6-1 New England

6-1 New England

I CAN...• ID and label the New England colonies and natural boundaries on a map.• Describe the political, religious and economical aspects of the New England colonies.• Describe reasons for using slaves in the colonies.

New Hampshire: PortsmouthRhode Island: ProvidenceMassachusetts: Plymouth, Boston, SalemConnecticut: Newport, New Haven

Reasons for colonization of NA(also what the 3 regions had in common )

Geography• Lots of wild land with

a coast line used for shipping (imports/exports).– Ships and boats were

their economic life-blood connected colonies to England and each other.

• Common western boundary, Appalachian Mountains. Rivers were their highways.

England's’ colonies• Colonies (owned by a mother/parent

country) followed the rules of mercantilism to supply England with raw materials.

• Navigation Acts req’d colonies to sell certain items only to England or other English colonies.

• Triangular Trade connected English colonies (rum/iron/grain/lumber) to Africa (slaves/gold) & West Indies (sugar/molasses/fruit), England (manufactured items).

Founding of New England• 1636- Thomas Hooker and his congregation settled the

Connecticut Valley• Wrote and adopted the Fundamental Orders of

Connecticut• First constitution written in the colonies• Anne Hutchison questioned Puritan teachings• John Wheelright- agreed with Hutchison; left with

followers: founded New Hampshire.

Farming & Fishing (economy) in NE

• Poor, rocky soil, long winters, huge forests, and short growing season made farming difficult. Very few large farms, small farms provided veggies & grains.

• Fishing (cod), whales (oil), furs, and trees = raw materials from NE.

• Shipbuilding (nearly 1/3 of British ships were built in NE) and commerce (buying and selling of goods) filled NE coastline using water power (industry, factories, shops).

• Navigation Acts and Triangle Trade!• Large families (@9 children) cared for by

women.• More free black colonists lived in NE than

any other region… NE economy did not call for large unskilled work force.

• Wealth began to balance out religion in NE… look for Salem Witchcraft Trials, Deism, Great Awakening in Religion of NE

Political life in NE

Religion in NENE towns were originally structured around religion. Between 1720 and 1750 people began drifting away from the church… (why?)… new emphasis on wealth:

Salem Witchcraft Trials, MA

Deism – believed God created the universe and then let it run itself so an understanding of people and nature meant understanding God.

GREAT AWAKENING: new wave of religious enthusiasm began where preachers went town-to-town to return people to the faith. “Everyone was equal in God’s eyes”