Colonial America

Colonial America

FIRST: Please read or skim chapter 3 of our textbook, Foner’s Give Me Liberty: An American History, volume I. Consider watching the Crash Course US history video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47tZLJbdag Skim through and/or explore this website featuring a timeline of the growth of slavery in Virginia (https://www.history.org/history/teaching/slavelaw.cfm). The colony of Virginia is often used to represent the Chesapeake colonies as a whole. We will return to this timeline again in following weeks, so don’t despair if you must prioritize the other sources for this week. It is a good reference, regardless, in looking at the shift from the use of indentured servitude on Chesapeake plantations towards the reliance on African slavery. You may optionally take a look at this secondary article by historian Mary Beth Norton on the 1692 Salem witchcraft allegations against George Burroughs (will attach). In looking at the Salem Witchcraft Trials, most historians have focused on studying the accused witches to find patterns in the hopes of explaining what happened, but Norton chooses to study the girls who accused one particular “witch”, George Burroughs. THEN: Read the following primary sources closely. Read this 1683 advertisement for English emigration to the newly-organized colony of Pennsylvania (http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/7440%20). The author, William Penn, inherited all of the land of today’s Pennsylvania from his family, who had gained it from the English Crown in a payment for services. Penn had a financial incentive to attract land-buyers, so published advertisements like this one to lure settlers. Other colonies’ governments also advertised, but Pennsylvania differs most other colonies in founding religion and mission/attitude. Read Nathaniel Bacon’s “Declaration of the People”, written in 1676. (http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1651-1700/bacons-declaration-in-the-name-of-the-people-30-july-1676.php) Nathaniel Bacon was a newly-immigrated wealthy planter who owned a few small plantations, including one on the frontier, further west than the safety of the European-occupied coastline. Bacon’s frontier plantation was attacked by local Indians, which prompted him to lead this rebellion against a Virginia government that he felt was ignoring the plights of those Englishmen living on the frontier. In this piece, Bacon explains the grievances that led to his rebellion of small farmers, slaves, and indentured servants. Read the grievances expressed by King Philip, a.k.a. Metacom, a Wampanoag leader and son of the Massasoit chief who originally formed an alliance with the first English settlers to New England (http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6226). In this source, an Englishman records those grievances that King Philip says directly led to the Indian uprising against the English in Massachusetts called ‘King Philip’s War’. This is just one of many wars between the French, English, and Indians in the American northeast; the grievances expressed were not unique to Massachusetts Bay colony. FINALLY: Complete the writing assignment below. Referencing as many of this week’s readings as you can, answer this prompt: Relying primarily on this week’s primary sources, analyze how the actions taken by BOTH American Indians and English colonists shaped relations in 17th century New England and the Chesapeake. Your response should be at least 600 words, double-spaced and cited in Chicago format. A cover page not necessary for this assignment.

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