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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Robson, David, 1966-
Colonial America / by David Robson.
p. cm. -- (Understanding American history series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60152-247-4 (e-book)
1. United States--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775--Juvenile literature. I. Title.
E188.R65 2013
973.2--dc23
2011041358
Contents
Foreword 4
Important Events of Colonial America 6
Introduction 8
Th e Defi ning Characteristics of Colonial America
Chapter One 12
What Events Led to the Colonization of America?
Chapter Two 26
Seeking Religious Freedom
Chapter Th ree 41
Quest for Commerce
Chapter Four 55
Growth and War
Chapter Five 70
What Is the Legacy of Colonial America?
Source Notes 81
Important People of Colonial America 85
For Further Research 88
Index 90
Picture Credits 95
About the Author 96
3
Foreword
America’s Puritan ancestors—convinced that their adopted coun-
try was blessed by God and would eventually rise to worldwide
prominence—proclaimed their new homeland the shining “city upon a
hill.” Th e nation that developed since those fi rst hopeful words were ut-
tered has clearly achieved prominence on the world stage and it has had
many shining moments but its history is not without fl aws. Th e history
of the United States is a virtual patchwork of achievements and blem-
ishes. For example, America was originally founded as a New World
haven from the tyranny and persecution prevalent in many parts of the
Old World. Yet the colonial and federal governments in America took
little or no action against the use of slave labor by the southern states
until the 1860s, when a civil war was fought to eliminate slavery and
preserve the federal union.
In the decades before and after the Civil War, the United States un-
derwent a period of massive territorial expansion; through a combina-
tion of purchase, annexation, and war, its east–west borders stretched
from the Atlantic to the Pacifi c Oceans. During this time, the Indus-
trial Revolution that began in eighteenth-century Europe found its way
to America, where it was responsible for considerable growth of the
national economy. Th e United States was now proudly able to take its
place in the Western Hemisphere’s community of nations as a worthy
economic and technological partner. Yet America also chose to join the
major western European powers in a race to acquire colonial empires in
Africa, Asia, and the islands of the Caribbean and South Pacifi c. In this
scramble for empire, foreign territories were often peacefully annexed
but military force was readily used when needed, as in the Philippines
during the Spanish-American War of 1898.
Toward the end of the nineteenth century and concurrent with Amer-
ica’s ambitions to acquire colonies, its vast frontier and expanding indus-
trial base provided both land and jobs for a new and ever-growing wave
4
of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. Although America had
always encouraged immigration, these newcomers—Italians, Greeks, and
eastern European Jews, among others—were seen as diff erent from the
vast majority of earlier immigrants, most of whom were from northern
and western Europe. Th e presence of these newcomers was treated as a
matter of growing concern, which in time evolved into intense opposi-
tion. Congress boldly and with calculated prejudice set out to create a
barrier to curtail the infl ux of unwanted nationalities and ethnic groups
to America’s shores. Th e outcome was the National Origins Act, passed in
1924. Th at law severely reduced immigration to the United States from
southern and eastern Europe. Ironically, while this was happening, the
Statue of Liberty stood in New York Harbor as a visible and symbolic bea-
con lighting the way for people of all nationalities and ethnicities seeking
sanctuary in America.
Unquestionably, the history of the United States has not always
mirrored that radiant beacon touted by the early settlers. As often hap-
pens, reality and dreams tend to move in divergent directions. How-
ever, the story of America also reveals a people who have frequently
extended a helping hand to a weary world and who have displayed a
ready willingness—supported by a fl exible federal constitution—to
take deliberate and eff ective steps to correct injustices, past and pres-
ent. America’s private and public philanthropy directed toward other
countries during times of natural disasters (such as the contributions
of fi nancial and human resources to assist Haiti following the January
2010, earthquake) and the legal right to adopt amendments to the US
Constitution (including the Th irteenth Amendment freeing the slaves
and the Nineteenth Amendment granting women the right to vote) are
examples of the nation’s generosity and willingness to acknowledge and
reverse wrongs.
With objectivity and candor, the titles selected for the Understand-
ing American History series portray the many sides of America, depict-
ing both its shining moments and its darker hours. Th e series strives
to help readers achieve a wider understanding and appreciation of
the American experience and to encourage further investigation into
America’s evolving character and founding principles.
55
Important Events of
Colonial America
1607
Jamestown is founded in Virginia by the colonists of the
London Company. By the end of the year, starvation
and disease reduce the original 105 settlers to just 54.
1565 1626
1519 Th e Spanish found Peter Minuit, a
Hernán Cortés the fi rst permanent Dutch colonist, buys
conquers the Aztec European colony Manhattan from
empire in Mexico in North America Native Americans for
and begins the at Saint Augustine 60 guilders (about
Spanish conquest in what is now $24) and names
of parts of North Florida. the island New
America. Amsterdam.
1480 1520 1560 1600 1640 1680 1700 1720 1740 1760 1780
1492
1588
Christopher
Great Britain defeats the
Columbus makes his
powerful Spanish Armada and
fi rst of four voyages to
becomes the dominant world
the New World.
power; Spain’s waning infl uence
provides an opportunity for the
English to develop permanent
settlements in the New World.
162 0
On November 13 the Mayfl ower lands
at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with 101
colonists. Two days earlier, the Mayfl ower
Compact had been signed by 41 men from
the ship, establishing a majority-rule local
government.
1636
Roger Williams founds Providence, Rhode Island, after being
banished from Massachusetts for what its leaders considered
radical and dangerous ideas. Providence soon attracts other
6 colonists fl eeing religious intolerance.
1675
King Philip’s War begins in New England
between colonists and Native Americans,
resulting in 600 English colonial and
3,000 Native American deaths.
177 6
On July 4 the Continental Congress approves the
1754
Declaration of Independence, announcing that Great
Th e French and
Britain’s 13 American colonies consider themselves a free
Indian War,
and independent nation.
between France
and England,
erupts as a result 177 4
of disputes over
Th e First Continental Congress, a governing body consisting of 56
land in the Ohio
delegates representing 12 of the 13 colonies, meets in Philadelphia.
River Valley. It
rages for nine
years and results
1765
in British control
over most of Th e Stamp Act is passed by the English Parliament,
colonial America. imposing the fi rst direct tax on the American colonies.
Calls for colonial independence from England soon follow.
1480 1520 1560 1600 1640 1680 1700 1720 1740 1760 1780
1692 1773
Hysteria grips the village Angry colonists, incensed over a tax on
of Salem, Massachusetts, as tea, storm three ships in Boston Harbor
witchcraft suspects are arrested and pour 342 chests of tea into the water.
and imprisoned. Over the course
of four months, 150 people are
accused and 20 are executed. 1775
In April the battles of Lexington and Concord
erupt after British soldiers attempt to destroy
colonists’ military supplies and are met with
resistance by Massachusetts militias. Th is confl ict
marks the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
177 0
Th e Boston Massacre occurs as a mob
harasses British soldiers who then fi re
their muskets point-blank into the
crowd, killing three instantly, mortally
wounding two others, and injuring six.
7
Introduction
The Defining
Characteristics of
Colonial America
Some Americans today may imagine that their nation was always
thus—that its “sea-to-shining-sea” geography always existed, its
power and infl uence predestined. But for hundreds of years before the
United States was founded, the greatest empires of the age—France,
England, and Spain—fought over the continent that maps now iden-
tify as North America. Th ey battled one another for the right to claim
this vast and untamed land that, to them at least, seemed a new world.
Territorial Expansion
Th e fi rst English and Spanish settlers in the Americas came looking for
gold, silver, and other valuable commodities, such as spices. But most
prized of all was the land itself. By carving out a colony and settling it,
New World inhabitants were laying claim to territory that their nations
could expand and exploit.
More land meant more settlers; more settlers meant larger towns and
cities. By growing populations and their areas of infl uence, European
nations could command greater respect and earn enormous wealth. Yet
expansion came at a cost: Wars between colonists and Native Americans
over land killed thousands and shattered an already fragile relationship.
More wars followed, between the Spanish and French, the English
and Spanish, the French and English. Each formed alliances with one
8
another and with the native tribes, hoping to score a defi nitive victory
in the battle for continental domination. Th e British eventually carved
out 13 colonies, while the French and Spanish laid claim to territory
further west and south. Yet the fi ght for land would remain a defi ning
characteristic throughout the colonial period.
Freedom of Religion
Wealth and infl uence were prized by nations in the seventeenth cen-
tury, but these were not necessarily what drew individual colonists to
the Americas. In the early 1620s a small group of devout English men
and women made the pilgrimage to the New World to escape religious
oppression and to worship God according to their stark view of reli-
gious scripture.
“By sailing to the New World,” says historian Nathaniel Philbrick,
“they hoped to re-create the English village life they so dearly missed
while remaining beyond the meddlesome reach of King James [the
British monarch] and his bishops.”1 Th e bleak landscape these Pilgrims
found upon arrival and the hardship they endured tested their strength:
Many of them died within the fi rst few months. Still, the survivors
pressed on, constructing modest shelters, rationing what little food
they had, and practicing their faith according to their beliefs.
Members of other religious groups sought religious and cultural
freedom as well, from Roman Catholics in Maryland to Quakers in
Pennsylvania. Each of them believed that Colonial America off ered
them the best chance to practice their faith openly, without fear of per-
secution. Although believers sometimes did encounter prejudice and
intolerance, the colonies guaranteed a religious freedom most of them
had never experienced before.
Seeking a Better Life
What many colonists in the Americas shared was a fi rm desire to bet-
ter their lives, to rise as far and as fast as their ingenuity, hard work,
and dedication would allow them. Whether they abandoned their old
9
The 13 Colonies
(and dates of first
permanent settlements)
lives to make their fortune or to worship without fear of oppression,
most colonists simply wanted the chance to improve their lives. Some
agreed to work as virtual slaves to earn passage to the Americas. These
indentured servants, beholden to their employers for nearly a decade,
believed the trade-off well worth it.
10
