New England Colonies

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New

Hampshire

What evidence shown in this picture suggest that the

settlers did not yet feel safe?

Settlers of the New

England Colonies
Puritans- Protestants -wanted to
reform the church
Pilgrims- Separatists- wanted
religious freedom

Puritans came to North America in

1629- Massachusetts Bay Colony

1630- John Winthrop led 17 ships

with more than 1000 puritans
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Puritan children worked hard and
followed strict ideas of disciplinehad chores, religious duties but
still had time to play- jacks,
marbles, hide and seek
The Great Migration-15,000
Puritans made the journey to
Massachusetts in the 1630s

Typical New England Town

Towns were the center of New England life

The Common- located in the center of townconsisted of green grass area
Meetinghouse-most important part of townfaced south- used for church and town meetings
Social Status influenced where people lived in a
New England town
Saltbox- house with two stories in the front and
on story in the back with a long sloping roof
Most houses were built around a large central
fireplace that was used for heating and cooking

The New England Colonies

Puritans were trying to
create a society based
on the laws of God
Bachelors in New
England- frowned uponhad to pay 20 shillings a
week for the right to live
alone or they had to live
with family of the towns
choice

Agriculture in New England Colonies

Climate was harsh- caused short growing season and
long winters
Land was rocky, bushy, wild, and woody wilderness
Subsistence farming- settlers could only farm one crop
at a time-enough to feed their own needs but not
enough to make a profit
Hunted in forests for deer and hogs

Massachusetts Bay Colony-John

Winthrop
Puritan
Governor of Massachusetts
Bay Company in Boston.
Only allowed stockholders
who had invested money in
the Massachusetts Bay
Company to vote at first.
Only allowed male church
members to elect
representatives to the
General Court.

Connecticut
Thomas Hooker believed the power of government rests
upon the free consent.
May of 1636- Hooker and 100 settlers migrated to
Connecticut River valley and away from Winthrop &
Massachusetts Bay.
Hartford- town built on Connecticut River.
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut- government written
by settlers-first constitution in the English Colonies
Two differences- gave all men right to vote & limited
governments power

1662 Connecticut became separate colony

Quick Check
1. Describe the Great Migration.
2. What kind of society did the Puritans want?
3. What is subsistence farming?
4. What was the purpose of the meeting house?
5. Describe a New England colony house.
6. Who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

Roger Williams
He believed that:
Business of church and state should be
separate
Believed state should maintain order
State should not support a particular church
Religious tolerance
Non-church male members should be
allowed to vote
King of England did not have the right to
give land to settlers in North America be he
thought it belonged to the Native
Americans.

Rhode Island
Nicknamed Rogues Island
Roger Williams was ordered by the General Court to
return to England but fled under Winthrop advisement.
Williams bought land from the Native Americans and
obtained a charter for his colony.
First called Providence Plantations- later joined with other
towns and became Rhode Island Colony
Allowed complete freedom of religion
Did not have a state church or require settlers to attend
church services
Gave all white men the right to vote

New Hampshire
1680
King of England made colony
Native Americans had lived on the land for thousands of years
Settlers believed that Native Americans did not make good use
of the land even thought Native Americans depended on the
land for farming and hunting
War broke out- English accuses Pequots of killing 2 white
traders in Connecticut- settlers retaliated by attacking Pequot
town killing 400 unarmed men, women, and children.
After the attack, most Pequots were killed and English took over

King Philips War 1675

Wampanoag leader Metacom - called King Philip by the English
Metacom stood up against settlers who were moving onto
Native American lands near Plymouth
War lasted 15 months
Native Americans burned white settlers homes that were on
Native American land.
White settlers retaliated by killing Native Americans and
burned their farmland
Metacom was captured and killed. His family along with 1,000
others were sold into slavery in the West Indies.

Government in the
New England Colonies
Representative government
Mayflower Compact- agreement to form their own government
Creation of colonial legislative (General Court) - gave
Massachusetts's Bay settlers a role in government
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut- first written constitution

Town meetings- discuss questions that affected the

town. Debated and voted on issues. Gave New
Englanders a chance to speak their minds. (Encouraged
the growth of democratic ideas)
Believed issues with religion and government should be
settled in their own communities

Quick Check
1. Why did Thomas Hooker leave Massachusetts's Bay
Colony?
2. Why did Roger Williams leave Massachusetts's Bay
Colony?
3. Why did the white settlers believe they had a right to
Native American lands?
4. What is representative government?
5. Explain the Mayflower Compact.
6. Explain the General Court.
7. What was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut?

Economy of New England Colonies

Fishing was the main source of income
Cod, halibut, herring, mackerel, oysters, and
lobsters
Whale hunting

Shipbuilding Industry

Encouraged by England
Provided jobs for craft-workers and laborers
Built ships from cedar, oak, and white pine
Royal Navy had selection of the best trees

Forests
Collected sweet sap for maple sugar
Tar, pitch, and turpentine for ship building

Women in the Economy

Women worked side by side
with their husbands
Merchants
Open shops
Made cloth, garments,
candles, soap, or furniture

Triangular Trade Routes

Boston and Newport Harbors- trading ships sailed in and
out
Boston became largest city in the colonies by 174017,000 people
Regular trading routes shaped in a triangle
Ships went to West Indies with fish, grain, meat, and
lumber and traded for sugar and molasses and fruit.
Then the ship took that back to New England Colonies
where they made rum.
The rum was then sent to West Africa and traded for
Africans and they were taken back to the West Indies

Triangular Trade Routes

Quick Check
1. How did settlers make money in the New England
colonies?
2. In what ways did settlers make use of being so close
to the water?
3. What did women do in the colonies?
4. What is the triangular trade route?
5. Name the largest city in the colonies.
6. Why was it the largest?

Religion
Community centered around religion
No work allowed on Sundays
Service on Sunday at meeting house
Men sat on one side of the center isle while women on the other side
Servants/African slaves on balcony or in the back

Several hours of intense preaching- another service in the afternoon

Tithingman- walked up and down the isle carrying a long pole with a
feather on one end and a knob on the other end- if a person became
sleepy then they would be tickled gently or rapped on the head

Education
Puritans believed in Education- wanted people to have
enough education to read the Bible
Dame Schools- Women taught the alphabet, reading, verses
from the Bible, and simple arithmetic
Some teachers saw corporal punishment as an integral part
of education. Believed that students wouldnt learn without
regular beatings
Hornbook- flat wooden board shaped like a paddle- used for
textbooks because books were scarce
1690 Boston printers began to publish the New England
Primer- books soon illustrated alphabet verses and simple
religious texts appeared in most New England homes and
schools
Massachusetts School Law- 1647- set up first public school
system- every township with 50 households had to hire
someone to teach children to read and write

Harvard
1636
Cambridge,
Massachusetts
Mainly trained
Ministers
Doctors and Lawyers
were trained by
working along side
professionals

Quick Check
What was a tithingman?
How important was religion to settlers?
Describe a church meeting using who, what, when, where, why.
Which settlers believed in education?
Name the school in which children attended in the New England
colonies.
How did the Boston printers change education?
What was the Massachusetts School Law of 1647?
Name the first college established in the New England Colonies.
What was the original purpose of this college?

3-2-1 Exit Slip

3 things you have learned
2 things you found interesting
1 questions you still have