Post on 23-Sep-2020
The New England Colonies
Chapter 3 Section 2p. 71
Section Focus:
How did religious beliefs and dissent influence the New England Colonies?
Geography of New England
● New England is in the northeastern corner of the U.S.
● Contains: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine
● Terrain: Hills and low mountains, forests, thin and rocky soil
● Farming was difficult and fishing was ideal
● Long, snowy winters and short, warm summers
Puritans in Massachusetts Bay
● Similar to Pilgrims, Puritans were in disagreement with the Church of England
● Rather than splitting off, they wanted to reform (change) it
● Despite their early influence in England, Puritans were later persecuted for their movement by King Charles I
The Puritans Leave England
● Due to persecution, many left England for North America
● These Puritans formed the Massachusetts Bay Company and received a charter to establish settlements in current day Massachusetts and New Hampshire
● They were led by John Winthrop, a respected landowner and lawyer
● They expected their way of life to be one that others could follow
The Massachusetts Bay Colony
● Puritans established several settlements in their colony, but the main town was Boston, located on the harbor
● By mid-1630s, Massachusetts Bay had elected an assembly, the General Court
● Each town sent representatives but voting was limited to adult male members of the Puritan church
● Even though they left so they could worship as they chose, they did not offer non-Puritans that same right
● They did not believe in religious toleration - recognition that others have the right to different opinions
● Why would colonists in New England have turned to fishing instead of farming?
● What is the comparison between Puritans and Pilgrims and the reason they left for North America.
New Colonies
● Disagreements about religion led to the founding of other colonies in New England
● A key dispute involved Roger Williams, minister of the church in the town called Salem
● This was the central location for the Salem Witch Trials
Salem Witch Trial Video
Growth and Change
● Because Puritans believed that towns and churches should manage their own affairs, the set up town meetings in help govern themselves
● A town meeting is an assembly of townspeople that decides local issues
● Membership to meetings was restricted to male heads of households
● They set local taxes and elected people to run the town
Growth and Change
● This was another piece of the beginning stages of the government we have today
● Families also earned their livelihoods by farming, fishing, and industry
● Farmers grew crops, but also made leather goods and other products
● Fishermen caught cod and other fish that were shipped to Europe
● A shipbuilding business was also taking off which provided many jobs
King Philip’s War
● By the 1670s, the Native American population was decreasing, mainly because of the diseases they had caught from Europeans
● In 1675, Metacom, the chief of the Wampanoag, who was also known as King Philip, led a charge to stop the Puritan expansion
● This led to many other Native Americans joining in
● In 1676, Metacom was captured and kill which allowed the English colonies to continue to grow and expand
● Check Your Progress● p. 76● 1-5