TOPIC 3.2—THE PURITANS (44-52)
I. Types of Puritans
A. The Northern colonies of England were originally founded by either Puritans or Pilgrims attempting to escape religious
persecution
1. The Puritans were either “separatists” or “non-separatists”
a. Separatists wanted to “separate” from the Church of England completely
b. Puritan Non-Separatists wanted to “purify” the Church of England
2. The most famous group of Separatists was the Pilgrims that settled in America
II. The Pilgrims
A. The Pilgrims, the most famous Separatists group of Puritans, came aboard their ship the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth
MA in 1620
1. Before coming to the America’s, had first went to Holland but children were being “Dutchified”
B. Before the Pilgrims got off the boat, they drew up an agreement to abide by the will of the majority called the Mayflower
Compact
1. The Mayflower Compact is a small taste of democracy
C. William Bradford will be the major leader of the Plymouth Colony
1. Bradford elected to be governor 30 times
2. Bradford wrote Of Plymouth Plantation which was a book about the experiences of the Pilgrims in Plymouth
D. In 1621, the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving with the Native Americans
1. The Pilgrims were not thanking the Indians as much as they were thanking God
III. The Massachusetts Bay Colony
A. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was later established by other Puritan settlers
1. The Plymouth Colony will later be blended into the Mass. Bay Colony
B. John Winthrop was the main leader of the Mass. Bay Colony
1. Winthrop wanted to make Massachusetts Bay Colony an example to the rest of the world
a. Winthrop wanted Mass. Bay to be a “City Upon a Hill”
C. The official Puritan, tax supported church is known as the Congregational Church
1. In the Southern colonies, the official tax supported church is the Anglican Church
IV. Massachusetts Bay Dissenters
A. Although many settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony agreed with the Puritan ideals, there were two major dissenters
1. The first major dissenter was Anne Hutchinson who believed in “Antinomianism”
a. Antinomianism said that don’t have to obey God or man, if saved doesn’t matter
b. Hutchinson was banished from Mass. Bay Colony; later killed by Indians
2. The second dissenter was Roger Williams who disagreed with the Bay Colony leadership on paying taxes to the
church and the taking of Native Americans lands without payment
BYRD AP U.S. HISTORY TOPIC NOTES
a. Roger Williams will break away and found his own colony called Rhode Island; nicknamed “The Sewer” and
“Rogues Island” by his opponents
b. Roger Williams established what is thought to be the first Baptist church in Rhode Island
c. Rhode Island will become one of the most free & independent colonies; North Carolina close second
V. Connecticut
A. The colony of Connecticut, another offshoot of the Puritans colony, was founded by Thomas Hooker
1. Connecticut was the first colony that had a written constitution
2. The Connecticut Constitution was called the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut and was so well written it is basically
the same today
VI. King Phillips War
A. The relationship among the Puritans and Native Americans is best described as being on and off again.
B. One major conflict among the Natives and Puritans was known as King Phillips War
1. King Phillip was also known as Metacom
2. Metacom was the first Indian to attempt to band all Indian tribes together to drive out the English in the Northern
colonies
3. The effect of King Phillips War was the Puritans will not take any new land for a long period of time from the Natives
VII. Attempts at Colonial Unity
A. Due to various problems, both economically and military, England made two attempts to unify the New England colonies
1. The first attempt was called the New England Confederation
a. The New England Confederation was formed as a defense against Native Americans; small and only
composed of four colonies
2. The second attempt at unity was called the Dominion of New England
a. The Dominion of New England was an economic plan to try and enforce the Navigation Acts of 1650
b. The Dominion of New England was mainly set up to control colonial/English economics (mercantilism)
c. The Dominion of New England was governed by Sir Edmund Andros; eventually run off
BYRD AP U.S. HISTORY TOPIC NOTES