Class 2
Overview of the American colonies in the 18th Century.
Puritans (1620): dissenters.
Pilgrim Fathers.
Mayflower (Compact): premier grand texte politique. Contrat.
Frontier : Ouest des USA. Colonisation de l’ouest.
NH : New Hampshire. MA : Massachusetts. CT :Connecticut. NY : New York.
RI : Rode Island. PA :Pennsylvania.
NJ : New Jersey. NC : North Carolina.
DL : Delaware. SC : South Carolina.
MD : Maryland. GA : Georgia.
VA : Virginia.
The 17th Century:
English settlers were in competition with other European powers mainly France, Spain and Deutsch settlers. To compete, they established two different kinds of colonies:
· Along East cost to the South: Jamestown: not designed to be populated by a lot of settlers. It was supposed to be economics and military settlements.
· In the North-East: massive arrival of British settlers. The reasons had nothing to do with economy but with religion and freedom. Indeed, in the 16th British had turned into a protestant country. Puritans ( catholiques ) wanted to practise a pure religion. That’s why they had to flee away to Germany, Netherlands Scandinavia and a tiny fraction in America. All bunch of them had to hire a boat: The mayflower. 1049 puritans decided to make this travel in 1620. When they arrived (in Boston, Salem, Plymouth and Provincetown), men met together and decided to draft a specific document supposed to describe the way puritans would established their colonies.
This document was based on basic ideas: Self-government, autonomy and independence. Puritans demanded to be left alone and to be free to organize themselves. When they landed, they had a hell of the time. They were not used to the country. The weather was bad and cold. A large number died during the first year. They survived thanks to Indians who gave them information on how to survive there.
This survival has paradoxical consequences: sense exception: Because they survived, Puritans thought of themselves as being an exception. They thought they were chosen by God to build a new country. They thought they have a God mission. They thought they have to create the kingdom of God on earth.
One of the leaders was John Winthrop who described the new colony as a city upon a hill. The new country was the representation of God will. (Salem/ Jerusalem).
Puritans were very self-confident, they had the sense of a mission, a duty. They didn’t want anyone to prevent them of doing the mission. In America, they became oppressors: fighting against other minority groups.
In the 17th, starting from MA, you have around settlements created by religious minority groups: PA and RI. This made America attractive to all minority groups persecuted back in Europe.
In the middle of the 18th all the 13th colonies are in operation along east coast (300 000 people).
- The New-England group: colonies of the North, around MA.
- The middle colonies: composed of NY and PA.
- Colonies in the South: VA, SC, NC and GA.
Each group had its own organisation from social and political point of view.
· The New-England group: people were mainly farmers and crafts men. It was an homogeneous society. Politically, there were very democratic men. This group was based on election: all citizens could vote and decides: men and men who had property. They voted for a Self Government like Pilgrims wanted. Thanks to distance, MA was able to build itself as a self governing colony.
· The Middle colonies: two big urban stats. NY and Philadelphia were the two big cities of colonies. Socially, this group was not as homogeneous as the NE group. There were many Germans in PA and Deutsch colonists in NY. The social background was much more diverse than NE group. There was a strong tradition of tolerance. As concerned the political organisation, the framework was very similar than in NE group. PA was the most democratic of all the colonies. In NY there was a very strong governor.· Oldest colonies of 1607: (in 1607, merchants created plantations to make profit of the continent) The social situation was wildly different from 1 and 2 because in the South there was a raise of a new kind of Aristocracy concerning land owners and slave owners. Slaves were imported from Africa in 1619 , they were used to cultivate the land. Politically, land owners made all the decisions.
Conclusion:
The situation of the South was exceptional because of the God mission and on the Frontier a new form of society was tacking shape.
Puritans values are very important to understand American mentalities with the sense of mission which was marginal in the UK but central in the US.
Middle 18th colonies may be divided into two societies: the North (democracy) and the South (aristocracy).