13 Colonies

Thirteen Colonies.mp4

Regions of the Thirteen Colonies.mp4

Building the Thirteen Colonies.mp4

Colonial America.mp4

13 Colonies_ Comparing Regions New England, Middle, and Southern.mp4

13 Colonies_ Colonial Governments & English Influence.mp4

Why were European nations interested in controlling territory in North America?

By controlling territory in North America, European nations hoped to control natural resources, like fur and lumber. In addition, North America provided new opportunities for countries to increase their wealth. For example, England grew wealthy from the colonial tobacco industry.

English colonists were among the first Europeans to arrive in eastern North America. Both economic factors, or things related to money, and social factors, or things related to people, motivated free people to come to the colonies.

Forced labor

Not all people who ended up in the English colonies came there by choice. Slave traders took Africans from their native lands by force and brought them to North America, often by way of the Caribbean. These enslaved people were made to work against their will.

What social classes did English colonists come from?

Some wealthy Englishmen became planters and merchants in the colonies. But most colonists came from the lower working classes of England. These colonists included farm workers, urban laborers, and artisans. Many people left England to seek greater economic opportunity in the colonies.

To get to the colonies, Europeans had to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. The journey could take up to ten weeks, and several factors made it an unpleasant or even dangerous experience.

Why was crossing the ocean so frightening?

Most ordinary English people did not know much about ocean travel, but they had heard stories of ships sinking and being attacked by pirates. These stories convinced many people that ocean travel was extremely unsafe. Many women refused to accompany their husbands to the colonies for this reason. As one woman wrote, she preferred to be "a living wife in England than a dead one at sea."

What was the greatest danger?

Disease. Cramped and dirty quarters, combined with a lack of fresh food, made disease a serious danger onboard.

Many different types of people immigrated or were forced to come to North America in the early colonial era.

How can historians learn about daily life in the colonies?

Historians can study the daily lives of colonial people by examining diaries, letters, and other records. For example, some 17th-century people kept diaries where they wrote about their daily activities.

Historians can also work with archaeologists to examine physical artifacts found in areas where colonial homes used to stand. Here are some of the types of objects found in colonial homes:

- spoons, forks, and knives
- beads
- fishing hooks
- horseshoes
- coins

One of the first permanent English settlements in North America was the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The leaders of the colony were Puritans who disagreed with the teachings of the Church of England. They wanted to reform the church, but they were persecuted for these views. Over the course of the 1600s, about 30,000 Puritans traveled to the English colonies to practice their religion freely. John Winthrop, who later became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, gave a famous speech to Puritans who were traveling to North America in 1630. Winthrop described the goals of the colony that he planned to establish. Read the passage from the speech.

The Lord will be our God, and. . .will command a blessing upon us in all our ways.. . . We shall find that [God] is among us when. . .men shall say of [future settlements], "may the Lord make it like that of New England." For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.

Why did the Puritans want to create a "city upon a hill?"

In addition to leaving England for religious reasons, many Puritans disapproved of the government in England.

In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Puritans could worship according to their beliefs and enforce ideal Puritan behavior. Many Puritans believed that if their colony prospered under the Puritan way of life, other nations would be inspired to be more like them.

Because Puritan leaders wanted Massachusetts Bay Colony to be a moral and religious example for the rest of the world, they created laws that enforced moral behavior. The Puritans were guided by the Bible, and their laws reflected that. Read how the Bible described three crimes.

A man or woman who is a [witch] among you must be put to death. (Leviticus 20:27)

Anyone who [swears against God], he shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24:15–16)

Whoever strikes a man so that he dies, he shall be put to death. (Exodus 21:12)

Did the Puritan church run the government?

The Massachusetts Bay Colony government was not run by the church. In fact, the colonial government made it illegal for church ministers to hold public office. However, the Puritans did believe that the government should enforce moral behavior, which was defined by the Bible. The rules listed below come from a children's book written by a Puritan author and printed in Boston in 1702. Read the passages from the book.

[M]any times when children have lost or broken something, . . . for fear of their Father's or Mother's anger, they will . . . tell a lie to excuse themselves. But my dear children think with yourselves, is it not better to have your Father angry with you, than God angry with you? . . .

Sleep not at church, nor at prayers, for [whomever] sleeps at prayers or at a sermon, the Devil rocks the cradle. . . .

Lastly, my dear children, . . . obey your parents in the Lord.

Why did Puritans write books for children?

Although there are many children's books published today, children's books were much less common in the 17th century. But the Puritans believed that every child should learn to read so that he or she could read the Bible. Since almost all Puritan children learned how to read, authors in the 17th and 18th centuries began writing texts especially for children.

Why was religion such a big part of Puritan children's books?

Many Puritans believed that parents were in charge of raising moral and religious children. So, many Puritan children's books contain religious lessons and warnings. The Puritans worried that without a clear religious upbringing, their children would stray into evil.

Puritans generally thought of their community as made up of many families rather than many individuals.

Why was family so important to Puritans?

The Puritans saw families as a way to organize their communities. For example, the father of the household was expected to "rule" over his family like a small monarch. He represented the family in church and managed the family's land and finances. If a husband was away or unable to lead his family, the wife would take on his role.

The two passages below describe Puritan marriage. The first passage is a modern historian's description of how Puritans decided whom to marry. The second passage is from a poem written by Anne Bradstreet, a famous Puritan poet. Read the passages.

A modern historian's description

For the Puritans love was not a prerequisite for marriage. They believed that the choice of a marriage partner should be guided by rational considerations of property, religious piety, and family interest, not by physical attraction, personal feelings, or romantic love.

prerequisite: requirement

rational: practical or logical

piety: devotion

Anne Bradstreet's poem, To My Dear and Loving Husband, 1678

If ever two were one, then surely we;

If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;

If ever wife was happy in a man,

Compare with me, ye women, if you can.

I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,

Or all the riches that the East doth hold.

Were all Puritan marriages happy?

No, but many were. The Puritans didn't believe in marrying just because people fell in love. But it was not unusual for Puritans to be in loving partnerships that were first arranged for practical reasons. However, there were also many Puritan marriages that were unhappy.

How did Puritans arrange marriages?

Puritan parents didn't often tell their children exactly whom to marry, but they could reject a child's choice. Usually, a young couple who wanted to get married would propose the marriage to their parents. If the two sets of parents agreed to the marriage, then the families negotiated a trade of property that could include land, tools, and livestock.

Many Quakers emigrated from England to the colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. Quakers were Christians who rejected church authority because they believed God communicated with individual people. In England, Quakers were persecuted, or punished for their beliefs. Read the passage written by Thomas Jefferson in 1801 about the history of Quakers in Virginia.

The poor Quakers were flying from persecution in England. They cast their eyes on these [colonies] as asylums of civil and religious freedom; but they found them free only for the [religious groups in charge]. Several acts of the Virginia assembly . . . had prohibited the unlawful assembling of Quakers, had made it [illegal] for any master of a vessel to bring a Quaker into the state; [and] had ordered those already here, and such as should come thereafter, to be imprisoned.

flying: fleeing or escaping

asylums: shelters

prohibited: made something illegal

assembling: gathering

Why were the Quakers persecuted in England?

Quakers were Christians, but they had several beliefs that set them apart from other Christians.

The Quakers did not believe in taking oaths, or formal promises.
The Quakers were pacifists, or people who opposed any use of violence.

These beliefs meant that many Quakers would not swear loyalty to the king of England or fight in wars. Other English people believed the Quakers were not loyal to England or its king.

Why were they persecuted in the colonies?

Many Quakers traveled and served as missionaries, or people who spread a religion. Colonial leaders in colonies such as Virginia and Massachusetts disagreed with Quaker religious practices and treated the Quaker missionaries harshly. Some Quaker missionaries were even killed for preaching their beliefs to others.

William Penn founded the colony of Pennsylvania as a place where Quakers and others could practice their religion freely. Among other freedoms, Quakers were allowed to worship as a community in church services called meetings.

What were Quaker meetings like?

Colonial Quaker meetings were unstructured. In other words, there were no set readings or sermons. Instead, Quakers gathered and sat together until someone felt inspired to speak to the group. Both men and women were allowed to speak at meetings, which was not common among other religious groups in the colonies.

The illustrations below show how Quakers and English gentry, a social class that owned land, might have dressed in the late 1600s.

Why did Quakers wear simple clothing?

Although they look elaborate by modern standards, Quaker clothes were considered plain in their time. English gentry displayed their wealth through richly decorated clothing, but Quakers believed in simplicity and modesty. They believed that luxury distracted them from practicing Christianity and developing an "inner light," or a personal connection with God. Quakers believed that living a simple life made it easier to connect with God.

The following passage comes from a Pennsylvania statute, or law, passed in 1682. Read the passage.

[No person shall] at any time be compelled to [attend] or maintain any religious worship, place, or ministry . . .

And if any person shall abuse or [mock] any other for his or her different . . . practice in matters of religion, such person shall be looked upon as a disturber of the peace and be punished . . .

compelled: forced

Indentured servitude was a labor system used in the colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries. The diagram below shows the process through which indentured servants were brought from Europe to work on farms in Virginia. The market for indentured servants succeeded because both servants and the planters they worked for benefitted from the exchange.

Did all indentured servants come to Virginia?

No. Although many servants came to Virginia and worked on tobacco farms, indentured servants could be found in all the colonies. They worked in different settings including farms, cities, workshops, and households.

What was the difference between an indentured servant and an enslaved person?

Most enslaved people remained enslaved for their entire lives. Eventually, colonial laws would state that the children of enslaved people would also be enslaved. Slavery passed from one generation to the next.

However, an indentured servant only worked for a set period of years. After the end of the contract, indentured servants were free people. Some even received freedom dues, or small amounts of money or farmland, at the end of their contract.

In the early and mid-1600s, most indentured servants in the colonies came from England. Indentured servants had many reasons for making such a long and dangerous journey. Some of the reasons were push factors, or things that encouraged servants to leave England. Other reasons were pull factors, or things that attracted servants to the colonies.

Did the colonies live up to the servants' hopes?

Generally, wages were higher and land was cheaper in the colonies. However, not all servants were actually given their freedom dues, or the land or money they had been promised at the end of their contract. Servants were also often mistreated by their employers. And many indentured servants died before their contract ended. Overall, life as an indentured servant was hard.

Who was the average indentured servant?

Most indentured servants were unmarried men from England between 15 and 25 years old who were indentured for four to seven years. Before coming to the colonies, many servants had been farmers or had practiced specific trades. Some servants, especially younger men, had no set occupation.

While most indentured servants were men, a few were women. An English indentured servant named Elizabeth Sprigs wrote a letter to her father describing her experience. Read the passage from her letter.

[We] unfortunate English people suffer here . . . .[I am] toiling almost day and night, and very often in the horse's drudgery, . . . then tied up and whipped to that degree that you'd not serve an animal, scarce anything but Indian corn and salt to eat . . . no shoes nor stockings to wear . . . . What rest we can get is to [wrap] ourselves up in a blanket and [lie] upon the ground.

toiling: working hard

horse's drudgery: boring, hard work

scarce: barely

Why were servants treated so poorly?

Employers often mistreated their servants because they considered the servants to be their property for the period of the contract. Employers also wanted to keep the cost of feeding and housing servants low while getting them to work as much possible.

Such poor conditions meant that few servants survived to the end of their contract. Some died during the ocean passage, others died of disease in the colonies, and many died because of poor living conditions. Some historians estimate that only about 40% of indentured servants in the colonies lived to see the end of their contracts.

Many servants tried to escape the mistreatment and poor living conditions of indentured servitude. The following advertisements for runaway servants were published in a newspaper called The Virginia Gazette. Read the advertisements.

- - September 24, 1736 Ran away, on Saturday the 14th of August last from the [owner's] plantation, in Middlesex County, a convict servant man, named Thomas Rennolds, by trade a shoemaker; he is of a small stature, smooth-faced, and about twenty years of age. He took with him several shoemaker's tools,. . .and, 'tis supposed, he also took with him a small [brown] horse.
  - January 11, 1737 On Sunday last, ran away. . .a servant man, named Thomas Cellars.. . .He is a small man, of about five feet two inches high; his left eye quite out, by a blow from a horse;. . .an Englishman by birth, plays very well on the violin, or fiddle.. . .Whoever will bring the said runaway to me, shall be. . .rewarded.

What happened to servants who ran away?

Some runaway servants were captured and brought back to their employers. Servants who tried to escape sometimes had their contracts extended or were otherwise punished. Others succeeded in escaping indentured servitude and lived life as free people in the colonies.

The charts below show the labor status of people who arrived in the British colonies during two different time periods.

Before 1700, approximately half of the people who arrived in the colonies were indentured servants. After 1700, nearly half of the people who arrived in the colonies were enslaved people.

Why were there fewer indentured servants after 1700?

Fewer indentured servants came to the colonies after 1700 in part because of changes in the English economy:

- The population in England grew more slowly, so there were fewer people competing for jobs.
- Wages in England increased, so servants did not have to come to the colonies to find economic opportunity.

These changes meant that purchasing an indentured servant's contract was more expensive for planters than purchasing an enslaved person. Because of these changes in price, enslaved people became a larger source of labor for planters in the colonies after 1700.

What were Virginia plantations like in the 1600s?

In early colonial Virginia, plantations were small. The average planter owned about eight to ten enslaved people. In the 1600s, it was common for white planters and indentured servants to work alongside enslaved people on the plantation. Later on, labor in Virginia became more segregated by race.

How were enslaved people treated in early Virginia?

For much of the 17th century, there were almost no colonial laws that limited rights based on race. So, some enslaved people were able to manage and own their own property, including livestock and plots of land. Those who gained enough property and sold it were able to purchase their freedom and become planters on their own. African American people who gained freedom were able to move through the colony roughly equally with white colonists. Over time, the Virginia government began passing laws that took away these rights.

The following passage describes the status of African American people in the 1600s. The table shows a pair of laws passed in colonial Virginia in 1705.

In the 1600s, African American people in Virginia had different statuses under the law: enslaved, indentured, or free. However, an individual's status could change. For example, some enslaved people were able to free themselves after proving that they had been baptized.

When African American people's status changed, so did their rights. For example, some formerly enslaved people testified against white colonists in court and purchased white indentured servants.

In the 1600s, African American people in Virginia had rights based on their status as free or enslaved. In the 1700s, Virginia laws began to restrict rights for all African American people.

What caused the change in African American people's legal status?

Because of their shared experiences in the colonies, some white and African American people banded together. For example, some indentured servants and enslaved people ran away from their masters together. The people in power worried about this threat to their social standing, so they created legal codes to divide workers based on race.

William Byrd II was an owner of a large plantation in colonial Virginia. He kept a detailed diary of his daily activities. Read the following entries that describe Byrd's interactions with Eugene and Jenny, two enslaved people on his property.

February 8, 1709: I rose at 5 o'clock this morning and read a chapter in Hebrew and 200 verses in Homer's Odyssey. I ate milk for breakfast. I said my prayers. Jenny and Eugene were whipped.

June 10, 1709: George brought home my boy Eugene. In the evening I took a walk about the plantation. Eugene was whipped for running away and had the bit put on him.

February 27, 1711: In the evening my wife and little Jenny had a great quarrel in which my wife got the worst but at last by the help of the family Jenny was overcome and soundly whipped.

about: around

bit: a device put on the head or mouth as a form of punishment

quarrel: fight

overcome: defeated

What can historians learn from Byrd's diary?

Byrd was a wealthy man who owned a large plantation. Unlike owners of small tobacco farms, Byrd did not work and live alongside enslaved people. His diary describes many details about life as a wealthy planter in Virginia but fewer details about lives of enslaved people.

Still, historians have had to rely on sources such as Byrd's diary to learn about how enslaved people lived. Colonial enslaved people often were not able to record much about their daily lives. In some cases it was illegal for them to learn how to read and write.

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