1. The English Empire in America
First English settlements were disasters!
Roanoke Island – 2 attempts failed (1587 colony lost)
VA. Co.  Jamestown – 1607
Of 144 who arrived first – 38 survived the first year
Of 6000 arriving before 1620 only survived
Brackish water
No farming skills
No resources to exploit
Powhatan Wars
As late as 1642, only 8000 lived in VA, “none but those of the meanest quality and corruptest [sic] lives went there.”
But in English colonies by 1700 – 300,000; by 1775 – 2.5 million!!!
Why

2. Factors contributing to the English colonization of America
Strategic interests of England
Rivalry with Spain. Spain, naval power based on gold and silver from Americas, threat to Protestant England
Sea dogs, Spanish armada, undermine Spanish
Naval stores
 terrible Jamestown location, Georgia, mercantilism

3. Economic Distress Chesapeake, Southern and also middle colonies
Economic Distress Chesapeake, Southern and also middle colonies. In the end even New England Puritans became concerned with the number of those seeking economic gain.
“surplus population” - Enclosure Act, closing of monasteries, movement to cities, unemployment, fear of disorder
Opportunity in the New World for indentured servants

4. Capitalists Individual ventures failed (Roanoke)
Joint stock companies (Virginia Co.)  Jamestown; atypical colony
Headright system – Land + servants (75% of VA prior to 1670) = wealth
Indentured Servants

5. Religious Motivations
Puritans (NE)
Great Migration (20K by 1640) – City on a Hill (model communities to provide example for reform, Errand in the Wilderness)

6. Separatists (Plymouth) – escape sinful England
Mayflower Compact
Quakers – (PA), (23K) by religious opportunity
Catholics – Maryland, smaller numbers
OVER TIME ECONOMIC FACTORS FOR MIGRATION OVERWHELMED RELIGIOUS REASONS (“we came for fish” in MA)

7. American Colonies different regions very different cultures. No unity
American Colonies different regions very different cultures! No unity! Beginnings of localism and sectionalism!
Southern
Chesapeake (VA, MD)
Carolinas
Georgia
New England
MA Bay, CT, NH RI
Middle
New York,
PA (NJ, DE)

8. Virginia – – not much till Berkeley
Large scattered plantations on rivers
Tobacco became basis of economy (Rolfe)
A disaster until 1641

9. Tobacco  Need for labor
Indentured servants
¾ of VA immigrants – 1675
Problems of a single crop economy – falling prices
Soil butchery 
Expansion
Problems with Indians

10. The House of Burgesses - first legislature in English colonies (1619) – to attract settlers
Mostly representative of the leading families of VA

11. First Africans arrived (1619)
status not clear  perhaps slaves, perhaps indentured servants. But some owned land and slaves, sued in courts, intermarriage and sex with whites, freed children and Christians?
Slavery not that important until the end of the 17th century

12. Cavalier Virginia – William Berkeley (1641) (think self centered liberty) – goal recreate aristocratic England
Displaced cavaliers – younger siblings and refugees from English civil war (Puritans winning!)
Very aristocratic
25 leading families controlled best land and politics
Church of England
Scattered estates on which planters were free
Byrd’s Diary –
Bending not breaking wills
Dependence on indentured servants “my people”
Goal to live idly (as lords - over time most whites took this belief as a way to distinguish themselves from Africans) (idleness encouraged in the south)
Abusive (December 3, November 30, December 16,
Opposition to education for all but the elite. “ I thank god there are no free schools nor printing.”
Growing number of poor – HUGE PROBLEM!

13. Nathaniel Bacon’s Rebellion: 1676
1,000 piedmont Virginians in a rebellion against Governor Berkeley
Freed indentured servants’ concerns = high taxes, Berkeley’s unwillingness to exterminate Indians
In the end rebellion failed but…
Nathaniel Bacon
Governor William Berkeley

14. …. resentments between inland frontiersmen and landless former servants against elites on coastal plantations exposed.
Socio-economic class differences/clashes between east and west would continue throughout American history.
Upper class planters searched for laborers less likely to rebel and a way to lessen class differences BLACK SLAVES!!

15. Maryland – George Calvert - 1634
Chesapeake Colony - tobacco
Established by Lord Baltimore – a refuge for Catholics
 increasing number of Protestants and to protect Catholics….

16. A Haven for Catholics Toleration Act of 1649
Baltimore permitted high degree of freedom of worship in order to prevent repeat of persecution of Catholics by Protestants.
 increasing number of Protestants and to protect catholics….
Toleration Act of 1649
Guaranteed toleration to all CHRISTIANS.
Decreed death to those who denied the divinity of Jesus [like Jews, atheists, etc.].

17. Carolinas – Lord Proprietors - 1663
South Carolina
Large number of settlers from Barbados
aristocratic colony
Dependent on furs and slave (Indians) exports at first
Majority slave population; slave codes from Barbados
African culture more preserved
North Carolina
Squatters and pirates
“a vale of humility between two mounts of conceit”

18. Puritans and Their Impact
Puritan legacy very important
The errand in the wilderness and city on a hill still significant ideas
Great Migration (1630 – 1642) – 20K before 1640, population of 100,000 by 1700
Congregational Church dominated NE
Puritans and Their Impact

19. One of the dominant cultures of the American colonies
Rapid population growth and migration westward
Shaped education for generation – New England colleges and universities, authors – Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne,

21. Reformers of COE Calvinism Predestination.
Good works could not save those predestined for hell.
constantly seeking signs of “conversion.” visible saints or the elect. Inner grace reflected in countenance and actions
Puritans:
Want to radically reform [purify] the corrupt Church of England and society
Desire to recreate autonomous villages not threatened by absolute king and bishops
Disapproved of hierarchy or finery that might separate the individual from his relationship with God
Separatists:
believed in a total break from the Church of England.

22. Puritans and Covenant Theology
“Covenant of Grace”:
between Puritan communities and God. A responsibility to God
“Social Covenant”:
Between members of Puritan communities with each other.
Social reciprocity
Required mutual watchfulness.
No toleration of deviance or disorder.

23. Massachusetts – John Winthrop and Puritans (1630)
City on a Hill, missionary vision
Bible Commonwealth – theocracy (not ministers), elect vote (not wealth)
ORDER! (not freedom)
Government by consensus
Community liberty
Hierarchical – deference to the visible saints (visible due to wealth and character)
Importance of education and work ethic
Harvard – 1636
Old Deluder Law
Town meetings. Limited power to the colonial government; they were fleeing a strong central government
Healthy conditions, large families, growing population
Intolerance
Hutchinson, Williams, Quakers, witches

24. Rhode Island – Roger Williams - 1636
Williams: repudiated the CoE entirely, separation of church and state, and freedom of religion,
Anne Hutchinson – antinomianism, challenged hierarchy of MA BAY (1637)
refuge for dissenters, most democratic and free (like NC) , first Jewish community
Dependent on trade

25. Coming Apart – The End of the Puritan Experiment
Loss of enthusiasm
Fewer second generation Puritans willing to undergo conversion process. Halfway covenant
Jeremiads unsuccessful
Betrayed by God? King Philips War (1676), witches(1692), loss of English Civil War and Restoration (1660), loss of charter, “unredeemed captives”
****Individualism. Tension between community and individual
New emphasis on wealth, “Sir, You are mistaken… our main end was to catch fish.”

26. Pennsylvania – William Penn - 1681
Society of Friends (Quakers)
Belief in equality and brotherhood; pacifists.
Advertised  Germans. Already scattering of English, Dutch and Swedish settlers  diversity
City of Brotherly love, Holy Experiment
Cordial relations with Indians until colony overwhelmed by other Scotch Irish
No established church
All landowners voted

27. New York – Duke of York
New Amsterdam – Dutch colony (1614) , run by stockholders, absolute control, cosmopolitan, aristocratic - patroonships on the Hudson, fur trade with Indians
Duke of York given territory - a royal colony by English King

28. Becoming American… NOT English!
What then is the American, this new man?...He is an American, who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds. …Here individuals of all races are melted into a new race of man, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world. (from "Letter III," 1782) Crevecoeur

29. Environmental Factors
Greater self-sufficiency
Presence of Hostile Spanish, French and ….. Native Americans!
Culture clashes with NAs in spite of early intentions
Exclusionary frontier
NA’s did not “use” the land – no fences, farms, permanency
NA’s mostly rejected Christianity
“whosoever thererfore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation”

30. Ethnic Diversity and Economic Diversity
By 1775 the percentage of English was only 52%
Most diverse region:
Least diverse region:
___________Largest non-English ethnic group
Two other significant groups of immigrants:__________

31. Germans Scots Irish Dutch Located: Economically prosperous
Economic status:
Mindset:
Dutch
Significant presence in ________

32. Class structure No landed gentry ( in spite of VA efforts)
Growing economic stratification – resulting from wars
A wealthier free population in comparison to Europe

33. Religion – Not just the COE!
Not as important – 75% churched, in the South a minority churched
New England – established church – Congregational – even following the War for Independence – less frequent intolerance over time
Middle Colonies
PA – Society of Friends but tolerance of all,
No established church in PA
Southern Colonies
Anglican Church established
No bishops – less control
Freedom
At first only PA and RI offered toleration for all
MD Act of Toleration in 1649 but by 1654 Catholics persecuted
As diversity increased tolerance increased
By 1691 even in MA non-churched could vote

34. The Great Awakening – A Turning Point – 1730s – 1740s
Movement to reinvigorate the people who were slipping away by making them emotionally aware of sinfulness
response to growing movement from calvinism of the churches and DEISM!
response to enlightenment ideals of science and reason
Maybe 1/15 of families churched south of NE
Importance of itinerants (eg Whitfield) also established clergy such as Jonathan Edwards

35. New colleges
Divided communities (old lights and new lights)
*****Challenge to the clergy! An anti-authority movement
*****An American movement that broke down many barriers

36. Economics 90% farmed mostly subsistence
Emphasis on cash crops in the southern and middle colonies
New England: shipbuilding, trade – not manufacturing
Naval stores and timber? !

37. Navigation Acts BUT!!! Salutary Neglect
Mercantilism: colonies exist for benefit of the empire
A closed economic system!
Navigation Acts (1650s) imposed by Restoration government
Ships must be English or colonial
Imports must be shipped from England
Enumerated goods – only sold to England

38. Triangular trade developed in response to mercantile policies

39. Trade promoted
urban growth - PHILADELPHIA – new york , boston
exchange of new ideas and nationalism
a new and more stratified class system – greater wealth
Consumer revolution

40. However,
colonists desire cheaper French goods and Dutch slaves
Smuggling
Dominion of New England established by James II –
Resistance to Dominion and arrest of Edmund Andros following Glorious Revolution in England 1688
Reestablishment of salutary neglect

41. Anglicanization of the Elites
As a result of trade – closer relations
GW British coat of arms; desire to be British General

43. New Ideas of Government = Whig Ideology
Salutary neglect and founding ideas 
Localism! – the desire for local control of government, limited government powers especially on issues of taxes
Nominally, King was authority – governors represented their authority
Execute laws and veto
Chosen by king or proprietors in all states but CT and RI
Colonial legislatures – POWER OF THE PURSE TO CONTROL GOVERNORS
bicameral
Not democratic – belief in republicanism
Politics mostly ignored in pre-market economy

44. Characteristics of colonial governments
King source of all legal authority ; governors represented the king.
Appointed by king or proprietors in all colonies by CT and RI
Power to veto any legislation
Zenger (1734) right to criticize the governor if true
Obviously guilty but verdict?
Legislatures existed in all states beginning with House of Burgesses
POWER OF PURSE = EFFECTIVE CHECK ON GOVERNOR
Upper house appointed
Lower selected by property owners (stakeholders)
50% could vote in England 30%

45. The importance of liberty and rights of Englishmen
Pride in the English system until 1770s!
Idea of natural rights developed in the Enlightenment (life, liberty, property)

46. Virginia destruction and theft of Indian resources
Powhatan (looking for allies and trade – “Why will you destroy us who supply you with food”
By 1614 disease and warfare (Irish tactics) Pocahontas to Jamestown to sue for peace

47. Increasing pressure on Indians  uprising  “perpetual war without peace or truce.”  “Peace of – Indians removed
By 1685 most Indians in VA dead

48. Massachusetts Land seen as a vacuum
Attempts to move Indians into praying villages
1637 Pequot War
1676 King Philip’s War
600 colonists killed
52 of 90 Puritan villages attacked
Indian population reduced to 40%
Greater hiving out

49. Land Division in Sudbury, MA: 1639-1656

50. The Enlarged Salem Covenant - 1636
In public or private, we will willingly do nothing to the offense of the church… We bind ourselves to study the advancement of the gospel in all truth and peace; both in regard to those that are within or without…. Not laying a stumbling block before any, no, not the Indians, whose good we desire to promote… We do hereby promise to carry our selves in all lawful obedience to those that are over us, in Church or Commonwealth, knowing how well pleasing it will be to the Lord.. We resolve to approve our selves to the Lord in our particular callings; shunning idleness as the bane of any state..

51. Robert Keayne, Last Will and Testament, 1653
“[My account books] testify to the world on my behalfe that I havenot lived an idle, lazie or dronish life nor spent my time wantonly, fruitlessly … but have rather studyed and endeavored to redeeme my time as a thing most deare and precyous to me and have often denyed myself in such refreshinging that otherwise I might lawfuly have made use of.”

52. John Cotton “Limitations of Government,” 1655
Let all the world learn to give mortal men no greater power than they are content they shall use – for use it they will. And unless they be better taught of God, they will use it ever and anon… No man would think what desperate deceit and wickedness there is in the hearts of men.
It is therefore most wholesome for magistrates and officers in church and commonwealth never to affect more liberty and authority than will do them good and the people good.
So let there be due bounds set – and I may apply it to families: it is good for the wife to acknowledge all power and authority to the husband…
And so for children: give them liberty and authority you would have them use and beyond that stretch not the tether.

53. Bradford after the attack on the Pequot’s Mystic River Village (1637)
“it was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire, and the streams of blood quenching the same; and horrible was the stink and scent thereof; but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the praise therof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands, and give them so speedy a victory over so proud, insulting and blasphemous an enemy.”

54. Georgia – James Oglethorpe ( 1732)
Last colony
Philanthropic experiment – for debtors
Buffer between SC and Spanish Florida
At first no slaves for philanthropic and security reasons