American history

The first two colonies

The first Roanoke colony failed and in 1587 a second group settled on Roanoke Island and then there was a Spanish attempt to invade England and in 1588 prevented Raleigh sending fresh supplies then in 1591 a relief expedition finally reached Roanoke but the settlers were gone. No one really knows what happened to the people of the 'Lost Colony'. This did help to strengthen England's interest in the New World.

England finally gains a foothold in North America

The famous charter of 1606 and King James I of England gave a single charter to two groups: (The teacher writes the term 'charter' on the blackboard and defines.) (Now put the two groups on the blackboard.) One group was in Plymouth, England- The Plymouth Company and London, England - The London Company. The charter was also important for it included a promise by King James that all who settled in the English colonies would retain their rights and privileges as Englishmen and "have and enjoy all liberties, franchises, and immunities.... as if they had been abiding and born with in this our realm of England, or any, other of our said dominion." As time went on the English colonists reminded the English government their promise to respect their colonists rights and privileges. This strengthened the idea of 'self-government'. (Write this term on the blackboard and define.)

Jamestown makes a poor start

In 1606 around Christmastime three small ships of the London Company moved down the Thames River this winter day. They started out taking the route that Columbus had taken and 16 out of 120 men died on the voyage. In 1607 the settlement began to be built and they named it Jamestown in honor of the king. The area they picked was not very good. Why? (Wait a few minutes for response.) It was in a low, wooded island in a river, which they named the 'James' that had a marsh infested with malaria infected mosquitoes. They did not dig wells and built the weakest type of shelters and they had to drink the river water, as well as getting wet from the rains in the summer and from being half frozen in winter.

The directors make mistakes

England mad mistakes about the voyage as well. England wanted the settlers to hunt for gold. Settlers wanted to do this but there was none in the area. Settlers should have built better housing and worked on growing crops and making clothing. Everything the settlers did was for the London Company in a common storehouse. Settlers only received what as much as they needed. The worst mistake was that the directors was that there were not enough workers for there were only 12 laborers and skilled workman available out of 120 people (settlers). They were primarily 'gentlemen' (write on blackboard and define.)

Bad times for Jamestown

At the end of the first year only 53 of the settlers were still alive. John Smith is the self-appointed leader of the colony. He orders the men to dig wells, build better shelters, clear the land to plant corn and other crops. John Smith visited the Indian villages to get corn and meat. He was a harsh leader. The notion he had was the motto 'No Work....No Eat' (could write this on blackboard). John Smith was such a harsh leader that in the morning he would march men into the fields to cultivate crops or into the forest to cut wood and to and from these jobs to the beat of a drum. (A question the teacher could ask at this point 'What does this sound like to you?)

Settlers complained but they, the colony, survived. Smith returned to England but matters went from bad to worse in the winter of 1609-1610 also became known as 'the starving time'. (Write this term on the blackboard.) The next Spring the settlers wanted to leave Jamestown, when a number of ships arrived from England with more settlers and fresh supplies giving new hope. In 1609, the King granted a new charter that gave more land to the Virginia colony.

Conditions improve

Slowly conditions improved and after 1610 and you may ask "Why?" The answer is Tobacco that saved the colony for the Europeans first learned about smoking tobacco from the American Indians. By the early 1600's the habit of smoking was spreading over Europe. (Believe it or not teachers could add with today's culture world that King James I of England tried to stop it for these reasons:)

1. Smoking is loathsome to the eye.

2. Smoking is hateful to the nose.

3. Smoking is harmful to the brain.

4. Smoking is dangerous to the lungs.

(What do these statements sound like today?) People back then kept the habit though. Until Jamestown was settled all tobacco the Englishmen and other Europeans smoked came from the Spanish West Indies, and then in 1612 John Rolfe who married the Indian princess Pocahontas learned how to grow and cure tobacco in Virginia and years the colonists were shipping large quantities of this valuable product to England.

In 1619 there were more than 1000 men in the Virginia colony and most of the colonists were making a living by raising tobacco. Every inch of land was cleared for tobacco. The farms dotted the James River for a distance of 20 miles beyond the original settlement.

Other reasons for the growth of Jamestown (list on blackboard)

1. New settlers were skilled workmen such as carpenters, masons, farmers, blacksmiths, and fishermen.

2. The London Company abandoned the common storehouse.

In 1618 each man who paid his own way to Jamestown was given 50 acres of land that they could work their own land and sell their own products.

Self-government begins (write/define term on blackboard)

In 1619 the London Company gives the colonists the right to share in their own government and on July 30, 1619 (write the date on blackboard) there were 22 'burgesses' (term on blackboard) or representatives two from each of the settled districts along the James River that met in Jamestown. Each of them had been elected by the voters of his own district. (Does this sound familiar to you? Ask students to explain in their own words.)

The House of Burgesses as this lawmaking body came to be called represented the men who owned land in the new colony. The first reason was short but very important it marked the first step toward 'representative government' in the New World. (Write and define 'representative government'.)

The Colony Grown

The year 1619 was memorable for other reasons for the directors of the London Company sent 60 women to Virginia who were quickly married and as the directors had foreseen they exercised a steadying influence upon the men. Also, in 1619 Africans arrived in the colony. These negros were the first of many thousands of men and women from Africa who for many years would come and work with people from many other lands in building the new nation. (This was the start of the period of Slavery as you will learn later in the course.) But these first negros were not slaves but were servants for a period of years to pay for the transportation and after they paid that debt they were free and settled own land and worked for themselves. In 1640 this is the beginning of slavery for Africans were brought to the British colonies as slaves. Meanwhile, the London Company directors were encouraged by growing prosperity of Virginia and sent out hundreds of new settlers. They were given orders to start an ironworks on the James River while others planted olive trees and laid out vineyards and most newcomers cleared a piece of land and began growing tobacco. After a while disaster struck and alarmed by all the rapid growth of the colony the Indians went on the warpath.

One night in 1622 the Indians swooped down on the outlying farmhouses killing many settlers burning them out, but Virginia from 1620 to 1624 there were 4000 men, women and children around as settlers in the colony.

Virginia becomes a royal colony

In 1624 King James I decided that Virginia was being badly managed and he withdrew the charter from the London Company and took over the management of the colony. Now a royal colony ruled by the King and his ministers. Virginia government was not restrictive as the Spanish colonies to the south and west for the King of Spain still held 'absolute power' (write and define this term on blackboard.) The King now appointed the governor and gave him power to veto or reject any laws through a council of 12 members assisting the governor. The King did not wipe out the House of Burgesses for they continued to make the laws only with the approval of the governor and the King, but the settlers continued to elect the members of the House of Burgesses.

End of Chapter One Lectures/lessons

Behavioral Objectives

The students will continue to learn and understand why further development was needed by more explorers with further reading and discussion.

The students will understand why the King wanted more land and why there were many explorers needed to found and farm the New World.

The student will comprehend how the physical and emotional standards of the settlers affected development of the New World.

The student will through presenting in class discussions the reason for a New World and our current US Government will begin to show why we do what we do.

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I hope all of you like these lectures for they are helping me to try and an organize a project and hearts and tips could help me a lot. Thank you and stay safe.