The Early Colonies

1. The Early Colonies • Magna Carta– (1215) proclaims basic rights and guarantees specific liberties to the English people • Creates a foundation for American democracy • 1607 – Jamestown is founded in Virginia • 105 settlers to start, end up with 32 • January 1608 110 more setters arrive • 1619- 20 Africans are brought to Jamestown on a Dutch ship, the beginning of slavery in the American Colonies

2. The Early Colonies • 1620 – Mayflower lands at Cape Cod, Massachusetts • The 41 men sign the Mayflower Compact establishing a form of local government. • Colonists agree to live by majority rule and cooperate for the good of the colony. • Sets the precedent for future colonies • 1624 – Dutch colonists arrive in New York (trading post established there in 1613) • 1624 – Virginia is officially declared a Royal colony • King Charles I of England dissolves parliament and rules as an absolute monarch pushing many to leave for the colonies

3. The Early Colonies • 1630 - John Winthrop leads Puritan migration (900 people) to Massachusetts Bay, Boston is established • 1634 – First settlement in Maryland, 200 people most of them Catholic • 1636 – Providence, Rhode Island is founded and becomes a safe haven for colonists fleeing religious intolerance • 1652 – Rhode Island becomes the first colony to declare slavery illegal • 1663 - King Charles II establishes Carolina (will officially split into North and South in 1712)

4. The Early Colonies • 1681 – Pennsylvania is founded by Quaker William Penn • 1682 & 1685 – colonists begin coming from Germany and France • 1686 – King James II begins combining the New England colonies into one area totally controlled by the King’s representatives • 1696 – New England colonists begin trading slaves for profit.

6. British Rule • 1700 – The population of the colonies reaches 275,000 • 1705 – Virginia slaves are given the status of real estate , a law in New York assigns the death penalty to runaway slaves found more than 40 miles N. of Albany, in Massachusetts marriage between whites and African Americans is declared illegal • 1714 – tea is introduced into the American colonies • 1725 – population of black slaves reaches 75,000 • 1754 to 1763 –French and Indian War • Under the Treaty of Paris, France gives all territory east of the Mississippi to England (except New Orleans) The Spanish also give up east and west Florida in return for Cuba.

7. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) • Hobbes created the idea of a social contract and believed that it could not be taken away. • Government cannot be overthrown • Social Contract – an agreement by the people in a society to give up some of their rights in return for protection from a government

8. John Locke (1632-1704) • Locke agreed with the idea of a social contract but added his own beliefs to it: • The contract could be taken away. Government can be overthrown • A government depends on the consent of the people, if that consent is withdrawn then there is no social contract. • Locke also believed that government should not promote or restrict specific religions • Natural Rights – Life, Liberty, Property

9. Locke and Hobbes in the Colonies • The ideas of Locke and Hobbes influenced American Government in many ways: • Social contract • Natural Rights • Government can be overthrown (if it is not representing the people)

10. Events leading to Revolution • Sugar Act 1764 • Tax on foreign refined sugar • Increased taxes on foreign coffee, indigo, and specific wines. Also banned importation of rum and French wines • Affected only a certain part of the population but they were very vocal about it. This is the first time the colonists wanted a say in how much they were taxed

11. Events Leading to Revolution • Stamp Act 1765 • Every newspaper, pamphlet and other public and legal documents had to have a stamp (British seal) • Now they colonists had to pay for this stamp • The Crown repealed the Act in 1766 but also declared that Great Britain was superior to the Colonies in “all cases whatsoever” • The Stamp Act Congress and the Sons of Liberty were formed in response to this act • “no taxation without representation”

12. Events Leading to Revolution • Townshend Acts 1767 • Placed new taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea • All were repealed except the tax on tea • Boston Massacre March 5, 1770 • Five American colonists by British troops • One man, Crispus Attacks, was killed • No one really knows what happened. • Did the colonists have weapons? Why did the British Open Fire? • American and British relations worsened because of this

13. Events Leading to Revolution • Boston Tea Party December 16, 1773 • The Sons of Liberty, angry about another tax on tea, boarded 3 British ships in in Boston harbor • They dumped 342 crates of British tea into the harbor • Similar actions were taken by colonists in New York, Maryland, and New Jersey with in the next few months • Tea would eventually be boycotted throughout the colonies

14. First Continental Congress • 52 delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia in September 1774 • Delegate – a representative • The meeting was spurred on by the passage of the Intolerable Acts • A series of laws enacted as a response to the Boston Tea Party • They met in secret so that the British wouldn’t know why they were meeting • They talked about a boycott of British trade, publishing a list of rights and grievances, and petitioning the King for a remedy for those grievances

15. The American Revolution • Lexington and Concord April 19, 1775 • “The Shot Heard Round The World” • First shots fired between American and British troops, but no one knows who shot first • British were marching on the American arms depot in Concord • At Lexington the Americans were forced to withdraw but slowed the British down • At Concord the Americans were waiting when the British arrived and were quickly forced to retreat

16. The American Revolution • Second Continental Congress May 1775 • Organized the war on the American’s side • Created the Continental Army and named Washington as commander-in-chief • Battle of Bunker Hill June 1775 • Thomas Paine’s Common Sense January 15, 1776 • British are forced to evacuate Boston March 1776 • Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776 • British win battle of Brooklyn and occupy New York City August-September 1776 • Washington crosses the Delaware December 1776

17. The American Revolution • The Marquis de Lafayette arrives in Philadelphia July 1777 • Washington’s Troops spend the winter at Valley Forge, PA December 1777 (were camped there till June 1778) • Official French Alliance February 1778 • Articles of Confederation adopted March 1781 • British Commander Cornwallis is surrounded by American and French troops and surrenders at Yorktown October 19, 1781 • Treaty of Paris is signed September 3, 1783 • Britain recognizes the independent United States of America and removes all troops from the new nation

18. Declaration of Independence • Product of the year long Second Continental Congress • Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson • Adopted July 4th • Finial signature Aug 2nd • Declaration had 4 parts • Preamble • Introduction, why is it being written? • Declaration of Rights • Grievances • Explains the “unfair actions,” and the actions that can be taken to settle differences • Conclusion • Declaring Independence

19. Creating the Constitution