The Influence of Native Americans on the US

The Iroquois Confederacy influences the Constitution!

A Model of Christian Charity

As you read, consider: How did Winthrop expect faithful Puritans to treat each other and why?

A Model of Christian Charity –excerpt
By John Winthrop, aboard the Arbella as it was sailing toward America

…First of all, true Christians are of one body in Christ (1 Cor. 12). Ye are the body of Christ and members of their part. All the parts of this body being thus united are made so contiguous in a special relation as they must needs partake of each other’s strength and infirmity; joy and sorrow, weal and woe. If one member suffers, all suffer with it, if one be in honor, all rejoice with it.

Secondly, the ligaments of this body which knit together are love.

Thirdly, no body can be perfect which wants its proper ligament.

Fourthly, All the parts of this body being thus united are made so contiguous in a special relation as they must needs partake of each other’s strength and infirmity, joy and sorrow, weal and woe. (1 Cor. 12:26) If one member suffers, all suffer with it; if one be in honor, all rejoice with it.

Fifthly, this sensitivity and sympathy of each other’s conditions will necessarily infuse into each part a native desire and endeavor, to strengthen, defend, preserve and comfort the other. To insist a little on this conclusion being the product of all the former, the truth hereof will appear both by precept and pattern. 1 John 3:16, “We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” Gal. 6:2, “Bear ye one another’s burden’s and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

For patterns we have that first of our Savior who, out of his good will in obedience to his father, becoming a part of this body and being knit with it in the bond of love, found such a native sensitivity of our infirmities and sorrows as he willingly yielded himself to death to ease the infirmities of the rest of his body, and so healed their sorrows. From the like sympathy of parts did the Apostles and many thousands of the Saints lay down their lives for Christ. Again the like we may see in the members of this body among themselves. Rom. 9 — Paul could have been contented to have been separated from Christ, that the Jews might not be cut off from the body. It is very observable what he professeth of his affectionate partaking with every member; “Who is weak (saith he) and I am not weak? Who is offended and I burn not?” And again (2 Cor. 7:13), “Therefore we are comforted because ye were comforted.” Of Epaphroditus he speaketh (Phil. 2:25-30) that he regarded not his own life to do him service. So Phoebe and others are called the servants of the church. Now it is apparent that they served not for wages, or by constraint, but out of love. The like we shall find in the histories of the church, in all ages; the sweet sympathy of affections which was in the members of this body one towards another; their cheerfulness in serving and suffering together; how liberal they were without repining, harborers without grudging, and helpful without reproaching; and all from hence, because they had fervent love amongst them; which only makes the practice of mercy constant and easy….

… Thus stands the cause between God and us. We are entered into covenant with Him for this work. We have taken out a commission. The Lord hath given us leave to draw our own articles. We have professed to enterprise these and those accounts, upon these and those ends. We have hereupon besought Him of favor and blessing. Now if the Lord shall please to hear us, and bring us in peace to the place we desire, then hath He ratified this covenant and sealed our commission, and will expect a strict performance of the articles contained in it; but if we shall neglect the observation of these articles which are the ends we have propounded, and, dissembling with our God, shall fall to embrace this present world and prosecute our carnal intentions, seeking great things for ourselves and our posterity, the Lord will surely break out in wrath against us, and be revenged of such a people, and make us know the price of the breach of such a covenant.

Now the only way to avoid this shipwreck, and to provide for our posterity, is to follow the counsel of Micah, to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. For this end, we must be knit together, in this work, as one man. We must entertain each other in brotherly affection. We must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the supply of others’ necessities. We must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience and liberality. We must delight in each other; make others’ conditions our own; rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, as members of the same body. So shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. The Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell among us, as His own people, and will command a blessing upon us in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of His wisdom, power, goodness and truth, than formerly we have been acquainted with. We shall find that the God of Israel is among us, when ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies; when He shall make us a praise and glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations, “may the Lord make it like that of New England.” For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God’s sake. We shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going.…

Study words for 1-4 terms check

These will be the words that I will draw from to make your terms check over chapters 1-4 which you will take on Monday.
It will be a matching format quiz.

middle passage
Metacom
Fundamental Orders
Separatists
Mayflower Compact
Jonathan Edwards
Handsome Lake
“Popery”
Cahokia
Bartolomeo de las Casas
Anasazi
Nathaniel Bacon
Anne Hutchinson
“Blue Laws”
Halfway Covenant
Salutary neglect
Eurocentrism
Primogeniture
Michel-Guillaume de Crevecoeur
“Black Legend”
Christine Heyrman (try searching for her on the blog!)
House of Burgesses
Puritans
freedom dues
Roger Williams
“The elect”
maize
Treaty of Tordesillas
Protestant work ethic
John Smith
James Oglethorpe
Indentured servants
Regulator Movement
Bible Commonwealth
Quakers
Act of Toleration
headright system

New discoveries about Jamestown

Remember “Starving Time in Virginia?” When the Jamestown settlers nearly starved? Well, how about a little long pig?

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/01/us/jamestown-cannibalism/index.html?hpt=us_r1

Thanks, KJ!

Links about the Mayflower Compact

Go here to see the text, from the Avalon Project at Yale University: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/mayflower.asp

For more information about the Pilgrims: http://www.pilgrimhall.org/

Starving Time in Virginia

In December 1606, the Virginia Company sent three ships to Virginia with 144 colonists, only 105 of whom actually disembarked at Jamestown the following May. The site the settlers chose was on the James River, away from the danger of the Spanish but adjacent to malarial swamps. The natives of the area were of the Pamunkey tribe, whose sachem, or headman, was Powhatan. The settlement struggled for its first decade, in part due to the nature of the colony: as a business enterprise, the colonists were employees of the Virginia Company, not landowners. The Company, seeking to satisfy its investors, had selected colonists who wanted to search for gold and a passage to Asia; growing crops was not on their list of priorities. Especially troubling were many “gentlemen” unwilling to do manual labor. Of the professions listed by the colonists, there were goldsmiths and personal servants and some laborers, but none listed themselves as farmers—obviously a poor omen. When no gold was found and no passage to Asia discovered, the settlers drifted into aimlessness. Like the grasshopper in the fable about the Grasshopper and the Ant, the colonists expected the Virginia company or the neighboring Indians to feed them, rather than prepare for the coming winter. The result was that they starved during the winter of 1607-8.

One of the young leaders among them who then asserted control of the colony was Captain John Smith, a soldier-adventurer and promoter of the company, who became its chief historian. He had an especially resourceful spirit, and he saved the colony from starvation during the winter of 1608-1609 by obtaining corn from the Indians be had befriended. On an expedition to discover the source of the Chickahominy River, Captain Smith was captured by the Indians and was to be executed. As the controversial legend holds, Pocahontas saved his life by throwing herself upon him and entreating her father, Powhatan, to spare Smith. Smith’s Generall Historie of Virginia, an indispensable–though at times unreliable–work, is reprinted here in part. The selection deals with the events of 1607-1614 and is actually a series of reports or accounts by various persons with interpolations by Smith himself. Thus, part of the narrative covers an interval when he had “turned temporarily to England.”

As you read, answer the following questions:
1. Who does Smith blame for the settlers’ early troubles in having enough food?
2. How does Smith get captured?
3. Why does Smith think the Indians are feeding him so well?

Starving Time in Virginia, 1607-1614
Captain John Smith

1607. Being thus left to our fortunes, it fortuned that within ten days scarce ten among us could either go or well stand, such extreme weakness and sickness oppressed us. And thereat none need marvel if they consider the cause and reason, which was this. 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 [friendship]. 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 be distributed, and that was 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.

With this lodging and diet, our extreme toil in bearing and planting palisades so strained and bruised us, and our continual labor in the extremity of the heat had so weakened us, as were cause sufficient to have made us as miserable in our native country, or any other place in the world.

From May to September, those that escaped lived upon sturgeon, and sea crabs. Fifty in this time we buried, the rest seeing the president’s projects to escape these miseries in our pinnace by flight (who all this time had neither felt want nor sickness) so moved our dead spirits, as we deposed him, and established Ratcliffe in his place (Gosnoll being dead), Kendall deposed. Smith newly recovered, Martin and Ratcliffe was by his care preserved and relieved, and the most of the soldiers recovered with the skillful diligence of Master Thomas Wolton, our [surgeon] general.

But now was all our provision spent, the sturgeon gone, all helps abandoned, each hour expecting the fury of the savages; when God, the Patron of all good endeavors in that desperate extremity so changed the hearts of the savages that they brought such plenty of their fruits and provision as no man wanted.

And now where some affirmed it was ill done of the Council to send forth men so badly provided, this incontradictable reason will show them plainly they are too ill advised to nourish such ill conceits. First, the fault of our going was our own; what could be thought fitting or necessary we had; but what we should find, or want, or where we should be, we were all ignorant, and supposing to make our passage in two months, with victual to live and the advantage of the spring to work. We were at sea five months, where we both spent our victual and lost the opportunity of the time and season to plant, by the unskillful presumption of our ignorant transporters, that understood not at all what they undertook….

And now, the winter approaching, the rivers became so covered with swans, geese, ducks, and cranes that we daily feasted with good bread, Virginia peas, pumpions [pumpkins], and putchamins [persimmons], fish, fowl, and diverse sorts of wild beasts as fat as we could eat them; so that none of our tuftaffety humorists desired to go for England.

But our comedies never endured long without a tragedy; some idle exceptions being muttered against Captain Smith for not discovering the head of the Chickahamania [Chickahominy] River, and taxed by the Council to be too slow in so worthy an attempt. The next voyage he proceeded so far that with much labor by cutting of trees asunder he made his passage; but when his barge could pass no farther, he left her in a broad bay out of danger of shot, commanding none should go ashore till his return. Himself, with two English and two savages, went up higher in a canoe; but he was not long absent but his men went ashore, whose want of government gave both occasion and opportunity to the savages to surprise one George Cassen, whom they slew, and much failed not to have cut off the boat and all the rest.
Smith, little dreaming of that accident, being got to the marshes at the river’s head, twenty miles in the desert, had his two men slain (as is supposed) sleeping by the canoe, while himself, by fowling, sought them victual. Finding he was beset with 200 savages, two of them he slew still defending himself with the aid of a savage, his guide, whom he bound to his arm with his garters, and used him as a buckler, yet he was shot in his thigh a little, and had many arrows that stuck in his clothes; but no great hurt, till at last they took him prisoner. When this news came to Jamestown, much was their sorrow for his loss, few expecting what ensued.

Six or seven weeks those barbarians kept him prisoner, many strange triumphs and conjurations they made of him, yet he so demeaned himself among them as he not only diverted them from surprising the fort but procured his own liberty, and got himself and his company such estimation among them that those savages admired him more than their own quiyouckosucks [gods].

The manner how they used and delivered him is as follows:
The savages, having drawn from George Cassen whether Captain Smith was gone, prosecuting that opportunity, they followed him with 300 bowmen, conducted by the king of Pamaunkee, who, in divisions, searching the turnings of the river, found Robinson and Emry by the far side. Those they shot full of arrows and slew. Then finding the captain … yet, dared they not come to him till, being near dead with cold, he threw away his arms. Then…they drew him forth and led him to the fire, where his men were slain. Diligently, they chafed his benumbed limbs.

He demanding for their captain, they showed him Opechancanough, king of Pamaunkee, to whom he gave a round, ivory double compass dial. Much they marveled at the playing of the fly and needle, which they could see so plainly and yet not touch it because of the glass that covered them. But when he demonstrated by that globelike jewel the roundness of the earth and skies, the sphere of the sun, moon, and stars, and how the sun did chase the night round about the world continually; the greatness of the land and sea, the diversity of nations, variety of complexions, and how we were to them antipodes, and many other suchlike matters, they all stood as amazed with admiration. Notwithstanding, within an hour after they tied him to a tree, and as many as could stand about him prepared to shoot him; but the king, holding up the compass in his hand, they all laid down their bows and arrows, and in a triumphant manner led him to [the town of] Orapaks, where he was after their manner kindly feasted and well used.

Their order in conducting him was thus: Drawing themselves all in file, the king in the middle had all their pieces and swords borne before him. Captain Smith was led after him by three great savages, holding him fast by each arm; and on each side, six went in file with their arrows nocked. But arriving at the town (which was but only thirty or forty hunting houses made of mats, which they remove as they please, as we our tents), all the women and children staring to behold him, the soldiers first, all in file and on each flank, officers… to see them keep their orders. A good time they continued this exercise, and then cast themselves in a ring, dancing in such several postures, and singing and yelling out such hellish notes and screeches; being strangely painted, everyone his quiver of arrows, and at his back a club; on his arm a fox or an otter’s skin… their heads and shoulders painted red… which scarlet-like color made an exceeding handsome show; his bow in his hand, and the skin of a bird with her wings abroad dried, tied on his head, a piece of copper, a white shell, a long feather, with a small rattle growing at the tails of their snakes tied to it, or some suchlike toy.

All this while, Smith and the king stood in the middle, guarded, as before is said; and after three dances they all departed. Smith they conducted to a long-house, where thirty or forty tall fellows did guard him; and ere long more bread and venison was brought him than would have served twenty men. I think his stomach at that time was not very good; what he left they put in baskets and tied over his head. About midnight they set the meat again before him, all this time not one of them would eat a bite with him, till the next morning they brought him as much more; and then did they eat all the old, and reserved the new as they had done the other, which made him think they would fat him to eat him. Yet in this desperate estate to defend him from the cold, one… brought him his gown, in requital of some beads and toys Smith had given him at his first arrival in Virginia.

Links for more information:
Did Pocahontas save John Smith? A historian attempts an answer
Biography of Powhatan
Powhatan Confederacy
The Grasshopper and the Ant: a retelling of Aesop’s fable

Vocabulary for this post:
sack (third definition)
aquavitae
pinnace
depose
victual
antipodes (second definition)

Summer assignment for 2013-2014 students

Welcome, new students!!!!

All you have to do is click on the words “AP SUMMER assignment,” and it will download to your computer!

AP SUMMER assignment 2013

Isn’t technology wonderful?

Remember, this must be hand-written and YOUR OWN WORK.

Make sure you include why a term is significant, since the definition for a person can change over time. For instance, George Washington will show up several times in your terms. Who he is in chapter 6, when he is an officer in the French and Indian War, is NOT the same as who he is in chapter 10, when he is our first president and a former commanding general of the Continental Army in the Revolution.

Here’s an example:
Leslie Scoopmire- AP history teacher at Pattonville High School, supreme commander of all AP US history students at PHS. Without her, I wouldn’t be using this website right now.

British Exploration and Settlement Review

By an actual AP teacher. A 10 minute review of the beginnings of English America.

Who were the Puritans?

This video can also be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy1IOIlpKaw

Helpful tips and links to help you with Chapters 1-4

Hi there! I hope you are still having a wonderful summer! We will be hitting the ground running on the first day of school in our mad race to a 5 on the AP exam on Wednesday, May 15, 2013… a mere 9 months EXACTLY from the first day of school!

During that time we will be covering both broadly and specifically approximately 520 years of the history of what we now call the United States.

The first thing you should do as you work on your summer assignment (extra credit but necessary!- see below) is familiarize yourself with this website. Right under the title The Scoop on History are a series of tabs. These are different pages of the website. They include schedules for chapter deadlines, links for more information, lists of terms used on terms checks, etc. These are constantly being updated. Check them often.

On the right are a series of widgets. They include boxes for reminders, a list of the five most recent posts, and ways to access both posts on this site as well as helpful links for you.

Here’s how to find old posts: Please note that posts are always categorized by at least two labels when possible– the CHAPTER in the book with which the post references, as well as a broader TOPIC category. For instance, this post will be tagged for chapters 1,2,3, and 4, as well as Colonization and Exploration. This way, you can always find a specific post in one of several places– if you can’t remember the chapter, you should be able to remember the category. Underneath that box, posts are also archived by month and year posted, as well. You can look in the categories for chapters 1-4 or “Colonization” and “Exploration” to find posts to help you at any time, and some of these will be reposted on the main page here later, as well.

Below those two boxes, there is a BLOGROLL. This includes links that I have found to be helpful in general when you are studying US history. There are links to websites about Colonization, Greek and Latin vocabulary, and even better– PRACTICE QUIZZES to help you study.

You are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to form study groups to help study, so long as you do your OWN WORK in your OWN WORDS on assignments. You are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to leave questions or appropriate comments in the comments section of posts so that someone may be able to help you or that you may help others.

You should check this website often. I will often post things here to help you… like I am about to do right now. Here are some helpful links for Chapters 1-4.

Definitions of vocabulary in the American Pageant– http://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/vocabulary/chapter-1-new-world-beginnings/ This isn’t terms so much as words you might have encountered as you read with which you may not be familiar, like “caravel,” etc.

America in Class from the National Humanities Center– http://americainclass.org/sources/ Click on the box that says “American Beginnings” and use the subsections– contact, exploration, settlement, permanence, power. The framing questions for each section are very good in helping you get an long-term overview of the significance of what we will be talking about in the next two weeks.

Timeline of Exploration and Early Colonization— http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/rev-early.htm Short and sweet.

News article from 2008 on new discoveries about native settlement in North America– http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1326470/new_evidence_resets_timeline_for_north_american_settlement/  Oooh! Fossil POO!

Jamestown Timeline— http://www.historyisfun.org/pdf/Curriculum-Materials/Jamestown_Timeline.pdf