Political Science (cont.
) Economic Development
Government Participation - While
everyone in the community was a
member of a congregation and was
expected to attend services and support
the church, only those who went through
the arduous process of demonstrating their
spiritual regeneration could become full-
covenant members, thus gaining a say in
both ecclesiastical and secular
government. The civil government had
authority over everyone in the community,
but was controlled by the minority of the
population that had achieved full church
membership.
Culture
Religion Practically all of the citizens were
Puritans. Religious tolerance/diversity was
absent in the Massachusetts colony, for
any that were not Puritans were kicked
out. Quakers began to come and spread
their views, but they were simply banished.
It then escalated to them having their ears
cut off and holes burned in their tongues
with a hot iron. When even this didnt stop
Quaker missionaries, the death penalty
was put into place.
Structures and Tools The Massachusetts
Puritans typically lived in log houses chinked with
moss and clay with earth floors. Many tools and
skills they used in agriculture were adopted from
the natives, due to their friendly relations.
Education - Education was greatly valued,
within ten years of the founding of
Massachusetts Bay, New England had a
vigorous intellectual life of its own expressed
institutionally in a college, a school system and
a printing press applied to sermons, poetry and
history.
Holidays The New England Puritans only
allowed themselves one full holiday in the
course of the year: Thanksgiving Day, a time for
feasting (the celebration of Christmas was not
observed by the true New England Puritan until
The First Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts in
the middle of the 19th century).
1621.This illustrates the middle ground between the Indians and
colonists in Massachusetts.
Resources - The natural materials and
resources available to the colonists in
Massachusetts were fish, whales and
Colonial
timber from the dense forests. The settlers
relied on corn, livestock and fish to create Massachusetts
a booming agricultural industry. They also
traded with England and the West Indies. Politics Culture Economy History
Occupations - The majority of the
workforce in Massachusetts consisted of
manual workers, servants, apprentices,
sailors, hired hands and semi-skilled
tradesmen. Slavery wasnt as big of an
industry in Massachusetts as it was in the
Southern and Caribbean colonies.
Environmental Adaptation- As more and
more Puritans poured into the [Future Solutions Now]
Massachusetts Bay Colony, they began to
form towns and communities to protect
themselves from the harsh winters. Puritans
farmed in the fields surrounding their towns
and grew a variety of different crops. They
grew crops such as corn, beans, squash,
and rye. Some was kept for themselves,
while the rest was traded for profit.
Trade- When the colony was first formed,
people were hesitant to trade, but once
the colony suffered its first economic
depression, they began to trade often with
England and the West Indies. The fur
trading, lumber, and fishing industries
found markets in Europe and the West
Indies, and many wealthy merchants in
Massachusetts bought and sold slaves as
well.
Kayla Cook, Fiona Benson, Faryal Ahmad,
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Massachusetts was essentially made up of 2 colonies:
The Plymouth Colony, which was founded by William
Bradford in 1620, & the Massachusetts Bay Colony,
founded by John Winthrop in 1630.
Historical Summary
Massachusetts is essentially made up of 2
important colonies: the Plymouth Colony and
the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Plymouth Colony
Puritans, an extreme religious group who
believed in reforming the Church of England,
were persecuted for their religious beliefs in
England. The opportunity of having their own
Puritan settlement in America where they
could worship freely acted as an emigrational
pull factor for them. In 1620, 102
Puritans/Separatists arrived in Plymouth,
Massachusetts. They developed the Mayflower
Compact, which is the first written framework
for self-government in America. William
Bradford was both the founder and governor
of the colony. The colony was successful
because of its friendly relations with the
natives. By the time the English had arrived, the
majority of the natives had already been
wiped out by European disease as a result of
the Columbian Exchange. Thus the natives
and settlers formed a middle ground and
coexisted. The natives taught the Europeans
how to cultivate corn, which nourished the
settler population and caused a significant
population growth in Europe.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded
in 1630 by John Winthrop and settled by
Puritan merchants. Winthrop organized a
Great Migration by promoting the colony in
England, which resulted in many Puritan
families migrating to the colony. Each town
organized around their own church
organizations, which were the center of
politics and society. The religious hierarchy &
communities of families created a stable
society for the settlers of Massachusetts.
Major Events/Developments
Plymouth & Massachusetts Bay (1620, 30)
The fact that both colonies were founded by
Puritans seeking their own enclave of territory
majorly affects the development of
Massachusetts in the future.
Roger Williams & Anne Hutchinson (1635)
Williams & Hutchinson were Puritan dissenters.
Williams believed in a separation of church &
state, and Hutchinsons unorthodox views
challenged both religious and social aspects
of colonial Massachusetts.
King Philips War (1675-76)
The English and natives engaged in ongoing
battles over land. The war began in Plymouth
by the English. Indians retaliated by attacking
and destroying 12 colonial settlements. After
the leader of the Indians, Metacom, was
defeated, the English were able to expand
their settlements into previously native
territory.
Salem Witch Trials (1691)
In Salem, MA, a group of girls accused older
women of the town of possessing them with
evil spirits. People began accusing each
other of witchcraft, leading to a mass hysteria
in Salem. The prestige of the Puritan clergy
was greatly damaged after this incident.
Government Origin- In Plymouth, all the settlers
Massachusetts is unique from other colonies
because it was colonized primarily by
Puritans, which affected the culture and
social structure of Massachusetts.
Primary Document
John Winthrop to Nathanial Rich (March 1634)
Our civil Government is mixt: the freemen
choose the magistrates every year...and at 4
courts in the year 3 out of each town (there
being 8 in all) do assist the magistrates in
making laws, imposing taxes, and disposing of
lands. Our Churches are governed by Pastors,
Teachers ruling Elders and Deacons, yet the
power lies in the whole Congregation and not
in the Presbytery further than for order and
precedence. For the natives, they are near all
dead of the smallpox, so the Lord hath
cleared our title to what we possess.
- John Winthrop, 1634
Winthrop describes 3 main factors that make
Colonial Massachusetts unique. First it
describes the democratic government
unique to the colony of Massachusetts.
Secondly, it describes the Congregational
Church, which shows how Puritanism dictated
society. Lastly, he mentions how there
werent many Indians. He fails to mention that
these Indians aided his colony by teaching
them agriculture, but this immensely helped
the colony stabilize and develop.
Political Science
Government - The Massachusetts colony was a
theocracy, a society in which the line between
church and state was hard to see. The original
colony charter the eight stockholders (or
freemen) were to meet as a general court to
choose officers & adopt rules for the corporation
(but eventually the definition of freemen
changed into all male citizens, not just
stockholders).
Founder -The colony was founded by John
Winthrop and Puritan settlers who had received
a charter from Charles I. Thus, the colony was
majorly religious.
agreed on the Mayflower Compact for government. In
Massachusetts Bay, the Puritan congregational
churches dictated government. Within these churches,
the congregations elect officers of government.