SETTLEMENT OF THE THIRTEEN ORIGINAL STATES.
_Virginia_,--Founding of Jamestown--Captain John Smith--Introduction of
African Slavery--Indian Wars--Bacon's Rebellion--Forms of
Government--Prosperity--Education--_New England_,--Plymouth--Massachusetts
Bay Colony--Union of the Colonies--Religious Persecution--King Philip's
War--The Witchcraft Delusion--_New Hampshire_,--_The Connecticut Colony_,
--_The New Haven Colony_,--Union of the Colonies--Indian Wars--The Charter
Oak--_Rhode Island_,--Different Forms of Government--_New York_,--The
Dutch and English Settlers--_New Jersey_,--_Delaware_,--_Pennsylvania_,
--_Maryland_,--Mason and Dixon's Line--_The Carolinas_--_Georgia_.
At the opening of the seventeenth century there was not a single English
settlement on this side of the Atlantic. It has been shown that the
French succeeded in planting colonies in Canada, that of De Monts, in
1605, in Acadia (the French name of Nova Scotia), proving successful,
while Champlain founded Quebec three years later. St. Augustine,
Florida, was founded by the Spanish in 1565, but it has played an
insignificant part in our history. England was the mother of the
colonies, from which the original thirteen States sprang, and we are
vastly more indebted to her than to all other nations combined.
THE FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT.
In the year 1606, when James I. was king of England, he gave a charter
or patent to a number of gentlemen, which made them the owners of all
that part of America lying between the thirty-fourth and thirty-eighth
degrees of north latitude. The men who received this gift associated
themselves together under the name of the London Company, and in the
same year sent out three vessels, carrying 105 men, but no women or
children. A storm drove them out of their course, and, in the month of
May, they entered the mouth of a broad river, which they named the
James in honor of their king. They sailed up stream for fifty miles,
and, on the 13th of May, 1607, began the settlement of Jamestown, which
was the first English colony successfully planted in America. Everything
looked promising, but the trouble was that the men did not wish to work,
and, instead of cultivating the soil, spent their time in hunting for
gold which did not exist anywhere near them. They were careless in their
manner of living and a great many fell ill and died. They must have
perished before long had they not been wise enough to elect Captain John
Smith president or ruler of the colony.
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND HIS ADVENTURES.
This man is one of the most interesting characters in the early history
of our country. He was a great boaster, and most of his associates did
not like him. He had been a wanderer in many parts of the world, and had
any number of stories to tell of his wonderful adventures. Probably some
of those stories were true and many fiction. Be that as it may, he was
an energetic and brave man, and the very one to save the perishing
settlers. He made every man work, and none wrought harder than himself.
As a consequence matters began to mend at once.
Obeying his orders in London, Captain Smith, when it seemed prudent to
do so, spent much of his time in exploring the streams that flowed into
the James. It must not be forgotten that it was still believed in Europe
that America formed a part of Asia, and that no one needed to penetrate
far into the interior to reach that country.
On one of these voyages Captain Smith was taken prisoner by the Indians,
who led him before their chief Powhatan. The chief decided that he must
be put to death, and, with his hands tied together, he was placed on the
ground, with his head resting on two big stones. Then one of the
warriors stepped forward to dash out his brains with a club. At that
moment Pocahontas, the young daughter of the chief, ran forward, and,
throwing her arms around the head of Smith, begged her father to spare
his life. The chief consented, and the prisoner was set free and
returned to Jamestown. Such is the story which Captain Smith told after
the death of Pocahontas in England, which she had visited with her
husband, an Englishman named Rolfe, and it can never be known whether
the incident was true or not. Some years later Smith was so badly
injured by the explosion of gunpowder that he had to return to England
for treatment. There he died in 1631. His invaluable services in this
country have led historians to regard him as the saviour of the Virginia
colony.
[Illustration: POCAHONTAS SAVING THE LIFE OF JOHN SMITH.]
The most woeful blow that was struck the American colonies was in
August, 1619, when a Dutch ship sailed up the James and sold twenty
negroes, kidnapped in Africa, to the colonists as slaves. It was thus
that African slavery was introduced into this country, bringing in its
train more sorrow, suffering, desolation, and death than pen can
describe or imagination conceive. The institution became legal in all
the colonies, and the ships of New England, as well as those of old
England, were actively engaged for many years in the slave trade.
[Illustration: THE MARRIAGE OF POCAHONTAS.]
WARS WITH THE INDIANS.
The marriage of Pocahontas to one of the settlers made her father a firm
friend of the whites as long as he lived. At his death, his brother
Opechankano succeeded him. He hated intensely the invaders of the
hunting grounds, and began plotting to exterminate them. On the 22d of
March, 1622, he made such a sudden and furious assault upon the
plantations, as the farms were called, along the James that 400 people
were killed in one day. The settlers rallied, slew many of the Indians
and drove the remainder far back in the woods, but by the time this was
accomplished half of the 4,000 settlers were dead and the eighty
plantations were reduced to eight.
Opechankano was not crushed, and for more than twenty years he busied
himself in perfecting his plans for a greater and more frightful
massacre. It was in April, 1644, that he struck his second blow, killing
between three and four hundred of the settlers. Once more the Virginians
renewed the war of extermination, and pressed it mercilessly until the
Indians sued for peace, gave a large tract of land to their conquerors,
and retired still further into the wilderness. It is worth noting that
at the time of this last massacre Opechankano was nearly a hundred years
old.
BACON'S REBELLION.
Sir William Berkeley was the most bigoted ruler Virginia ever had. In
one of his messages, he thanked God that there were no free schools or
printing in his province. He was very tyrannous, and, having friends in
the assembly, they prevented the election of any new members from 1666
to 1676. The taxes became intolerable, and trade fell into the hands of
a few individuals. Not only that, but the governor disbanded the troops
which had gathered for protection against the Indians, who renewed their
attacks on the exposed plantations.
This was more than the people could stand, and they rose in rebellion
under the leadership of Nathaniel Bacon, a popular young planter, who
had lost several members of his family through the attacks of the
Indians. Berkeley was cowed for a time, but the arrival of some ships
from England enabled him to take the field against Bacon. During the
civil war, Jamestown was burned to the ground and never rebuilt. Bacon
pressed his resistance so vigorously that his success seemed certain,
when unfortunately he fell ill and died. Left without a leader, the
rebellion crumbled to pieces. The exultant Berkeley punished the
leading rebels without mercy. He hanged twenty-two, and was so ferocious
that the king lost patience and ordered him to return to England. "The
old fool!" he exclaimed; "he has taken away more lives in that naked
country than I did for the murder of my father."
PROSPERITY OF THE COLONY.
Colonial Virginia underwent several changes in its form of government. A
"Great Charter" was granted to it in 1613 by the London Company. This
permitted the settlers to make their own laws. The House of Burgesses,
which was called together at Jamestown by Governor Yeardley, July 30,
1619, was the first legislative body that ever met in this country. King
James was dissatisfied with the tendency of things, and in 1624 he took
away the charter and granted a new one, which allowed the colony to
elect the members of the House of Burgesses, while the king appointed
the council and their governor. This made Virginia a royal province,
which she remained until the Revolution.
[Illustration: ARMOR WORN BY THE PILGRIMS IN 1620.]
Virginia became very prosperous. Immense quantities of tobacco were
raised and sent to England and Holland, where it became widely popular.
Its cultivation was so profitable in the colony that for a time little
else was cultivated. It was planted even along the streets of Jamestown
and became the money of the province. Everything was paid for in so many
pounds of tobacco. The population steadily increased, and in 1715 was
95,000, which was the same as that of Massachusetts. A half-century
later, Virginia was the richest and most important of the thirteen
colonies. The people lived mostly on large plantations, for land was
plentiful and the Indians gave no further trouble. Most of the
inhabitants were members of the Church of England, and their assemblies
passed severe laws against the entrance of people of other religious
beliefs into the colony. It required the furnace blasts of the
Revolution to purify Virginia and some other provinces of this spirit of
intolerance.
Education was neglected or confined to the rich who could send their
children to England to be educated. Some of the early schools were
destroyed by Indians, but William and Mary College, founded in 1692, was
the second college in the United States. It was never a very strong
institution.
THE "OLD DOMINION."
It is worth recording how Virginia received the name of the "Old
Dominion." She remained loyal to Charles I. throughout the civil war in
England which ended in the beheading of the king. She was true also to
Charles II. when he was a fugitive and declared an outlaw. While in
exile, he sent Governor Berkeley his commission as Governor of Virginia,
and that ruler was immensely pleased. The king, to show his appreciation
of the loyalty of his colony, made public declaration that Virginia
added a fifth country to his kingdom, making it consist of England,
Scotland, France, Ireland, and Virginia, and he devised as an addition
to the motto of the English coat of arms, "_En dat Virginia quintam_"
("Lo! Virginia gives the fifth"). While Cromwell was turning things
topsy-turvy in England, a great many of the best families among the
Royalists emigrated to Virginia, where they were received with open arms
by Governor Berkeley and the owners of the plantations. From this arose
the name "Old Dominion," which is often applied to Virginia.
THE PILGRIMS AT PLYMOUTH.
During the early days of Virginia there was bitter persecution in
England of those whose religious views differed from the Church of
England. This cruelty drove many people to other countries, and because
of their wanderings they were called "Pilgrims." Those who remained
members of the English church and used their efforts to purify it of
what they believed to be loose and pernicious doctrines were nicknamed
"Puritans." Those who withdrew from the membership of the church were
termed "Separatists" or "Independents." This distinction is often
confounded by writers and readers.
One hundred and two Pilgrims, all Separatists, who had fled to Holland,
did not like the country, and decided to make their homes in the New
World, where they could worship God as their consciences dictated. They
sailed in the _Mayflower_, and, after a long and stormy passage, landed
at Plymouth, Massachusetts, December 21, 1620, in the midst of a
blinding snowstorm.
The Pilgrims were hardy, industrious, and God-fearing, and were prepared
to face every kind of danger and suffering without murmur. They were
severely austere in their morals and conduct, and, when writhing in the
pangs of starvation, maintained their faith unshaken in the wisdom and
goodness of their Heavenly Father. All these admirable qualities were
needed during the awful winter, which was one of the severest ever known
in New England. They built log-houses, using oiled paper instead of
glass for the windows, and in the spring were able to buy corn of the
Indians, who pitied their sufferings, for in the space of a few weeks
one-half of the Pilgrims had died. At one time there were but seven well
persons in the colony. Among those who passed away was John Carver, the
first governor.
[Illustration: LANDING OF MYLES STANDISH.]
The survivors held their ground with grim heroism, and by-and-by other
immigrants arrived, and the growth and prosperity, though slow, was
certain. It had no charter, but was governed by an agreement which had
been drawn up and signed in the cabin of the _Mayflower_, about the time
the bleak coast of New England was sighted. For sixty years after the
settlement of Plymouth, its history was uneventful. It was never very
large, but the real work which it accomplished was in bringing
thousands of other colonists to follow it to New England, who were
opponents of the Established Church, and who gave to that section of our
country a distinctive character of its own.
MYLES STANDISH.
It is an interesting coincidence that while Virginia had her Captain
John Smith, Plymouth possessed a character quite similar in the person
of Captain Myles Standish. He was the military leader of the colony,
with a courage that was absolutely fearless. He has been described as a
very small man, with a "long, yellow beard," and a temper as inflammable
as gunpowder. Nothing would rouse his anger sooner than to hear any slur
upon his stature. A big, hulking Indian, belonging to a party much
larger than Standish's, once looked down upon the diminutive Englishman,
and, with a curl of his lip, referred to him as too small to fight. The
next day, in a fight that arose with the chiefs, Standish killed the
insulting Indian with his own knife. All readers are familiar with the
beautiful poem of Longfellow, which tells how Standish employed John
Alden to woo Priscilla, the "loveliest maid of Plymouth," for him, and
he did it with such success that Alden won her for himself.
MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony included the part of the present State of
Massachusetts from the neighborhood of Boston northward. It was founded
by Puritans, who, it will be remembered, had not separated wholly from
the Church of England, but opposed many of its ceremonies. In the civil
war with England they sided with the Parliament and were subjected to
the same persecution as the Separatists. In 1628 a number of wealthy
Puritans bought the territory from the Council of Plymouth, and,
receiving a charter the following year from Charles I., sent small
colonies across the Atlantic. Then the company itself followed, taking
with it the charter and officers, thus gaining a colony in America that
was wholly independent of England. Salem and some other small
settlements had previously been made.
The colony was one of the most important that ever settled in this
country. Its leaders were not only of the best character, but were
wealthy, wise, and far-seeing. A large number arrived in 1630, and
founded Boston, Cambridge, Lynn, and other towns. Although they suffered
many privations, they were not so harsh as those of Plymouth, and the
colony prospered. During the ten years succeeding 1630, 20,000 people
settled in Massachusetts, and in 1692 the two colonies united under the
name of Massachusetts.
It would seem that since these people had fled to America to escape
religious persecution, they would have been tolerant of the views of
those among them, but such unhappily was not the case. The most
important part of their work was the building of churches and the
establishment of religious instruction. The minister was the most
important man in the colony, and no one was allowed to vote unless a
member of the church. A reproof in church was considered the most
disgraceful penalty that could be visited upon a wrong-doer. The sermons
were two, three, and sometimes four hours long, and the business of one
of the officers was to watch those overcome by drowsiness and wake them
up, sometimes quite sharply.
[Illustration: KING PHILIP'S WAR--DEATH OF THE KING.]
RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.
Roger Williams, a Baptist preacher, told the Puritans, as the people
came generally to be called, that they did wrong to take the land from
the Indians without paying for it, and that a person was answerable to
God alone for his belief. These charges were answered by the banishment
of Williams from the colony. All the Baptists were expelled in 1635.
Shortly afterward, Anne Hutchinson boldly preached the doctrine of
Antinomianism, which declares that a man is not saved by the help of
good works, but by divine grace alone. In other words, no matter how
wickedly he lives, his salvation is wholly independent of it. She went
to Rhode Island and afterward to New Netherland, where she was killed in
one of the attacks of the Indians upon the Dutch settlements.
[Illustration: ROGER WILLIAMS IN BANISHMENT.]
The Quakers greatly annoyed the New England colonists. They persisted in
rising in the Puritan meetings and disputing with ministers. Many were
fined, whipped, imprisoned, and banished, but in the face of warnings
they returned. As a consequence, four were put to death. Then a reaction
set in and the persecution ceased.
The most formidable war in which the early colonies of New England were
involved was with King Philip, who was the son of Massasoit, a firm
friend of the settlers until his death. Philip was one of the great
Indians of history. Like many of his people he saw with anger the growth
of the white men, who in time would drive him and his warriors from
their hunting grounds. Realizing the magnitude of the work of
exterminating all the settlers, he visited the different tribes and used
every effort to unite them in a war against the invaders. He was partly
successful, and, with the allies secured, King Philip began the war by
attacking a party of settlers at Swansea, on Sunday, June 24, 1675,
while they were on their way to church. Several whites were killed, when
the Indians hurried off to the Connecticut Valley to continue their
dreadful work.
All understood their peril, and flew to arms. Every man carried his
musket to church, and they were stacked outside the door, while a
sentinel paced up and down. More than once the long sermon was
interrupted by the crack of the red men's guns and their wild whoops, as
they swarmed out of the woods. Springing down from the pulpit, the
minister was among the foremost in beating the heathen back, and, when
quiet was restored, probably he resumed and finished his sermon.
The war was prosecuted furiously on both sides. In the depth of winter,
when the snow lay several feet on the ground, John Winslow led 1,500 men
against the Narragansett stronghold, which was in the heart of a great
swamp, and was one of the most powerful fortifications ever erected by
the red men on this continent. In the terrible fight, 200 white men and
nearly 1,000 Indians were killed. Finally, Philip was run down in a
swamp near his old home on Mount Hope, not far from the present city of
Bristol, Rhode Island. While stealing out of his hiding-place, he was
confronted by a white soldier and a friendly Indian. The gun of the
former missed fire, whereupon the Indian leveled his musket and shot the
Wampanoag leader dead. The war ended a few months later. During its
continuance, six hundred white men were killed and many more wounded;
thirteen towns were destroyed and five hundred buildings burned, but the
Indian power in southern New England was shattered forever.
THE WITCHCRAFT DELUSION.
One of the most fearful delusions recorded in history is that of the
general belief in witchcraft which prevailed in Europe down to the
seventeenth century. Its baleful shadow all too soon fell upon New
England. Massachusetts and Connecticut made laws against witchcraft and
hanged a number of persons on the charge of being witches. In 1692 the
town of Salem went crazy over the belief that the diabolical spirits
were at work among them. Two little girls, who were simpletons that
ought to have been spanked and put to bed, declared with bulging eyes
that different persons had taken the form of a black cat and pinched,
scratched, and bitten them. The people, including the great preacher
Cotton Mather, believed this stuff, and the supposed wizards and witches
were punished with fearful severity. Suspicion in many cases meant
death; evil men disposed of their creditors and enemies by charging them
with witchcraft; families were divided and the gentlest and most
irreproachable of women suffered disgraceful death. Everybody, including
ministers and judges, lost their wits. The magistrates crowded the
jails, until twenty had been put to death and fifty-five tortured before
the craze subsided. Then it became clear that no one, no matter what his
station, was safe, and the delusion, which forms one of the blackest
pages in New England, passed away.
[Illustration: GALLUP'S RECAPTURE OF OLDHAM'S BOAT
Which had been taken by the Indians from the Puritan exiles in 1636.
"Steer straight for the vessel," cried Gallup, and stationing himself at
the bow he opened fire on the Indians. Every time his gun flashed some
one was hit. This incident was the beginning of the Pequot War.]
SETTLEMENT OF MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE.
New Hampshire was the name of John Mason's share of a territory granted
to him and Sir Fernando Gorges by the Council of Plymouth in 1622. This
grant included all the land between the Merrimac and Kennebec Rivers.
The first settlement was made in 1623, at New and at Little Harbor, near
Portsmouth. In 1629 the proprietors divided their grants, the country
west of the Piscataqua being taken by Mason, who named it New Hampshire,
while Gorges, who owned the eastern section, called it Maine.
The settlements were weak and their growth tardy. In 1641 New Hampshire
placed itself under the protection of Massachusetts, but the king
separated them in 1679, and made New Hampshire a royal colony. In 1688
it again joined Massachusetts, and three years later was set off once
more by the king, after which it remained a royal colony until the
Revolution.
THE CONNECTICUT COLONY.
The Connecticut colony included all of the present State of Connecticut,
excepting a few townships on the shore of Long Island Sound. It came
into the possession of the Earl of Warwick in 1630, and the following
year he transferred it to Lords Say, Brooke, and others. The Dutch
claimed the territory and erected a fort on the Connecticut River to
keep out the English. The latter, however, paid no attention to them,
and a number of Massachusetts traders settled at Windsor in 1633.
Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut, was settled in 1635. A great
many emigrants came from Massachusetts in 1636, the principal leader
being Thomas Hooker. They founded Weathersfield, Windsor, and Hartford,
and in 1639 adopted the name of the Connecticut colony and drew up a
written constitution, the first ever framed by a body of men for their
own government. Other settlements were made and Saybrook united with
them.
The most eventful incident in the history of Connecticut was the war
with the Pequot Indians, who were a powerful tribe in the eastern part
of the State. They tried to persuade the Narragansetts to join them, but
Roger Williams, who lived among them, persuaded Canonicus, their chief,
to refuse. Then the Pequots committed the fatal mistake of going to war
alone. The settlers, fully roused to their danger, assailed the Pequot
stronghold with fury, one summer morning in 1637, and killed all their
enemies, sparing neither women nor children. Thus a leading tribe of
Indians were blotted out in one day.
THE NEW HAVEN COLONY.
The New Haven colony comprised the townships already referred to as
lying on Long Island Sound. It was settled in 1638 by a company of
English immigrants, who were sufficiently wise and just to buy the lands
of the Indians. Other towns were settled, and in 1639 the group took the
name of the New Haven colony. Neither of the colonies had a charter, and
there was much rivalry in the efforts to absorb the towns as they were
settled. The majority preferred to join the Connecticut colony, for the
other, like Massachusetts, would permit no one not a member of church to
vote or hold office.
[Illustration: PRIMITIVE MODE OF GRINDING CORN.]
THE COLONY OF CONNECTICUT.
What is known in the history of England as the Commonwealth,
established by Cromwell, came to an end in 1660. Charles II. ascended
the throne, and Winthrop, governor of the Connecticut colony, which had
now grown to be the stronger of the two, went to England to secure a
charter. It was granted to him in 1662, and covered the territory
occupied by both colonies, who were permitted to elect their assembly,
their governor, and to rule themselves. New Haven, after deliberating
over the question, reluctantly accepted the charter, and in 1665 the two
were united under the name of the Colony of Connecticut.
Everything was going along smoothly, when, in 1687, Governor Andros came
down with a company of soldiers from Boston and ordered the people to
surrender their charter. He was acting under the orders of the king, who
did not fancy the independence with which the colony was conducting
matters. Andros confronted the assembly, which were called together in
Hartford. They begged that he would not enforce his demands. He
consented to listen to their arguments, though there was not the
slightest probability of it producing any effect upon him.
THE CHARTER OAK.
The talk continued until dark, when the candles were lighted. Suddenly,
at a signal, all were blown out. When they were re-lighted, the charter,
which had been lying on the table in plain sight, was nowhere to be
found. Captain Wadsworth had slipped out during the interval of darkness
and hidden the paper in the hollow of an oak. Then he returned and took
his place among the members, looking the most innocent of all. Andros
fumed and raved and informed the assembly that their trick would avail
them nothing, since their charter government was at an end. He went back
to Boston, to be turned out of office two years later, when the precious
charter was brought from its hiding-place.
No effort was spared to preserve the historical "Charter Oak," that had
thus been made famous. It was supported and propped in every part that
showed signs of weakness, and held up its head until 1856, when a
terrific storm brought it to the ground, shattered to fragments, all of
which were carefully gathered and preserved by those fortunate enough to
obtain them.
The early division of the colonies was long marked by the fact that
Hartford and New Haven served as the two capitals of the State until
1873, when Hartford became the sole capital.
SETTLEMENT OF RHODE ISLAND.
It has been stated that when Roger Williams was banished from
Massachusetts he took refuge among the Narragansett Indians, who
occupied the country at the head of Narragansett Bay. Canonicus, the
chief, held the good man in high esteem, and presented him with a large
tract of land, which the devout Williams named "Providence" in
remembrance of the manner in which he believed God had directed him
thither. Settlers from Massachusetts followed him, and all were
hospitably received and kindly treated. The fullest religious liberty
was allowed, and even when Anne Hutchinson visited Williams, he treated
her like a sister. Williams obtained a charter in 1644 from the
Parliament and it was confirmed in 1654. The new one granted by Charles
II. in 1663 united all the colonies into one, under the name Rhode
Island and Providence Plantations. This is still the legal name of the
State, which retains its two capitals, Providence and Newport, the
Legislature meeting alternately in each. The charter of Charles II.
suited the people so well that it remained in force until 1842, when
Thomas Dorr headed a rebellion, as related hereafter, which resulted in
the establishment of a new charter.
The existence of Rhode Island was threatened by the claim of Connecticut
to all the land on the west to the shore of Narragansett Bay, while
Plymouth insisted that the land on the east to the shore of the same bay
belonged to her. Rhode Island stoutly resisted, and succeeded in 1741
and 1752 in fixing her boundaries as they are to-day, which make her the
smallest State in the Union.
SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK.
It has been shown that Holland was more anxious to secure trade than
territory. Soon after the discovery of the Hudson, by Captain Henry
Hudson, the Dutch traders sent vessels to Manhattan Island, now
constituting the city of New York, and began bartering with the Indians.
In 1621 Holland granted the territory from Delaware Bay to the
Connecticut River to the Dutch West India Company. The name given to the
territory was New Netherland, while the settlement, which grew in time
into the metropolis of America, was called New Amsterdam. The whole
island was bought from the Indians for sixty guilders, equal to about
twenty-four dollars, a price which is considerably less than would be
demanded to-day for the site of Greater New York.
New Netherland was governed successively by Peter Minuet, Walter Van
Twiller, William Kieft, and Peter Stuyvesant, who were sent out by the
Dutch West India Company, and whose rule extended from 1626 to 1664. Of
these, Stuyvesant was by far the ablest, and he made a strong impression
on the social and political life of New Netherland. He was severe and
stubborn, however, and many of the Dutchmen found his rule so onerous
that they were rather pleased than otherwise, when the English, in 1664,
claimed the territory by right of discovery and sent out a fleet which
compelled Stuyvesant to surrender the town. The doughty old governor
stamped about New Amsterdam with his wooden leg, calling upon his
countrymen to rally and drive back the rascals, but little or no heed
was paid to his appeals.
Charles II. had granted the territory to his brother the Duke of York,
who soon after ascended the throne, thus making the colony, which
included that of New Jersey, a royal one. The Connecticut people had
settled a large part of Rhode Island, which they claimed, but the duke
was too powerful to be resisted, and Long Island became a part of New
York, as the city and province were named.
In 1673, while at war with England, Holland sent a fleet which
recaptured New York, but it was given back to England, upon the signing
of a treaty in 1674. The manner in which New Netherland was settled by
the Dutch was quite different from that of New England. Wealthy men,
termed "patroons," were granted immense tracts of laud and brought over
settlers, whose situation was much like that of the serfs of Russia.
Traces of the patroon system remained long after the Revolution, and, in
1846, caused the "Anti-Rent War," which resulted in the death of a
number of people.
The province of New York suffered greatly from misrule. The people were
not permitted to elect their own assembly until 1683, and two years
later, when the Duke of York became king, he took away the privilege.
William and Mary, however, restored it in 1691, and it remained to the
Revolution.
As a proof of the bad governorship of New York, it may be said that
there is good reason to believe that one of its rulers was interested
with the pirates who infested the coast, while another, who refused to
sign the death-warrant of two persons who had committed no serious
crime, was made drunk and then persuaded to sign the fatal paper. When
he became sober, he was horrified to find that both had been executed.
WILLIAM KIDD, THE PIRATE.
The piracy alluded to became such a scandalous blight that strenuous
measures were taken to crush it. In 1697 Captain William Kidd, a New
York shipmaster and a brave and skillful navigator, was sent to assist
in the work. After he had cruised for a while in distant waters, he
turned pirate himself. He had the effrontery to return home three years
later, believing his friends would protect him; but, though they would
have been willing enough to do so, they dared not. He was arrested,
tried in England, convicted, and hanged. Piracy was finally driven from
the American waters in 1720.
In 1740 New York was thrown into a panic by the report that the negroes
had formed a plot to burn the town. It is scarcely possible that any
such plot existed, but before the scare had passed away four whites and
eighteen negroes were hanged, and, dreadful as it may sound, fourteen
negroes were burned at the stake. In addition, nearly a hundred were
driven out of the colony.
The fine harbor and noble river emptying into it gave New York such
advantages that, by 1750, it had become one of the most important
cities on the coast, though its population was less than that of
Philadelphia. At the time named, its inhabitants numbered about 12,000,
which was less than that of Philadelphia. The province itself contained
90,000 inhabitants. The chief towns were New York, Albany, and Kingston.
Brooklyn, which attained vast proportions within the following century,
was merely a ferry station.
SETTLEMENT OF NEW JERSEY.
New Jersey, as has been stated, was originally a part of New Netherland.
As early as 1618, the Dutch erected a trading post at Bergen. All now
included in the State was granted, in 1664, by the Duke of York to Lord
John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. Carteret was once governor of the
island of Jersey in the English Channel, and gave the name to the new
province. In the year mentioned, the first English settlement was made
at Elizabethtown, now known as Elizabeth.
[Illustration: THE FIRST FRIENDS' MEETING-HOUSE, BURLINGTON, NEW
JERSEY.]
In 1674, the province was divided into East and West Jersey, a
distinction which is preserved to some extent to the present day.
Berkeley, who owned West Jersey, sold it to a number of Quakers, some of
whom settled near Burlington. Carteret sold his part to William Penn and
eleven other Quakers. The various changes of ownership caused much
trouble with the land titles. In 1702, all the proprietors surrendered
their rights to the crown and New Jersey became a royal colony. The same
governor ruled New York and New Jersey, though those in the latter
elected their own assembly. A complete separation from New York took
place in 1738, and New Jersey remained a royal province until the
Revolution. Its location averted all troubles with the Indians. Newark,
the principal city, was settled in 1666, by emigrants from Connecticut.
Burlington, founded in 1677, was one of the capitals and Perth Amboy the
other.
[Illustration: WILLIAM PENN, THE GOOD AND WISE RULER.]
EARLY SETTLEMENTS ON THE DELAWARE.
In 1638, a number of Swedes formed the settlement of Christina on the
Delaware, near Wilmington. They bought the land from the Indians and
named it New Sweden. A second settlement, that of Chester, was made just
below the site of Philadelphia in 1643, and was the first in the present
State of Pennsylvania. The fiery Governor Stuyvesant of New
Netherland looked upon these attempts as impudent invasions of his
territory, and, filled with anger, hurried down to Delaware and captured
both. It was a matter of no moment to the thrifty Swedes, who kept on
the even tenor of their way and throve under the new government as well
as under the old. A further account of the settlement of Delaware will
be given in our history of that of Pennsylvania.
[Illustration: NOTABLE AUDIENCE IN MARYLAND TO HEAR GEORGE FOX, THE
FOUNDER OF THE "SOCIETY OF FRIENDS" OR QUAKERS.]
SETTLEMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE.
The peace-loving Quakers were among those who suffered persecution in
England for conscience sake. William Penn was the son of Admiral Penn,
who disliked the Quakers and had been a valiant officer for the English
government. When he died, the crown owed him a large sum of money, which
William offered to liquidate in return for a grant of the land now known
as the State of Pennsylvania. The king willingly agreed to this, and the
Duke of York, who had a strong liking for Penn, added the present State
of Delaware to the grant, in which, as has been stated, the Swedes had
made a number of settlements.
William Penn was one of the best and wisest rulers that had to do with
the settlement of our country. The king, more as a piece of pleasantry
than otherwise, insisted upon naming the province "Pennsylvania," in
honor of the proprietor, much to the good man's dismay. He offered the
royal secretary a liberal fee to omit the first part of the name from
the charter, but it was not done. No rule could have been more kindly.
Absolute freedom of conscience was permitted; in all trials by jury of
an Indian, one-half of the jury were to be composed of Indians, and,
although Penn was induced to permit the punishment of death for treason
and murder, to be provided for in the code, no man was ever executed
while Penn had anything to do with the province.
His first act, after his arrival in 1682, was characteristic. He called
the Indian chiefs together, under a great spreading elm at Shackamaxon,
and paid them for the land that was already his by royal grant. In
addition, he made the red men many presents and signed a treaty, which
neither party broke for sixty years. It has been truly said that this
was the only treaty not sworn to which was kept inviolate by both
parties.
Penn himself laid out the city of Philadelphia in 1683. A year later, it
had a population of 7,000, and in three years more its population
increased faster than that of New York in half a century. Delaware, then
called the "Three Lower Counties," was given a separate government at
the request of the people in 1703. They were allowed their own deputy
governor, but Pennsylvania and Delaware continued substantially under
one government until the Revolution.
The good ruler met with many misfortunes. In 1692, the province was
taken from him, because of his friendship to James II., but restored
soon afterward. In 1699, when he made his second visit, he found the
people had in a great measure grown away from him, and were unwilling
that he should exercise his former supervision. While absent, a
dishonest steward robbed him of nearly all his property in England; and,
failing in health and mind, he died in 1718. His sons became
proprietors, but the people grew more and more discontented with the
payment of rents. To end the disputes and quarrels, the State abolished
the rents during the Revolution, paying the proprietors the sum of
$650,000 for the extinguishment of their rights.
PHILADELPHIA.
Philadelphia was prosperous from the first. New York City did not catch
up to it until after the year 1810. It was early noted, as it has been
since, for its cleanliness, fine buildings, and the attention it gave to
education. It had a printing press in 1686, and three years later a
public high school. In the year 1749, the present University of
Pennsylvania was founded as a school, becoming a college in 1755, and a
university in 1779. Many of the names of streets, such as Walnut,
Chestnut, Pine, Mulberry, and others, were given to it when the city was
laid out.
[Illustration: MORAVIAN EASTER SERVICE, BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.]
The settlement of the province was confined for a long time to the
eastern section. No population was more varied. The Scotch and Irish
were mainly in the central portion, the Dutch and Germans in the east
and northeast, and the English in the southeastern part of the colony.
There are hundreds of people to-day in Pennsylvania, whose ancestors for
several generations have been born there, who are unable to speak or
understand a word of English.
Maryland is the next colony in order of settlement. The Roman Catholics
were among those who suffered persecution in England, and Maryland was
founded as a place of refuge for them. Among the most prominent of the
English Catholics was Sir George Calvert, known as Lord Baltimore. His
first attempt to found a colony was in Newfoundland, but the rigorous
climate compelled him to give it up. He decided that the most favorable
place was that portion of Virginia lying east of the Potomac. Virginia
had its eye already upon the section, and was preparing to settle it,
when Charles I., without consulting her, granted the territory to Lord
Baltimore. Before he could use the patent, he died, and the charter was
made to his son, Cecil Calvert, in 1632. He named it Maryland in
compliment to the queen, Henrietta Maria.
Leonard Calvert, a brother of Lord Baltimore, began the settlement of
Maryland at St. Mary's, near the mouth of the Potomac. He took with him
200 immigrants and made friends with the Indians, whom he treated with
justice and kindness. Annapolis was founded in 1683 and Baltimore in
1729.
Despite the wisdom and liberality of Calvert's rule, the colony met with
much trouble, because of Virginia's claim to the territory occupied by
the newcomers. William Clayborne of Virginia had established a trading
post in Maryland and refused to leave, but he was driven out, whereupon
he appealed to the king, insisting that the Catholics were intruders
upon domain to which they had no right. The king decided in favor of
Lord Baltimore. Clayborne however, would not assent, and, returning to
Maryland in 1645, he incited a rebellion which was pressed so vigorously
that Calvert was forced to flee. He gathered enough followers to drive
Clayborne out in turn. The Catholics then established a liberal
government and passed the famous "Toleration Act," which allowed
everybody to worship God as he saw fit. Many persons in the other
colonies, who were suffering persecution, made their homes in Maryland.
After a time, the Protestants gained a majority in the assembly and made
laws which were very oppressive to the Catholics. The strife degenerated
into civil war, which lasted for a number of years. The proprietor in
1691 was a supporter of James II., because of which the new king,
William, took away his colony and appointed the governors himself. The
proprietor's rights were restored in 1716 to the fourth Lord Baltimore.
The Calverts became extinct in 1771, and the people of Maryland assumed
proprietorship five years later. Comparative tranquillity reigned until
the breaking out of the Revolution.
An interesting occurrence during this tranquil period was the arrival
from England of George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends or
Quakers. In the assemblage which gathered on the shores of the
Chesapeake to listen to his preaching were members of the Legislature,
the leading men of the province, Indian sachems and their families, with
their great chief at their head.
The disputed boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania was fixed in
1767, by two surveyors named Mason and Dixon. This boundary became
famous in after years as the dividing line between the free and slave
States.
Charles II., in 1663 and 1665, granted the land between Florida and
Virginia to eight proprietors. The country had been named Carolina in
honor of their king, Charles IX. (Latin, _Carolus_), and since Charles
II. was King of England the name was retained, though he was not the
ruler meant thus to be honored. The country was comparatively
uninhabited after the failure of the French colony, except by a few
Virginians, who made a settlement on the northern shore of Albemarle
Sound.
THE CAROLINAS.
For twenty years the proprietors tried to establish upon American soil
one of the most absurd forms of government ever conceived. The land was
to be granted to nobles, known as barons, landgraves, and caziques,
while the rest of the people were not to be allowed to hold any land,
but were to be bought and sold with the soil, like so many cattle. The
settlers ridiculed and defied the fantastical scheme, which had to be
abandoned. It was the work of John Locke, the famous philosopher, who at
one time was secretary of Lord Cooper, one of the proprietors.
The first settlement of the Carteret colony was made in 1670, on the
banks of the Ashley, but in 1680 it was removed to the present site of
Charleston. The colonies remained united for about seventy years, when
it became apparent that the territory was too large to be well governed
by one assembly and a single governor. In 1729, the present division was
made, and the rights of government and seven-eighths of the land were
returned to the crown.
The soil and climate were so favorable that thousands of immigrants were
attracted thither. Among them were numerous Huguenots or French
Protestants, whose intelligence, thrift, and morality placed them among
the very best settlers found anywhere in our country. Newbern was
settled by a colony of Swiss in 1711, and there was a large influx of
Scotch after their rebellion of 1740, England giving them permission to
leave Scotland. Scotch immigrants settled Fayetteville in 1746.
There were occasional troubles with the Indians, the most important of
which was the war with the Tuscaroras, in 1711. This tribe was utterly
defeated and driven northward into New York, where they joined the
Iroquois or Five Nations. The union of the Tuscaroras caused the
Iroquois to be known afterward as the Six Nations.
The Carolinas were afflicted with some of the worst governors
conceivable, interspersed now and then with excellent ones. Often there
was sturdy resistance, and in 1677 one of the governors, who attempted
to enforce the Navigation Act, was deposed and imprisoned. In 1688,
another was driven out of the colony. The population was widely
scattered, but the people themselves were as a whole the best kind of
citizens. They would not permit religious persecution, and defeated the
effort to make the Church of England the colony church. As a
consequence, the Carolinas became, like Maryland and Pennsylvania, a
refuge for thousands of those who were persecuted in the name of
religion.
GEORGIA.
Georgia was the last of the thirteen original colonies to be settled,
and, though it long remained the weakest of them all, its history is
very interesting. It, too, was a country of refuge for those suffering
persecution, but their affliction was different in its nature from those
of whom we have made record.
One of the remarkable facts connected with the government of nations
claiming the highest civilization, hardly more than a century ago, was
the brutality of their laws. Many crimes, comparatively trifling in
their nature, were punishable with death. One of the most cruel of these
oppressive laws was that which permitted a man to throw into prison a
neighbor who was unable to pay the money he owed. If a poor tenant fell
ill, and could not pay his landlord, the latter could have him flung
into jail and kept there until the debt was paid. Since the debtor was
unable to earn a penny while in prison, and probably his wife and
children were equally helpless, the landlord thus deprived himself of
all possibility of getting his money, while the wretched debtor
literally "rotted" in prison. Thousands died in dreadful misery, merely
because they were poor.
[Illustration: COLONIAL PLOW WITH WOODEN MOULD-BOARD. 1706 (State
Agricultural Museum, Albany, N.Y.)]
This system of allowing imprisonment for debt prevailed in our own
country until within the memory of men still living. It makes one's
cheeks tingle with shame and indignation to recall that Robert Morris,
who devoted all his wealth and energies to raising money for the
patriots during the Revolution, who furnished Washington with thousands
of dollars, and but for whose help the war must have failed, became poor
after independence was gained and was imprisoned for debt.
The system caused such horrible suffering in England that the pity of
all good men was stirred. Among these was James Edward Oglethorpe, one
of the most admirable characters in modern history. He was a brave and
skillful soldier, eminently just, of the highest social position and a
member of Parliament. He determined to do something practical for the
perishing debtors in English jails. He, therefore, asked George II. to
give him a grant of land in America to which the imprisoned debtors
could be sent, and the king, whose heart also seemed to be touched,
promptly did so. It was said of Oglethorpe that the universal respect
felt for him made certain that any favor he asked of his own associates
or friends would be willingly granted.
[Illustration: ANCIENT HORSESHOES PLOWED UP IN SCHENECTADY CO., N.Y.
(In the New York State Agricultural Museum.)]
The king not only presented him with valuable equipments, but Parliament
granted him a liberal sum, to which wealthy citizens added. He had the
best wishes of his entire country when he sailed for America with one
hundred and fourteen persons. He named the new colony Georgia in honor
of the king, and began the settlement of Savannah in 1733, Darien and
Augusta being founded three years later. It need hardly be said of such
a man, that, like Penn and Baltimore, he bought the lands anew of the
Indians and retained their friendship from the start. On one of his
visits to England he took a party of red men with him, entertained them
at his country place and presented them at court.
The Spaniards claimed Georgia as their own territory, and raised a large
force with which to expel Oglethorpe, whose colony had been increased by
the arrival of other immigrants, but the English officer handled his men
with such extraordinary skill that the Spaniards were utterly routed.
[Illustration: A COLONIAL FLAX-WHEEL.]
It would be supposed that Georgia would have been one of the most
successful of the original colonies, since seemingly it possessed every
advantage, but such was far from the fact. One cause for this was the
"coddling" the pioneers received. They were harmed by too much kindness.
Had they been compelled to hew their own way, like their neighbors, they
would have done better. They were like children spoiled by being granted
too many favors.
[Illustration: HIAWATHA, FOUNDER OF THE IROQUOIS LEAGUE
The Iroquois League was composed of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga,
Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora nations, who founded in the New York
wilderness a barbaric republic, with bonds of union that might serve in
many respects as a model for civilized nations.]
Another cause was the poor laws by which the people were ruled. Slavery
at first was forbidden within its borders, though it was tolerated all
about them. Then, in 1747, the trustees yielded to the general demand
and admitted slavery. Other rules caused discontent, and many settlers
moved away. Population appeared to be at a standstill, and finally the
trustees in 1752 surrendered their rights to the crown. More liberal
laws followed and the prosperity increased.
[Illustration: SILK-WINDING.
(Fac-simile of a picture in Edward Williams' "Virginia Truly Valued."
1650.)]
Of General Oglethorpe, it may be added that he lived to reach his
ninety-eighth year. It was said of him that he was the handsomest old
man in London, and people often stopped on the streets to look at and
admire him. He always had a warm regard for the American colonies.
Indeed, it was this marked friendship for them which prevented his
appointment as commander-in-chief of the British forces during the
Revolution.
GROWTH OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES.
It will thus be seen that, beginning with Virginia, in 1607, the
American colonies had grown in a little more than a century and a
quarter to thirteen. These were strung along the Atlantic coast from
Maine to Florida, and in 1750 their population was about 1,260,000. This
was vigorous growth. All the colonists, although born on this side of
the Atlantic, considered themselves Englishmen, and were proud of their
king, three thousand miles away across the ocean. With such loyal
subjects, the English crown had the best opportunity in the world to
become the most powerful of all the nations.
[Illustration: A COMFORTIER, OR CHAFING-DISH.
(New York State Cabinet of Natural History, Albany.)]
But Great Britain was not free from misgiving over the rapid growth of
her American colonies. Nothing looked more probable than that before
many years they would unite in one government of their own and declare
their independence of the British crown. Then was the time for the
display of wise statesmanship, but unhappily for England and happily for
the colonies, such wise statesmanship proved to be lacking on the other
side of the water. The colonies displayed great industry. They grew
tobacco, rice, indigo, and many other products which were eagerly
welcomed by the British merchants, who exported their own manufactures
in exchange for them. The inevitable result was that England and the
American colonies increased their wealth by this means. Not only that,
but the colonies voted ships, men, and money to help the mother country
in the wars in which she was often involved.
As early as 1651, Parliament passed the first of the oppressive
Navigation Acts, which forbade the colonies to trade with any other
country than England, or to receive foreign ships into their ports. This
act was so harsh and unjust that it was never generally enforced, until
the attempt, more than a century later, when it became one of the
leading causes of the American Revolution.
[Illustration: EARLY DAYS IN NEW ENGLAND.]
[Illustration: PLACES OF WORSHIP IN NEW YORK IN 1742.
1. Lutheran. 2. French. 3. Trinity. 4. New Dutch. 5. Old Dutch. 6.
Presbyterian. 7. Baptist. 8. Quaker. 9. Synagogue.]