Colonial Life - under british rule
Jamestown map by Captain John Smith, 1607 (source: Library of Congress)
Origins of the United States "Discovery" – Title to the Soil
King Henry VII of England turned a cold shoulder upon Christopher Columbus when he asked for financial aid in undertaking a highly speculative voyage in search of India by sailing westward from Europe.
But Henry, a keen and enterprising monarch quickly realized the importance of Columbus’s discover,
and in 1496 commissioned John Cabot to go out and discover countries then unknown to Christian people
and take possession of them in the name of the English king.
Cabot made two voyages, and by 1498 had sailed along what is now the coast of the United States
and claimed it for England.
By tacit agreement, the
European sovereigns rested their respective claims upon priority of discovery.
The natives were regarded as heathens possessing no rights to sovereignty.
Quarrels arose between the European powers over boundary questions, but the British claims based upon right of discovery were made good by sword or treaty, so that ultimately the title to all lands embraced in the thirteen original States was vested in the British crown.
(An excerpt from The Story of the Constitution. The United States Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission,
established by a Joint Resolution of Congress of the U.S. August 25,1935).
* * *
“The only title which the nations of Europe had to any part of the American continent was founded on what they called right of discovery. It was difficult to comprehend the justice of this pretense, when it was known that the country was already occupied by a race of men who had been in undisputed possession for untold ages."
(Analysis of Civil Government in the United States, Calvin Townsend, 1869).
Pamphlet to encourage "a true & lively" experiment for English Planters in America with native inhabitants. . . may both enrich the knowledge of the mind-traveling reader or benefit the future voyager." -1634
English Common Law
Because British subjects outnumbered all other immigrants
to the colonies under British dominion, they brought
with them the traditions of British rights, liberties and
immunities, British laws and customs,
and the English language. . .
English Common Law was fairly established when the
colonies begun. Some rights and immunities which
had been enjoyed from time immemorial were reduced
to writing in Magna Charta, which was wrung from
King John by barons of England at Runnymede in 1215. . .
Other individual rights were formally guaranteed in
writing, notably the Bill of Rights under William and Mary. . .
The liberties and rights of Britons were concessions
from kings who ruled as by divine right and were
originally seized of all authority.
(An excerpt from The Story of the Constitution. The United States Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission, established by a Joint Resolution of Congress of the U.S. August 25,1935).
London advertisement for business opportunities in the New World, 1609
The North-American Colonies
In the 1600s British subjects made up the majority of
early settlers, but New York and Delaware were
initially settled by people who emigrated from
Holland and Switzerland.
Dates of permanent and independent
settlements of the North-American colonies:
1607 – Virginia
1614 – New York
1620 – Massachusetts
(originally colony of Plymouth)
1620 – New Jersey
1623 – New Hampshire
1634 – Maryland
1635 – Connecticut
1636 - Rhode Island
1638- Delaware
1643 – Pennsylvania
1663 – North Carolina
1670- South Carolina
1733 - Georgia
England's First Permanent Colony - 1606
Charter for Virginia Colony
“James, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.:
Whereas Our loving and well disposed subjects, Sir Thomas Gates, and Sir George Somers, Knights, Richard Hackluit, Clerk, Prebendary of Westminister, and Edward-Maria Wingfield, Thomas Hanham, and Ralegh Gilbert, Esquires William Parker, and George Popham, Gentlemen, and diverse others of Our loving subjects, have been humble suitors unto Us, that We would vouchsafe unto them
Our license, to make habitation plantation, and to deduce a colony of sundry of Our people into the part of America commonly called Virginia, and other parts and territories in America, either appertaining unto Us, or which are not now actually possessed by any Christian prince or people,
situate, lying, and being all along the seacoasts, between 34 degrees of northerly latitude from the equinoctial line, and 45 degrees of the same latitude, and in the mainland between the same 34 and 45 degrees, and the islands thereunto adjacent or within 100 miles of the coast thereof… >>>
(continued)
Divide themselves into two several colonies and companies consisting of certain knights, gentlemen, merchants . . .
We, greatly commending, and graciously accepting of, their desires for the furtherance of so noble a work, which may,
by the providence of almighty God, hereafter tend to the glory of His Divine Majesty,
in propagating of Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness
and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God,
and may in time bring the infidels and savages living in those parts to human civility and to a settled and quiet government, do , by these Our letters patent, graciously accept of, and agree to, their humble and well-intended desires . . .
Also, We do, for Us, Our Heirs, and Successors, declare by presents, that all and every of the persons being Our subjects, which dwell and inhabit within . . .shall have and enjoy all liberties, franchises, and immunities, within any of our other dominions, to all intents and purposes, as if they had been abiding and born within Our Realm of England, or any of Our said dominions . . .”
(Source: The Annals of America, Vol. I 1493-1754, pp.15-17; Hazard, I, pp.50-58)
Desperate Beginnings for the Colonists
By all accounts, it appears that these Virginia travelers did not understand or appreciate the wilderness circumstances they would be expected to survive and tame.
Captain John Smith, a soldier-adventurer promoted the company’s exploration and settlement in the
“new” England. Smith reported on the hardships and struggles by the colonists.
“While the ships stayed, our allowance was somewhat bettered by a daily proportion of biscuits, which the sailors would pilfer to sell, give or exchange with us for money, sassafras, furs, or love.
But when they departed, there remained neither tavern, beer, house, nor place of relief, but the common kettle.
Had we been as free from all sins as gluttony and drunkenness,
we might have been canonized for saints;
but our president [Wingfield]
would never have been admitted for engrossing to his private [use] oatmeal, sack, aquavitae, beef, eggs, or what not, but the kettle;
that indeed he allowed equally to distributed,
and that was a half a pint of wheat,
and as much barley boiled with water for a man a day, and this having fried some twenty-six weeks in the ship’s hold, contained as many worms as grains; so that we might truly call it rather so much bran than corn, our drink was water, our lodgings castles in the air . . .”
Excerpt from Virginia Charter
for English subjects to settle in the newly discovered land.
In December 1606 the Virginia Company sent three ships to Virginia with 144 colonists, only 105 disembarked at Jamestown the following May.
Native Americans observing new arrivals to the shores of their homeland.
North America - empires expanded in the "New World"
1750 - Territories of Britain, Spain, France & Russia
Conquer & Colonize on the orders of kings & queens reigning from France, Spain, Russia & England.
1763 - Territories of Britain, Spain & France
Bowen, E., Gibson, J. & Sayer, R. (1763) An accurate map of North America. Describing and distinguishing the British, Spanish and French dominions on this great continent; according to the definitive treaty concluded at Paris 10th Feby. Also all the West India Islands belonging to, and possessed by the several European princes and states. The whole laid down according to the latest and most authentick improvements. [London, Printed for Robt. Sayer] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/74693869/.
Colonial Government Systems Under the king
PROVINCIAL - New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georg
PROVINCIAL Governments
The governors were, under these governments, regarded as representatives or deputies of the king.
The king also appointed a council, having limited legislative authority, who were to assist the governor and council held their offices during the royal pleasure. The governor had authority to convene a general assembly of the representatives of the feeholders and planters of the Province.
The governor, council, and representatives constituted the Provincial Assembly.
Provincial Assembly, constituted of:
1. Representatives – Lower House;
2. The Council – Upper House;
3. The Governor – Had veto power over both houses, and power to prorogue and dissolve them – by approval/disapproval of the crown.
Governor appointed the judges and magistrates.
PROPRIETARY - Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware
(Pictured above Carpenter's Hall, the Continental Congress met here
to devise a new nation)
PROPRIETARY Governments
The meaning of the word proprietary is owner, or proprietor. The general powers were granted by the king, and extended over the whole territory so granted, which became a kind of dependent royalty
The legislature was appointed and convened and organized according to the will of the proprietary.
He also had the appointment of
officers of every grade.
Lord Baltimore held Maryland, and William Penn held Pennsylvania and Delaware under the Proprietary form of government.
CHARTER - Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut
CHARTER - Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut
CHARTER Governments
This type of government which is similar to today’s state
governments
in that they had Constitutions
and distributed the powers
of government into three departments –
legislative, executive and judicial.
They defined the powers of
the different branches of the
government and secured to the inhabitants certain
political privileges and rights.
(An excerpt from The Story of the Constitution. The United States Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission,
established by a Joint Resolution of Congress of the U.S. August 25,1935).
Early Efforts to unite the states
1754 - Benjamin Franklin wrote an article in the Pennsylvania Gazette promoting The Albany Plan - A union of the Colonies.
This cartoon (right) was published with his article.
The snake cut into parts represents the separate, disjointed colonies.
Franklin's point was the colonies would not survive external threats if they did not join together.
The Albany Plan was rejected.
organizing under self-rule
The United States Continental Congress
The colonies united on September 5, 1774 - as the First Continental Congress. Assembled in Philadelphia, This important body was attended by delegates from the colonies, but unlike the future U.S. Constitution, the representation of the people was indirect.
Before the Congress adjourned on October 26, 1774, it provided for another meeting of Congress to address any further foreign or domestic issues.
The Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia May 10, 1775. It passed the Declaration of Independence, and continued in session until the close of the Revolutionary War. The new Congress assembled under the U.S. Constitution.
During this time, hostilities had begun and the Minute Men of New England were besieging the British forces in Boston. The delegates were much the same as in the earlier Congress, and they realized the need of assuming the war power necessary to carry on the conflict . . . Independence, national standing, confederation, and State rights were conjoined speedily (The Story of the Constitution, p.13).
1777 - Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union written
1787 Convention to revise Articles of Confederation, which resulted in the U.S. Constitution:
Excerpt from Center for legislative archives for records of Congress :
Seventy-four delegates were appointed to the convention, of which 55 actually attended sessions. Rhode Island was the only state that refused to send delegates. Dominated by men wedded to paper currency, low taxes, and popular government, Rhode Island's leaders refused to participate in what they saw as a conspiracy to overthrow the established government. Other Americans also had their suspicions.
Patrick Henry, of the flowing red Glasgow cloak and the magnetic oratory, refused to attend, declaring he "smelt a rat." He suspected, correctly, that Madison had in mind the creation of a powerful central government and the subversion of the authority of the state legislatures. Henry along with many other political leaders, believed that the state governments offered the chief protection for personal liberties. He was determined not to lend a hand to any proceeding that seemed to pose a threat to that protection.
(https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/more-perfect-union)
U.S. Constitution 101 civil rights
State-House or Independence Hall, home of Federal Convention of 1787.
the First Time the term "united" States was Used in America
The geographic location called "America" comes from the name of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci
"While the colonies may have established it, “America” was given a name long before. America is named after Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer who set forth the then revolutionary concept that the lands that Christopher Columbus sailed to in 1492 were part of a separate continent. A map created in 1507 by Martin Waldseemüller [above] was the first to depict this new continent with the name “America,” a Latinized version of “Amerigo.”
(Source: How Did America Get Its Name? | Library of Congress Blog (loc.gov) )
* * *
In 1493, after reports of Columbus’s discoveries had reached them, the Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella enlisted papal support for their claims to the New World in order to inhibit the Portuguese and other possible rival claimants. To accommodate them, the Spanish-born pope Alexander VI issued bulls setting up a line of demarcation from pole to pole 100 leagues (about 320 miles) west of the Cape Verde Islands see Cabo Verde. Spain was given exclusive rights to all newly discovered and undiscovered lands in the region west of the line. Portuguese expeditions were to keep to the east of the line. Neither power was to occupy any territory already in the hands of a Christian ruler.
Source: Treaty of Tordesillas | Summary, Definition, Map, & Facts | Britannica
America's land was claimed by Spain, France, Russia & England
Over the centuries, rulers of several countries made claim to the lands in the "new" world called America.
Under the strict authority of kings and queens, subjects, (many hoping to gain status & wealth) were used to:
discover;
fight for;
and labor (often forced) over
valuable resources in America for the support and expanded power of royal elites.
Want to learn more about the government systems before and during colonial times?
Click on the link below.
English colonists living in America "united" to break ties with a tyrant king & gain independence
English colonists living in America "united" to break ties with a tyrant king & gain independence
The first time the term “united" States was used was about 175 years after the first colonies were settled [in North America].
Thomas Jefferson referred to the thirteen united States in the Declaration of Independence
[from the king of England's rule].
(source: U.S. Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission, 1935).
"The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them . . ."
- The Declaration of Independence,
July 4, 1776