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1st Semester Notes
U.S. History Handouts
1st Semester Class Notes
Unit 1
Unit 2
NEW WORLD BEGININGS Summary: 225 million years ago, Earth was one supercontinent (Pangaea) and ocean. About 10 million years ago, the North America that we know today was formed (geographical shape). The first discoverers of North America were nomadic Asians who wandered over here by way of an exposed land bridge from Russia to Alaska during the Ice Age. Though they were hunters at first, by 5000 BC, they had become hunter-gatherers with a diet of basically corn. Great pre-European Indian cultures included the Pueblos, the Iroquois, the Mound Builders, the Mayans, the Incas, the Aztec, and the Sioux, among others (map of tribes on pg. 8). The Indians revered nature and land, and didn�t carelessly destroy it. Everything was put to use. In 1000 AD, Vikings discovered Newfoundland, but later abandoned it due to unfavorable conditions. Europeans, though, slowly began to proliferate into non-European worlds starting around the 1400s. After Marco Polo came back with stories of China and its riches, Europeans began to explore. First, they set up settlements in Africa, near the coast, where they used African slaves to work on plantations. In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India, opening a sea route to the Far East. Complications and dangers of this eastern sea route influenced Christopher Columbus to sail west. In doing so, he inadvertently discovered the Americas, though he never knew it. The Portuguese were first to settle in America, but the Spanish later became the dominant nation in the Americas. Spanish Conquistadores swept through Latin and South America, destroying the Aztecs and the Incas. Meanwhile, Magellan�s crew sailed around the world in 1519, becoming the first voyage to do so. As the chapter ended, Spain was very much in control of much of the Americas, though other countries were beginning to challenge the Spanish dominance. Important People: The Aztecs- Native Americans who that lived in what is now Mexico and routinely offered their gods human sacrifices, these people were violent, yet built amazing pyramids and built a great civilization without having a wheel. The Mound Builders- Indians of the Ohio River Valley. The Mississippian settlement- At Cahokia, near present-day East St. Louis, Illionis, was home to about 40,000 people in at 1100 A.D. Hiawatha- This was legendary leader who inspired the Iroquois, a powerful group of Native Americans in the northeaster woodlands of the U.S. The Norse- These Vikings discovered America in about 1000 A.D., when they discovered modern-day Newfoundland. They abandoned it later due to bad conditions. Marco Polo- Italian adventurer who supposedly sailed to the Far East (China) in 1295 and returned with stories and supplies of the Asian life there (silk, pearls, etc�) Bartholomeu D�as- A Portuguese sailor, he was the first to round the southernmost tip of Africa, a feat he did in 1488. Vasco da Gama- In 1498, he reached India and returned home with a small but tantalizing cargo of jewels and spices. Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile- The wedded king and queen of Spain, their marriage united the previously non-existing country. Christopher Columbus- An Italian seafarer who persuaded Spain to give him three ships for which to sail west to look for a better route to India, he �discovered� America in 1492 Vasco Nu�ez Balboa- Discoverer of the Pacific Ocean in 1513. Ferdinand Magellan- In 1519, his crew began a voyage and eventually ended up becoming the first to circumnavigate the world, even though he died in the Philippines. The sole surviving ship returned to Europe in 1522. Ponce de Le�n- In 1513 and 1521, this Spanish Explorer explored Florida, searching for gold (contrary to the myth of his seeking the �Fountain of Youth�). Francisco Coronado- From 1540 to 1542, he explored the pueblos of Arizona and New Mexico, penetrating as far east as Kansas. He also discovered the Grand Canyon and enormous herds of bison. Hernando de Soto- From 1539 to 1542, he explored Florida and crossed the Mississippi River. He brutally abused Indians and died of fever and battle wounds. Francisco Pizarro- In 1532, he crushed the Incas of Peru and got lots of bounty. Bartolom� de Las Casas- A Spanish missionary who was appalled by the method of encomienda, calling it �a moral pestilence invented by Satan.� Hern�n Cort�s- Annihilator of the Aztec in 1519. Malinche- A female Indian slave who knew Mayan and Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec. Montezuma- The leader of the Aztecs at the time of Cort�s� invasion who believed that Cort�s was the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. Giovanni Caboto- AKA John Cabot, he explored the northeastern coaster of North America in 1497-98. Giovanni da Verranzo- An Italian explorer dispatched by the French king in 1524 to probe the eastern seaboard of U.S. Don Juan de O�ate- Leader of a Spanish group that traversed parts of Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in 1598, he and his men proclaimed the province of New Mexico in 1609 and founded its capital, Santa Fe. Robert de La Salle- Sent by the French, he went on an expedition down the Mississippi in the 1680s. Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo- He explored the California coast in 1542 but failed to find anything of interest. Father Junipero Serra- The Spanish missionary who founded 21 missions in California, in 1769, he founded Mission San Diego, the first of the chain. Key Terms & Words, etc�: maize - the Indian word for corn Conquistadores - the Spanish word for �conqueror,� these explorers claimed much of America for Spain, slaughtering millions of natives in the process encomienda - a euphemism for slavery in which Indians were given to colonists to be �Christianized.� D�a de la Raza - Spanish for Columbus Day. Lake Bonneville - massive prehistoric lake, all of which remains today in the form of the Great Salt Lake. Treaty of Tordesillas - treaty that settled Spanish and Portuguese differences in the Americas, Portugal got modern-day Brazil; Spain got the rest. Pop�s Rebellion - revolt in which Indians took over New Mexico and held control for nearly half a century. Places and Countries: Timbuktu- Capital of the West African kingdom of Mali, a place located in the Niger River Valley. Madeira, the Canaries, S�o Tom�, Pricipe- Areas where sugar plantations were established by Portugal then Spain where African slaves were forced to work. Potos�- A rich silver mine in Bolivia that enriched Spain with lots of wealth. Timeline: c. 33,000 � 8000 BC First humans come to Americas from land bridge connecting Asia and Alaska. c. 5000 BC Corn is developed as a stable crop in highland Mexico. c. 4000 BC First civilized societies develop in the Middle East. c. 1200 BC Corn planting reaches present-day American Southwest. c. 1000 AD Norse voyagers discover and briefly settle in Newfoundland (Vinland). Also, corn cultivation reaches Midwest and southeaster Atlantic seaboard. c. 1100 AD Height of Mississippian settlement at Cahokia c. 1100 � 1300 Christian crusades arouse European interest in the East. 1295 Marco Polo returns to Europe from Asia. Late 1400s Spain unites. 1488 D�az rounds the southern tip of Africa. 1492 Columbus land in the Bahamas. 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal. 1498 da Gama reaches India. Cabot explores northeastern coast of North America for England. 1513 Balboa claims all lands touched by the Pacific Ocean for Spain. 1513 & 1521 Ponce de Le�n explores Florida. 1519 � 1521 Cort�s conquers Mexico for Spain, defeating the Aztecs. 1522 Magellan�s crew completes circumnavigation of the world. 1524 Verrazano explores eastern seaboard of Norh America for France. 1532 Pizarro crushes the Incas. 1534 Cartier journeys up the St. Lawrence River. 1539 � 1542 de Soto explores the Southeast and discoveres the Mississippi River. 1540 � 1542 Coronado explores present-day Southwest 1542 Cabrillo explores California coast for Spain. 1565 Spanish build fortress at St. Augustine. Late 1500s Iroquois Confederacy founded (according to Iroquois legend) c. 1598 � 1609 Spanish under O�ate conquer Pueblo peoples of Rio Grande Valley. 1609 Spanish found New Mexico. 1680 Pop�s rebellion of New Mexico. 1680s French expedition down Mississippi River under La Salle 1769 Father Junipero Serra founds Mission San Diego, in California. Makers of America: - Conquistadores included Hern�n Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, who conquered the Aztecs and the Incas respectively. - Within half a century of Columbus� �discovery� of America, they had claimed, for Spain, territory that stretched form Colorado to Argentina. - They spread from Cuba through Mexico and from Panama, south through Peru. - As the Spanish crown tightened its grip on its colonies, though, the conquistadors lost more and more power. - Most of them never achieved their dreams of glory, though a few received royal titles. - Many of them married Indian women, creating a new class of people called mestizos. - The mestizos formed a bridge between Latin America�s Indian and European races.
PLANTING OF ENGLISH AMERICA I. England�s Imperial Stirrings A. North America 1. North America in 1600 was largely unclaimed, though the Spanish had much control in Central and South America. 2. Spain had only set up Santa Fe, while France had founded Quebec and Britain had founded Jamestown. 3. In the 1500s, Britain didn�t really colonize because of internal conflicts. a. King Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s and launched the English Protestant Reformation. b. After Elizabeth I became queen, Britain became basically Protestant, and a rivalry with Catholic Spain intensified. c. In Ireland, the Catholics sought Spain�s help in revolting against England, but the English crushed the uprising with brutal atrocity, and developed an attitude of sneering contempt for natives. II. Elizabeth Energizes England A. Colonization 1. After Britain basically defeated Spain (i.e. Spanish Armada defeat), British swarmed to America and took over lead in colonization and power. a. Sparked new literature, like Shakespeare 2. After Drake circumnavigated the globe, Liz I knighted him on his ship. 3. However, English tries at colonization in the New World failed often and embarrassingly. 4. Britain and Spain finally signed a peace treaty in 1604. III. England on the Eve of the Empire A. Reasons for Emigration 1. In the 1500s, Britain�s population was mushrooming. 2. Farmers were enclosing land for farming. 3. Puritanism took a strong root in the woolen districts of western and eastern England. 4. Younger sons of rich folk (who couldn�t inherit money) tried their luck with fortunes elsewhere, like America. 5. By the 1600s, the joint-stock company was perfected, being a forerunner to today�s corporations. IV. England Plants the Jamestown Seedling A. Jamestown 1. In 1606, the Virginia Company received a charter from King James I to make a settlement in the New World. a. Such joint-stock companies usually did not exist long, as stockholders hoped to form the company, make a profit, and then quickly sell for profit a few years later. 2. The charter of the Virginia Company guaranteed settlers the same rights as Englishmen in Britain. 3. On May 24, 1607, about a 100 English settlers disembarked from their ship and founded Jamestown. a. Forty colonists perished during the voyage. b. In mosquito-ridden Virginia, disease was rampant. It didn�t help that a supply ship shipwrecked in the Bahamas in 1609 either. 4. Luckily, in 1608, a Captain John Smith took over control and whipped the colonists into discipline. a. He had been kidnapped by local Indians and forced into a mock execution by the chief Powhatan and had been �saved� by Pocahantas. b. The act was meant to show that Powhatan wanted peaceful relations with the colonists. 5. Still, the colonists were reduced to eating cats, dogs, rats, even other people. 6. Finally, in 1610, a relief party headed by Lord De La Warr arrived to alleviate the suffering. 7. By 1625, out of an original overall total of 8000 would-be settlers, only 1200 had survived. V. Cultural Clash in the Chesapeake A. The Indian�s Begin to Lose Power 1. At first, Powhatan possibly considered the new colonists potential allies and tried to be friendly with them, but as time passed and colonists raided Indian food supplies, relations deteriorated and eventually, war occurred. 2. The First Anglo-Powhatan War ended in 1614 with a peace settlement sealed by the marriage of Pocahontas to colonist John Rolfe. 3. Eight years later, in 1622, the Indians struck again with a series of attacks that left 347 settlers, including John Rolfe, dead. 4. The Second Anglo-Powhatan War began in 1644, ended in 1646, and effectively banished the Chesapeake Indians from their ancestral lands. 5. After the settlers began to grow their own food, the Indians were useless, and were therefore banished. VI. Virginia: Child of Tobacco A. Tobacco Info 1. Tobacco created a greed for land, since it heavily depleted soil and ruined the land. 2. King James I detested tobacco. 3. Representative self-government was born in Virginia, when in 1619, settlers created the House of Burgesses. 4. Slavery in the Americas was also born in 1619. VII. Maryland: Catholic Heaven A. Religious Diversity 1. Founded in 1634 by Lord Baltimore, Maryland was the second plantation colony and the fourth overall colony to be formed. 2. It was a place for persecuted Catholics to find refuge. 3. Lord Baltimore gave huge estates to his Catholic relatives, but the poorer people who settled there where mostly Protestant, creating friction. 4. However, Maryland prospered with tobacco. 5. It had a lot of indentured servants. 6. Only in the later years of the 1600s (in Maryland and Virginia) did Black slavery began to become popular. 7. Maryland�s religious statute guaranteed toleration to all Christians, but decreed the death penalty to Jews and atheists and others who didn�t believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ. VIII. The West Indies: Way Station to Mainland America A. Their Use 1. As the British were colonizing Virginia, they were also settling in the West Indies (Spain�s declining power opened the door). 2. By mid-1600s, England had secured claim to several West Indies islands, including Jamaica in 1655. 3. They grew lots of sugar there. 4. Thousands of African slaves were needed to operate sugar plantations, and these weren�t for the poor either. 5. To control so many slaves �codes� were set up that defined the legal status of slaves and the rights of the masters. They were typically strict. IX. Colonizing the Carolinas A. Restoration Period 1. In England, King Charles I had been beheaded. Oliver Cromwell had ruled for ten years before tired Englishmen restored Charles II to the throne. 2. The bloody period had interrupted colonization. 3. Carolina was named after Charles II, and was formally created in 1670. 4. Carolina flourished by developing close economic ties with the West Indies. 5. Many original Carolina settlers had come from Barbados. 6. Interestingly, Indians as slaves in Carolina was protested, but to no avail. Slaves were sent to the West Indies to work, as well as New England. 7. Rice emerged as the principle crop in Carolina. a. African slaves were hired to work on rice fields, due to their immunity to malaria and their familiarity with rice. 8. Despite violence with Spanish and Indians, Carolina proved to be too strong to be wiped out. X. The Emergence of North Carolina A. Conflict 1. Many newcomers to Carolina were �squatters,� people who owned no land. 2. North Carolinians developed a strong resistant to authority, due to geographic isolation from neighbors. 3. In 1712, North and South Carolina were officially separated. 4. In 1711, when Tuscarora Indians attacked North Carolinas, the Carolinians responded by crushing the opposition, selling hundreds to slavery and leaving the rest to wander north, eventually becoming the Sixth Nation of the Iroquois. XI. Late-Coming Georgia: The Buffer Colony A. Georgia�s Purpose 1. Georgia was intended to be a buffer between the British colonies and the hostile Spanish settlements in Florida and the enemy French in Louisiana. 2. Founded in 1733 by a high-minded group of philanthropists, it was the last colony founded. 3. Named after King George II of England, Georgia was also meant to be a haven for wretched souls in debt. 4. James Oglethorpe, the ablest of the founders and a dynamic soldier-statesman, repelled Spanish attacks. a. He saved �the Charity Colony� by his energetic leadership and by using his own fortune to help with the colony. 5. All Christians except Catholics enjoyed religious toleration, and many missionaries came to try to convert the Indians. a. John Wesley was one of them, and he later returned to England and founded Methodism. 6. Georgia grew very slowly. XII. The Plantion Colonies A. Comparisons and Contrasts 1. Slavery was found in all the plantation colonies. 2. Growth of cities was often stunted by forests. 3. Establishment of schools and churches was difficult. 4. In the South, the crops were tobacco and rice. 5. All the plantation colonies permitted some religious toleration. 6. Confrontations with Native Americans was often. XIII. Makers of America: The Iroquois - In what is now New York State, the Iroquois once were a great power. - They were made up of the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Deganawidah, and the Hiawatha. - They vied with neighboring Indians and later French, English, and Dutch for supremacy. - The longhouse was the building block of Iroquois society. - Only 25 feet wide but over 200 feet long, longhouses were typically occupied by a few blood-related families (on the mother�s side). - The Mohawks were middlemen with European traders. - The Senecas were fur suppliers. - The Five Nations of the Iroquois� rivals, the neighboring Hurons, Eries, and Petuns, were vanquished. - Throughout the 1600s and 1700s, the Iroquois allied with the British and French (whichever more beneficial). - When the American Revolution broke out, the decision to side with who was split. Most sided with the British, but not all. - Afterwards, the Iroquois were forced to reservations, which proved to be unbearable to these proud people. - An Iroquois named Handsome Lake arose to warn his tribespeople to mend their ways. - His teachings live today in the form of the longhouse religion. - He died in 1815.
SETTLING THE NORTHERN COLONIES I. The Protestant Reformation Produces Puritanism A. Beginnings 1. In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg cathedral. a. He ignited the Protestant Reformation. 2. John Calvin preached Calvinism a. Basic doctrines were stated in the 1536 document entitled Institutes of the Christian Religion. b. Stated that all humans were weak and wicked. c. Only the predestined could go to heaven, no matter what. d. Calvinists were expected to seek �conversions,� signs that they were one of the predestined, and afterwards, lead �sanctified lives.� 3. In England, King Henry VIII was breaking his ties with the Holy Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s. 4. Some people, called Puritans, were influenced to totally reform the Christian faith. B. Puritans 1. All believed that only �visible saints� should be admitted to church membership. 2. Separatists vowed to break away from the Church of England because the �saints� would have to sit with the �damned.� 3. King James I, father of the beheaded Charles I, harassed the Separatists out of England because he thought that if people could defy him as their spiritual leader, they might defy him as their political ruler. II. The Pilgrims End Their Pilgrimage at Plymouth A. The Voyage 1. The Separatists that left were from Holland, where they had fled to after they had left England. a. They were concerned that their children were getting to �Dutchified.� b. They wanted a place where they were free to worship their own religion and could live and die as good Puritans. 2. After negotiating with the Virginia Company, the Separatists left Holland and sailed for 65 days at sea on the Mayflower until they arrived off the rocky coast of New England in 1620, a trip in which only one person died and one person was born. a. Less than half of the pilgrims on the Mayflower were actually Separatists. b. Contrary to myth, the Pilgrims undertook a few surveys before deciding to settle at Plymouth, an area far from Virginia. c. The Pilgrims became squatters, people without legal right to land and without specific authority to establish government. 3. Captain Myles Standish (a.k.a. Captain Shrimp) proved to be a great Indian fighter and negotiator. 4. Before disembarking from ship, the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact, a set of rules by which to obey. a. Though it wasn�t a constitution, it did set the standard for later constitutions. 5. In the winter of 1620-21, only 44 of the 102 survived. 6. 1621 brought bountiful harvests, though, and the first Thanksgiving was celebrated that year. 7. William Bradford, chosen governor of Plymouth 30 times in the annual elections, was a great leader, and helped Plymouth to survive and trade fur, fish, and lumber. 8. In 1691, Plymouth finally merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony. III. The Bay Colony Bible Commonwealth A. Settling In 1. In 1629, some non-Separatist Puritans got a royal charter from England to settle in the New World. Secretly, they took the charter with them and later used it as a type of constitution. 2. It was a well-equipped group of which about 11,000 people came to Massachusetts. 3. John Winthrop was elected governor or deputy governor for 19 years, helping Massachusetts prosper in fur trading, fishing, and shipbuilding. IV. Building the Bay Colony A. Government 1. Soon after the establishment of the colony, the franchise was extended to all �freemen:� adult males who belonged to the Puritan congregations (later called the Congregational church), making people who could enjoy the franchise about two fifths of the total population. a. Unchurched men and women weren�t allowed in. 2. The provincial government was not a democracy. a. Governor Winthrop feared and distrusted the common people, calling democracy the �meanest and worst� of all forms of government. 3. Religious leaders wielded powerful influence over the admission to church membership. 4. John Cotton, a prominent clergy member, was educated at Cambridge and had immigrated to Massachusetts to avoid persecution fro his criticism of the Church of England. 5. However, congregations could hire and fire their ministers at will. 6. Still, there were laws to limit Earthly pleasures, such as a fine of twenty shillings for couples caught kissing in public. 7. The Puritan concept of Hell was very serious and scary. a. Michael Wigglesworth�s �Day of Doom,� written in 1662, sold one copy for every twenty people. V. Trouble in the Bible Commonwealth A. Defiance 1. Tensions arose in Massachusetts. a. Quakers were fined, flogged, and/or banished. b. Anne Hutchinson was a very intelligent, strong-willed, talkative woman who claimed that a holy life was no sure sign of salvation and that the truly saved need not bother to obey the law of either God or man. (1) Brought to trial in 1638, Anne boasted that her beliefs were directly from God. (2) She was banished from the colony and eventually made her way to Rhode Island. (3) She died in New York after an attack by Indians. c. Roger Williams was a radical idealist hounded his fellow clergymen to make a clean and complete break with the Church of England. (1) He went on to deny that civil government could and should govern religious behavior. (2) He was banished in 1635, and flew to the Rhode Island area the next year. VI. The Rhode Island �Sewer� A. Land of the Outcasts 1. People who went to Rhode Island weren�t necessarily similar; they were just unwanted everywhere else. 2. They were against special privilege. 3. �Little Rhody� was later known as �the traditional home of the otherwise minded.� 4. It finally secured a charter in 1644. VII. New England Spreads Out A. More Settling 1. In 1635, Hartford, Connecticut was founded. 2. Reverend Thomas Hooker led an energetic group of Puritans west. 3. In 1639, settlers of the new Connecticut River colony drafted in open meeting a trailblazing document called the Fundamental Orders. a. It was basically a modern constitution. 4. In 1638, New Haven was founded and eventually merged into Connecticut. 5. In 1623, Maine was absorbed by Massachusetts and remained so for nearly a century and a half. 6. In 1641, the granite-ribbed New Hampshire was absorbed into Massachusetts. a. In 1679, the king separated the two and made New Hampshire a royal colony. VIII. Puritans vs. Indians A. Violence 1. Before the Puritans had arrived in 1620, an epidemic had swept through the Indians, killing over three quarters of them. 2. At first, Indians tried to befriend the Whites. a. Squanto, a Wampanoag, helped keep relative peace. 3. In 1637, though, after mounting tensions exploded, English settlers and the powerful Pequot tribe fought in the Pequot War, in which the English set fire to a Pequot village on Connecticut�s Mystic River, annihilating the Indians and bringing about forty years of tentative peace. a. In an attempt to save face, the Puritans did try to convert some of the Indians, though with less zeal than that of the Spanish and French. 4. IN 1675, Metacom (called King Philip by the English) united neighboring Indians in a last-ditched attack that failed. a. The King Philip�s War slowed colonial western march, but Metacom was beheaded and quartered and his head was stuck on a sharp pike for all to see, his wife and son sold to slavery. IX. Seeds of Colonial Unity and Independence A. A Bit of Unity Shown 1. In 1643, four colonies banded together to form the New England Confederation. a. It was almost all Puritan. b. It was weak, but still a notable milestone toward American unity. 2. The colonies were basically allowed to be semiautonomous commonwealths. 3. After Charles II was restored to the British throne, he hoped to control his colonies more firmly, but was shocked to find how much his orders were ignored by Massachusetts. a. As punishment, a sea-to-sea charter was given to rival Connecticut (1662), and a charter was given to Rhode Island (1663). b. Finally, in 1684, Massachusetts� charter was revoked. X. Andros Promotes the First American Revolution A. Opposition to England Grows 1. In 1686, the Dominion of New England was created to bolster the colonial defense against Indians and tying the colonies closer to Britain by enforcing the hated Navigation Acts. a. The acts forbade American trade with countries other than Britain. b. As a result, smuggling became common. c. Head of the Dominion was Sir Edmund Andros. (1) Establishing HQ in Boston, he openly showed his association with the locally hated Church of England. (2) His soldiers were vile-mouthed. 2. Andros responded to opposition by curbing town meetings, restricting the courts and the press, and revoking all land titles. 3. He taxed the people without their consent. 4. At the same time, the people of England staged the Glorious Revolution, instating William and Mary to the crown. a. Result, the Dominion of New England collapsed. b. Massachusetts got a new charter in 1691, but this charter allowed all landowners to vote, as opposed to the previous law of voting belonging only to the church members. XI. Old Netherlanders at New Netherland A. The Little Guys Gain Power 1. In the 17th Century, the Netherlands revolted against Spain, and with help of Britain, gained their independence. 2. The Dutch East India Company was established, with an army of 10,000 men and a fleet of 190 ships (including 40 men-of-war). 3. The Dutch West India Company often raided rather than traded. 4. In 1609, Henry Hudson ventured into Delaware and New York Bay and claimed the area for the Netherlands. 5. It was the Dutch West India Company that bought Manhattan Island for some worthless trinkets (22,000 acres of the most valuable land in the world today). 6. New Amsterdam was a company town, run by and for the Dutch company and in the interests of stockholders. 7. The Dutch gave patroonships (large areas of land) to promoters who agreed to settle at least 50 people on them. 8. New Amsterdam attracted people of all types and races. a. One French Jesuit missionary counted 18 different languages being spoken on the street. XII. Friction with English and Swedish Neighbors A. Trouble for the Dutch 1. Indian�s attacked the Dutch for their cruelties. 2. New England was hostile against Dutch growth. 3. The Swedes trespassed Dutch reserves from 1638 to 1655 by planting the anemic colony of New Sweden on the Delaware River. 4. Things got so bad that the Dutch erected a wall in New Amsterdam, for which Wall Street is named today. 5. In 1655, the Dutch sent one legged Peter Stuyvesant to besiege the main Swedish fort, and he won, ending Swedish colonial rule and leaving only Swedish log cabins and place names as evidence that the Swedes were every in Delaware. XIII. Dutch Residues in New York A. The Dutch Get Voted Off the Island 1. In 1664, Charles II granted the area of modern-day New York to his brother, the Duke of York, and that year, British troops landed and defeated the Dutch, kicking them out, without much violence. 2. New Amsterdam was renamed New York. B. The Dutch Legacy 1. The people of New York retained their autocratic spirit. 2. Dutch names of cities remained, like Harlem, Brooklyn, and Hell Gate. 3. Even their architecture left its mark on buildings. 4. The Dutch also gave us Easter eggs, Santa Claus, waffles, sauerkraut, bowling, sleighing, skating, and golf. XIV. Penn�s Holy Experiment in Pennsylvania A. William Penn and the Quakers 1. The Quakers (characteristics) a. They �quaked� under deep religious emotion. b. They were offensive to religious and civil rule. c. They addressed everyone with simple �thee�s and �thou�s and didn�t swear oaths because Jesus had said �Swear not at all,� this last part creating a problem, since you had to swear a test oath to prove that you weren�t Roman Catholic. d. Though stubborn and unreasonable, they were simple, devoted, democratic people against war and violence. 2. William Penn, a well-born Englishman, embraced the Quaker faith. 3. In 1681, he managed to secure an immense grant of fertile land from the land. a. It was called Pennsylvania, in honor of Penn, who, being the modest person that he was, had insisted that it be called Sylvania. b. It was the best advertised of all the colonies. XV. Quaker Pennsylvania and Its Neighbors A. Penn Settles 1. Thousands of squatters already lived in Pennsylvania. 2. Philadelphia was more carefully planned than most cities, with beautiful, wide streets. 3. Penn bought land from the Indians, like Chief Tammany, later patron saint of New York�s political Tammany Hall. 4. His treatment of the Indians was so gentle that Quakers could walk through Indian territory unarmed without fear of being hurt. 5. However, as more and more non-Quakers came to Pennsylvania, they mistreated the Indians more and more. 6. Freedom of worship was available to everyone except for Jews and Catholics (only because of pressure from London), and the death penalty was only for murder and treason. 7. No restrictions were placed on immigration, and naturalization was made easy. 8. The Quakers also developed a dislike toward slavery. 9. Pennsylvania attracted a great variety of people from all races, class, and religion. 10. By 1700, only Virginia was more populous and richer. 11. Penn, unfortunately, was not well-liked because of his friendliness towards James II, the deposed Catholic king, and he was jailed at times, and also suffered a paralytic stroke, dying full of sorrows. 12. New Jersey and Delaware prospered as well. XVI. The Middle Way in the Middle Colonies A. New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania 1. All had fertile soil and broad expanse of land. 2. All except for Delaware exported lots of grain. 3. The Susquehanna River tapped the fur trade of the interior, and the rivers were gentle, with little cascading waterfalls. 4. The middle colonies were the middle way between New England and the southern plantation states. 5. Landholdings were generally intermediate in size. 6. The middle colonies were more ethnically mixed than other colonies. 7. A considerable amount of economic and social democracy prevailed. 8. Benjamin Franklin, born in Boston, entered Philadelphia as a seventeen-year-old in 1720 with a loaf of bread under each arm and immediately found a congenial home in the urbane, open atmosphere of the city. 9. Americans began to realize that not only were they surviving, but that they were also thriving. XVII. Makers of America: The English - In the 1600s, England was undergoing a massive population boom. - About 75% of English immigrants were indentured servants. - Most of them were young men from the �middling classes.� - Some had fled during the cloth trade slump in the early 1600s while others had been forced off their land due to enclosure. - Some 40% of indentured servants died before their seven years were over. - Late in the 17th Century, as the supply of indentured servants slowly ran out, the southerners resolved to Black Slaves. - From 1629 to 1642, 11,000 Puritans swarmed to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. - In contrast to the indentured servants, Puritans migrated in family groups, not alone. - Puritans brought the way of life from England with them to America. � i.e. Marblehead, Mass. had mostly fishermen because most of the immigrants had been fisherman in England. � i.e. Rowley, Mass. brought from Yorkshire, England their distinctive way of life. - In Ipswich, Massachusetts, settled by East Anglian Puritans, the rulers had long terms and ruled with an iron hand. - However, in Newbury, people rarely won reelection.
AMERICAN LIFE IN THE 17TH CENTURY ~ 1607 - 1692 ~ I. The Unhealthy Chesapeake 1. Life in the American wilderness was harsh. a. Diseases like malaria, dysentery, and typhoid killed many. b. Few people lived to 40 or 50 years. c. In the early days of colonies, women were so scarce that men fought over all of them. d. Few people knew any grandparents. e. A third of all brides in one Maryland county were already pregnant before the wedding (scandalous). f. Virginia, with 59,000 people, became the most populous colony. II. The Tobacco Economy 1. The Chesapeake was very good for tobacco cultivation. 2. Chesapeake Bay exported 1.5 million pounds of tobacco yearly in the 1630s, and by 1700, that number had risen to 40 million pounds a year. a. More availability led to falling prices, and farmers still grew more b. Early on, most of the laborers were indentured servants. (1) Life for them was hard, but there was hope at the end of seven years for freedom. (2) Conditions were brutal, and in the later years, owners unwilling to free their servants extended their contracts by years for small mistakes. III. Frustrated Freemen and Bacon�s Rebellion 1. By the late 1600s, there were lots of free, poor, landless, single men frustrated by the lack of money, land, work, and women (that�s nicely put). 2. In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon led a few thousand of these men in a rebellion against the hostile conditions. a. These people wanted land and were resentful of Virginia governor William Berkeley�s friendly policies toward the Indians. b. Bacon�s men murderously attacked Indian settlements after Berkeley refused to retaliate for a series of savage Indian attacks on the frontier. 3. Then, in the middle of his rebellion, Bacon suddenly died of disease, and Berkeley went on the crush the uprising. a. Still, Bacon�s legacy lived on, giving frustrated poor folks ideas to rebel, and so a bit of paranoia went on for some time afterwards. IV. Colonial Survey 1. In the 300 years following Columbus� discovery of America, only about 400,000 of a total of 10 million African slaves were brought over to the United States. 2. By 1680, though, many landowners were afraid of possibly mutinous white servants, by the mid 1680s, for the first time, black slaves outnumbered white servants among the plantation colonies� new arrivals. 3. After 1700, more and more slaves were imported, and in 1750, Blacks accounted for nearly half of the Virginian population. a. Most of the slaves were from West Africa, from places like Senegal and Angola. 4. Some of the earliest Black slaves gained their freedom and some became slaveholders themselves. 5. Eventually, to clear up issues on slave ownership, it was made so that slaves and their children would remain slaves to their masters for life, unless they were voluntarily freed. a. Some laws made teaching slaves to read a crime, and not even conversion to Christianity might qualify a slave for freedom. V. Africans in America 1. Slave life in the deep South was very tough, as rice growing was much harder than tobacco growing. a. Many Blacks in America evolved their own languages, blending their native tongues with English. b. Blacks also contributed to music with instruments like the banjo and bongo drum. 2. A few of the slaves became skilled artisans (i.e. carpenters, bricklayers and tanners), but most were relegated to sweaty work like clearing swamps and grubbing out trees. 3. Revolts did occur. a. In 1712, a slave revolt in New York City cost the lives of a dozen Whites and 21 Blacks were executed. b. In 1739, South Carolina blacks along the Stono River revolted and tried to march to Spanish Florida, but failed. VI. Southern Society 1. A social gap appeared and began to widen. a. In Virginia, a clutch of extended clans (i.e. the Fitzhughs, the Lees, and the Washingtons) owned tracts and tracts of real estate and just about dominated the House of Burgesses. (1) They came to be known as the First Families of Virginia (FFV). 2. In Virginia, there was often a problem with drunkenness. 3. The largest social group was the farmers. 4. Few cities sprouted in the in the South, so schools and churches were slow to develop. VII. The New England Family 1. In New England, there was clean water and cool temperatures, so disease was not as predominant as in the South. 2. The first New England Puritans had an average life expectancy of 70 years. 3. In contrast to the Chesapeake, the New Englanders tended to migrate as a family, instead of individually. a. Women usually married in their early twenties and gave birth every two years until menopause. b. A typical woman could expect to have ten babies and raise about eight of them. c. Death in labor for women was not rare, so that wasn�t exactly something to look forward to as an event. 4. In the South, women usually had more power, since the Southern men typically died young and women could inherit the money, but in New England, the opposite was true. a. In New England men didn�t have absolute power over their wives (as evidenced by the punishments of unruly husbands) but they did have much power over women. 5. New England law was very severe and strict. a. For example, adulterous women had to wear the letter �A� on their bosoms if they were caught (ala The Scarlet Letter) VIII. Life in the New England Towns 1. Life in New England was organized. a. New towns were legally chartered by colonial authorities. b. A town usually had a meetinghouse surrounded by houses and a village green. c. Towns of more than 50 families had to provide primary education. d. Towns of more than 100 had to provide secondary education. 2. In 1636, Massachusetts Puritans established Harvard College to train boys to become ministers. a. (Note: in 1693, Virginia established their first college, William and Mary.) 3. Puritans ran their own churches, and democracy in Congregational church government led logically to democracy in political government. IX. The Half-Way Covenant and the Salem Witch Trials] 1. As Puritans began to worry about their children and whether or not they would be as loyal and faithful, and new type of sermon came about called �jeremiads.� a. Earnest preachers scolded parishioners for their waning piety in hope to improve faith. 2. Troubled ministers announced a new formula for church membership in 1662, calling it the �Half-Way Covenant.� a. Jeremiads continued to thunder from the pulpits. b. All people could come, whether or not they were converted (with the exception of a few extremely hated groups). 3. In the 1690s, a group of Salem girls claimed to have been bewitched by certain older women. 4. What followed was a hysterical witch-hunt that led to the executions of 20 people (19 of which were hung) and two dogs. a. Back in Europe, larger scale witch-hunts were already occurring. 5. Witchcraft hysteria eventually ended in 1693. X. The New England Way of Life 1. Due to the hard New England soil (or lack thereof), New Englanders became great traders. 2. New England was also less ethnically mixed than its neighbors. 3. The climate of New England encouraged diversified agriculture and industry. a. Black slavery was attempted but didn�t work. 4. Rivers were short and rapid. 5. The Europeans in New England chastised the Indians for �wasting� the land, and felt a need to clear as much land for use as possible. 6. Fishing became a very popular industry. XI. The Early Settlers� Days and Ways 1. Early farmers usually rose at dawn and went to bed at dusk. 2. Few events were done during the night unless they were �worth the candle.� 3. Life was humble but comfortable, at least in accordance to the surroundings. 4. The people who emigrated from Europe to America were most usually lower middle class citizens looking to have a better future in the New World. 5. Because of the general sameness of class in America, laws against extravagances were sometimes passed, but as time passed, America grew. XII. Makers of America: From African to African-American - Africans� arrival into the New World brought new languages, music, and cuisines to America. - Africans working on the rice fields of North Carolina produced lots of rice. - The first slaves were men; some eventually gained freedom. - By 1740, large groups of African slaves lived together on plantations, where female slaves were expected to perform backbreaking labor and spin, weave, and sew. - Most slaves became Christians, though many adopted elements from their native religions. - Many African dances led to modern dances (i.e. the Charleston). - Christian songs could also be code for the announcement of the arrival of a guide to freedom. - Jazz is the most famous example of slave music entering mainstream culture.
COLONIAL SOCIETY ON THE EVE OF THE REVOLUTION ~ 1700 - 1775 ~ I. Conquest by the Cradle 1. By 1775, Great Britain ruled 32 colonies in North America. a. Only 13 of them revolted. b. Canada and Jamaica were wealthier than the 13. 2. All of them were growing by leaps and bounds. 3. By 1775, the population numbered 2.5 million people. 4. The average age was 16 years. 5. Most of the population was densely cooped up east of the Alleghenies, though by 1775, some had slowly trickled into Tennessee and Kentucky. 6. About 90% of the people lived in rural areas. II. A Mingling of the Races 1. Colonial America, though mostly English, had other races as well. a. Germans accounted for about 6% of the population, or about 150,000 people by 1775. (1) Most were Protestant (primarily Lutheran) and were called the Pennsylvania Dutch. 2. The Scots-Irish were about 7% of the population, with 175,000 people. a. Over many decades, they had been transplanted to Northern Ireland, but they had not found a home there (the already existing Irish Catholics resented the intruders). b. Many of them reached America and became squatters, quarreling with both Indians and white landowners. c. They seemed to try to move as far from Britain as possible, trickling down to Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas. d. In 1764, the Scots-Irish led the armed march of the Paxton Boys. e. They were very hotheaded. f. Many eventually became American revolutionists. 3. About 5% of the multicolored population consisted of other European group, like French Huguenots, Welsh, Dutch, Swedes, Jews, Irish, Swiss, and Scots Highlanders. 4. Americans were of all races and mixed bloods, so it was no wonder that other races from other countries had a hard time classifying them. III. The Structure of the Colonial Society 1. In contrast to contemporary Europe, America was a land of opportunity. 2. Anyone who was willing to work hard could easily go from rags to riches, and poverty was scorned upon. 3. Class differences did emerge, as a small group of aristocrats (made up of the rich farmers, lawyers, officials, clergymen) had much of the power. 4. Also, armed conflicts in the 1690s and 1700s enriched a number of merchant princes in the New England and middle colonies. 5. War also created many widows and orphans who eventually became to charity. 6. In the South, the hugely rich plantation owners had lots of slaves. 7. Far less fortunate than the indentured servants of America were the paupers and the criminals sent to the New World. a. Some of them were actually unfortunate victims of Britain�s unfair laws and did become respectable citizens. 8. The least fortunate were the Black slaves, who had little or no hope of freedom again. a. Slavery became a divisive issue because some colonies didn�t want slaves while others needed them, and therefore vetoed any bill banning the importation of slaves. IV. Clerics, Physicians, and Jurists 1. The most honored profession in the colonial times was the clergy, which in 1775, had less power than before but still wielded a great amount of it. 2. Physicians were not highly esteemed and many of them were bad. a. Bleeding was often a favorite, and deadly, solution to illnesses. 3. Plagues were a nightmare. a. Smallpox (afflicting 1 of 5 persons, including George Washington) was rampant, though a crude form of inoculation for it was introduced in 1721. b. Some of the clergy and doctors didn�t like it though, preferring not to tamper with the will of God. 4. At first lawyers weren�t liked, being regarded as noisy scumbags. a. Criminals often represented themselves in court. b. By 1750, lawyers were recognized as useful, and many defended high-profile cases, were great orators and played important roles in the history of America. V. Workaday America 1. Agriculture was the major leading industry (by a huge margin), since farmers could seem to grow anything. a. In Maryland and Virginia, tobacco was the staple crop, and by 1759 New York was exporting 80,000 barrels of flour a year. 2. Fishing could be rewarding, though not as much as farming, and it was pursued in all the American colonies especially in New England. 3. Trading was also a popular and prevalent industry, as commerce occurred all around the colonies. a. The �triangular trade� was common: A ship, for example, would leave New England with rum and go to the Gold Coast of Africa and trade it for African slaves. Then, it would go to the West Indies and exchange the slaves for molasses, which it�d sell to New England once it returned there. 4. Manufacturing was not as important, though many small enterprises existed. 5. Strong-backed laborers and skilled craftspeople were scarce and highly prized. 6. Perhaps the single most important manufacturing activity was lumbering. a. Britain sometimes marked the tallest trees for its navy, and colonists resented that, even though there were countless other good trees in the area and the marked tree was going toward a common defense (it was the principle). 7. In 1733, Parliament passed the Molasses Act, which, if successful, would have struck a crippling blow to American international trade by hindering its trade with the French West Indies. a. The result was disagreement, and colonists got around it through smuggling. VI. Horsepower and Sailpower 1. Roads in 1700s America were very bad, and not until the 18th century did they even connect large cites. a. It took a young Benjamin Franklin 9 days to get from Boston to Philadelphia. 2. Roads were so bad that they were dangerous. a. People who would venture these roads would often sign wills and pray with family members before embarking. 3. As a result, towns seemed to cluster around slow, navigable water sources, like gentle rivers, or by the ocean. 4. Taverns and bars sprang up to serve tired travelers and were great places of gossip. 5. An inter-colonial mail system was set up in the mid-1700s, but mailmen often passed time by reading private letters, since there was nothing else to do. VII. Dominant Denominations 1. Two �established� (tax-supported) churches by 1775 were the Anglican and the Congregational. 2. A great majority of people didn�t worship in churches. 3. The Church of England (Anglican) was official in Georgia, both Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and a part of New York. a. Anglican sermons were shorter, its descriptions of hell were less frightening, and amusements were less scorned. b. William and Mary was founded in 1693 to train young clergy members. 4. The Congregational church had grown from the Puritan church, and it was established in all the New England colonies except for Rhode Island. a. There was worry that people weren�t devout enough. 5. For Anglicans, not having a resident bishop proved to be a problem for unordained young ministers. VIII. The Great Awakening. 1. Due to less religious fervor than before and worry that so many people would not be saved, the stage was set for a revival, which occurred, and became the Great Awakening. 2. Jonathan Edwards was a preacher with fiery preaching methods, emotional moving many listeners to tears while talking of the eternal damnation that nonbelievers would face after death. a. He began preaching in 1734, and his methods sparked debate among his peers. 3. George Whitefield was even better than Edwards when he started four years later. a. An orator of rare gifts, he even made Jonathan Edwards weep and persuaded Ben Franklin to empty his pockets into the collection plate. b. Imitators copied his emotional shaking sermons and his heaping of blame on sinners. 4. These new preachers were met with skepticism by the �old lights,� or the orthodox clergymen. 5. However, the Great Awakening led to the founding of �new light� centers like Princeton, Brown, Rutgers, and Dartmouth. 6. The Great Awakening was the first religious experience shared by all Americans as a history. IX. Schools and Colleges 1. Education was most important in New England, where it was used to train young future clergymen. 2. In other parts of America, farm labor used up most of the time that would have been spent in school. 3. However, there were fairly adequate primary and secondary schools in areas other than New England. 4. In a gloom and grim atmosphere, colonial schools put most of the emphasis on religion and on the classical languages, as well as doctrine and orthodoxy. 5. Discipline was quite severe, with such punishments as a child being cut by a piece from a birch tree. 6. Also, at least in New England, college education was regarded more important than the ABC�s. 7. Eventually, some change was made in emphasis of curriculum from dead languages to live ones, and Ben Franklin helped by launching the school that would become the University of Pennsylvania. X. Culture in the Backwoods 1. Though there was little time for recreation (farm work, fear of Indians, etc�), the little free time that was there was used on religion, not art. 2. Painters were frowned upon. a. John Trumbull of Connecticut was discouraged, as a youth, by his father. b. Charles Willson Peale, best know for his portraits of George Washington, also ran a museum, stuffed birds, and practiced dentistry in addition to his art. c. Benjamin West and John Singleton Copley had to go to England to complete their ambitious careers. 3. Architecture was largely imported from the Old World and modified to meet American needs. a. The log cabin was borrowed form Sweden. b. The red-bricked Georgian style was introduced in about 1720. 4. Colonial literature was also generally undistinguished. a. However, a slave girl, Phillis Wheatley, who had never been formally educated, did go to Britain and publish a book of verse and subsequently wrote other polished poems that revealed the influence of Alexander Pope. b. Ben Franklin�s Poor Richard�s Almanac was very influential, containing many common sayings and phrases, and was more widely read in America and Europe than anything except for the Bible. 5. Ben Franklin�s experiments with science, and his sheer power of observation, also helped advance science. XI. Pioneer Presses 1. Few libraries were found in early America, and few Americans were rich enough to buy books. 2. On the eve of the revolution, many hand-operated presses cranked out leaflets, pamphlets, and journals signed with pseudonyms. 3. In one famous case, John Peter Zenger, a New York newspaper printer, was taken to court and charged with seditious libel. a. The judge urged the jury to consider that the mere fact of publishing was a crime, no matter whether the content was derogatory or not. b. Zenger won after his lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, excellently defended his case. c. Afterwards, freedom of the press was pretty much assured in America. XII. The Great Game of Politics 1. By 1775, eight of the colonies had royal governors who were appointed by the king. 2. Three had governors chosen by proprietors. 3. Practically every colony utilized a two-house legislative body. a. The upper house was appointed by royal officials or proprietors. b. The lower house was elected by the people. 4. Self-taxation with representation came to be a cherished privilege that Americans came to cherish above most other rights. 5. Most governors did a good job, but some were just plain corrupt. a. Lord Cornbury, first cousin of Queen Anne, was made governor of New York and New Jersey in 1702 but proved to be a drunkard, a spendthrift, a gafter, and embezzler, a religious bigot, and a vain fool. 6. The right to vote was no available to anyone, just white landowners. a. However, the ease of acquiring land to hard workers made voting a privilege easily attainable to many people. XIII. Colonial Folkways 1. Americans had many hardships, as many basic amenities that we have today were not available. a. Churches weren�t heated at all. b. Running water in houses was nonexistent. c. No plumbing was available either. d. Garbage disposal was primitive at best. 2. Yet, amusement was permitted, and people often worked on house-raisings, apple parings quilting bees, husking bees, and other merrymaking. 3. In the South, card playing, horse racing, cockfighting, and fox hunting were fun. 4. Lotteries were universally approved, even by the clergy because they helped raise money for churches and colleges. 5. Stage plays were popular in the South, but not really in the North. 6. Holidays were celebrated everywhere in the colonies (New England didn�t like Christmas, though). 7. America in 1775 was like a quilt, each part different and individual in its own way, but all coming together to form one single, unified piece. XIV. Makers of America: The Scots-Irish 1. Life for the Scots was miserable in England, as many were too poor, and Britain still taxed them, squeezing the last cent out of them. 2. Migrating to Ulster, the Scots still felt unwelcome, and eventually came to America. 3. They constantly tried to further themselves away from Britain. a. Most went to Pennsylvania, where tolerance was high. 4. The Scots-Irish were many of America�s pioneers, clearing the trails for others to follow. 5. Otherwise independent, religion was the only thing that bonded these people. 6. Their hatred of England made them great allies and supporters of the United States during the Revolutionary War. XV. Varying Viewpoints- Colonial America: Communities of Conflict of Consensus?
THE DUEL FOR NORTH AMERICA ~ 1608 � 1763 ~ I. France Finds a Foothold in Canada 1. Like England and Holland, France was a latecomer in the colony race. a. It was convulsed in the 1500s by foreign wars and domestic strife. b. In 1598, the Edict of Nantes was issued, allowing limited toleration to the French Huguenots. 2. When King Louis XIV became king, he took an interest in overseas colonies. 3. In 1608, France established Quebec, overlooking the St. Lawrence River. 4. Samuel de Champlain, an intrepid soldier and explorer, became known as the �Father of New France.� a. He entered into friendly relations with the neighboring Huron Indians and helped them defeated the Iroquois. b. The Iroquois, however, did hamper French efforts into the Ohio Valley later. 5. Unlike English colonists, French colonists didn�t immigrate to North America by hordes. a. The peasants were too poor, and the Huguenots weren�t allowed to leave. II. New France Fans Out 1. New France�s (Canada) one valuable resource was the beaver. a. Beaver hunters were known as the coureurs de bois and littered the land with place names, including Baton Rouge (red stick), Terre Haute (high land), Des Moines (some monks) and Grand Teton (big breasts). (by the way, they drank a lot) b. The French voyageurs also recruited Indians to hunt for beaver as well, but Indians were decimated by White Man�s diseases, and the beaver population was heavily extinguished. 2. French Catholic missionaries zealously tried to convert Indians. 3. To thwart English settlers from pushing into the Ohio Valley, Antoine Cadillac founded Detroit (�city of straits�) in 1701. 4. Louisiana was founded, in 1682, by Robert de La Salle, to thwart Spanish expansion into the area near the Gulf of Mexico. a. Three years later, he tried to fulfill his dreams by returning, but instead landed in Spanish Texas and was murdered by his mutinous men in 1687. 5. The fertile Illinois country, where the French established forts and trading posts at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes, became the garden of France�s North American empire. III. The Clash of Empires 1. King William�s War and Queen Anne�s War (two different fights) a. The English colonists fought the French coureurs de bois and their Indian allies. i. Neither side considered America important enough to waste real troops on. b. The French-inspired Indians ravaged Schenectady, New York, and Deerfield. c. The British did try to capture Quebec and Montreal, failed, but did temporarily have Port Royal. d. The peace deal in Utrecht in 1713 gave Acadia (renamed Nova Scotia), Newfoundland, and Hudson Bay to England, pinching the French settlements by the St. Lawrence. It also gave Britain limited trading rights with Spanish America. 2. The War of Jenkin�s Ear a. An English Captain named Jenkin�s had his ear cut off by a Spanish commander, who had sneered at him to go home crying (essentially). b. This war was confined to the Caribbean Sea and Georgia. c. This war soon merged with the War of Austrian Succession and came to be called King George�s War in America. d. France allied itself with Spain, but England�s troops captured the reputed impregnable fortress of Cap Breton Island. e. However, peace terms of this war gave Louisbourg, which the New Englanders had captured, back to France, outraging the colonists, which feared it. IV. George Washington Inaugurates War with France 1. The Ohio Valley became a battleground among the Spanish, British, and French. a. It was lush and very good land. 2. In 1754, the governor of Virginia sent 21 year-old George Washington to the Ohio country as a lieutenant colonel in command of about 150 Virginia minutemen. a. Encountering some Frenchmen in the forest about 40 miles from Fort Duquesne, the troops opened fire, killing the French leader. b. Later, the French returned and surrounded Washington�s hastily constructed Fort Necessity, and after a 10-hour siege, made him surrender. c. He was permitted to march his men away with the full honors of war. V. Global War and Colonial Disunity 1. The fourth of these wars between empires started in America, unlike the first three. 2. The French and Indian War (aka Seven Years� War) began with Washington�s battle with the French. 3. It was England and Prussia vs. France, Spain, Austria, and Russia. 4. In Germany, Fredrick the Great won his title of �Great� by repelling French, Austrian, and Russian armies, even though he was badly outnumbered (skill�). 5. In previous wars, the Americans were not unified, but now they were. 6. In 1754, an intercolonial congress was held in Albany, New York. a. A month before the congress, Ben Franklin had published his famous �Join or Die� cartoon featuring a snake in pieces, symbolizing the colonies. 7. Franklin helped unite the colonists in Albany, but the Albany plan failed because it compromised too much. VI. Braddock�s Blundering and Its Aftermath 1. In the beginning, the British sent haughty 60 year-old general Braddock to lead a bunch of inexperienced soldiers with slow, heavy artillery. 2. In a battle with the French, the British were routed. a. In this battle, Washington reportedly had two horses shot from under him and four bullets go through his coat, but never him. 3. Afterwards, the frontier from Pennsylvania to North Carolina felt the Indian wrath, as scalping was everywhere. 4. As the British tried to attack a bunch of strategic wilderness posts, defeated after defeat piled up. VII. Pitt�s Palms of Victory 1. In this hour of British trouble, William Pitt, the �Great Commoner,� took the lead. 2. In 1757, he became a foremost leader in the London government. 3. Later earning the title of �Organizer of Victory,� he soft-pedaled assaults on the French West Indies, assaults which sapped British strength, and concentrated on Quebec-Montreal. 4. In 1758, Louisbourg fell after a blistering siege. 5. 32 year-old James Wolfe, dashing and attentive to detail, commanded an army that boldly scaled the cliff walls of a part protecting Quebec, met French troops near the Plains of Abraham, and in a battle in which he and French commander Marquis de Montcalm both died, the French were defeated and the city of Quebec surrendered. a. The 1759 Battle of Quebec ranks as one of the most significant engagements in British and American history, and when Montreal fell in 1760, that was the last time French flags would fly on American soil. 6. In the peace treaty at Paris in 1763, Britain got all of Canada, but the French were allowed to retain several small but valuable sugar islands in the West Indies and two never-to-be-fortified islets in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for fishing stations. 7. France�s final blow came when they gave Louisiana to Spain to compensate for Spain�s losses in the war. a. Great Britain took its place as the leading naval power in the world, and a great power in North America. VIII. Restless Colonials 1. The colonists, having experienced war firsthand and come out victors, were very confident. a. However, the myth of British invincibility had been shattered. 2. Ominously, friction developed between the British officers and the colonial �boors.� 3. The British refused to recognize any American officers above the rank of captain. 4. However, the hardworking Americans believed that they were equals with the Redcoats, and trouble began to brew. 5. Brits were concerned about American secret trade with enemy traders during the war; in fact, in the last year of the war, the British forbade the export of all supplies from New England to the middle colonies. 6. Also, many American colonels refused to help fight the French until Pitt offered to reimburse them. 7. During the French and Indian War, though, Americans from different parts of the colonies found, surprisingly to them, that they had a lot in common (language, ideals), and barriers of disunity began to melt. IX. Americans: A People of Destiny 1. Now that the French had been beaten, the colonists could now roam freely, and were less dependent upon Great Britain. 2. The French consoled themselves with the thought that if they could lose such a great empire, maybe the British would one day lose theirs too. 3. Spain was eliminated from Florida, and the Indians could no longer play the European powers against each other, since it was only Great Britain in control now. 4. In 1763, Ottawa chief Pontiac led a few French-allied tribes in a brief but bloody campaign through the Ohio Valley, but the Whites quickly and cruelly retaliated after being caught off guard. a. One commander ordered blankets infected with smallpox to be distributed among the Indians. b. Such violence convinced Whites to station troops along the frontier. 5. Now, land-hungry Americans could now settle west of the Appalachians, but in 1763, Parliament issued its Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting any settlement in the area beyond the Appalachians. a. Actually, this document was meant to work out the Indian problem, but colonists saw it as another form of oppression from a far away country. b. In 1765, an estimated on thousand wagons rolled through the town of Salisbury, North Carolina, on their way �up west� in defiance of the Proclamation. 6. The British, proud and haughty, were in no way to accept this blatant disobedience by the lowly Americans, and the stage was set for the Revolutionary War. X. Makers of America: The French 1. Louis XIV envisioned a French empire in North America, but defeats in 1713 and 1763 snuffed that out. 2. The first French to leave Canada were the Acadians. a. The British who had won that area had demanded that all residents either swear allegiance to Britain or leave. b. In 1755, they were forcefully expelled from the region. 3. The Acadians fled far south to the French colony of Louisiana, where they settled among sleepy bayous, planted sugar cane and sweet potatoes, and practiced Roman Catholicism. a. They also spoke a French dialect that came to be called Cajun. b. Cajuns married Spanish, French, and Germans. c. They were largely isolated in large families until the 1930s, when a bridge-building spree engineered by Governor Huey Long, broke the isolation of these bayou communities. 4. In 1763, a second group of French settlers in Quebec began to leave, heading toward New England because bad harvests led to lack of food in Quebec. a. Most hoped to return to Canada someday. b. These people also preserved their Roman Catholicism and their language. c. Yet today, almost all Cajuns and New England French-Canadians speak English. 5. Today, Quebec is the only sign of French existence that once ruled. a. French culture is strong there in the form of road signs, classrooms, courts, and markets, eloquently testifying to the continued vitality of French culture in North America.
Iroquois Nation - Made up of five neighboring tribes located in Central New York State (Syracuse Area) o Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida and Seneca tribes - Had an agricultural economy based mainly on corn, beans, apples and peaches - Public records were woven in wampum belts - Characteristics of towns o Bark covered longhouses � Contained a large clan � Central rooms were used for social and political purposes - Iroquois Government o Councils were fairly democratic � Delegates were elected by various families, but had to be approved by the chief � Could be impeached o League as a whole had no single leader � Decision were made by a unanimous vote of the League Council - With skilled warfare and unity the Iroquois nation was able to control land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River o Led to a balance of power with the French and the English
Spanish Colonization - Conquistadores (Spanish conquerors) come to America and destroy the Indians with disease, technology and native allies to make New Spain. - Reasons for Spanish Exploration o 3 G�s � God � Gold � Glory - Spanish Explorations and Conquerings o 1513: Ponce De Leon finds Florida � looking for the Fountain of Youth � never found it o 1520: Cortes conquers the Aztec � Montezuma surrenders and give Cortes virtually all empire�s gold o 1528: Cortes conquers Mayans o 1532: Pizarro conquers Incas o 1540: Coronado looks for 7 cities of gold in Arizona � never finds the cities - Most Spanish settlement are located in the Southwest US in what is today New Mexico and Arizona - Types of Spanish Settlements o Pueblos � Towns that were the centers of farming and trade � Gathering place on important occasions � Place of worship o Presidios (BAD COP) � Military barracks � Forts of high adobe walls where soldiers lived � Purpose was to keep Indians in check o Missions (GOOD COPS) � Religious settlements run by Catholic priests � Looked to convert Indians to Christianity - Government in New Spain o Peninsulares � Top of the social order � People who were born in Spain � Sent by the king to rule as viceroys (governor) o Creoles � People born in America to Spanish parents � Owned farms and ranches in New Spain o Mestizos � People of mixed Spanish and Indian background � Worked on farms owned by Creoles o American Indians � Lowest of all people � Worked on mines and plantations in the encomienda system o Treated Poorly � Many die within years of Spanish rule
Puritan New England - Puritans fled New England to escape the wrath of King James I o Sailed over on the Mayflower in 1620 � Signed the Mayflower Compact � Agreement to make laws for the general good of the colony � Established people as the source of political power � Landed in Plymouth, MA in 1620 � John Winthrop is first governor - Massachusetts Bay Colony 1629 o Winthrop founded joint-stock company � Puritans come by the masses prepared to develop good farming villages � Prevented starvation and hunger o Puritans aimed to create a moral society based on the Bible � Led to a close relationship between church and state � Laws reflected Puritan views o Puritan Government � All adult male members of the Puritan church could vote � Legislative body was called the General Court � Made laws and selected the governor - Puritan Dissenters o Roger Williams 1636 � Founded Rhode Island � Separation between church and state � Guaranteed state and religious freedom o Anne Hutchinson 1638 � Believed that people could interpret the Bible by themselves � Banished to Rhode Island in 1638
Settlement of the Middle Colonies - New Netherland (Dutch) o 1609: Hudson sails up the Hudson River on the Half Moon � leads to an establishment of a fur trade with the Iroquois o 1621: Dutch get permission to colonize New Netherland o 1625: Peter Minuit buys Manhattan from the Indians for 25 dollars and names it New Amsterdam o Fur trade becomes profitable, but people do not settle there � Leads to opening of its doors to a variety of many people � Colonies were religiously tolerant and friendly with Indians o 1664: English takeover and rename the colony New York and give part of the land to other and make it New Jersey - Pennsylvania (Quakers) o Given to William Penn as a payment to a debt owed by the King of England o Beliefs of the Quakers � God�s inner light burned inside everyone � Rejected formal ministers, war and military duties o Every male settler was guaranteed 50 acres of land and the right to vote o Quaker government called for a representative assembly and the freedom of religion � Led to friendly relations with Indians o Due to lack of settlers and a need for profit, Penn invites others to come. � Most of the people that come are German and are known as the Pennsylvania Dutch
England and Its Colonies - Mercantilism: economic system in which nations to increase their power and wealth by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and establishing a favorable balance of trade o Colonies played an important part in this system due to their supply of raw materials and serving as a market for finished goods made by the mother country - Navigation Acts 1651 o Made by English Parliament as a reaction to colonies trading with nations other than England o States that colonies can only conduct trade with English or trade goods that are on English ships - After 1688, England adopts a policy of salutary neglect toward the colonies o Salutary Neglect: English policy of relaxing the enforcement of regulations in its colonies � Led to colonial self-government
The Declaration of Independence 1. What does the First Continental Congress do to bring about peace? a. Sends Olive Branch Petition to King George III i. Rejected and claims the colonies are in rebellion ii. Urged Parliament to order a naval blockade of the American coast 2. What does the Continental Congress do to prepare for war? a. Create a Continental Army to be led by George Washington b. Authorized the printing of money to pay for war and soldiers c. Organized a committee to deal with foreign nations 3. Common Sense a. Pamphlet written by Thomas Paine i. Main Ideas 1. King George is a Tyrant 2. the time has come for American Independence 4. What is the purpose of the Declaration of Independence? a. To declare independence b. To list the grievances (problems) of King George III c. To explain reasons for the colonists actions 5. What are the Main Ideas of the Declaration of Independence? a. People have inalienable rights that cannot be taken away b. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness c. Social contract d. People have the right to overthrow a government if it becomes tyrannical e. All men are created equal i. Did not apply to women or slaves
The American Revolution - First Battles o Lexington 1775: home of the shot heard around the world o Concord 1775: o Bunker Hill 1775: First Official Battle of the American Revolution � Deadliest battle in the war - War Moves to the Middle States o Defeat in NY � British strategy was to divide the colonies � To isolate New England, the British decided to seize New York City o Led by General Howe and 32,000 troops o Hired Hessians: German soldiers to help British � Washington led an army of 23,000 men o Troops were untrained with poor equipment and outnumbered by British o British win and Americans Retreat o Battle of Trenton 1776 � Washington launches a sneak attack on the Hessians Christmas night � American victory led to the reenlistment of American troops o Battle of Princeton 1776 � American victory shortly after Trenton � Increased troops morale o Fight for Philadelphia � General Howe had a plan to seize the American capital at Philadelphia � Sailed from NY, up the Chesapeake and defeated Washington�s army at Brandywine Creek o Saratoga 1777 � Burgoyne�s Plan � Lead army down a route of lakes from Canada to Albany where he would meet Howe�s troops and the isolation of New England would be complete o Met resistance as he traveled further south through the woodlands o Supplies ran low as time moved on � Plan did not work o Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys defeated Burgoyne at Bennington, VT o Howe was preoccupied with capturing Philadelphia and wasn�t heading up to Saratoga � Americans surround Burgoyne at Saratoga and force a surrender � Changed British war strategy o Stay away from the countryside and keep their men along the coast � Turning Point of the War � Americans had proof that they could win the war o Led to French involvement in the war o Valley Forge 1777-1778 � Congress did had not money to supply the troops during the winter, and when the French join in, Congress ignored the need for supplies - American Life During the Revolution o Financing the War � Borrowed money by issuing bonds to American investors and foreign governments � Printed paper money � Led to inflation: a general rise in price � Arms and goods had to be smuggled due to a British blockade � Led to profiteering by American gov�t officials o Selling a scarce good for a profit o Civilians at War � Women do their husband�s duties � Opened some doors for African-Americans � 5,000 fought in the Revolution - European Allies Shift the Balance o Frederich von Steuben � Prussian drillmaster volunteered to train American troops an Washington at Valley Forge o Marquis de Lafayette � Came to Valley Forge and lobbied French government to help American cause - British Move South o Early British Success in the South � 1778: British easily capture Savannah, GA � 1779: Royal Governor once again commanded Georgia � 1780: Generals Henry & Cornwallis sailed south with 8,500 men � British captured Charleston, SC and Cornwallis is left by Henry to command British forces in the South. o British Reverses in 1781 � Washington ordered General Nathanael Greene to harass Cornwallis as he retreated � Divided his forces into two groups � January 1781: Americans defeat larger British army at Cowpens, SC � March 1781: Cornwallis defeats Americans at Guilford Courthouse, NC � Cornwallis lost 25 percent of his army o Led to Cornwallis moving the battle grounds to Virginia � April 1781: Cornwallis fails to defeat divisions led by von Steuben and Lafayette � Led to Cornwallis� decision to capture Yorktown - British Surrender at Yorktown o Victory at Yorktown � French naval force defeats a British fleet at blocks the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay � French made it impossible for the British to get supplies � 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula while lobbing shells at them � Cornwallis surrenders one month later o Seeking Peace � Four nations participated in Paris Peace talks of 1782 and each nation had their own interest � Britain: hoped to avoid giving America full independence � France: feared America becoming a major power � Spain: wanted land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River � Continental Congress Representatives � John Adams � Ben Franklin � John Jay o All demanded that Britain recognized full American independence before talk began � Britain did � 1783: Treaty of Paris Signed � confirmed American independence � set new boundaries for the New Nation o East: Atlantic Ocean o West: Mississippi River o North: Canada o South: Florida � Problems o British did not attempt to protect the land interests of the Native American allies o Treaty did not specify that British would evacuate their American forts o Americans did allow loyalists to sue for recovered losses � State gov�t would fail to honor this agreement though - War Becomes a Symbol of Liberty o Impact on American Society � Rise of Egalitarianism � Belief in the equality of all people � Applied only to white males o spurred a growth in the opposition of slavery o Challenges of Creating a New System of Government � Americans had rejected the British form of government in which kings and nobles held power � Set to build a stable republic, a government of the people � Questions Needed to be Addressed o Who should participate in this government? o How should the government answer to its people? o How would a government be set up so that opposing groups of citizens would have a voice?
The New Nation - Leaders of the new nation favored a republic because the people place the power in the hands of capable leaders - Definitions of a republic o People place good of nation over self-interest o Based on self � interest - Each state had made up its own government after the revolution o Each limited the power of its leaders o Guaranteed specific rights of its citizens o Emphasis on liberty over equality o Reflected a fear of centralized authority - Definition of a Republic: system of government in which people elect representative to act on their behalf
The Continental Congress - Three basic questions 1. Representation (by population or state?) � Decision: each state would get one vote in Congress 2. Supreme Power (can it be divided?) � Decision: formed a confederation (an alliance in which states act together on matters of mutual concern) � Both states and federal government would have power 3. Western Lands (who gets them?) � Decision 1: Land Ordinance of 1785 http://www.csuchico.edu/lbib/maps/townsect.html (Click website for Ordinance Map) � Government sold large pieces of land for $1 per acre � Divided 36 square miles into 36 sections � Reserved some sections - Section 16: public education - 2 sections reserved for later sales � Decision 2: Northwest Ordinance 1787 � Sets requirements for the admission of New States 1. Congress would appoint a territorial governor and udges 2. When the population reached 5,000 voting residents, settlers could write a temporary constitution & elect their own government 3. At 60,000, settlers wrote a state constitution which had to be approved by Congress - 1781: The Continental Congress passes The Articles of Confederation
