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Roanoke
The colony of Roanoke was founded in 1585 in Roanoke, North Carolina by Sir Walter Raleigh. As one of the first colonies established in North America, its members were ill-prepared and only survived one year. Raleigh had ventured back to England for more supplies to support the colony. However, England's conflict with the Spanish slowed maritime travel to Europe. Upon returning in 1590, Raleigh and his men discovered that the colony had vanished.
https://nationalcenter.org/ColonyofRoanoke.html -
Salutary Neglect
Salutary neglect was Britain's unofficial policy, initiated by prime minister Robert Walpole, to limit the power of strict laws and regulations on the American colonies. This enabled the American colonies to prosper by trading with non-British groups.
However, it enabled the colonies to operate independently of Britain, both economically and politically, and to create an American identity. This ideal lasted till around 1763.
https://www.landofthebrave.info/salutary-neglect.htm -
Jamestown
After the failure colony of Roanoke, a group called the Virginia Company set out to establish the first permanent British settlement in North America. At first the colony struggled with starvation, disease, and conflict with Native Americans. However, new supplies and the arrival of John Smith assisted the colonies growth. John Smith enforced labor and enabled trade with the Native Americans so the colony would be able to survive.
https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/jamestown -
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first elective governing body. Because each Virginia settlement was entitled to elect two burgesses, the original membership of the House of Burgesses was 22. The popular assembly granted supplies and originated laws, and the governor and council enjoyed the right of revision and veto, as did the king and the House of Lords. The council also sat as a supreme court to review the county courts.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/House-of-Burgesses -
Mayflower/Plymouth/Mayflower Compact
The Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower originally set out to settle in Virginia but ended up in Massachusetts. The Mayflower Compact was soon established in order that the settlers may avoid mutiny and have a self-governing plan. Upon arrival, a group of men was sent to explore the land and find a suitable site to build the Plymouth Colony. The ship set sail again and the Pilgrims reached modern day Plymouth, MA.
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/symbols_freedom/pages/mayflower.html -
The Great Migration
The Great Migration between 1620 and 1640 involved more than 20,000 English Puritans and Separatists in a journey across the Atlantic in search of religious freedom and new beginnings. https://www.landofthebrave.info/great%20migration.htm -
New York
The New York Colony was first a Dutch colony called New Amsterdam, founded by Peter Minuit in 1626 on Manhattan Island. In 1664 the Dutch surrendered the colony to English and it was renamed Province of New York, then later to New York. It was named after the Duke of York.
http://softschools.com/facts/13_colonies/new_york_colony_facts/2043/ -
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Founded by John Winthrop, began as one of the first British colonies in North America. The strongly Puritan based colony was formed in order that the Puritans may be able to have religious freedom from the Church of England and live governed by their religion. Industries like fur trading and fishing went well for the colony as time went on. However, many years after establishment, the Salem Witch Trials marked Massachusetts with turmoil.
https://www.landofthebrave.info/massachusetts-colony.htm -
Maryland
Cecil Calvert founded Maryland in 1632 after his father, George Calvert, had received a royal charter for the land from King Charles I. The new colony was named after Henrieta Maria (Mary), the wife of the king. Before the settlement began, George Calvert died and was succeeded by his son Cecilius, who sought to establish Maryland as a safe place for Roman Catholic persecuted in England to live.
https://www.history.com/topics/us-states/maryland -
Connecticut
The Connecticut Colony was founded by Puritan minister Thomas Hooker and other Puritan colonists at Hartford in 1636. There was no tolerance for other religions. Connecticut's name was taken from a Native American phrase meaning "river whose water is driven by tides or winds."
https://www.landofthebrave.info/connecticut-colony.htm -
Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Colony was founded by Roger Williams who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony where religious tolerance did not exist among the Puritans. Williams and other colonists helped establish a colony with more religious freedom, as planned. He even paid the Native Americans for their land because he thought it right to do so. Industry included fishing, farming, whaling, ship making, and rum export.
http://www.softschools.com/facts/13_colonies/rhode_island_colony_facts/2044/ -
Maryland Toleration Act
The act was meant to ensure freedom of religion for Christian settlers. Lead by Lord Baltimore to make sure that the rights of Catholics were protected, Maryland's government passed the Toleration Act of 1649, making it illegal to prevent any Christian from practicing his/her religion and imposed fines on those who broke it.
https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/868/maryland-toleration-act-of-1649 -
Carolina
King Charles II of England gave land south of Virginia to 8 friends to reward their support. These men founded the Carolina colony and became known as the Lords Proprietors of Carolina. They named it after Charles I. This colony included what is now North and South Carolina. The proprietors collected taxes from people living in the colony, brought African slaves to work the farms, and allowed religious freedoms.
https://www.eduplace.com/ss/socsci/books/content/ilessons/4/ils_nc_gr4_u3_c05_l2.pdf -
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an uprising in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon. It was the first revolt in the colonies. About 1,000 Virginians rose because they resented Virginia Governor William Berkley's friendly policies toward Native Americans, whom they wanted to drive from Virginia. However, Bacon was eventually arrested.
https://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HIST312-3.2.1-Bacons-Rebellion.pdf -
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Colony was founded by William Penn and named after Penn's father Admiral Sir William Penn. The Pennsylvania Colony was dominated by the Quaker religion but still had much toleration. The Pennsylvania Colony was on good terms with the Native Americans because of the peaceful Quaker lifestyle. Industries included shipbuilding, textiles, farming, and exporting iron goods.
http://www.softschools.com/facts/13_colonies/pennsylvania_colony_facts/2048/ -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials began 1692, after a group of girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. Predictably, a wave of hysteria dispersed throughout Massachusetts. The first woman to die of accused witchcraft was Bridget Bishop. Eighteen more people were executed under these wild accusations. Almost 200 more people would be accused and named "witch".
https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/salem-witch-trials -
The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was a religious revival that impacted the English colonies during the 1730s and 1740s. This revival came at a most needed time when religion had become less popular to say the least. Evangelists of the Christian faith assisted with with this revival by traveling and spreading the gospel of salvation from sins to all people. Because of these efforts, the colonial reliance and dedication to religion grew.
https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/great-awakening -
Albany Plan
The Albany Plan was initially made with the purpose of putting the colonies under a more centralized government. If successful, it could've allowed the colonies to become a whole and a nation. However, the colonies' own fears of losing power, territory, and commerce, both to other colonies and to the British Parliament, ensured the Albany Plan’s failure.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/albany-plan -
French-Indian War
The French and Indian War began with a land dispute between England and France and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The French and Indian War was fought to decide if England or France would be the strong power in North America. Both nation's colonists and Indian allies fought. The war provided Britain with much territorial gain. But war expenses and policies led to colonial discontent and overall to the revolution.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/french-indian-war -
Proclamation of 1763
King George III declared all lands west of the Appalachian Divide prohibited to colonial settlers because of a Native American revolt led by the Ottawa chief, Pontiac. This declaration only allowed licensed traders to this prohibited area. The Proclamation of 1763 was meant, in theory, to help protect colonists from the Native Americans and also in a way help the Native Americans from attacks from scared colonists.
https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/1763-proclamation-of
