Phillis Wheatley

Class Date: September 17th

Location: Your couch! See your weekly e-mail for Zoom link!

We talked about the indigenous people in the Florida area and moved pretty far through our historical timeline, covering the presidency of Andrew Jackson. This week, we back up to before the American Revolution to look at the life of Phillis Wheatley. Here is a brief overview of the events of the time:

• 1513 - Ponce de Leon lands in Florida

Sailing for Spain, Juan Ponce de Leon lands on the North American continent, making contact with the people living in what is now Florida. He returns in 1521 to establish a colony, but the invaders meet armed resistance. Ponce is attacked and fatally wounded. The Spanish will continue to invade the Florida region and eventually establish settlements.

• 1622 - Powhatan Confederacy resists English invasion

Though the colonists and Powhatan Confederacy had established peace in 1614, colonists continued to spread out from their initial settlements, encroaching on Powhatan territory, stealing food, abusing people, and allowing livestock to destroy crops and sacred sites. The swift and successful attack on the colonists was meant to demonstrate the military might of the Powhatan Confederacy and encourage the English to leave the area. The surprise attack resulted in the deaths of 347 colonists and launched the Second Powhatan War, which lasted until 1626. 

• 1639 - Mail delivery has a cost

Richard Fairbanks, who was responsible for delivering mail in Massachusetts, is allowed to charge a penny a letter for delivery. 

• 1650 - Colonial population growing

It’s estimated that the colonial population of the Eastern seaboard was roughly 50,000. 

• 1675 - King Philip’s War

The conflict between the Wampanoag and the English has been called the most devastating conflict in America because 1 in 10 soldiers on both sides was killed, 1,200 colonial homes were burned, and many food stores were destroyed. The colonials suffered the effects for years, as did the natives who continued to have their lands encroached upon and their way of life disrupted. To read more about the conflict, click here:

• 1735 - Zenger Trial

The royal governor of New York, William Cosby, accused German printer and journalist John Peter Zenger of libel for his columns critical of the governor and his leadership. Cosby had Zenger arrested and he was charged with libel. Andrew Hamilton and William Smith, Sr. argued that the truth is a defense against the charge of libel and Zenger was acquitted. The trial helped establish the idea of a free press in the colonies and often serves as the legal basis for the First Amendment.

• 1751 - The Liberty Bell first rings

The bell was ordered from the Whitechapel Foundry in London. However, the bell cracked on its first test ring. John Pass and John Stow, local metalworkers, melted the bell and recast it. The bell was used to call lawmakers to meetings and townspeople together to hear the reading of the news. Benjamin Franklin wrote in 1755, “Adieu, the Bell rings, and I must go among the Grave ones and talk Politicks”. The bell began to be recognized as a symbol of liberty in the 1730s. It developed a thin crack sometime in the 1840s, after nearly 90 years of use. In order to repair the bell and restore its tone, metalworkers used a technique called ‘stop drilling’, in which they drilled into the bell over 40 times to widen the crack into what we see today. The repair ultimately failed, as another fissure developed and the bell was silenced. 

Though no living person has ever heard the Liberty Bell ring, students from Pennsylvania State University came up with a digital recreation of the bell and believe they replicated the sound of the bell as it would have rung for Ben Franklin and his contemporaries. You can listen to it here:

• 1751 - Slavery is legalized in Georgia

Georgia, the last of the 13 colonies, had banned slavery in 1735, by decree of James Oglethorpe. No one was opposed to slavery on principle, but rather didn’t see it working with their economic institutions. The nearby Spanish settlements in Florida routinely offered assistance to slaves willing to revolt or escape from the English. Bowing to increasing pressure from residents, the Georgia government passed legislation permitting slavery. The capture and importation of enslaved peoples grew quickly, as planters sought to force people to work their rice plantations. 

• 1754 - The Albany Congress meets

Representatives from 7 colonies and 150 Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) chiefs to discuss support from the Haudenosaunee in fighting the French and establishing a colonial alliance. Though the leaders embraced the idea of a common militia and coordinated taxation to pay for it, the colonial legislatures all rejected the plan.

• 1754 - French and Indian War begins

Also known as the Seven Years’ War, this conflict was yet another extension of the continuing conflict between Britain and France. To learn more about this war, check out this 14 minute video here:

•  1763 - Proclamation of 1763

After securing victory over the French, the British government recognized the increasing agitation of the Native populations of the Eastern seaboard. The native tribes were concerned that continued westward expansion by the colonials would drive them from their lands. The British Proclamation declared a boundary line for colonial settlement, even ruling that settlements beyond the boundary must be abandoned. Many Native tribes had previously aligned with the French, but in an attempt to build peaceful relations, the British government inflamed the sentiments of the colonists. 

• 1765 - Coverture traditions are encouraged

Sir William Blackstone published Commentaries on the Laws of England that encouraged colonials to follow the tradition of “coverture” - the idea that once married, a woman’s property belongs to her husband and she ceases to have any legal rights. Coverture was brought over by British colonists, who practiced English Common Law, which also removed the legal rights of married women.

• 1765 - British Acts

Great Britain passed the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act in March. The Stamp Act taxed all paper goods and legal documents, while the Quartering Act required colonists to provide food and housing for British troops. The Virginia House of Burgesses challenges the legality of the Stamp Act and the Stamp Act Congress meets in October to discuss the crisis in the colonies.

• 1766 - Declaratory Act

British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act but passes the Declaratory Act, which underscores the authority of Parliament over the British colonies.

To read a good overview of the event, click here: https://www.britannica.com/event/Boston-Massacre

• 1773 - The Tea Act and the Boston Tea Party

Attempting to bolster the floundering East India Company, who were in possession of millions of pounds of unsold tea, the British government passed the Tea Act to ship and sell the tea cheaply in the colonies. Colonials were furious at the move that would undercut local merchants. After the three ships carrying the tea entered Boston Harbor, angry colonists disguised themselves as Native Americans and tossed 342 chests of tea into the harbor.

• 1774 - The ‘Intolerable Acts’

A series of additional acts passed by the British Parliament designed to raise further taxes and bring the colonies back into submission. 

• 1775 - The Midnight Rides and the “shot heard round the world”

Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Ira Bissell rode through the night to warn of British forces (though they did not complete their journeys). Colonial militias organized and met the British forces at Lexington and Concord to protect their stores of munitions. On the Lexington Green, nearly 2450 British soldiers and 70 ‘minutemen’ regarded each other with suspicion. A bullet fired, known as ‘the shot heard round the world’ and tensions that had been building for years marched over the brink and into war. 

• 1777 - The Articles of Confederation

Stemming from wartime urgency and a strong fear of a central authority, the Articles were written to provide a loose government structure for a fledgling nation. They were not ratified until 1781. Under the articles, the states remained sovereign, with a Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. Congress was able to make treaties and alliances, maintain armed forces, and coin money on behalf of the “United States of America”. However, the Congress could not impose taxes or regulate commerce. Those issues would lead to the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

That is where our timeline leaves us for this week! Check below for additional reading resources and tune in this week to learn more about the experiences of people in the colonies. 

To read more about this period, here are some great books to get you started:

For Kids:

For Adults:

https://www.ushistory.org/declaration/revwartimeline.html

https://www.ushistory.org/us/9f.asp

https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/the-five-riders/

https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/slavery-colonial-georgia

https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/stories-libertybell.htm

https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/native-american-timeline

https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/american-indian-wars