THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND (1606-1640)
THE PURITAN MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND
The Puritans.--While the planting of colonies on the shores of
Chesapeake Bay and on the Caribbean islands was in progress, other
settlements were being formed in New England by English Separatists and
Puritans. By the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth the Anglican church
was firmly established, but it was not long before groups within the
church began to show dissatisfaction. At first protests were made
against some of the ceremonies and formulas of the service. After 1570
the Puritans, as they were derisively called, began to object to the
episcopal form of government and to advocate the Presbyterian or
Calvinistic system, which was based upon the idea of a representative
form of church government. During the later years of the reign the
Puritans laid more and more stress on morals. They believed that life
should be sternly ascetic, that the Sabbath should be kept strictly, and
that pleasures and extravagance should be suppressed.
The Independents.--Most of the Puritans had no wish to withdraw from the
church, but desired to reform it. A more radical group, however, who
became known as Independents, looked upon the national church as an
unholy institution contrary to scripture. They wished to reestablish the
church as it was believed to be in the days of the Apostles. There were
several groups of Independents or Separatists, the various groups being
named after their leaders, the followers of Robert Brown being known as
Brownists, those of Henry Barrow as Barrowists. They met in small groups
which were called conventicles. The English church, through the Court of
High Commission, proceeded with considerable severity against the
Puritans, whom they attempted to make conform, but against the
Separatists they showed no mercy, breaking up the conventicles,
imprisoning many, and hanging some of the leaders.
James I and the Non-Conformists.--Soon after James I became king, the
Puritans presented a petition asking for changes in the church. The king
called the Hampton Court Conference that he might hear the views of the
various parties. James soon found that many of the Puritans believed in
presbyteries, a form of government with which he had had unpleasant
experiences in Scotland, and he angrily ended the conference. Shortly
afterward, because of the so-called "Gunpowder Plot," the king became
convinced that he was personally in danger. From this time on he
supported the Anglican church. Severe laws were passed against the
Catholics, and the laws against Non-Conformists were enforced with
greater vigor.
PLYMOUTH COLONY
Failures of the Plymouth Company.--The Plymouth Company, which received
its charter in 1606, took immediate measures to occupy its territories.
In that year two unsuccessful attempts were made to found colonies. The
information brought back, however, so interested the company that
another expedition was fitted out the following year. Colonists were
landed at the mouth of the Kennebec River; but great hardships were
experienced during the winter, and in the spring the discouraged
settlers abandoned the enterprise.
Activity on the New England Coast, 1607-1619.--No successful settlement
in New England was made until 1620, but in the meantime the coast was
frequently visited. In 1613 Captain Argall attacked the French
settlements at Mount Desert, Port Royal, and St. Croix. The following
year John Smith explored and mapped the New England coast. In 1615 he
was made Admiral of New England by the Plymouth Company and he attempted
to found a colony, but it proved a failure. Several fishing and trading
voyages were also made under the direction of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, an
influential member of the Plymouth Company.
The Council for New England.--The failure of the company to plant a
colony led Gorges and others who were still interested to petition for a
new charter; on November 13, 1620, the document passed the seals
incorporating the Council for New England, which was given jurisdiction
over the territory from 40 deg. to 48 deg. north latitude.
Origin of the Pilgrims.--The first permanent settlement in New England
was not the work of the Council, but of a group of Independents.
Separatist congregations were located at Scrooby, Gainsborough, and
Austerfield, villages in Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire.
In the Scrooby congregation were three men of unusual ability, Pastor
John Robinson, Elder William Brewster, and William Bradford. To avoid
persecution many Separatists had migrated to Amsterdam, and there in
1608 Robinson and his followers gathered, removing later to Leyden. From
time to time a few others joined them, among the late comers being John
Carver and Miles Standish. Most of the congregation found the making of
a livelihood among the Dutch extremely difficult. In spite of this, some
of them enrolled in the University of Leyden and Brewster set up a
printing press from which appeared several theological works.
Reasons for removal from Holland.--By 1617 the leaders determined to
seek new lands. Bradford in his _History of Plymouth Plantation_ gives
the following reasons for removal: (1) Daily life was so hard in Holland
that few cared to emigrate there and in consequence the congregation did
not grow; (2) many were growing old, and there was fear that the
congregation would soon break up; (3) life was too hard for the
children, and in addition many were slipping away, some becoming
soldiers and sailors; it was also found that the morals of the young
were endangered in the gay city of Leyden; (4) it was hoped to spread
the gospel in remote lands. In addition, intermarriage with the Dutch
had begun and it was evident that the little community would soon lose
its English identity.
Removal to America.--Guiana, New Netherlands, and Virginia were
discussed as possible places for settlement, the last named being the
final choice. A patent was obtained from the Virginia Company, and John
Carver was made governor. Seven thousand pounds were raised by Thomas
Weston and other merchant adventurers to back the enterprise. A portion
of the Leyden congregation sailed for England, and at Southampton met
with others from London, who had determined to join them. The company,
including Carver, Brewster, Bradford, and Standish, left England in the
_Mayflower_ and the _Speedwell_, but the latter proving unseaworthy,
about twenty abandoned the enterprise. The _Mayflower_ arrived at Cape
Cod in November, 1620.
The Mayflower Compact.--As the region was outside of the jurisdiction of
the Virginia Company, the colonists on their own initiative drew up what
is known as the Mayflower Compact, by which they combined into a civil
body politic, and agreed to enact such just and equitable laws as were
for the general welfare of the colony. After the signing of the compact,
Governor Carver was confirmed in his office. The Mayflower Compact marks
the origin of the English colony based upon a social compact the basis
of which was the will of the colonists rather than that of the
sovereign. Of a similar nature were Rhode Island, Connecticut, New
Haven, and New Hampshire in their inception, and in the latter half of
the eighteenth century, when the frontiersman had crossed the mountains
and freed himself from the restraints of the tidewater governments, the
social compact became the basis of western state making.
Settlement at Plymouth.--Exploring parties were sent along the shores of
Massachusetts Bay, and Plymouth was selected as the site for the colony,
but the classic story of the landing on Plymouth Rock is now known to be
only a romance. From the first, settlers suffered exceedingly. Bradford
describes the situation as follows: "But that which was most sadd and
lamentable was, that in 2. or 3. moneths time halfe of their company
dyed, espetialy in Jan: and February, being the depth of winter, and
wanting houses and other comforts; being infected with the scurvie and
other diseases...; so as ther dyed some times 2. or 3. of a day, in the
foresaid time; that of 100 and odd persons, scarce 50. remained. And of
these in the time of most distres, ther was but 6. or 7. sound persons."
Indians, fur trade and maize.--The region which the Pilgrims had
selected for their first settlement was almost deserted by the Indians,
many of them having been swept away by a plague. At some distance to the
southward lived the Wampanoags, whose chief was Massasoit. Shortly after
the arrival of the Pilgrims an Indian named Squanto, who previously had
been carried to Europe by one of Smith's captains, appeared in the
settlement. Squanto prevailed upon Massasoit to come to Plymouth, where
a treaty of peace was made which lasted for fifty years. This led to the
opening of a fur trade, which became the chief source of wealth for the
colony. Squanto proved to be of great service, teaching the settlers the
planting of maize and instructing them in hunting and fishing. Carver
died in the spring of 1621, and William Bradford was elected governor, a
position which he held almost continually until 1657. In the fall the
_Fortune_, poorly provisioned, arrived with thirty-five settlers, an
influx which led to another winter of hardship. The boat also brought a
patent from the Council for New England.
"Weston's rude fellows."--In May, 1622, sixty-seven persons arrived,
having been sent out by Thomas Weston, who had obtained a grant from the
Council for New England. Later they moved to Wessagusset, where they
lived a turbulent life. In 1623 the Indians to the northward planned to
exterminate the Wessagusset settlers, who appealed to Plymouth for aid.
Captain Miles Standish led a force against the Indians, who were so
severely punished that peace was established.
Expansion of Plymouth.--At first the wealth of the colony was held in a
common stock. Bradford determined to assign a tract of land to each
family, an experiment which greatly stimulated industry. From this time
the colonists were never in danger of starvation, and in a few years
they were able to pay off their debts to the English merchants. To
increase the fur trade, posts were established on Buzzard's Bay, on the
Kennebec River, at Penobscot, and at Machias Bay, the two latter posts,
however, being soon broken up by the French. A group of traders who
established themselves at Merry Mount under Thomas Morton shocked the
austere people of Plymouth, who in 1628 broke up Morton's establishment.
A trade was opened with the Dutch, and in 1636 a fur trading post was
established on the Connecticut River. In 1624 there were one hundred and
eighty settlers in the Plymouth colony, and in 1630 only three hundred;
but after that the number increased rapidly, by 1642 the population
being three thousand.
Government of the colony.--The first governor exercised executive and
judicial powers, and the same powers were vested in Bradford and an
assistant. The number of assistants was increased in 1624 to five and
in 1633 to seven. The freemen composed the legislative body, which was
called the General Court, one of its sessions being devoted annually to
the election of officers. In 1638 a representative system was
introduced, Plymouth being allowed four delegates and other towns two
each. Legally every freeman could vote, but in practice the suffrage was
restricted to church members. Pastors and elders were elected by the
adult males of each congregation, and attendance at church meetings was
vigorously enforced.
COLONIZING ACTIVITIES ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST
Land grants and settlements.--While Plymouth was developing, the Council
for New England was attempting to settle the New England coast. The
region from the Bay of Fundy to Narragansett Bay was divided among
twenty patentees. Captain John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges procured
a patent to lands between the Kennebec and Merrimac rivers; Mason
received lands between Salem and the Merrimac; Sir Robert Gorges ten
miles of coast lands along "the north east side of Boston Bay," and Lord
Sheffield and Lord Edward Gorges extensive tracts to the south of Sir
Robert Gorges's lands. Lord Warwick also received lands on Massachusetts
Bay. The grantees obtained the assistance of English merchants, who, in
1623 established small settlements at Portsmouth and Dover, within the
present state of New Hampshire, and at Saco Bay, Monhegan Island, and
Casco Bay, within the modern state of Maine. Sir Robert Gorges made an
unsuccessful attempt to plant a settlement at Weymouth, and a group of
Dorchester merchants planted a settlement on Cape Ann.
Lyford, Oldham, and Morton.--In 1624 a group of colonists, including a
minister named John Lyford, arrived at Plymouth. There he joined with
John Oldham to get control of the government. They were banished from
the colony and went to Weymouth, where they joined with Roger Conant and
others, and moved to Nantasket. The following year, on the invitation of
the Dorchester men, Lyford, Conant, and Oldham moved to Cape Ann. This
angered the Plymouth people, who had obtained a tract on Cape Ann from
Lord Sheffield. Difficulties over fishing rights soon developed, and
Miles Standish was sent to the cape with a troop of soldiers. A
compromise was effected, but the Plymouth men soon abandoned the
enterprise. The Dorchester men found little profit in the business and
in 1626 most of them departed. Oldham returned to Plymouth. Conant and
three others remained, but shortly afterward removed to Naumkeag, the
modern Salem. In 1625 a settlement was established a little north of
Weymouth, where Thomas Morton became the leader. He established the
Episcopalian service, set up a May-pole which became the scene of
gaiety, and engaged in the fur trade, but Plymouth men soon broke up the
settlement.
The Canada and Laconia companies.--When war broke out between England
and France in 1628, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Captain John Mason
organized the Canada Company to conquer the French fur-trading colonies
of Acadia and Canada, and in 1629 a fleet under Captain Kirke captured
the French colonies, but in 1632 they were restored to France. The Maine
proprietors also attempted to tap the fur trade of the Lake Champlain
region and accordingly, in 1629, obtained a grant embracing the lake
country and a thousand acres of sea coast land, the territory being
known as Laconia. A governor was appointed and attempts made to
penetrate the fur country in the interior, but the efforts proved
abortive.
THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY
Rev. John White's association.--The Reverend John White of Dorchester
interested people in Lincolnshire and London, and formed an association,
which, through the assistance of Warwick, in 1628 procured a patent for
lands between the parallel which passed three miles north of the source
of the Merrimac to that which passed three miles south of the head of
the Charles River, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In September,
1628, John Endicott with about fifty followers arrived at Salem.
The Massachusetts Bay Company.--Trouble for the new association was
brewing in England. Members of the Gorges family attempted to interfere
with the new settlement, and Morton and Oldham joined with them. The new
association, however, succeeded in defeating the former patentees, and
in March, 1629, a royal charter was obtained which confirmed the grant
made to Endicott and his partners. The new corporation was called the
"Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay in New England." The
administration was placed in the hands of a governor, deputy governor,
and eighteen assistants, who were to be elected annually by the freemen
or members of the corporation. Four times a year the officers and
freemen were to meet in a general court at which new freemen might be
admitted to membership, subordinate officers might be appointed, and
laws and ordinances enacted. On June 27, 1629, five ships with about
four hundred settlers arrived at Salem.
The Cambridge agreement.--At this time Laud had begun his persecution of
the Puritans and the king had started on his career of personal
government. Under these circumstances the Puritan leaders looked to the
New World for an asylum. John Winthrop, a wealthy gentleman of Groton in
Suffolk, who had been a follower of Warwick in parliament, now became
interested in the Massachusetts enterprise. Winthrop and several
prominent men of Cambridge met and agreed to emigrate to New England
provided the charter and government might be legally transferred to
America. The company decided to transfer the government. Winthrop was
made governor, and Thomas Dudley deputy governor.
The "Great Migration."--In June, 1630, eleven ships anchored at Salem
and before the winter six more arrived, bringing in all over a thousand
people. They found Endicott's followers in a deplorable condition. About
one-fourth had died during the previous winter; many of the survivors
were sick and there was a shortage of provisions. The new arrivals had
brought only a limited supply and for the first year famine stalked in
the land. The dreary prospect caused about a hundred of the newcomers to
return immediately to England. Winthrop and most of his followers
removed to Charlestown. By December two hundred had died. Believing that
the inadequate water supply at Charlestown was the main cause of
sickness, the settlers began to scatter, and before the new year
settlements had been started at Dorchester, Boston, Watertown, Roxbury,
Mystic, and Lynn.
The hardships endured by the followers of Endicott and Winthrop
prevented many from coming during 1631 and 1632, but in 1633 a new wave
of migration set in. Laud became arch-bishop in that year and began a
rigorous enforcement of the laws against nonconformists. Many ministers
with their congregations in consequence migrated. By the end of 1634
there were nearly four thousand settlers in Massachusetts. The migration
continued until the outbreak of war in 1642, by which time the
population had increased to about sixteen thousand.
The form of government.--The charter vested the government in the
governor, deputy governor, assistants, and freemen of the company but
not more than twelve of the colonists were legally eligible to
membership in the general court. Before disembarking this little group
decided that each of the assistants should exercise the same powers as
an English justice of the peace. The colony was to be governed by the
common law of England, which was to be supplemented by biblical law. At
the first general court, held at Boston, October 19, 1630, one hundred
and nine men applied for admission as freemen of the corporation. This
Winthrop and his associates hesitated to grant, but finally they agreed
to admit them, allowing them to elect assistants, but not to hold
office. It was also provided that in future no person should be admitted
as a freeman unless a member of some church within the colony. Though
Winthrop and his followers at first claimed to be members of the Church
of England, the necessities of the frontier soon asserted themselves,
and each community became a political, economic, and a religious unit.
The New England towns.--The New England towns were based upon the idea
of group settlement and wherever New Englanders migrated the local
organization was reproduced. As Professor Osgood says, "The settlement
of a town normally began with the laying out of a village plot and the
assignment of home lots. This to an extent determined the location of
highways, of the village common, and of some of the outlying fields. On
or near the common the church was built, and in not a few cases the site
that was chosen for this building went far toward determining the entire
lay-out of the town. The idea of a home lot was a plot of ground for a
dwelling-house and outbuildings, for a dooryard and garden, and usually
also an enclosure for feeding cattle and raising corn."
The first settlers located wherever they pleased, but the Massachusetts
general court soon took over the superintendence of town founding and
prescribed more or less definitely the boundaries of each town. The
grants were made in tracts of thirty-six square miles or more. Within a
town there were many common fields which were handled by associated
proprietors. The fields were surrounded by common fences and were
cultivated by a joint system. The herds were also held in common. The
original grantees and their legal heirs or successors made up the
commoners or proprietors. Originally the town and the proprietors were
approximately the same. An important function of the town meeting was in
allotting land. Soon each community began to receive newcomers who were
freemen but not proprietors. At first the proprietors were in control,
but as the freemen increased in number frequent struggles occurred over
the arrangement of town lands.
[Illustration: Principal Settlements in Massachusetts, 1630.]
The meeting house was the center of local life. There the town meeting
was held and there the people repaired on the Sabbath. In early days the
military stores and equipment were usually kept in the edifice and the
men attended service with arms in hand. The town constructed and took
care of the meeting house and the minister was supported by taxation.
One of the early acts of each town was to establish a school, the
meeting house frequently being used as a school-house.
A representative system introduced.--The governor and assistants soon
found their power challenged. In 1632 a tax was voted for fortifying
Newtown, the modern Cambridge. The tax caused considerable grumbling,
and the general court decided that, in future, the governor and
assistants should be advised in matters of taxation by two delegates
from each town, and that all magistrates should be elected by the entire
body of freemen. In 1634 a committee of two freemen from each town
demanded larger rights. The result was a representative system, each
town sending representatives according to its size to meet with the
general court. This system was in no sense a popular government, the
franchise continuing to be restricted to a limited number of church
members, the leaders of whom were distinctly aristocratic.
The struggle with Laud.--The patentees who had been deprived of their
rights found a ready listener in Archbishop Laud, who disliked the
Puritan commonwealth growing so lustily on the shores of Massachusetts
Bay. Grounds for accusation were found in the fact that the
Massachusetts magistrates expelled those who disagreed with their
religious ideas. Complaints were filed with the privy council by Gorges
and Mason, but a committee of the council in 1633 made a report which
was favorable to the colony. In 1634 the attack was renewed, and this
time with better success, for the king appointed the Commission for
Foreign Plantations, headed by Laud, to take over the general
supervision of all the colonies. Immediately a demand was made for the
charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Governor Dudley and the
assistants replied that the charter could not be returned except by
order of the general court, which was not in session. They immediately
fortified Castle Island, Dorchester, and Charlestown.
In 1635 the coast of New England was reapportioned, Sir Ferdinando
Gorges receiving the lands in Maine between the Penobscot and the
Piscataqua, Mason receiving New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts as
far as Cape Ann, and Lord Edward Gorges from Cape Ann to Narragansett
Bay. The same year the Council for New England resigned its charter, and
the king decided to seize the charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company.
The pecuniary difficulties of the king, the destruction of a boat which
was built by Mason and Gorges, and the death of Mason combined to help
the colony. Though the charter was again demanded in 1638 by the lord
commissioners, the general court refused to recognize the order, and the
increasing difficulties of the king made it possible for the
Massachusetts authorities to continue their independent course.
EXPANSION OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY
RHODE ISLAND
Roger Williams.--The power of the Massachusetts magistrates was
exercised to maintain the ideal of a biblical commonwealth, whose
principles were expounded by John Cotton of the Boston church. Those who
did not agree were in danger. Among the dissenters was Roger Williams, a
brilliant young student from Cambridge, who arrived at Boston in 1631,
where he was invited to become one of the ministers. He refused to
commune with those who had not broken with the English church and
repaired to Salem where he was invited to become the minister, but the
general court prevented his ordination. Williams soon departed for
Plymouth, where he devoted much time to the study of the Indians. He
concluded that the title to land belonged to the natives and that the
king had no right to grant it away, a view which somewhat disturbed
Brewster and Bradford.
He returned to Salem where, during the illness of Skelton, the pastor,
he occasionally preached; when Skelton died, Williams became the teacher
of the organization. In his sermons he argued that church and state
should be separate, and denied the right of the magistrates to regulate
churches. He also considered it a sin to follow the forms of the
established church. When the colony was attacked by Laud, the general
court ordered that a new oath of fidelity be taken. Williams objected to
enforced oaths, as he thought that they obliged wicked men to perform a
religious act, thus invading the freedom of the soul.
Providence plantation.--To punish Salem for harboring Williams, title to
its lands on Marble Neck was refused by the general court and the town
was denied the right of representation. Endicott yielded but Williams
remained obdurate. In a letter to the churches he protested against the
arbitrary act. Williams was summoned before the magistrates and in
October, 1635, was sentenced to banishment. The sentence was not
immediately enforced and at Salem he continued to be the center of a
group of Separatists, who proposed to remove in the spring to the shores
of Narragansett Bay. This again alarmed the magistrates, and they
decided to send Williams to England. Hearing of the project, he fled
from his persecutors and found refuge among the Narragansett Indians. He
was warned away from the territory of Plymouth, and in June, 1636,
settled at Providence, where he soon had a considerable following, this
being the first settlement in Rhode Island.
Title to the land was obtained from the Indians. As the Providence
people were outside of any special jurisdiction, they established a
government on democratic lines. Church and state were kept separate, no
one being forced to support religion. In 1640 an agreement was drawn up
which served as a form of government for several years. The governing
body was composed of five men called disposers, who were chosen four
times in each year. They disposed of the land and managed the common
stock. The freeholders retained the right to ratify or disavow, in
general meetings, the acts of the disposers. There was a lack of a
strong executive and judiciary. Disputes were usually settled by
arbitration, but as there was no authority to enforce the settlement,
disorders frequently occurred.
Anne Hutchinson.--No sooner had Williams been driven from Massachusetts
Bay Colony than a second controversy shook the commonwealth. In the
congregation of John Cotton was Mrs. Anne Hutchinson. She became popular
by ministering to the sick, and began to hold meetings for women, where
the sermons were discussed. Mrs. Hutchinson assumed the roll of teacher,
discussing the questions of "a covenant of works" and "a covenant of
grace," By the covenant of works she referred to the practice of the
Catholic church, which considered penance, confession, and pilgrimages
as means of salvation. By a covenant of grace she meant that condition
of mind of Protestant Christians which found peace in the thought of the
holiness of Christ. She believed that the divine spirit existed in every
true Christian. John Cotton and her brother-in-law, John Wheelwright,
were held up as examples of those who lived in the covenant of grace. To
many of the Boston leaders it seemed as if Mrs. Hutchinson claimed to be
inspired, and they feared that her teachings would endanger the
authority of the church.
The Boston congregation split into two factions. In Mrs. Hutchinson's
party was Governor Harry Vane. On the other side were John Winthrop and
the pastor, John Wilson. Cotton attempted to remain neutral but favored
the Hutchinsonian party. The question soon became a bitter political
quarrel between Winthrop and Vane. At the election in 1637 Vane was
defeated. Without the support of the chief executive the followers of
Mrs. Hutchinson soon lost power. A synod of ministers was held at
Cambridge to root out the heresies. Cotton succeeded in making his peace
with the magistrates, but Wheelwright was banished, as was Mrs.
Hutchinson. She was allowed to remain in the colony during the winter,
but early in the spring of 1638 Winthrop ordered her to depart.
Settlements on Rhode Island.--She found a temporary asylum at
Providence, but soon went to the island of Aquidneck, afterward called
Rhode Island, where she joined her husband and some of her friends. The
little group of nineteen settlers constituted themselves a body politic,
electing William Coddington chief magistrate. Many emigrants joined the
people of Portsmouth and in 1639 a new settlement was founded at
Newport.
SETTLEMENTS IN THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY
Early claimants.--One of the patentees who had received lands from the
Council of New England was the Earl of Warwick, whose grant covered a
large part of the Connecticut Valley. In 1631 he transferred his rights
to Lord Saye and Sele, Lord Brooke and others, who contemplated founding
a Puritan colony, but for several years they did nothing to settle their
domain. In 1633 the Dutch erected a fort where Hartford now stands, and
shortly afterward men from Plymouth built a trading post ten miles
farther up the river. In 1635 the English patentees, wearied with the
Providence Island project, sent out settlers under John Winthrop, Jr.,
who erected Fort Saybrook at the mouth of the river. Scarcely were the
cannon in place when a Dutch vessel appeared, but finding the English
strongly posted, the Dutch made no attempt to take possession.
The migration of 1635-36.--A more important movement came from
Massachusetts. Congregations from Watertown, Dorchester, and Cambridge,
desiring better lands, migrated to the rich Connecticut Valley. The
first Dorchester men arrived at Windsor in the summer of 1635. In June,
1636, the Rev. Thomas Hooker led the Cambridge people to Hartford, the
rest of the Dorchester congregation joined those already at Windsor, and
the people of Watertown settled at Wethersfield. By the end of 1636
eight hundred people were living in the three towns. Another
congregation from Roxbury settled at Springfield.
The Pequot War.--The Pequot Indians saw with chagrin the increasing
numbers of the whites. The settlers also angered them by purchasing
lands from the Mohegans, and ignoring the Pequot chiefs. In 1633 the
Pequots had murdered a Virginia sea-captain named Stone, and Governor
Winthrop had inquired concerning the homicide. In 1634, fearing the
Dutch and the Narragansetts, the Pequots had sought an alliance with
Massachusetts Bay Colony. As a price of forgiveness for Stone's murder
and for protection, Winthrop demanded heavy tribute. In 1636 John
Oldham, who had come to collect the tribute, was murdered at Block
Island. Though the Pequots were probably not guilty, Endicott led a
force against them, destroying several wigwams and seizing considerable
maize. Angered by the raid, the Pequots attempted to form an alliance
with the Narragansetts, but Williams prevented it, and in the ensuing
war Mohegans and Narragansetts fought on the white man's side. In the
spring of 1637 Pequots attacked Wethersfield. A general court was
immediately convened at Hartford to take measures for protection, and an
expedition was sent against the Pequot fort on the Mystic River, where
the defenders were exterminated. Another stronghold to the westward was
also destroyed. A remnant of the tribe was wiped out near New Haven by
Connecticut and Massachusetts troops and the captives were made slaves,
some being retained in New England, others being shipped to the West
Indies. The Indian menace was thus removed and the settlers were free to
push farther into the wilderness.
"The Fundamental Orders."--In 1639 Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield
formed a constitution, which provided that the freemen were to hold two
general meetings each year. At one of these meetings the governor and
assistants were elected, who, with four representatives from each town,
were to make up a general court with legislative and judicial powers.
New Haven.--The successful issue of the Pequot War opened the
Connecticut Valley to another important migration. This was led by Rev.
John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton, who had come to New England to
plant a colony on purely theocratic lines. In 1638 they founded New
Haven, and the following year drew up a form of government. Citizenship
was restricted to church membership and an annual general court of
freemen was to elect a governor and assistants, who were to conduct all
governmental affairs, the only restriction on their authority being the
law of Moses. Guilford, Milford, and Stamford sprang up in the
neighborhood, and each adopted a similar form of government.
Settlement of Long Island.--English settlements also appeared on Long
Island. In 1632 Sir Edmund Plowden obtained a grant from Charles I of
Long Island and a portion of the adjoining coasts. Three years later the
Council for New England assigned Long Island to Sir William Alexander.
In 1640 settlers from New Haven obtained a title to Long Island from
Alexander's representative and settled at Southold. Others from
Massachusetts attempted a settlement opposite Manhattan, but, being
driven away by the Dutch, moved to Southampton at the eastern end of the
island.
READINGS
GENERAL
Andrews, C.M., _The Fathers of New England_, _passim_; Becker, Carl,
_The Beginnings of the American People_, 80-124.
THE PURITAN MOVEMENT AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY
Adams, C.F., _Three Episodes of Massachusetts History_, I, 1-182; Arber,
Edward, _The Story of the Pilgrim Fathers_; Bradford, William, _History
of Plymouth Plantation_; Channing, Edward, _History of the United
States_, I, 271-321; Cheyney, E.P., _European Background of American
History_, 216-239; Dexter, Morton, _The England and Holland of the
Pilgrims_; _The Story of the Pilgrims_; Doyle, J.A., _The Puritan
Colonies_, I, 11-81; Eggleston, Edward, _The Beginners of a Nation_,
98-181; Fiske, John, _The Beginnings of New England_, 60-87; Griffis,
W.E., _The Pilgrims in their Three Homes_; Neal, D., _History of the
Pilgrims_; Osgood, H.L., _The American Colonies in the Seventeenth
Century_, I, 98-137; Palfrey, J.G., _History of New England_, I,
101-238; Tyler, L.G., _England in America_, 148-182; Weeden, W.B.,
_Economic and Social History of New England_, I, 8-45; Young, Alexander,
_Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers_; Usher, R.G., _The Pilgrims and
Their History_.
MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY
Buffington, A.H., "New England and the Western Fur Trade, 1629-1675," in
Colonial Society of Massachusetts, _Publications_, XXVIII, 160-192;
Channing, Edward, _History of the United States_, I, 322-351; Doyle,
J.A., _The Puritan Colonies_, I, 83-112; Eggleston, Edward, _Beginners
of a Nation_, 188-215; Ellis, G.E., _The Puritan Age and Rule_; Fiske,
John, _The Beginnings of New England_, 88-111; Johnson, Edward,
_Wonder-Working Providence_; Newton, A.P., _The Colonizing Activities of
the English Puritans_; Osgood, H.L., _The American Colonies in the
Seventeenth Century_, I, 141-199, 424-467; Palfrey, J.G., _History of
New England_, I, 283-405; _A Compendious History of New England_, I,
91-133; Tyler, L.G., _England in America_, 183-209; Weeden, W.B.,
_Economic and Social History of New England_, I, 47-164; Winthrop, John,
_Journal_.
RHODE ISLAND AND THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY
Channing, Edward, _History of the United States_, I, 362-411; Doyle,
J.A., _The Puritan Colonies_, I, 113-199; Eggleston, Edward, _Beginners
of a Nation_, 266-346; Osgood, H.L., _The American Colonies in the
Seventeenth Century_, I, 224-254, 301-370; Richman, I.B., _Rhode Island,
a Study in Separatism_, 13-61; _Rhode Island, its Making and its
Meaning_, 3-62; Tyler, L.G., _England in America_, 210-264; Weeden,
W.B., _Early Rhode Island_.