WEEK THREE INTRODUCTION

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjN8U4EGBJ4

WEEK THREE HISTORY VIDEO

WEEK 3 HISTORY VIDEO  #1

http://www.montereyinstitute.org/courses/US%20History%20I/course%20files/multimedia/lesson10/lessonp_nroc_nonap.html

WEEK 3 HISTORY VIDEP #2

This week, also watch this fabulous video about Ben Franklin’s armonica. You will find it pretty enlightening! (By the way, my spellcheck does not know the word armonica but places it all in red. Don't you love learning words that are beyond spellcheck?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D9BBMDWoNM&list=PL20D2E5B0600C8D53

 

WEEK THREE READING

FOR THIS WEEK, PLEAE FINISH THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

WEEK THREE HISTORICAL BLOG ENTRY

Here are some questions for you to contemplate this week. As always, answer one, answer all, or neglect these and answer your own brilliant question...the point is to answer thoughtfully!

Was Benjamin Franklin ahead of his times? How?
Was BF a product of his times? How?
Are historical characters (meaning, like you and me!) able to "escape" their times, transcend their context somehow?

What difference does a person like BF make in the world?

Finally, think about the autobiography as a source: does it change the way you think about this book because it is BF talking about himself? Can't he paint himself in any light possible? How does it change your thinking on this as a source since the author was so aware of himself as a historical character?

WEEK THREE RESPONDING TO CLASSMATES…RESPOND AS ALWAYS!

WEEK TWO INTRODUCTION VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq1OXfaEE04

WEEK TWO HISTORY VIDEO

http://www.montereyinstitute.org/courses/US%20History%20I/course%20files/multimedia/lesson08/lessonp_nroc_nonap.html

WEEK TWO READING

LaborTrouble/IndenturedServants In The U.S.   Indentured servants first arrived in America in the decade following the settlement of Jamestown by the Virginia Company in 1607. The idea of indentured servitude was born of a need for cheap labor. The earliest settlers soon realized that they had lots of land to care for, but no one to care fo rit. With passage to the Colonies expensive for all but the wealthy, the Virginia Company developed the system of indentured servitude to attract workers. Indentured servants became vital to the colonial economy. The timing of the Virginia colony was ideal. The Thirty Year's War had left Europe's economy depressed, and many skilled and unskilled laborers were without work. A new life in the New World offered a glimmer of hope; this explains how one-half to two-thirds of the immigrants who came to the American colonies arrived as indentured servants. Servants typically worked four to seven years in exchange for passage, room, board, lodging and freedom dues. While the life of an indentured servant was harsh and restrictive, it wasn't slavery. There were laws that protected some of their rights. But their life was not an easy one, and the punishments meted out to people who wronged were harsher than those for non-servants. An indentured servant's contract could be extended as punishment for breaking a law, such as running away, or in the case of female servants, becoming pregnant. For those that survived the work and received their freedom package, many historians argue that they were better off than those new immigrants who came freely to the country. Their contract may have included at least 25 acres of land, a year's worth of corn, arms, a cow and new clothes. Some servants did rise to become part of the colonial elite, but for the majority of indentured servants that survived the treacherous journey by sea and the harsh conditions of life in the New World, satisfaction was a modest life as a freeman in a burgeoning colonial economy. In 1619 the first black Africans came to Virginia. With no slave laws in place, they were initially treated as indentured servants, and given the same opportunities for freedom dues as whites. However, slave laws were soon passed – in Massachusetts in 1641 and Virginia in 1661 –and any small freedoms that might have existed for blacks were taken away. As demands for labor grew, so did the cost of indentured servants. Many landowners also felt threatened by newly freed servants demand for land. The colonial elite realized the problems of indentured servitude. Landowners turned to African slaves as amore profitable and ever-renewable source of labor and the shift from indentured servants to racial slavery had begun. http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/indentured-servants-in-the-us/      The following is a short reading on the French and Indian War...   Remember, this war is important because it starts to divide the colonists from theEnglish living in England. This become a challenge to British authority in thecolonies, as colonists begin to see themselves as slightly more autonomous, able, and alone.   French and Indian War/Seven Years' War, 1754-63   The French and Indian War was the North American conflict that was part of a larger imperial conflict between Great Britain and France known as the Seven Years' War. The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763.The war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over subsequent frontier policy and paying the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American revolution. The French and Indian War resulted from ongoing frontier tensions in North America as both French and British imperial officials and colonists sought to extend each country's sphere of influence in frontier regions. In North America, the war pitted France, French colonists, and their Native allies against Great Britain, the Anglo-American colonists and the Iroquois Confederacy, which controlled most of upstate New York and parts of northern Pennsylvania. In 1753, prior to the outbreak of hostilities, Great Britain controlled the 13 colonies up to the Appalachian Mountains, but beyond lay New France, a very large, sparsely settled colony that stretched from Louisiana through the Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes to Canada. (See Incidents Leading up to the French and Indian War and Albany Plan) The border between French and British possessions was not well defined, and one disputed territory was the upper Ohio River valley. The French had constructed a number of forts in this region in an attempt to strengthen their claim on the territory. British colonial forces, led by lieutenant colonel George Washington, attempted to expel the French in 1754, but were outnumbered and defeated by the French. When news of Washington's failure reached British Prime Minister Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle, he called for a quick undeclared retaliatory strike. However, his adversaries in the Cabinet outmaneuvered him by making the plans public, thus alerting the French Government and escalating a distant frontier skirmish into a full-scale war. The war did not begin well for the British. The British Government sent General Edward Braddock to the colonies as commander in chief of British North American forces, but he alienated potential Indian allies and colonial leaders failed to cooperate with him. On July 13, 1755 Braddock himself died while on a failed expedition to capture Fort Duquesne in present-day Pittsburgh, after being mortally wounded in an ambush. The war in North America settled into a stalemate for the next several years, while in Europe the French scored an important naval victory and captured the British possession of Minorca in the Mediterranean in 1756.However, after 1757 the war began to turn in favor of Great Britain. British forces defeated French forces in India, and in 1759 British armies invaded and conquered Canada. Facing defeat in North America and a tenuous position in Europe, the French Government attempted to engage the British in peace negotiations, but British minister William Pitt (the elder), Secretary for Southern Affairs, sought not only the French cession of Canada but also commercial concessions that the French Government found unacceptable. After these negotiations failed, Spanish King Charles III offered to come to the aid of his cousin, French King Louis XV, and their representatives signed an alliance known as the Family Compact on August15, 1761. The terms of the agreement stated that Spain would declare war on Great Britain if the war did not end before May 1, 1762. Originally intended to pressure the British into a peace agreement, the Family Compact ultimately reinvigorated the French will to continue the war, and caused the British Government to declare war on Spain on January 4, 1762 after bitter in fighting between King George III's ministers. Despite facing such a formidable alliance, British naval strength and Spanish ineffectiveness led to British success. British forces seized French Caribbean islands, Spanish Cuba, and the Philippines. Fighting in Europe ended after a failed Spanish invasion of British ally Portugal. By 1763, French and Spanish diplomats began to seek peace. In the resulting Treaty of Paris (1763), Great Britain secured significant territorial gains, including all French territory east of the Mississippi river, as well as Spanish Florida, although the treaty returned Cuba to Spain. Unfortunately for the British, the fruits of victory brought seeds of future trouble with Great Britain's American colonies. The war had been enormously expensive, and the British government's attempts to impose taxes on colonists to help cover these expenses resulted in increasing colonial resentment of British attempts to expand imperial authority in the colonies. British attempts to limit western expansion by colonists and inadvertent provocation of a major Indian war further angered the British subjects living in the American colonies. These disputes would ultimately spur colonial rebellion that eventually developed into a full-scale war for independence. http://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/FrenchIndianWar

WEEK TWO READING…ALSO START READING THE FRANKLIN BOOK.

 

WEEK TWO HISTORICAL BLOG ENTRY

How are the colonies changing in the period under consideration this week?
If you watched the two videos and did the reading, there will be many options. Just choose one of them and develop it a bit.

WEEK TWO RESPONDING TO CLASSMATES...once again, just reply to your classmates after their posts!

WEEK ONE WEEKLY INTRODUCTION VIDEO:

 Watch the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU11zzCrv4U&feature=youtu.be

WEEK ONE HISTORY VIDEO

Click on the following link and watch the short video:   

http://www.montereyinstitute.org/courses/US%20History%20I/course%20files/multimedia/lesson01/lessonp_nroc_nonap.html

WEEK ONE READING

WEEK 1  READING

THE TIMES

In 1603, a Queen Elizabeth died and King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England. A terrible plague invaded London. In 1604, the new King authorized the translation of the Bible into English, and scholars from Oxford and Cambridge began their historic undertaking. In late 1605, as Shakespeare was finishing a new play, entitled Macbeth, a certain Guido Fawkes – “Guy” as we know him – organized a plot to blow up Parliament. He wanted to destabilize the government and restore Roman Catholicism. Galileo was writing a book on the supernova, and perfecting something called a proportional compass. He had not yet built a telescope (1609). In 1606, Macbeth opened, Guy Fawkes was executed, and the scholars were still at work. And a group of business men in London began to look to the commercial colonization of the New World. One of them, Bartholomew Gosnold, would not only conceive and launch the plan, but would go on to captain one of the ships that would sail under something called the Virginia Company.

THE VIRGINIA COLONY

The Virginia Company, so called to honor the Virgin Queen (Elizabeth), was issued a Charter by King James on April 10, 1606.

The Company was a joint stock corporation charged with the settlement of Virginia. It had the power to appoint the Council of Virginia, the Governor and other officials, and the responsibility to provide settlers, supplies and ships for the venture. The initial reaction to the Company was favorable but as the mortality rate rose and the prospect for profit grew dim, the support for it waned. The leadership resorted to lotteries, searching for gold, and silkworm production to increase profits. (reference)

It was, as the charter made clear, organized for three purposes: 1) profit; 2) to find a trade route through Virginia to the Pacific; and 3) to convert the “naturals” or natives to the Christian religion.

The Company acquired three ships, the Susan Constant, the Discovery and the Godspeed. It also recruited some 106 men, among whom were 4 boys, and 39 crew to make the journey. (The exact numbers differ; the figures here are an estimate based on several sources.) The Captain in charge of the fleet was Christopher Newport, a seasoned seaman. The other two ships were captained by Bartholomew Gosnold (Godspeed) and John Ratliffe (Discovery). Newport was 46 years old, and Gosnold, 35 years old. The Susan Constant was the largest of the three, at 120 tons; it was 116 feet in length, about a quarter of that length outside the actual deck. The other two ships were considerably smaller, the Godspeed having a deck size of 52 feet in length and 15 feet wide. The Susan Constant would carry 71 passengers; the Godspeed 51, and the Discovery 20. The conditions aboard these ships were, to say the least, cramped.

The roster of passengers was not promising. A prominent member was Captain John Smith. He was a colorful character who, despite being only about 26 years old at the time of the departure, had already lived an intriguing and adventurous military life. He would become the most famous of the colonists, and would publish the most accounts of the first permanent English colony. Another important member on the roster was the Rev. Robert Hunt, the first Church of England clergyman to go to the New World. But of the rest, half were “gentlemen,” men who thought of themselves as possessing an exalted rank in life and who would not expect, or be expected, to actually do anything, like work!

The ships left London in December, 1606. Almost immediately, the ships and the Company suffered their first trial. The three ships were stalled in the English Channel for several days due to poor winds. This frustrated the passengers to such an extent that many proposed calling off the venture for the time being and postponing the launch until a better time. John Smith and Robert Hunt were apparently the only ones who vigorously opposed this idea, and Hunt played a prominent role in convincing the others to stay the course.

Eventually, the little fleet got underway. They set sail for the Canary Islands in order to take advantage of the prevailing trade winds which, on the eastern side of the Atlantic flow west by southwest. They stopped to take on fresh water for the crossing. They then proceeded to the Caribbean, rounding Martinique on March 23 and putting into Dominica, Nevis, St. Croix, Mona and Monito Islands. They replenished their water and food in each case as was possible and in some instances had some interchange with the “naturals” or natives of the place. They landed on Mona on April 7,  and left on April 9. They went to neighboring Monito, the last stop before reaching Virginia. They spent ten days at sea, three days longer than they had anticipated. Again dissension over whether to continue sprang up among the passengers. Commonsense seemed to prevail – after all, it had taken so much time to cross the Atlantic and the prospect of doing it again did not seem inviting. They gave themselves a few more days. Finally, on April 26 they sighted land. They entered Chesapeake Bay and dropped anchor at Cape Henry, so named in honor of one of King James’ sons. It is conjectured that the colonists would have had some sort of celebration – perhaps prayers, perhaps a communion service – but there is no evidence that such was the case.

In the Canaries, John Smith had been accused of “insurrection” and for the duration imprisoned aboard the Susan Constant. When the party finally landed at their destination, the official instructions from the Company in England, which had been placed in a locked box, were taken out and read. The President of the Colony was appointed by the Company in advance, and revealed to be Edward-Maria Wingfield. The Council was also appointed, numbering seven of the men, and included Smith. At this early stage, Smith was not informed of this appointment and remained aboard ship. The instructions also included some very practical advice, notably:

• Take time to find the best site for the base of operations, avoiding marsh lands
• The Discovery would remain with the party for exploration (especially of the supposed passage to the Pacific)
• They were not to offend the “naturals” and should initiate trade with them as soon as possible

The assumption in the instructions was that the colonists would have nothing to fear from the natives, but they were advised that they should be on guard against incursions from the Spanish, or from the Spanish using the “naturals” to effect their own designs. In the event, however, the newly landed colonists were almost immediately involved in a skirmish with some local natives.

Days went by, then weeks, then months with very little accomplished. The critical issues were water, food and shelter. The colonists settled on a peninsula that afforded easy access, due to deep water, to ships. There was plenty of drinking water, at least in the Spring of the year. This would become a problem as Summer went on and the water turned brackish. Wild game was abundant. Berries were available. But there was little else. Eventually, efforts were made to trade for grain among the natives. An initial crop of wheat was sown. But in the matter of shelter, the men lived mostly in tents. A short fence was erected for defense, and would be called “the fort.” It was little more than a barrier or shield. No houses were constructed. Instead, Wingfield wanted to put men to work to make clapboards for sending back on the Susan Constant when Newport returned to England, to demonstrate his commitment to “turning a profit” for the Company. Some exploration took place, principally up the James River. The colonists discovered that the site they had chosen was surrounded by natives who would be or become their enemies. Those tribes who might be considered friendly to their effort tended to be farther away. And, despite the advice in the instructions, the peninsula on which Jamestown was founded, was indeed very marshy – a breeding ground for mosquitoes and all the consequences that go along with them.

Smith was eventually released from captivity and seated on the Council as the instructions had provided. In May, several men, including Smith, went on an extended exploration up river. While they were gone, a band of warriors attacked the settlement. About seventeen colonists were wounded and one of them died later. In addition, one of the boys had been killed. The attackers were warded off by canons from the ships. This attack led the colonists to build a palisade – a stronger defense work – but little else.

Newport left in June. Wingfield was deposed as President and Archer put in his place. As the Summer rolled on, more and more men got sick and fewer and fewer were available for any labor. Ironically, even though malnutrition was taking its toll, few of the men – especially the “gentlemen” – did anything to rectify the situation. In August, about 13 men died from dysentery, or typhoid, or from drinking the brackish water (salt laden). Gosnold was among them.

Smith became an important leader to the community. In December, he went on an expedition to trade with the natives farther away and to bring back much needed grain. A hunting party hostile to the English happened upon him and his men. They captured all of them, and brutally killed all but Smith, whom they discerned to be a man of importance. The warriors and a local chief eventually brought Smith to Powhatan, the “chief of chiefs,” and went through an ordeal. Legend – and Smith himself – says that Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahantas, interceded for the Captain. In any case, Smith emerged as a “subordinate” chief of the tribe and enjoyed good, if not always tenuous, relationships with Powhatan.

Smith would be elected President of the colony in 1608. He ruled with a strong hand, strengthened the defenses and instituted a stern policy of work: “He who does not work does not eat!” The first women, two of them arrived in Virginia in 1608. Smith was injured accidentally in 1609 and was forced to return to England. He never returned to Virginia but promoted the colony in England for the rest of his life (died in 1631).

The following year, 1610, the Virginia Company reorganized itself under a new Charter and gave new powers to the Governor, now virtually a dictator. Thomas West, Lord de la Warr (for whom a river, a bay and eventually a colony would be named - "Delaware") became Governor. Although intended to attract more colonists and make the colony profitable, these changes had the opposite effect. Colonists continued to come, but they also continued to die. About this time, 1612, John Rolfe (who had married Pocahontas) hit upon a new strain of tobacco. This opened the way to developing a cash commodity for lucrative export. Many of the farmers began to grow tobacco. This was so successful, they devoted their energies to the cash crop and failed to plant food crops. In 1618, the Company changed policies again. Sir Edwyn Sandys (son of the Archbishop and member of Parliament), the Company’s London treasurer, set up offers of tracts of land to those who would go to Virginia and work. This became very attractive and the Colony grew steadily. The Company also authorized an Assembly to govern the colony and make its own rules. In 1619, the Assembly declared the Anglican Church to be the Church in Virginia. There were then about 5 clergy and 3,000 residents. In 1619 for the first time a Dutch ship came to Jamestown carrying African slaves. Slave labor had already been instituted in the Caribbean by the Portuguese for sugar plantations. By the end of the century, slave labor would be important in Virginia as well, and lead to its eventual success.

Trouble with the natives continued. In 1622 the colony came under native attack. Nearly a quarter of the colonists died – 347 of them. This came to be known as the Indian Massacre. Soon after this, the Virginia Company’s charter was revoked and the Colony came under the authority of the Crown. The policy of the Crown was very harsh toward the remaining Powhatan tribe. It is estimated that the tribe numbered 25,000 in 1607. That number fell to a few thousand by 1630. A final attack came about in 1644, and the ageing chief was jailed. The Powhatan dominance in Virginia ended.

THE PLYMOUTH COLONY

At about the time the Virginia Colony was finally getting on its feet, another group of adventurers put together a plan for establishing a colony.

At the time the Charter for the Virginia Company was issued in 1606, the charter envisioned two separate but related entities. The first would be called the Virginia Company of London, and the second the Virginia Company of Plymouth. The first granted the settlement of land in the South and the second granted the settlement of the land in the North. The areas overlapped and the overlap area (in pink) was subject to special rules.

In 1607 a colony was established in Maine, called Popham. But it collapsed in 1608. The northern area, therefore, lay fallow for the years after 1608. It was, however, well known to many Europeans – some of whom had explored the area (Capt John Smith had named the area “New England” when he visited and surveyed it in 1614). Fishermen were familiar with the waters and may have contributed to the spread of small pox and other diseases among some of the natives.

A group of separatists who would come to be known as “Pilgrims” meanwhile left England (Scrooby in Nottinghamshire) for the Netherlands in 1609. Seeking to escape what they felt as persecution for their religious views, they settled first in Amsterdam and then in Leiden.

They were free to worship and assemble as they wished in this Protestant stronghold. But they in time grew concerned as their children were picking up Dutch culture and language. They determined to find a way to move to the New World, aided by contacts who had remained in England, largely in hiding. They obtained a land patent in 1619 to settle at the mouth of the Hudson River, and a group of Puritans known as the Merchant Adventurers put together the money to finance the trip. A ship, the Speedwell, brought the Pilgrims to England to meet up with the Mayflower, take on board the needed supplies and the passengers and proceed to New England.

Joining the Pilgrims were another group, including Myles Standish, collectively know as the Strangers. This group was not characterized by the same religious motivation that marked the Pilgrims; they were a various lot who possessed skills or experience the Adventurers thought necessary to the success of the colony.

The whole group on two ships was intended to set sail in July, 1620. But disputes and issues concerning organization and funding delayed the launch until August 15. When they finally got underway, the Speedwell began to leak and the fleet had to return to England. The Speedwell was determined to be un-seaworthy, and some of the passengers abandoned the effort. ( It is believed the crew sabotaged the ship in order to get out of the extension of their contract.) The rest were bundled aboard the Mayflower, which got underway on September 6, 1620.

Although the exact dimensions of this ship are unknown, it is likely to have been about 180 tons, with a length of around 100 feet, and a width of 25 feet. Typically, it would have a crew of between 25 and 30 men. There were on board a total of 102 souls as passengers in addition to the crew. The ship was captained by Christopher Jones.

Unlike the ships going to Virginia, Jones decided to risk a direct crossing, no doubt due to the late time in the year. So it is not surprising that the arrival of the Mayflower off the North American coast was much farther north than was intended. It anchored in what is now called Provincetown Harbor, at the tip of Cape Cod, on Saturday, November 11, 1620. The passengers remained aboard on Sunday, for worship.

Immediately, the recognition that they were much farther away from their intended destination raised problems. There was no authority to create a settlement here. While aboard ship, the famous Mayflower Compact was created – a kind of charter for the new community. While having no authority in its own right, and was very similar to traditional English town charters, it seemed to remove a pint of anxiety for most of those on board.

For the next many days, while living aboard the cramped quarters, some of the men undertook several exploratory expeditions. Finding no place suitable for a settlement, the ship set out again and anchored in Plymouth Harbor, across from the tip of Cape Cod, on December 17. They explored the area for their settlement. They rejected several, but selected an abandoned native site, Patuxet, which had two hills. (The natives had died of smallpox not long before the arrival of the English.) They would locate the village on the one, and place a canon for defense on the other. The compelling factor of this site was that it had been cleared by its former inhabitants, making the planting of crops much easier.

Astonishingly, many of the passengers remained aboard the ship, many for as many as six months! Some work began on the building of shelters, but the weather made a concerted effort difficult. Through the first winter only seven houses and four “common houses” were built, and all were very simple, rudimentary structures. Many of the laborers, and the women and children, were weakened by malnutrition or died of disease. Only 51 colonists survived the first few months.

The Plymouth colony had many encounters with their native neighbors. Eventually, the colonists were able to forge a relationship with the leading sachem, or chieftain, of the Wampanoag confederacy of tribes. Massasoit, the great sachem, looked to an alliance with the English to protect his tribes from their enemies, the Narragansett. Massasoit is credited with helping to preserve the colony from starvation in its earliest stages. Ninety of Massasoit’s warriors celebrated with the 51 surviving colonists at a harvest feast in 1621.

The next colonists to arrive, 37 of them, came in November of 1621, and this was greeted with joy and relief. (Among them, one Philip de la Noye; his name eventually changed to Delano, and one of his descendants was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.) A further 90 or so settlers arrived in 1623. By 1630, the colony had 300 residents. In 1692, when the colony was absorbed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony, it had about 3050 residents. The whole of New England was incorporated into something called the Dominion in 1686 and included Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Hampshire and the Jerseys (East & West). It had a President who was very unpopular, however, and Plymouth returned to self rule. In 1691, following the accession of William of Orange (and the overthrow of James II), Plymouth was included in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

At first, the colonists found fur trade to be economically beneficial. They also tried fishing, but found that they had little or no skill in this and abandoned the effort. With the arrival of cattle around 1627, and subsequently pigs and sheep, their economy became more diversified. The Plymouth colony also benefitted from trade with the natives and with the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. After the first rocky years, the colony became largely self-sustaining.

The relations between the Plymouth colony with the native Americans, like that in Virginia, was mixed and complicated. Myles Standish early on led a sharp and deadly attack on unsuspecting native neighbors. This unfortunate event colored English-native relations for years to come with suspicion and intrigues. As noted, it was the determination of Massasoit, however, that assured the survival of the colonists in the first tenuous months and years, unfortunately to the detriment of his own people.

COMPARISONS OF THE TWO FIRST PERMANENT COLONIES

 SIMILARITIES

1.       Both colonies were established by men (and in the case of Plymouth, women) who were ill equipped to undertake such a mission. There was no preparation for the journey, and little capacity among the passengers for dealing with the basic challenge: the bringing into being of a community that was self-sustaining.

2.       Both colonies lacked sufficient support, especially in terms of military aid and training. Virginia had its Captain John Smith, and Plymouth its Myles Standish. Smith had a somewhat broader military experience than Standish and both were quite self-confident, indeed boastful about their abilities. It is interesting to note that John Smith had actually applied to be the military advisor for the Plymouth colony, but despite his experience was turned down in favor of Standish. In any case, besides these two, neither group had seasoned, experienced or capable military men to assist in advising and preparing the colonists for self-defense.

3.       In both cases, the colonists themselves were slow to sense the perils around them, even including the hardships presented by the weather, and neither showed any great exertion to build a stable and secure community. In both cases, it would be months before their settlements would even begin to take shape.

4.       Both colonies suffered greatly from disease made worse by malnutrition. Surprisingly, no provision had been made for a physician to accompany them. What remedies they could find often came from the practices of the native peoples.

5.       With respect to the native population, both groups shared certain basic assumptions which would become problematic:

a.       The English regard for “naturals” differed from the Spanish. The Spanish typically saw the natives of a land as less intelligent, indeed less than human, and fair game for subjugation. Interestingly, the English understood “savagery” as a lower rung in social development rather than in racial terms. “Savages could not rightfully be enslaved.” In fact, the English settlers actually thought that the natives of North America were “white” men, since their babies were born “white.” They thought the “red” in "redmen" was due to the habit of painting – the incessant use of dyes on their bodies. The English understood themselves to have been once “savages” until the arrival and civilizing influence of the Romans. So they saw their efforts in North America, as it were, in this light.

b.      The colonists were hampered by inadequate information about the native populations in their respective areas. No one seems to have known of the numbers of tribes and the size of populations, let alone of the languages, cultures, organization and level of sophistication among the tribes. Both colonies had been encouraged by their backers in England – indeed expected – to begin trade with the native peoples where possible. But with their presuppositions concerning the “primitive” state of affairs among the tribes, no one thought to gather significant information about these often complex societies. Some, John Smith among them, actually tried to acquire some of the native languages and to understand the social structures and relationships. But these efforts were pretty minimal.

DIFFERENCES

1.       The primary difference between these colonies lay in the motives behind the founding of each.

a.       The Virginia Colony was a business enterprise, intended to turn a profit for its investors. Some of the colonists were “gentlemen” who had actually themselves invested in the project.

b.      The Plymouth Colony was envisioned as a religious community where Puritan Separatists could be free to practice their religion without interference of the State. This vision drove the Pilgrim colonists even though they, too, were expected to make a return on the investments of their backers.

2.       The southern colony would be a bastion of Anglicanism from the beginning; the northern colony a bastion of Calvinist theology and all the tensions that went with the differences in emphasis between competing groups (Separatist Puritans and non-Separatist Puritans-Congregationalists).

3.       The northern colony right from the start was characterized by settled families; the southern colony by male adventurers.

 

SOURCE: http://bishop.jmstanton.com/bishop/smu/smu_2_colonial_2.htm, WHICH IS A COLONIAL HISTORY COURSE AT SMU

WEEK ONE HISTORICAL BLOG ENTRY

Answer one of the following questions:

1.  Considering the video and the reading, what were some of the differences between Native American and European peoples? How might those differences have led to a clash between these peoples?

2.  Would you rather have been a colonist in Virginia Colony or Plymouth Colony? Why?

3.  This week’s history has been about immigration. Are there universals when people immigrate to new lands? Are there probably some similarities between European peoples populating the new world and those from around the world moving to the United States?

WEEK ONE: RESPONSE TO YOUR CLASSMATES

OBVIOUSLY, DO NOT RESPOND HERE, BUT LET THIS BE YOUR REMINDER…GO TO THE WRITTEN WORK OF YOUR CLASSMATES AND ASK QUESTIONs, MAKE COMMENTS, AND BE ACTIVE!

COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Description:

The colonial foundations; political, economic, social and cultural developments in the emerging United States; the early agrarian republic; the Civil War.

 Required Reading:

1. Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (BUY THIS NOW!)

2. Frederick Douglass, Narrative of Frederick Douglass (BUY THIS NOW!)

3. Thomas Paine, “Common Sense”(BUY THIS NOW!)

4. Tony Horwitz, Midnight Rising(BUY THIS NOW!)

 

GRADED ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Weekly response to reading: 10%

Each week there will be a reading, either on the blog or in one of our books. I will assign the reading and a question to accompany the reading. You will respond on the blog. Your response must be at least 250 words, which is basically a long paragraph. This writing is credit-no credit…if you write the response by Saturday evening of the week, you get full credit. If you do not, you get no credit.

DO NOT DO THIS AT THE LAST MINUTE. OTHER STUDENTS NEED A CHANCE TO RESPOND TO YOURWRITING, AND AS SUCH, YOU SHOULD RESPOND DURINGTHE WEEK AND NOT AT THE LAST MINUTE!

 Weekly response to your classmates:

Each week, you need to respond to at least two of the comments made by your classmates. The length of your response does not matter, but you must be thoughtful. Ask questions, answer questions posed by others. Do not be combative here, as this is not that type of course or blog. But you can certainly ask probing questions and push the author to think more about the issue at hand. This writing is credit-no credit…if you do the response by Saturday evening of the week in question, you get full credit.

DONOT DO THIS AT THE LAST MINUTE. THIS PART OF THE COURSE IS SUPPOSED TO BEINTERACTIVE, AND AS SUCH, YOU SHOULD RESPOND DURING THE WEEK AND NOT AT THELAST MINUTE!

2. Slavery Research Project: (30%)

We will discuss this in much greater depth later in the quarter. For now, just know that I will give you the resources for this project. You will complete the project on your own and upload it to turnitin.com.

3. Mid-term Assessment: (30%)

This will be completed online and will be a mid-quarter assessment of your historical thinking.

4. Final Exam: (30%)

This will be our only face-to-face experience this quarter. We will take the final during the proscribed final exam date and time, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 11-1:30.

 

Reading:

How many of you love reading? I did not read a book until I was 18, so if you have not yet started your journey on this ever widening path, it’s never too late. In any course, there’s no substitute for reading. Theorist Jim Moffett says that “all real writing happens from plentitude,” meaning that you can only really write well about someone once you know about it. Reading is one way to know—not the only, by any means! I want you to have experiences with great texts. I can show you voluminous research proving why you need to read more, but then if I assign a stupid, long, expensive textbook you probably will end up not reading, or only reading to have the reading done, something we have all done, right? The economy now requires much higher literacy rates (see The World is Flat), and even though reading levels have not gone down in the last 40 years, it is crucial that you start to push your own reading so that your own literacy level goes up. For these ten weeks, diving wholeheartedly into the course reading is vital. Remember to read in a particular way. As reading expert and UCSB professor Sheridan Blau has argued, “reading is as much a process of text production as writing is.” Reading involves revision? Does that sound silly? As you read, think about the different ways that you understand what you read. Most importantly, when you read, think about the words of E.D. Hirsch, who says that we look at what a text says (reading), what it means (interpretation), and why it matters (criticism). Hey, but if you are in a history course, aren’t you supposed to be reading for exactly the number of miles of trenches that were dug in World War One, how many railroad workers died from 1890 to 1917, or what the causes of the Great Depression were? Anyway, the answer is yes and no. There are two types of reading that you’ll do in college. As the literary goddess theorist Louise Rosenblatt explains, there is aesthetic reading, where you are reading to have an experience with the text, and there is efferent reading, where you are reading to take away information from the text. You do both types all the time. Think about a phone book. You have probably never heard someone say of a phone book, “don’t tell me about it, I want to read it for myself.” Reading a phone book is purely efferent. In this course you will practice both types of reading. I have chosen texts that you can enjoy (aesthetic) and that you can learn from(efferent). I want to see and appreciate the detail in our reading, but in this course I’ll give you that detail in class lectures. In the reading, it’s much more important that you read texts that will live with you forever and to inspire you to think more thoroughly about your world. As you read, you should be working hard to create meaning for yourself. As Rosenblatt asserts, “taking someone else’s interpretation as your own is like having someone else eat your dinner for you.” Please, don’t let the numbskulls at wikipedia or sparknotes eat your dinner for you. Furthermore, there are some studies that say that Bakersfield is the least literate city in the country. Reading the fabulous, vibrant, fascinating, and difficult books that I have assigned you will fight against that trend!

Participation: You do not need to be the person who speaks out the most, asks the most questions, or comes up with the most brilliant historical arguments to receive full credit in participation. If you are in class and on time, discuss the issues that we raise, avoid the temptation to nod off, to leave early, or to text people during class (the three easiest ways to lose credit), and in general act like you care, then you will receive a good participation grade! Just being here does not guarantee a 100% participation grade, since you must be regularly actively involved for that to be possible.
In fact, to get a 90% participation grade or higher, you must attend all classes, contribute thoughtful comments to the larger class discussion every day, participate actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.
To get an 85%, you can miss one class and must contribute at least one comment per week to the large class discussion, participate actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.
To get an 80%, you can miss one class and must participate actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.
To get a 75%, you can miss two classes and must participate actively with those around you, and avoid the obvious: no sleeping, no texting, no using this course to study for other courses, no being late.
Show up tardy more than once or fail to participate in the dialogue and the participation grade will begin to diminish quickly. 

Academic Honesty

You are responsible for knowing all college policies about academic honesty. Any student who plagiarizes any part of his or her papers may receive an “F” in the course and a letter to the Dean. Here’s the opening paragraph of CSUB’s Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities:

 

Academic Integrity

The principles of truth and integrity are recognized as fundamental to a community of teachers and scholars. The University expects that both faculty and students will honor these principles and in so doing will protect the integrity of all academic work and student grades. Students are expected to do all work assigned to them without unauthorized assistance and without giving unauthorized assistance. Faculty have the responsibility of exercising care in the planning and supervision of academic work so that honest effort will be encouraged and positively reinforced.

http://www.csub.edu/studentconduct/documents/academicintegrity.pdf

GETTING STARTED IN THIS ONLINE COURSE...

Hi there,
Welcome to the first ever online course taught in the History Department at CSUB. Did that sound exciting? Perhaps it will be. Each week, you should access this blog numerous times to complete the tasks of the course and to respond to what your classmates have written. I think that in this format, we will be able to develop sound historical thinking even though we are not able to meet each week face-to-face. So it's kind of an experiment, but a good one...not one where stuff explodes, I hope!

So here is what we will do each week:

Each week you have five tasks. I know that sounds like a lot, but compared to the number of tasks it takes to be in a face-to-face class, it really is not that much.

I will post updates to the blog each Sunday and you have until Saturday of the same week to complete them. Here is what they are:

1. watch a short video introducing the week's theme. This
2. watch a five minute video related to that theme,
3. complete a short reading,
4. write a blog entry based on the reading and video, and
5. respond to your classmates.
Each week, these will appear on this blog in the following way:
Week 1 Video Introduction
Week 1 History Video
Week 1 Reading
...and so on and so forth.

Does this all seem complicated? It really is not, but if you have any trouble at all, come see me or email me at bschmoll@csub.edu and we will figure it out.

For now, expect the blog to be updated with those categories by tomorrow, Monday. Then, sign into the blog however you can and get started on the week.

For now, let me again extend my warmest welcome to the course!

Best wishes,

Dr. S