European Colonization in North America. Southern English Colonies Jamestown, Virginia, colony was 1...
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Transcript of European Colonization in North America. Southern English Colonies Jamestown, Virginia, colony was 1...
Southern English Colonies• Jamestown, Virginia, colony
was 1st successful English colony
• Southern colonies were founded for economic profit (plantations)
• Tobacco, rice, indigo
• At first, indentured servants worked as labor– “Headright System”
– 7 years of labor to pay for passage to America
• Later, Black African slaves were purchased for labor instead– First justified by economic
profits
– Later accepted due to racism
Northern English Colonies• Boston became the
colony of English Puritans
• “Pilgrims” sailed in 1620, “Puritans” followed after 1630– Puritans broke from
Catholic church to emphasize Bible-focused, less ceremonial form of Christianity
– Puritans were persecuted in England as radical non-conformists and heretics
– “Mayflower Compact” on arrival: first agreement for self-government in America
Signing of the Mayflower Compact
Religious Tolerance• Puritans, Catholics, Quakers,
and Jews fled Europe to find religious freedom in America– Puritans: Massachusetts
– Catholics: Maryland
– Quakers: Pennsylvania
– Jews: New York, Rhode Island
• Individuals fled Boston to form new colonies for religious freedom– Roger Williams believed in a
person’s freedom to choose a religion; he founded Rhode Island in 1635
– Anne Hutchinson believed women and individuals could find God through their own efforts (without needing a minister), and was expelled from Boston (went to Rhode Island too)
Anne Hutchinson
Political Liberty• English colonists brought a
tradition of English rights– Magna Carta granted basic
rights to English “freemen”
– English Parliament was model for colonial legislatures
– 1688: English “Bill of Rights” limited the power of the monarch
• Virginia colony was ruled by “House of Burgesses” who shared power with governor
• Most colonies evolved to have both a legislature and a governor
• Often only wealthy landowners could vote for legislature
Speaking in the House of Burgesses
Freedom of Expression• 1735: The Zenger Trial
• John Peter Zenger arrested in New York for printing “seditious” statements about the governor
• Judge tried to prevent Zenger’s lawyer from speaking, to ensure a guilty verdict, but failed
• Zenger’s lawyer asked the jury to consider whether the statements were true
• Jury found Zenger not guilty
• Verdict promoted the idea that the press should have the freedom to print the truth
The Zenger Trial
Native Americans Denied Ideals
• Throughout colonies, Native Americans lost their native lands, way of life, identities
• New England– 1616-18: 90% of coastal
Indians killed by disease
– Remaining coastal Indians moved to “praying towns” to become Christian
• Southern Colonies– 1680: Bacon’s Rebellion
in Virginia saw Anglo landowners massacre Indians on border
Intolerance: Salem Witchcraft Trials• Witchcraft accusations and
persecution were common in Europe during 1500 and 1600s
• 1692-3: 150 persons arrested and imprisoned; 20 executed
• Young girls fell into strange fits, complained of pains, and then accused women
• Reasons remain unclear: – victims were primarily women– Land disputes may have caused
accusations
• 1693: colony legislature outlawed use of “spectral evidence” and trials ceased, for fear of convicting an innocent person
Examination of a Witch, Matterson, 1853
1740s: Great Awakening
• Deep longing for sense of salvation and security in an insecure and dangerous world
• Reaction against cold logic of Enlightenment
• Predominantly oral: sermons, revivals
• Jonathan Edwards: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
• Stressed personal salvation of God’s word, coupled with vivid fear of hell