Chapter 2 - Summary Give Me Liberty!: an American History PDF

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Chapter 2: Beginnings of English America England and The New World What were the main contours of English colonization in the seventeenth century? 

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4/26/1607: 3 ships arrive in Chesapeake Bay o Established Jamestown 60 miles inland  Capital of Virginia  Became 1st permeant English settlement Trip sponsored by the Virginia Company o Private business with merchant, aristocrat and Parliament member shareholders o Interested in searching for gold rather than establishing a functioning colony

Unifying the English Nation 

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1509 Henry VIII reformed England o Catholic Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon o Established the Church of England or the Anglican Church with himself at the head o Catholics persecuted under Henry’s successor, Edward VI 1553, Edward’s half sister Mary became Queen o Restored Catholicism and persecuted Protestants 1558, Queen Mary’s successor Queen Elizabeth I restored Anglican Church and executed more than 100 Catholic priests

England and Ireland 

Struggled to conquer Ireland o Posed threat to England Protestantism because they were Catholic Used military conquest, slaughter of civilians, seizure of land, introduction of English economic practices, and the dispatch of settlers to subdue Irish 16th century writers compared the “Wild Irish” with American Indians o

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England and North America 

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Queen Elizabeth I turned English attention to North America o Granted charters (grants of exclusive rights and privileges) to Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh  Authorized them to establish colonies in North America at their own expense  Both ventures failed due to lack of crown support 1585, Raleigh returned to North America with 5 ships and 100 colonists o Set base on Roanoke Island (off North Carolina coast) Roanoke Colony: English expedition of 117 settlers, including Virginia Dare, the first English born in the New World; the colony disappeared from Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks sometime between 1587 and 1590

Spreading Protestantism 

Late 1500’s English was deeply anti-Catholic o Catholici Spain was their mortal enemy o Spread Bartolome de Las Casas’s “History of the Indies” in England

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A Discourse Concerning Western Planting by Protestant minister and scholar Richard Hakluyt o Listed 23 reasons Queen Elizabeth I should support establishment of colonies’ 

English settlement would hurt Spain’s empire which would rescue New World from Spanish Catholicism and tyranny 1

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National power and glory would put England in a powerful seat like Spain and France Colonists would enrich England and themselves by providing English consumers with traded goods

The Social Crisis  

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1550-1600 England’s population rose from 3 million to 4 million Enclosure Movement: A legal process that divided large farm fields in England that were previously collectively owned by groups of peasants into smaller, individually owned plots o Landlords sought profit from raising sheep for wool trading and crop rotations  Evicted small farmers  Fenced in “commons” previously open to all  Thousands flooded England’s cities To deal with the large poor population England encouraged them to leave for the New World o Become productive citizens o Contribute to Nation’s wealth

Masterless Men    

Masterless men: wandering or unemployed men Working for wages was associated with servility and loss of liberty Only those who controlled their own labor were truly free New World offered a place of opportunity for laboring classes o Could regain economic independence by acquiring land o Criminals offered a second chance

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Economic freedom and the possibility of passing it on to one’s children attracted the larges number of English colonists

The Coming of the English What challenges did the early English settlers face? English Emigrants 

1607-1700, 500,000 people left England o 180K to Ireland o 180K to West Indies  Sugar cultivation promised riches if you could obtain land o 120K to Chesapeake area (Virginia and Maryland)  Tobacco production  Mostly single men from bottom on English society o 21K New England (families) o 23K to Middle Colonies (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania) (families)ra o Indentured Servants

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Settlers who could pay for their own passage arrived in America free o Quickly acquired land upon arrival Indentured Servants: settlers who signed on for a temporary period of servitude to a master in exchange for passage to the New World (usually 5-7 year) o Could be bought or sold

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Couldn’t marry without master’s permission Subjected to physical punishment Labor enforced by the courts

At the end of their labor, servants received freedom dues and became free 2

Land and Liberty 

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Land was the basis of liberty o Owners controlled their own labor o Right to vote Land also became a way for King to reward relatives and allies Each colony launched with a huge grant of land either to a company or to a private individual (proprietor) Land needed labor o Settlers didn’t intend to work. This led to slavery.

Englishmen and Indians 

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Unlike Spanish, English colonists displaced Indians o Didn’t intermarry o Didn’t organize their labor o Didn’t make them subjects of the crown o DID trade fur with them Although they believed Indians didn’t have rights to land, most authorities still acquired land by purchase, most of the time through forced treaties after Indians were defeated by the military 17th century marked with warfare o Generated strong feelings of superiority among colonists English displaced Indians more than any other European empire

The Transformation of Indian Life   

Indians welcomed new goods from English o Woven cloth, metal kettles, iron aces, fishhooks, hoes, guns, glass beads and copper ornaments Indians exchanged valuable commodities (furs) for worthless trinkets (beads) Colonists achieved military superiority over Indians o Trade profits most benefitted English merchants o o

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Indian tribes fought over English connections Beaver and deer were over-hunted so Indians encroached on territory claimed by others

Indian’s lives were powerfully altered by changes set in motion in 1607 when English landed at Jamestown o Settlers fenced in land and introduced new crops and livestock o o o

Pigs and cattle trampled Indian cornfields Need for wood to build and heat homes depleted forests  Indians relied on forests for hunting Fur trade diminished beaver population

Settling the Chesapeake How did Virginia and Maryland develop in their early years? The Jamestown Colony 

Early Jamestown was not promising o Leadership changed repeatedly o High death rate o Inadequate supplies as Virginia Company just wanted a quick profit from gold o o o

Disease Lack of food Year 1: 104 settlers, half died

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1608-1609: New arrivals, including 2 women, colony up to 400 settlers 3

1610: Only 65 survived  Survivors abandoned Jamestown and sailed for England  Intercepted by ships carrying new governor, 250 colonists, and supplies John Smith, new governor, saved Jamestown with a regime of forced labor on company lands o “He that shall not work, shall not eat.” o Injured in 1609, but his successors continued his iron rule Virginia company abandoned its search for gold, grew food, and searched for marketable commodity 1618, company introduced the headright system o Awarded 50 acres of land to any colonists who paid for his own or another’s passage o Replaced governors militaristic regime with “a charter of grants and liberties” o 1619, established a House of Burgesses: the first elected assembly in colonial America o

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 Only wealthy land owners could vote in elections 1619, first 21 blacks arrived in Virginia o Laid foundation for society dominated economically and politically by slave-owning planters

Powhatan and Pocahontas  

Powhatan realized advantages of trade with new settlers o First 2 years of Jamestown, Indian and English relationship was fairly give-and-take Powhatan captured John Smith and threatened him with execution o Rescued by Pocahontas  Pocahontas became a sort of ambassador between Indians and English  Brought food and messages to Jamestown  Married John Rolfe in 1614  1616, went to England with husband and became a symbol of Anglo-Indian harmony  Died in 1617 from disease  Powhatan died the following year

Uprising of 1622 

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Opechancanough (Powhatan’s brother and successor) realized English colony was permanent, expanding, and no longer just a trading post o Created conflict Uprising of 1622: unsuccessful uprising of Virginia Native Americans that wiped our nearly ¼ of the settler population, but ultimately led to the settlers regaining supremacy o Indians led surprise attack, killed 300 of 1,200 colonists o Surviving 900 organized into military bands  Massacred Indians and devastated their villages o Governor Francis Wyatt declared that by going to war, the Indians forfeited any claim to land 1644, Opechancanough’s last rebellion killed 500 colonists but they were destroyed in the process  Virginia forced treaty on Indians acknowledging their subordination to Jamestown  Indians required to move to tribal reservations to west  Indians not allowed to enter European settlement without permission Uprising of 1622 was the last in a series of blows to the Virginia Company o 1624, company surrendered it’s charter o Virginia became first royal colony  Governor appointed by crown  Local elite controlled colony development  Elite grew rapidly in wealth and power thanks to the introduction of tobacco from the West Indies by John Rolfe o

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A Tobacco Colony 

Tobacco became Virginia’s substitute for gold o Enriched emerging class of tobacco planters o Enriched members of colonial government who assigned good land for themselves o Enriched crown with customs duties (taxes on imported and exported tobacco)

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Frenzied immigration by those with finances (sons of merchants, English gentlemen) o Took advantage of the headright system and government connections to acquire large estates along rivers

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o Established themselves as colony’s political and social elite Labor demands increased o Fulfilled mostly by young, male indentured servants  Harsh conditions, high death rate, whipping laws, service extension for violations  Immigrants still attracted  ¾ of the 120K immigrants that came in the 17th century came as indentured servants Virginia became to resemble mother England o Top: wealthy landed gentry o Middle: a small group of farmers (mostly indentured servants who acquired land after service) o

Bottom: poor laborers (servants and landless former indentured servants)

Women and the Family  

Family life was unstable in Virginia for most of 17th century Slow population growth o High death rate o o o

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Unequal ratio between sexes (4 or 5 men to 1 woman) Late age of marriage for women (mid-twenties due to indentured servitude) Result: high numbers of single men, widows, orphans

Dower Rights: the right of a widowed woman to inherit 1/3 of her deceases husband’s property o Property still usually went to the husband’s male heirs Feme Sole a legal status that a widow or one of the few women who never married could take o Could make contracts and conduct business, acquire land, act as lawyer in court

The Maryland Experience   

2nd Chesapeake colony Tobacco dominated economy and tobacco planters dominated society 1632, Maryland was granted as a propriety colony to Cecilius Calvert o King Charles I granted him a charter with “full, free, and absolute power”  Control of trade, initiation of all legislation with elected assembly to approve or disapprove of laws o Charter also guaranteed colonists “all privileges, franchises, and liberties” of Englishmen  Idea of limited government included  Created conflict

Religion in Maryland   

Calvert, a Catholic, envisioned Maryland as a refuge for persecuted Catholics Wanted Catholics and Protestants to live in harmony and not fear persecution Offered servants greater opportunity for land ownership than Virginia o Freedom dues included 50 acres

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The New England Way What made the English settlement of New England distinctive? The Rise of Puritanism 

Puritanism arose in England in the late 16th century o Term coined by opponents to ridicule those not satisfied with the progress of the Protestant Reformation

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Puritans: English religious group that sought to purify the Church of England; founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony under John Winthrop in 1630 o Differed amongst themselves on many issues Shared the conviction that the Church of England retained too many elements of Catholicism  Elaborate church ceremonies  Priests couldn’t marry  Church décor of “Popery”  Rejected Catholic structure of religious authority  Believed independent local congregations should choose clergymen and modes of worship  Puritans called “Congregationalists” Puritans urged believers to seek truth by reading bible and listening to sermons by educated ministers Believed the world was divided by the elect and the damned but only God knew who was to be saved o Leading a good life and prospering economically were signs of God’s grace o Idleness and immoral behavior were signs of damnation o

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Moral Liberty    

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Puritans alienated those with differing religious views Minority of Puritans became separatists, abandoning the Church of England Most of Puritans wanted to purify the church from within 1620’s and 30’s, King Charles I moved toward restoring Catholic ceremonies o Church of England dismissed Puritan ministers and censored their writings  Puritans emigrated to New England to escape England’s religious and worldly corruptions 1645 John Winthrop the governor of Massachusetts gave speech to Mass. legislature o “Natural Liberty”: acting without restraint, suggested a liberty to do evil  False idea of freedom adopted by bad Christians, Indians and Irish o “Moral Liberty”: “liberty to only that which is good” o “True Freedom” meant subjection to authority (religious and secular) Liberty meant that the elect had the right to establish churches and govern society, NOT that others could challenge their beliefs or authority

The Pilgrims at Plymouth 

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Pilgrims: Puritan separatists who broke completely with the Church of England and sailed to the New World aboard the Mayflower, founding Plymouth Colony on Cape Cod in 1620 o Aimed for Virginia o Blown hundreds of miles off course and landed on Cape Cod Mayflower Compact: Document signed in 1620 aboard the Mayflower before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth; the document committed the group to majority-rule government Arrived 6 weeks before winter o Indians helped them survive o 1621, they had a feast for the Indians: The first Thanksgiving Government principle of consent

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The Great Migration 

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1629, Massachusetts Bay Company was founded o Formed by London merchants o Hoped to further Puritan cause and make a profit through trade with the Indians By 1642, 21,000 Puritans had immigrated to Massachusetts o Most were families (1/4 servants)  Population doubled every 72 years due to even sex ratio and healthier climate than Virgina 1700, white population of 91,000 o Outnumbered Chesapeake and West Indies

The Puritan Family   

Believed in male authority Believed in common-law tradition (limiting women’s legal and economic rights) Deemed women as spiritual equals of men o Women could become full church members

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Puritans could interpret the bible in their own way o Opened the door to women claiming positions of religious leadership

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Marriage was based on reciprocal affection Women could divorce

Government and Society in Massachusetts 

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Puritans feared excessive individualism and lack of social unity o Organized self-governing towns o Groups of settlers received a land grant and then subdivided it  Houses were central, land was given on the outskirts for farming  Lots of collective land  Each town had its own congregational church  1647, each town required to have a school so they could read the bible  Established Harvard College in 1636 to train ministry 8 shareholders of the Massachusetts Bay Company emigrated to America o Wanted to keep outside influence from Non-Puritans o Transformed commercial document into a form of government 1634, deputies elected by freeman (landowning church members) o Formed a single ruling body: The General Court o Ten years later, company officers and deputies were divided into two legislative houses o Freeman elected their own governor Didn’t believe in equality o Full church membership required demonstrating one had experienced divine grace o Voting in colony-wide elections was for men who were full church members

Church and State in Puritan Massachusetts 

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17th century New England was a hierarchical society o 1641, General Court issued a Body of Liberties  Outlined rights and responsibilities  Liberties were privileges derived from one’s place in social order Ministers could not hold office (interfere with spiritual responsibilities) o Tax was collected to support minister Death penalty for worshipping different god, practicing witchcraft, committing blasphemy Religious uniformity was essential to social order 7

New Englanders Divided What were the main sources of discord in early New England? Roger Williams  

Individual interpretation of the Bible planted seeds of Puritan fragmentation Minister Roger Williams o Insisted its congregation withdrawal from the Church of England o o o

Separation of church and state Believed that people should be allowed to practice whatever religion they choose Believed government corrupted the purity of Christianity and started religious wars

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Believed Puritans were not a special group favorited by God

Rhode Island and Connecticut 

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Roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts in 1636 o Moved south with his followers and established Rhode Island  Became a beacon of religious freedom  Haven for persecuted dissenters and Jews  Dissenter: Protestants who belonged to denominations outside of the established Anglican Church  Government was more democratic  Assembly elected twice a year  Governor elected once a year  Regular town meetings New Haven and Hartfort colonies received a royal charter uniting then as Connecticut o Hartford: modeled after Massachusetts except med didn’t have to be a church member to vote o

New Haven: established to bring church and state even closer

The Trial of Anne Hutchinson      

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Daughter of clergyman Held meetings in her home and led discussions of religious issues Believed salvation was God’s salvation was a gift to the elect and could not be earned by good work, devotional practices or personal effort (destroyed John Calvin’s “predestination”, a notion shared by the Puritans ) Charged that all ministers in Massachusetts were guilt...