New England

1
New England
Major Characteristics
Small, close-knit communities Small family
farms Fear of outsiders Sea is wealth source
2
Family Life

• Immigrants arrive as middle-class families
• Many children
• Live to see grandchildren

Elizabeth Freake and Baby Mary, 1670s, anonymous
artist
3
Economic Reliance on the Sea

• Fishing
• Whaling
• Shipbuilding
• Overseas trade

New England developed an elite class of merchants
4
Church in New England
Congregational (Puritan) Church Mandatory
attendance Pay taxes to Church (except RI) In
Mass., you must be a church member to vote.
5
Literacy

• High literacy rate
• Must be able to read the Bible
• All towns have schools

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The New England Primer (Later edition)
The New England Primer (Colonial edition)
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The Irony of Literacy

• Puritans encouraged independent study of the
  Bible.
• This brought independent minds like Anne
  Hutchinson to criticize the of the authorities.

8
Democracy in New England

• Puritans believe social equality is dangerous
  but. . .
• Town Meetings are considered the paragon of
  democracy.

Freedom of Speech by Norman Rockwell
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The Decline of Puritan Theology

• WORK and WEALTH
• Puritans preached the Protestant Work Ethic
  (that hard work was holy), believing wealth would
  help the common good. .but
• As people became more interested in trade and
  work, and wealthy along the way, piety declined.
• Tolerance of others was better for trade
• Half-Way Covenant (1662)
• Jeremiads by 1660s castigating the
  selfishness
• New England evolved from a holy experiment to a
  merchant-dominated secular government.

10
John Freake, 1670s, Anonymous painter (The Freake
Limner)
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Elizabeth Freake with Baby Mary, 1670s ,
Anonymous Painter (The Freake Limner)
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The Gibbs Children, 1670
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• Portrait of William Dudley, 1729 by John Smibert

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Mr. Mrs. Francis Brinsley and son, 1729
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Thomas Smith, Self Portrait, 1690s