The Settlement of America
Exploration
The story of the founding of the United States is one of exploration, settlement and immigration. There were many factors involved in the settling of the American colonies. They include:
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· the search for material riches, usually gold (Spanish) · the search for foreign markets, resources and trade routes (French and Dutch) · the development of colonies for economic benefit (English) · religious freedom (English) · availability of land, so scarce in Europe
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However, we would be remiss if we didn’t first account for the original Americans, those peoples native to the land.
Native Americans
The Native American peoples were the first to inhabit the Americas. They crossed the land bridge from Asia (Bering Strait) and migrated into North America 11,000 years ago. From there they spread throughout the Americas in the first 1,000 years. They did not develop one distinct culture as many popular myths would tell us.
Over 500 nations existed as the Americas were much more populated than we could imagine. Contact with European settlers brought conflict and most importantly, disease. Upwards of 85% of Native American peoples died off due to diseases such as smallpox.
The Northeast
The Native Americans who populated the Northeast were divided into three distinct groups.
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· The Eastern Woodland were the first to encounter the Europeans. Without any time to adapt or prepare, they were the most decimated and dispersed of the North American tribes. Major tribes include the Delaware and the Powhatan of Pocahontas fame. The treatment the Eastern Woodland faced from the English colonial settlers ranged from an outright racist attempt by the Puritans to remove them from the land (by removal or death) to the Virginians who felt they were an inferior, backwards race needing to be educated and civilized. · The Iroquois are the most famous of the Northeast tribes, the main tribes being the Mohawk, Oneida, Seneca, Onondaga, and Cayuga. The writings of James Fenimore Cooper, such as The Last of the Mohicans, reflect this society. · The Central Algonquian lived in the Lake Michigan and Superior regions and included the Chippewa of Wisconsin and the Potttowatami of present da Chicago. They were most known for their ability to use the natural resource of birch bark to build necessities from the very best canoes, to water containers and wigwams for homes.
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Known as the Five Civilized Tribes – the Cherokee (Ga.,NC), Choctaw(MS), Chickasaw, Creek(AL) and Seminole (FL). The Cherokee in particular were known for their written language and a constitution.
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The dominant cultural features of the Plains Indians included the use of the ample buffalo for food and clothing as well as the tipi for shelter in a nomadic lifestyle. The most famous of these tribes were the Sioux of the Black Hills.
Plateau
Constituting the present states of Washington and Idaho, the Plateau was an area of rich resources, mountains and rivers. The tribes in the area included the Nez Perce. They subsisted by fishing (salmon). Louis and Clark opened the way for settlers and were warmly welcomed by the Nez Perce in 1805)
What makes the Southwest so unique is that there are two nations (U.S. and Mexico) but just one culture, dominated by Native Americans. The Spanish attempted to conquer the land, but were resisted by the Apache and the Pueblos. They did introduce Christianity and their language. However, even though they conquered land, they were not able to establish a large enough presence to conquer the culture. Some isolated groups remain untouched.
Homework Assignment #1
1. Discuss the reason for the settling of what would become the United States?
2. Discuss the Native Americans of the Northeast.
a.
b.
c.
3. Discuss the 5 Civilized Tribes.
4. Discuss the Native Americans of the Plains.
5. Discuss the Native Americans of the Plateau and Basin.
6. Discuss the Native Americans of the Southwest.
Southern Colonies
Virginia and John Smith
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In 1607, the settlement of Jamestown was founded in what would become Virginia. Jamestown was in a very poor location and the majority of settlers had come looking for easy riches (gold) refusing to work in the fields. By the winter of 1607 there were only 38 colonists left alive. If not for the strict leadership of John Smith and the constant aid and advice from the local natives (Powhatan), the colony would have been doomed. To Smith we owe the famous story of Pocahontas. The story recounts how Pocahontas, favorite daughter of Chief Powhatan, saved Captain Smith's life when he was a prisoner of the chief. |
“brown gold”
| The story of this colony almost ends here, except for the coming of John Rolfe in 1612 and his experiments with growing tobacco. (In 1614, Rolfe married Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas) Demand in England for tobacco ("brown gold") gave the colony the commodity it needed to build its success around. The need for laborers to grow the tobacco led to indentured servitude (contracts to work for 4-7 years in exchange for the passage to America) and the earliest African indentured servants (eventual slavery). Relations with the Native Americans was never more than a tense peace, as tobacco is very tough on the soil and growers were constantly looking for new land to farm, thus placing great pressures on the natives that occupied the colony with them. In the next twenty years over 10,000 English settlers and soldiers were sent and the population of the Powhatan continued to drop. |
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“Distressed Cavaliers”
By the 1640’s, the Puritans were in control of England. The governor of Virginia, Sir William Berkeley used this to recruit “distressed cavaliers” to come to the colony to get away from the Puritans. Known as the Cavalier migration (1642-1676), this brought the wealthy families (and their numerous indentured servants) that would successfully populate Virginia and eventually colonies around it.
Maryland, North and South Carolina, Georgia
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· In 1634, George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) was granted a charter to settle Maryland as a haven for Catholics. Americas first religious toleration act was passed as a protection for these Catholics that would soon become a minority due to Protestant migration.
· In 1663, the king granted a charter for the Carolinas to a group of wealthy planters. The planters had difficulty recruiting settlers to the region until a large group migrated from the island of Barbados, bringing with them the concepts of plantations and slavery.
· In 1733, Georgia was settled as a buffer between the wealthy plantations in the Carolinas and Spanish Florida. To settle the region debtors from British jails were used.
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Cavalier Culture
These “Distressed Cavaliers” included many of the Virginia elite families such as Randolph, Madison, Byrd and Washington. They brought a highly stratified society (rich and poor), dominated by males. They were less skilled and less literate than their Puritan counterparts and 75% of them were indentured servants. They were Anglican and quite religious, persecuting and driving out others. Children were named after warriors, kings and queens (William, Robert, Richard, Edward, George, Charles) and child rearing was seemingly indulgent, preparing the son especially to take their place in the family hierarchy (Social grace). Education was only for the elite men.
“fried chicken”
From southern England they brought southern speech patterns (I be, Y’all, etc), houses built of brick (wealthy) or wood (poorer – very simple, built out of anything), and “southern cooking” – the poor ate mush (harmony or corn porridge), or mess (one dish meal of greens and salt meat); the wealthy ate red meat (roast beef)and game . Eating was a sensual experience, enjoyed in courses.
Cavalier ethic
Dress more opulent than Massachusetts (slashed sleeves, cuffs). Sport involved horse racing and hunting and they settled in large estates scattered around countryside. The ambivalence of cavalier ethic was that they had to work hard, but strove to be a “gentleman” by not working.
Liberty was important, but involved the power to rule of others while not being ruled by others. It never occurred to them that liberty belonged to everyone. Accordingly, they believed in limited government
Homework Assignment #2
1. Discuss the difficulties faced by the settlers at Jamestown.
2. Discuss the role of “brown gold.”
3. Discuss the “distressed cavaliers.”
4. Discuss the settling of:
a. Maryland
b. the Carolinas
c. Georgia
5. Discuss 5 aspects of the cavalier culture.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
In class journal: How does the Governor’s Mansion in Williamsburg show the concept of royalty?
Middle Colonies
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New York and New Jersey In 1625, the Dutch founded the city of New Amsterdam (NYC) and the colony of New Netherlands. The colony was founded solely for economic reasons to establish trading posts with the Iroquois along the Hudson River. In 1664 the English drove out the Dutch and the colony was renamed New York.. (New Jersey had originally been founded in 1638 as New Sweden.) Pennsylvania and Delaware The leader of the Quakers in England, William Penn, wanted to establish a colony that was good and fair and consistent with the Quaker values of tolerance, acceptance and inclusion. He recruited around Europe for his "Holy Experiment." Pennsylvania was founded in 1681. Along with Quakers from England, he attracted French, German, Scottish, Irish and Dutch settlers. In 1682, Penn acquired the three "lower counties" . Delaware gave Penn access to the ocean for trade.
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Quaker Culture
The Quakers believed Christ died for all, not just a chosen few. They came from moderate to humble means and their families were less hierarchal – a union of equal individuals in sight of God (including children.) Sex was for propagation only, almost a sin in itself and many couples were celibate. They often would not touch food tainted by social evil (sugar – slavery; salt – taxes for-war), simple and austere. Brought process of dehydration to preserve meat (Quaker dried beef), cream (cream cheese) and fruit (apple butter.) Dress was only what was needed to cover their shame and fence out cold. Work was seen as a form of worship, encouraged industry, discipline and condemned idleness. They were among the earliest to commit to philanthropy and charity and believed in reciprocal liberty (all deserved.)
Backcountry/Borderlands Culture
The people of the backcountry came from the northernmost parts of England, Scotland and Ireland and passed right through Philadelphia and settled in Appalachians, Ozarks, Lower Miss. Valley and Texas. They were middle to lower class, a culture dominated by violence and insecurity. Famous families included Jackson, Polk, Jackson, Houston, and Henry.
hillbillies
Their speech included words such as whar, thar, young-uns, he come in, he done it, and they growed up. There was no equality – men were in control. Family – clan and kin – included related families that lived near each other and shared an identity, common ancestors. They were extremely loyal to clan. They had wild parties to celebrate weddings, a lot of whiskey and shooting! Sex was much more in the open; a celebration of sensuality. They dressed sexy and revealing and had a high rate of premarital pregnancy.
Children were raised to gain the skills to exist in a harsh life, fierce pride and stubborn independence. Antipathy existed towards organized religion and churches, but not to preachers and preaching. Therefore, camp meetings and itinerant preachers became the norm.
book larning...
Little literacy existed, even with the elite. Andrew Jackson was said to have read two books in his life and mistrusted anyone who only had one way to spell words! Theirs was an oral culture. Potatoes and scones (unleavened cakes or biscuits) were standard. They drank whiskey (even children) with meals. Simmering pot (boiling of food) feasts were common, with black iron cooking pots hung over back country hearths. Their dress accentuated both masculinity and femininity.
They believed in self sovereignty for order (personal government) and natural liberty (nobody can take any rights away from you! – Patrick Henry!)
Homework Assignment #3
1. Discuss the settling of New York and New Jersey.
2. Discuss William Penn and the Holy Experiment.
3. Discuss 6 aspects of Quaker culture.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
4. Discuss 6 aspects of the backcountry culture.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
New England
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Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay In England, the Puritans felt that the Protestant Church of England (Anglican) was still too close to the corrupt Catholic Church. Led by William Bradford, the Pilgrims sailed to America, landing at Plymouth in 1620. The leaders signed the Mayflower Compact, an important landmark in the development of the American system of democracy. Led by John Winthrop, the Puritans founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony by present day Boston. The colony fared much better than Jamestown had in the early years (better planning, larger numbers and much more healthy environment) and by 1640 had grown to over 20,000 people, enveloping the smaller Plymouth Colony. City Upon a Hill The Puritans felt they had a special covenant with God and were to create a moral society to serve as a beacon for others to follow. ("City Upon a Hill") Winthrop envisioned this community working together toward common goals according to Christian principles, with a close relationship between the state and the church. (congregational system) They believed they had to carry out god's will and called on the people to work long and hard in the name of God (Puritan work ethic). Church attendance was mandatory and all members of the community were watched for signs of disobedience. |
Witches and Commies – they’re all the same!
This overemphasis on the on the actions of the community did have a large negative component, the inability of the Puritans to tolerate those who were different or who disagreed with them. This Puritan trait of intolerance led to three significant historical occurrences.
· In 1692, young girls playing games accused an African slave of practicing witchcraft. This eventually led to wholesale accusations, many motivated by class differences within the community, and the hanging of 19 innocent citizens. (Salem Witch Trials) The inflexibility of the community led to the growth of the hysteria surrounding these occurrences, as they would in modern day parallels such as Communist scares, racism and gay-bashing.
· Native Americans were treated as "heathen" and brutally suppressed by the Puritans. This separates the Puritans from the Cavaliers in Virginia, who thought the natives were backward savages and could be lived with. The Puritans systematically drove the natives off their land (many times to take cultivated land they themselves had not been successful at creating.) The first major conflict (Pequot War of 1637) led to the near destruction of the Pequot nation, as nearly 400 women and children were murdered as ran from the Puritan attacks.
· Dissent from within the Puritan colony was not accepted, leading to the banishment of notable leaders such as Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson. Williams felt that the Puritans had no right to illegally take land from the natives and banish settlers for their religious beliefs. He was banished in 1636 and settled a new colony called Providence (Rhode Island). Hutchinson practiced an extreme religion and was banished in 1638, also moving to Rhode Island.
Oh that whine!
They had a high rate
of literacy and origins in East Anglia (east of London.) Their speech included
the Yankee twang and Norfolk whine and they lived Salt box houses with wood
clapboard siding. Family was not an end to itself, but an instrument of the
highest religious purpose, a covenanted family. The nuclear family is
most important. Males were more important than females and sex was as an
expected occurrence and could indeed be enjoyed. Adultery and fornication were
serious crimes and both partners would be punished equally. Children were to be
totally obedient (due to their ability to be evil) and under strict and constant
supervision.
Church, church, church!
Religious meeting houses were on a hilltop, bare and simple. The pulpit was up high, lectures lasted all day on Sunday. They were obsessed with and feared witchcraft. All were educated and town schools were set up (precursor to required public education.) They greatly supported higher learning (colleges- Harvard.) Eating was not to be enjoyed, but necessary. All food came at once, piled high. Food was boiled (meat and vegetables together) relentlessly, without any seasoning. Cold baked beans was the staple. Baking (breads and pies) in ovens was common. Dress was simple, with “sadd” colors – brown, russet, tawny, dead leaf. No black! Colleges still use (Harvard–crimson; Brown-brown, Dartmouth – forest green) these colors.
Alarm clocks?
They did not like to waste any time and invented alarm clocks. They sought to eliminate the extremes of rank (rich and poor). The New England town was a small cluster of houses (neighborhoods) around meeting halls, schools, common areas and markets. Societal order was kept by force and freedom was a collective liberty (for community, not the individual)
Homework Assignment # 4
1. Discuss the Puritans
2. Discuss the success of Massachusetts Bay.
3. Discuss the City Upon the Hill.
4. Discuss 3 results of intolerance.
a.
b.
c.
5. Discuss 5 aspects of Puritan culture.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.