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COLONIAL AMERICA SECOND EDITION Oscar Theodore Barck, Jr. PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY Hugh Talmage Lefler KENAN PROFESSOR OF HISTORY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Macmillan Company, New York Collier-Macmillan Limited, London © Copyright, The Macmillan Company, 1968 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. FIRST PRINTING Earlier edition © copyright 1958 by The Macmillan Company Library of Congress catalog card number: 68-10104 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, NEW YORK COLLIER-MACMILLAN CANADA, LTD., TORONTO, ONTARIO Printed in the United States of America PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION A knowledge of colonial America is essential to full comprehension of the subesquent history of the United States. In the period prior to 1789 the “transplanted Europeans” developed many of the theories and traits that formed the American way of life. In the political field great strides toward democracy were made with the ini tiation of the concepts of popular representation, separation of powers, a broader franchise, the initiative, referendum, and recall, and Federal and state governments. In the area of civil liberties the various bills of rights afforded original protection for the several “freedoms.” Religious life changed radically, with increasing emphasis upon toleration and separation of church and state. The way was paved for public control of education, and cultural advances were made in related fields. Social life was losing its aristocratic tinge as the frontier was enlarged and relics of feudalism were disappearing. The first glimmerings of “Manifest Destiny” were indicated as the colonists pushed westward across the Appalachians. A combination of these and other factors helped to make the “transplanted Europeans” into Americans and to form the “melting pot,” which is still functioning. In this story of colonial America less emphasis is placed upon the Age of Ex ploration and less detail is given to the establishment of each of the original colonies. On the other hand, more attention has been given to the economic and cultural aspects of early American life, as well as to the period of the American Revolution. The authors feel that this concentration is the one most likely to provide a sound understanding of the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Many contemporary quotations, which should help considerably to make the period live, are included in this account. The bibliography is divided into two parts. The first consists of titles which should be helpful to the advanced student of colonial history. The second con tains a list of books which are primarily for the undergraduate student. The authors wish to acknowledge the sympathetic support given by their respective wives during the long period when this volume was growing, some times very slowly for them, to maturity. OSCAR THEODORE BARCK, JR. HUGH TALMAGE LEFLER PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION In the decade that has elapsed since the publication of the first edition, there have appeared many works dealing with various aspects of American his tory through the adoption of the federal Constitution. These studies indicate that both scholars and the general public are showing a growing interest in a knowledge of colonial America, which, as the authors stated in the preface of the first edition, “is essential to full comprehension of the subsequent history of the United States.” In this second edition the authors, while continuing approximately the same organization, have incorporated many of the valid new interpretations that have been advanced in the last ten years. In addition, many maps have been added, particularly for colonial settlement, as well as more illustrations in order to provide the reader with a better visual idea of the life and times of the colonial and Revolutionary period. The bibliographic materials, for both the advanced and the undergraduate student, include the most recent works for this period of American history. The authors wish to thank the numerous colleagues and users of the first edition for their many valuable suggestions for the improvement of the original text. Special appreciation is extended to our respective wives, who undoubtedly suffered—though silently—while the authors were in seclusion making the revisions for this edition. OSCAR THEODORE BARCK, JR. HUGH TALMAGE LEFLER CONTENTS LISTOFMAPS Xi 1 The Old World and the New i 2 The Beginning of English Colonization 22 3 The Founding of Virginia 36 4 Maryland: First Successful Proprietary Colony 57 5 The Settlement of New England: The Founding of Plymouth 69 6 The Massachusetts Bay Colony 80 7 The Completion of New England Colonization 96 | 8 British Colonies in the Caribbean 113 9 Colonial Policies Under the Commonwealth and Restoration 126 10 The Carolina Proprietary 148 11 Anglo-Dutch Rivalry on the Hudson 163 12 The Quaker Colonies 181 13 Colonial Unrest, 1660-1689 196 14 British Policies and Problems, 1689-1740 217 15 Eighteenth Century Colonial Administration 236 16 Territorial Growth and Expansion in the Eighteenth Century 250 17 The New Immigration 264 18 ) Colonial Life and Society 277 19 ) The Labor Problem in the Colonies 310 20 The Land System and Agriculture in the Colonies 323 '21/ Industrial Life in the Colonies 344 Colonial Travel, Transportation, and Trade 360 x CONTENTS Religion and the Church 386 (94) Colonial Culture: Education 405 <25| Colonial Culture: Professions, Sciences, and the Arts 423 26^ The Great War for the Empire 441 2^ The New Imperial Policy 459 28 The West and Its Problems, 1763-1775 470 2^ The Grenville Plans 490 3tf The Breach Widens 5” sf The First Continental Congress 533 32 Revolutionary Local and State Governments 547 33 Progress Toward Independence 557 34 The American Revolution: Years of Tribulation 577 35 The American Revolution: Tide of Victory 603 36 Revolutionary Diplomacy and Finance 623 37 The Revolution Within 640 38 The Articles of Confederation 653 39 The Critical Years 662 40 The Constitution 682 BIBLIOGRAPHY 699 INDEX 731 LIST OF MAPS Principal Voyages of Exploration 6 Territorial Provisions of the Virginia Company Charters of 1606 and 1609 37 The Chesapeake Area 61 New Plymouth About 1690 77 Massachusetts Bay Colony Under the 1629 Charter 82 Connecticut Under the Charter of 1662 and Rhode Island Under the Charter of 1663 102 The Caribbee Islands 120 The Carolinas 151 New Netherland and New Sweden About 1650 173 New Jersey About 1685 185 Pennsylvania About 1703 188 The Colonies About 1689 193 Eastern North America in 1713 225 Georgia Under Charter of 1732 259 English Possessions, 1763 and After 475 Seat of War in the Northern and Middle States 598 The West in the Revolutionary Period 609 The War in the Southern States 617 State Claims to Western Lands 658 A Township Survey 677 Land Surveys in the Old Northwest 679 ------ 1------ THE OLD WORLD AND THE NEW The history of the colonies founded in the New World by enterprising Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, French, and English adventurers from the end of the fifteenth century into the eighteenth is but a part of a larger account of the expansion of Europe. Indeed, the statements, so often repeated, that “Americans are transplanted Europeans” and that “America is the outpost of Europe” are historically correct. With the exception of the American Indians and the African Negroes, the inhabitants of the New World, certainly through the eighteenth century, were all people of European birth or descent, who brought with them or inherited European customs, traditions, language, and ideas and theories of government. Such being the case, it is essential in tracing the founding and growth of the colonies in North America that were established by Englishmen or that came under English control to relate the factors and con ditions in Europe that contributed to and affected the development of those settlements. Because, however, the main theme of this volume is the political, economic, and cultural history of those colonies, only a sufficient survey will be presented to indicate the part the European background played in shaping the destinies of those who were willing to brave the dangers of both a long and treacherous transatlantic voyage and a New World wilderness to establish homes and governments in English America. Feudalism and the Crusades. When the Roman Empire broke up in the fifth century, Europe was plunged into the period usually referred to as the Dark Ages, during which the scattered inhabitants made little progress in matters political, economic, or cultural. The accompanying era of feudalism, with its emphasis on manorial self-sufficiency and local warfare, was not conducive to the development of centralized government, urban growth, exchange of commod ities, or an inquisitive spirit. In the absence of national states, the only unifying force was the Christian Church centered in Rome, but even that institution was not wholly effective because of the generally disruptive features of the era. One of the first indications of an awakening from the slumber of the Dark Ages was the Crusades, beginning wfth^thecall by Pope Urban II in 1096 for all good Christians to reconquer the Holy Land from the infidel Mohammedans, 2 COLONIAL AMERICA but broadening into selfish efforts on the part of many participants to escape debts, to gain lands in the Middle East that were thought to be “flowing with milk and honey,” or to obtain salvation in a new way. These Crusaders did not succeed in their primary religious objective, but, regardless of their motives, they weakened the bonds of isolationism that the Dark Ages had forged. Further more, they rediscovered products of the Far East—^spices, precious stones, silks, and satins)—that their ancestors had enjoyed centuries earlier. Many of the Crusaders who escaped the swords of the Saracens and returned to western Europe were not content to resume their old ways of life, which had been narrow and monotonous. They not only wished to continue the friendships they had made with other Europeans, but to ensure the possibility of obtaining the luxury items of the Orient. jThe Crusades likewise helped to promote a spirit of intellectual unrest] The more open-minded participants gained a liberal education from their experi ences. They exchanged ideas with those from other parts of western Europe and also came into contact with an Arabic civilization that was much more advanced than their own. These factors in turn contributed to a revival of interest in what had long since been forgotten about art, government, and science. This so- called Renaissance, combined with the beginning of the decline of feudalism after the Crusades, promoted the rise of national states. New cities were built and old ones restored. Trade among these communities, the foundation of the new nations, began to flourish. A money economy gradually replaced the feudal- istic barter system, and a merchant class emerged in the towns (hence the name burghers or hour geoisie} to form a middle class that was soon to become the backbone of the new economic order. Universities—another outgrowth of the intellectual unheaval that followed the Crusades and the decline of feudalism—sprang up in Paris, Bologna, Leyden, and elsewhere, and eventually included in their curricula subjects long neglected: astrology (astronomy), alchemy (chemistry), cartography, and navi gation. Enterprising and adventurous Europeans put their new knowledge to practical use. Bigger and better ships were built; more accurate maps and sailing charts (portolani) were drafted; and inventions new to Europe, such as the compass, the astrolabe, and the quadrant, helped to make navigation safer, faster, and more accurate. The gradual diffusion of this knowledge lessened the fears and superstitions that had multiplied during the Dark Ages. No longer did learned men believe that the earth was flat or that great monsters inhabited the seas, ready to swallow an unwary ship, even though they still adhered to the opinion of ancients such as Ptolemy and Aristotle that the earth was only about 80 per cent of its actual size and that its land areas were much larger than its oceans. Yet the greater knowledge of the world made it easier to persuade monarchs to give their bless ing, men of wealth to “adventure” their capital, and sailors to risk their lives in quest of an all-water route to the Far East. Such an all-water route was considered an economic necessity if the luxury