colonies all along the Atlantic Ocean. By the time they joined together and became the United States in 1776, they had been living there for over 150 years. They were all from the same mother country, but the 13 colonies were all different. In fact, most historians agree that only because different things all happened at the same time, like having good leaders, and being ok with working together, did they ever agree to fight for independence at all.
Why were they so different, and how so? Why do we have to speak of them as 13 colonies and not England in America? You and your friends are not so different. Even you and your neighbors are not so different that you would need to start separate colonies if you moved to a new land. Why was it then that the English settlers ended up so divided? Why were the British colonies so different?
VIRGINIA AND THE SOUTH
English businessmen put their money together to start joint-stock companies to share in the cost and risk of paying for new colonies in America. The first joint-stock company paid to start Jamestown in Virginia in 1610.
Jamestown was a failure in the beginning. The settlers did not know how to farm so they died from hunger. Only with help from the local Native Americans did some settlers live. However, they found out that they could grow tobacco, which they could sell back in Europe. Tobacco was how the colonists in Jamestown and the area around the Chesapeake Bay made money and were able to stay in America. John Smith was an important leader in Jamestown in these early years.
Secondary Source: Photograph
This photograph shows the reconstructed Jamestown Fort. The original site of the fort has mostly been overtaken by the shifting James River. Today you can visit a rebuilt version a few hundred yards from the original site.
Powhatan Native American people lived in the area around Jamestown. They had a tense relationship with the English settlers. Sometimes they helped the settlers, but when the English took Native lands, they went to war.
The English settlers in the colonies around the Chesapeake Bay started an important tradition called the House of Burgesses. England and Virginia were not democracies since the poor did not have much power. However, the rich plantation owners in Virginia met often to make laws for their colony. This House of Burgesses helped start a tradition of self-rule that the colonists were willing to fight for in the 1770s.
Much of the work done in the British colonies was first done by indentured servants. These poor people from Great Britain could not pay to take a ship to America. Someone in America paid it for them in exchange for a set number of years of work. This system of indenture had some problems. Rich people who paid for others were given land as a reward. This made the rich richer. Another problem was that the indentured servants could run away and hide since they were English.
Slavery was not an English invention. The Spanish and Portuguese had been using African slaves for many years. The first African slaves in the English colonies were probably brought from the Caribbean Islands and not directly from Africa.
Eventually, slaves were brought straight from Africa to the Southern Colonies. Compared to life in Brazil or the Caribbean Islands, life for slaves was better in America. American slaves lived long enough to have children, This meant that the number of slaves went up naturally and Americans stopped bringing new slaves from Africa to America in the 1800s.
Some people made a lot of money buying and selling slaves. They were an important part of the Triangle Trade. Slaves were bought in Africa and carried to the Americas on ships. Sugar, tobacco, cotton and other raw materials were loaded onto the ships in America and taken back to Europe. In Europe the ships were reloaded with finished products like furniture and guns, which were sent off to Africa.
Primary Source: Painting
An illustration of slave life on a plantation. The main house where the White owners lived is visible in the background. The music and dance was a blend of various African and European cultural traditions.
An illustration of slave life on a plantation. The main house where the White owners lived is visible in the background. The music and dance was a blend of various African and European cultural traditions.
In time, people started to think of their slaves as property the same as horses or wagons. This was called chattel slavery. Strict laws, or codes, were passed in the colonies that described the rights slaves did not have, and limited what they could and could not do. Some slaves fought back, but these rebellions were always stopped, and usually Whites responded by passing more strict slave codes.
In the colonies, owning slaves became an important symbol of status for Whites. Only a few rich Whites actually owned slaves. In the Chesapeake Region (VA, NC, DE, MD) slaves worked on plantations growing tobacco. In the Deep South (SC, GA) slaves worked on plantations growing rice, sugar, and later on, cotton.
The most socially segregated society was in South Carolina, which had been started by Englishmen from the island of Barbados. There were more slaves than Whites in both Barbados and South Carolina.
NEW ENGLAND
In England, everyone had to be a part of the official Church of England which was led by the king or queen. Some did not like this. They wanted to purify or fix the problems they saw in the church. Other people thought things were so bad that they wanted to separate from, or the church and start their own church. Both groups were making problems for the King and he wanted them to leave.
Plymouth was started by separatists called Pilgrims. They arrived on the Mayflower. They were a small group but they set an example for other English people who would come to America by writing the Mayflower Compact. This was an agreement that they would have elections to choose their town’s leaders.
The Plymouth Colony would have failed if it were not for the help of local Native Americans. The tradition of Thanksgiving comes from this colony.
Secondary Source: Illustration
Fishing was an important element of colonial New England’s economy.
A much larger group landed close to the Pilgrims. This group started the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They also came to escape the Church of England, but these people were Puritans instead of separatists. They believed in a covenant, or agreement with God. They thought that if they were good Christians, God would reward them and make their colony grow and become rich. They also believed their colony would be an example of a pure society on earth that everyone else could copy. They thought their colony would be like a city upon a hill. These are still important ideas in American myth. Many thousands of Puritans came over time and, in the end, the Plymouth Colony became part of Massachusetts.
Puritans were strict. Everyone had to follow the colony’s rules, including going to church. They believed that school was important because they wanted people to be able to read the Bible. They started Harvard and Yale Universities to train new ministers for their churches.
New England was not started to be a business like Jamestown. New England was made up of towns with families and of plantations with single owners and slaves. New Englanders sold fish, lumber, built ships and traded.
THE MIDDLE COLONIES
New York was first started by people from the Netherlands. They came to trade for beaver. Like the English colonies in the Chesapeake and Deep South, they had a society with a strict social hierarchy, or order. However, the Dutch were traders and people from many countries came to New Amsterdam. The Dutch were not in America for long. When the English took their colony they renamed it New York, but the cosmopolitan, pluralistic, trading-based tradition lives on.
Pennsylvania was also started as a colony for people who did not like the Church of England. The Quakers were a group who thought war was wrong and believed in equality. Life for them in England was hard because they would not join the army, but William Penn, a rich Quaker, got land from the king as a safe, new home for other Quakers. They started the town of Philadelphia, treated Native Americans with respect, and guaranteed religious freedom for people who lived in their colony. Pennsylvania played an important role in later years as a meeting place between North and South with its tradition of openness. The Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia to write the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
During the colonial era, the most famous American was Benjamin Franklin. He was an author, publisher, and scientist who made his home in Pennsylvania.
Maryland was started as a safe, new home for Catholics from England. Like Pennsylvania, it was started as a home for one religious group, but it gave religious freedom to all people. Maryland is next door to Virginia and the economy was based on slavery and tobacco like its larger neighbor.
Georgia was first started as a home for poor people back in England who were in debtor’s prison because they owed money. Over time, Georgia came to look like South Carolina with a strict social order and economy based on slavery.
While English settlers lived along the Atlantic coast and controlled the government of the colonies, other groups also made the trip across the ocean. German settlers and Scotch-Irish stayed away from the coasts and moved inland, making their home in the Appalachian Mountains. These people were very independent, and did not trust the rich or those in government. They also left a mark on American culture, mostly in states such as West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
Secondary Source: Painting
Edward Hicks painting this work entitled the Peaceable Kingdom in 1839 depicting the utopian world the Quakers hoped to build in America. In the background Quakers and Native Americans meeting in peace.
CONCLUSION
The English who arrived in America in the 1600s started colonies along the coast and created 13 different colonies. We can group them by region. For example, the New England colonies are close together and share much of the same history, and are clearly different from South Carolina and its slave-based culture. But even Rhode Island and Connecticut, as close together as they are, are still different places. Why is this? Why did the English who came to America, even though they all came from England, end up creating such different colonies?
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SUMMARY
BIG IDEA: The United States is made up of many different people, but the origins of the nation lie in English settlements along the Atlantic coast in the 1600s. People came there for different reasons, and some were brought from Africa as slaves.
The English developed their first colony in America at Jamestown. It was a business venture that failed in the beginning. The settlers did not know how to farm so they starved. Only with help from the local Native Americans did some settlers survive. However, they discovered that they could grow tobacco, which they could sell back in Europe. Tobacco made Jamestown and the surrounding Chesapeake Bay region profitable.
Work in the colonies was done both by indentured servants and eventually by African slaves. Merchants made a lot of money buying and selling slaves. They were an important part of the Triangle Trade. Slaves were purchased in Africa and brought to the Americas. Sugar, tobacco, cotton and other raw materials were loaded onto the ships in America and taken back to Europe. In Europe the ships were reloaded with finished products like furniture and guns, which were shipped off to Africa.
In time, slaves were seen as property the same as horses or wagons. Strict laws, or codes, were passed throughout the colonies defining the various rights slaves did not have and restricting aspects of their lives. Some slaves resisted, but these rebellions were always stopped, and resulted in the passage of more strict slave codes
New England was settled by religious dissenters who wanted to create a new life for their families far from the control of the English church leaders. They created a society based on religion and towns rather than wealth and cash crop exports
Plymouth was founded by separatists called Pilgrims. They were a small group but set an important precedent in America by agreeing to the Mayflower Compact and holding elections for community leaders. A much larger group came to nearby Massachusetts Bay Colony. They were Puritans rather than separatists. They believed in a covenant with God. They thought that if they were good Christians, God would reward them and make their colony prosper. They also believed their colony would be an example of a pure society on earth that everyone else could copy. They referred to it as a city upon a hill.
Between New England and the Chesapeake colonies that grew up around Jamestown, there were a variety of other English colonies. These were often more focused on trade and more tolerant of differences. In the interior, non-English groups settled who also left their mark on the nation.
VOCABULARY
PEOPLE AND GROUPS
John Smith: Leader of the Jamestown colony. He is famous for ordering that the setters would not eat if they did not work, and dealing with Powhatan. He also wrote a famous memoir his experience in the colony.
Virginia House of Burgesses: A legislative body created in colonial Virginia. It was an early example of democracy in America.
Indentured Servant: White immigrants to America whose passage was payed for them. In turn, they worked for a set number of years in order to off the debt.
Anglican Church: The official Church of England. It is a protestant church created by Henry VIII when he wanted a divorce. In America, it is called the Episcopalian Church.
Separatists: English followers of John Calvin who wanted to leave the Anglican Church. They included the Pilgrims.
Pilgrims: English Separatists who founded the Plymouth Colony. They lived in the Netherlands briefly before coming to American on the Mayflower.
Puritans: English followers of John Calvin who wanted to fix problems with the Church of England. They founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony and were led by John Winthrop.
Quakers: Also called the Society of Friends, a religious group that believed in total equality and were pacifists. Their leader, William Penn, founded Pennsylvania as a haven in America.
Scotch-Irish: A group of immigrants from the borderlands of England who settled mostly in the interior regions of American, especially in the Appalachian Mountains. They are well known for their individualism and resistance to government control.
KEY IDEAS
Triangle Trade: The trade of slaves, raw materials and finished products between Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the British Colonies.
Chattel Slavery: System of slavery in which the slaves are considered property with no individual rights.
City Upon a Hill: Phrase used by John Winthrop to describe the Massachusetts Bay Colony as an example for the world of a godly society.
DOCUMENTS
Mayflower Compact: 1620 agreement signed by the Pilgrims outlining the government for the new colony, including the right to vote for church members.
LOCATIONS
Jamestown: First successful English colony in America. Settled in 1607, John Smith helped save the settlers from starvation. Eventually the colony became financially successful when John Rolfe learned to grow quality tobacco in Virginia’s soil.
Massachusetts Bay Colony: Colony created by Puritans in 1630. It was centered around the city of Boston and eventually absorbed Plymouth.
New York: Dutch colony in America that was taken over by the English. It is known as a center of business and a place open to many different kinds of people.
Pennsylvania: Quaker colony established by William Penn. Because of the Quaker belief in peace and equality, Native Americans were respected and their land was purchased rather than taken.
Maryland: Colony north of Virginia along the Chesapeake Bay that was established by Lord Baltimore as a haven for English Catholics.
Georgia: Colony established by James Oglethorpe as a home to debtors. He wanted the poor of England to have a chance to start a new life. The experiment failed due to strict laws banning alcohol and slavery. Eventually it became more like South Carolina.
Appalachian Mountains: Range of mountains that run North to South and divided the English colonies from the area claimed by France.
EVENTS
First Thanksgiving: Celebration held in the fall of 1621 in Plymouth to celebrate the harvest. It was attended by both Pilgrims and their Native American friends.