New England Colonies

I. The Pilgrims

A. Were separatists splitting from the Church of England

1. Too much like the catholic church.

B. Asked Virginia Company if they could settle in North America on some of their land.

1. 1620 they landed in Massachusetts off Cape Cod off of Virginia Company land so their charter did not apply

C. Mayflower Compact

II. Plymouth

A. Pilgrims endured a starving time 1. Natives came to their rescue.

Samoset and Squanto spoke English and taught them to live off the land

B. Thanksgiving 1. Sometime that fall the natives and the

pilgrims got together for a three day feast (Celebrate a good harvest)

2. Represented the peace between Natives and English

Plymouth

III. Puritans

A. Wanted to “Purify” the Church of England1. Great Migration

B. Massachusetts Bay Company received a charter to settle New England area

1. 20,000 puritans flood into New England

C. Commonwealth and Congregations 1. Basic unit of people who belong to the same church2. Set up their own town in which the church was the

central meeting place.

IV. New England way of life

A. Town meetings1. Self government made decisions for the good of the

town2. Only male church members could vote or hold office3. Everyone had to attend the church

a) Told people how to live• NO- games, dancing, or other amusements• Only- duty, godliness, hard work, honesty

4. All children were required to learn to read (Bible)

V. Puritan challenges

A. Roger Williams- didn’t agree with puritans so he separated and formed the first Baptists church in America (Rhode Island)

1. Guaranteed religious freedom, no forced attendance to church

B. Anne Hutchinson- Believed a person could worship god without a minister, bible, or church

1. Forced out of Mass. fled to R.I.

VI. King Philips War

A. Growing numbers of Europeans forced natives off their land

1. 1675 Puritans fought a brutal war with the local Native Americans.

2. Metacom, leader of the Wampanoag, organized tribes to fight but lost against the English.

3. The remaining Indians in the area were killed or forced into slavery

VII. Salem Witch Trials A. Younger generations of

Puritans did not share the same strict religious views of older Puritans

B. Tituba, a slave from the West indies told some young girls scary stories about witches

1. Pretending to be bewitched the girls falsely accused others as witches

2. Witch hunts arrested 100 people and found 20 guilty• 20 were hanged for witch craft

C. Salem later came to its senses but took it as a sign to return to their strict puritan lifestyle