For Monday, February 5               The Founding of the Tobacco Colonies

READ: in Reich, Chapter 6. Pp. 62-73
in Kupperman, Chapter 4. Virginia and Maryland, Pp. 57-79

The venture so ardently promoted by Harriot failed. It took nearly another generation before a second attempt achieved more success. The plantation based colonies of Virginia and Maryland form our subject for this day. John Smith's account (Kupperman, 58, ff.) demonstrates how close to failure the second venture came, as well. Two issues: why did men on the edge of starving refuse to work, and how did life in the wilderness begin to re-work the European into an American? The two essays in Kupperman will shed light on the second of these two issues. The first might be solved through understanding what a "gentleman" was.

READ: in Reich, Chapter 7 Pp. 74-86
in Kupperman, Chapter 4. New England Pp. 87-117

We turn our focus to New England, this class period. Here a culture based on the agricultural village evolves. We'll want to look at the relationship between Puritan theology and Puritan Political Theory. The relationship between Protestantism and Capitalism has interested sociologists and historians for about a century now. The essays by Anderson and Peterson discuss aspects of this relationship.

Regardless of location, regardless of ideology, certain common human themes will present themselves. Compare Frethorn (p. 65) with Pond (p. 92)

READ: in Reich, Chapter 8 pp. 87-99
in Kupperman, Chapter 7 180-220

In each instance, the southern and northern English ventures each had a markedly unique character (not to say that there was absolute uniformity) occasioned by relatively homogeneous groups dominating settlement and relatively consistent geographies in each center of settelent. The middle colonies were very much a mixed bag. We can compare these colonies with the rest in order to formulate some hypotheses about the relative effects of diversity and conformity upon the American character.