Issues/Similarities New England Middle Colonies Southern Colonies

Reason for Coming to America

     

Economy      

Government      

Social/Religion      

Colonial AmericaColonial America

Why did England want colonies in Why did England want colonies in America?America?

They wanted to improve their trade They wanted to improve their trade (mercantilism)(mercantilism)

Wanted to escape religious problemsWanted to escape religious problems

Jamestown Colony• The Virginia Company paid professional

explorers to colonize and find gold in America

• VA Company was a Joint-Stock Company– All members put in money to pay for the trip– If the trip was successful, the members got the profits

• Early Problems– Poor environment – swamps and mosquitoes– No government or laws – everyone searched for gold.

No one planted food and they stole from each other– They made enemies with the Native Americans

• Starving Time– Almost all settlers died in

the winter of 1609-1610

– John Smith is made leader, makes strict rules

– Investors start to drop out of the VA Company

Three Events That Saved Jamestown

• John Rolfe begins to farm tobacco– Creates huge demand

in England– Slaves are introduced

for cheap labor– Rolfe marries

Pocahontas

• Women come to Jamestown – helped make supplies and food

• Representative Government– The Virginia House of Burgesses is the first

representative form of government in America– People could vote on their leaders and

lawmakers

Bacon’s Rebellion 1676

• He and other poor frontiersmen wanted help against Native Americans

• They wanted land for farming

• When the Governor of VA denied their request, they attacked and burned down Jamestown

Two Ways of Life in the South

a. Tidewater Plantations: like farm businesses

i. Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia – all had tobacco

ii. South Carolina and Georgia – both had rice and indigo

1. large slave population

2. large mansions

3. few cities – goods were shipped out of plantations

New England Colonies

The Voyage of the Mayflower

•In the 1600s, Separatists wanted to break free of this “Church of England” and completely separated from it

•King James attacked them for rejecting the official church

• They became Pilgrims and moved to the nation of Holland

• Dissatisfied with Dutch life, they planned a trip to Virginia

• Blown off course, they landed near Cape Cod, MA and were not under the Virginia Company’s rule

• Signed an agreement called The Mayflower Compact: self-government was established with majority rule

The Pilgrims Found Plymouth

• Landed in the winter – no crops or food stores, another “starving time”

• They stole from the Native Americans

• Learned to plant corn, but had small farms.

The Puritans Come To Massachusetts Bay

• They felt that the Church of England had become corrupt and was just like the Catholic Church

• Puritans wanted to “purify” the church, not separate completely like the Pilgrims

• They invested in the Massachusetts Bay Company and sailed to America

• 1630 John Winthrop established the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a Commonwealth

The New England Way

• Basic unit of the colony – the congregation (people belonging to the same church

• The Meetinghouse was the most important building in each Puritan town

– Church and government center

– Village Green – the center of town, near the Meetinghouse, all could graze their cattle

– General Court – elected representatives make laws and choose a governor (elected by male church members)

• Strict Rules

– All must attend church - all day on Sunday

– Sermons (church lesson) were based on proper living

– Amusement, dancing, laughing could be considered forms of laziness and work of the Devil

– God required long days of work and education by the Bible (made them well educated)

Salem Witch Trials

• 1692 – Many people were accused of witchcraft– Puritans believed this was a sign from God to

purify the colony

– 20 people were executed as a result of witch trials

Middle Colonies

• William Penn was granted a tract of land that is now Pennsylvania.

• Penn’s “Holy Experiment”- Quakers

• Opened up the colony to Germans, French and Dutch.

New Netherland

• Dutch West India Company colonizes New Netherland

• Capital: New Amsterdam

• Open to other settlers

• The fur trade was the main market

• England viewed New Netherland as a wedge between New England and the South.

Answer This Question

• Using specific examples: – How were the colonies similar in TWO ways– How were the colonies different in THREE

ways.– Use complete sentences.