Establishing The Colonies

Explores the establishment of the American colonies. Authoritative text, colorful illustrations, illuminating sidebars, and a "Voices from the Past" feature make this book an exciting and informative read.

This groundbreaking book examines the history of Spain, England, the United States, and Mexico to explain why development takes centuries.

In this revelatory account of the people who founded the New England colonies, historian David D. Hall compares the reforms they enacted with those attempted in England during the period of the English Revolution. Bringing with them a deep fear of arbitrary, unlimited authority, these settlers based their churches on the participation of laypeople and insisted on "consent" as a premise of all civil governance. Puritans also transformed civil and criminal law and the workings of courts with the intention of establishing equity. In this political and social history of the five New England colonies, Hall provides a masterful re-evaluation of the earliest moments of New England's history, revealing the colonists to be the most effective and daring reformers of their day.

Young readers will be fascinated to learn what life was like for the colonists in early America. The detailed images and easy-to-read text explore such topics as Puritans, the Mayflower Compact, House of Burgesses, Navigation Acts, and slavery. Along with brief biographies on colonists and Indians like John Smith, William Penn, Pocahontas, and John Rolfe, this engaging reader explains means of survival and living through farming, colonial crops, and plantations. A table of contents and glossary are provided to enhance readers' understanding of the content and vocabulary.