Puritan Shores Worksheet
Early American History • Unit 2: The Thirteen Colonies Grade 7-8 Social Studies
Puritan Shores: The New England Colonies
Analyzing environmental conditions, economic systems, and historical cause-and-effect.
Name:
Date:
Period:
Score:
/ 35
Part A • Geography • Environmental Cause and Effect
9 Points
Analyze each environmental condition of New England (Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island). Explain the direct economic cause-and-effect result for colonists.
1 Rocky Soil & Short Seasons
Condition: Thin, glacial till soil and cold, harsh winters prevented large-scale cash crop plantations.
Economic Consequence / Practice:
2 Dense Old-Growth Timber
Condition: Towering white pines and hardwood forests bordered navigable river mouths and coasts.
Primary Industry Developed:
3 Deep Harbors & Atlantic Banks
Condition: Protected bays (e.g., Boston, Salem) with nearby shallow fishing shoals (Grand Banks).
Trade & Maritime Role:
Part B • Governance & Religious Dissent • Cause & Effect Chains
12 Points
Analyze the historical triggers below. Complete each chain by identifying the specific historical outcome and its significance for democratic ideals or colonial development.
Chain 1: Town Meetings and Direct Democracy Topic: Puritan Church & Civic Life
Historical Cause: Puritans clustered into tight-knit towns centered around the meetinghouse to monitor community morality and govern church affairs collectively.
Effect on American Government:
Chain 2: Dissent in Massachusetts Bay Colony Topic: Roger Williams & Anne Hutchinson
Historical Cause: Roger Williams argued that government shouldn't punish religious opinions and that Native lands must be bought justly; Anne Hutchinson held unauthorized bible studies.
Colonial Reaction & Settlement Founded:
Chain 3: King Philip's War (1675–1676) Topic: Colonial Expansion & Sovereignty
Historical Cause: Rapid English population growth led to steady encroachment on Wampanoag and Narragansett hunting lands and heavy-handed English legal demands on tribal sovereignty.
Outcome for Indigenous Power in Southern NE:
Key Concepts: Mercantilism, Subsistence Farming, Town Meeting, Separation of Church and State Page 1 of 2
Evidence & Perspective Analysis
Puritan Ideology & Religious Freedom
Student Name:
Part C • Primary Source Evidence Lab
8 Points
Source A: John Winthrop, 1630 Massachusetts
“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.”
— A Model of Christian Charity
Source B: Roger Williams, 1655 Rhode Island
“There goes many a ship to sea, with many hundred souls in one ship, whose weal or woe is common... [Papists, Protestants, Jews, or Turks] ought not to be forced to come to the ship’s prayers, nor compelled from their own particular prayers or worship, if they practice any.”
— Letter to the Town of Providence
1. Evidence Hunt (Winthrop): What does the phrase “city upon a hill” imply about how Puritans viewed their colony’s global purpose?
2. Contrast & Conscience (Williams): How does Williams’ ship metaphor directly challenge the religious policy of Massachusetts Bay?
Part D • Regional Comparison & Evidence-Based Argument
6 Points
| Feature | Massachusetts Bay Colony | Rhode Island Colony |
|---|
| Religious Policy | Strict Puritan orthodoxy; dissenters fined or banished | Complete religious liberty for all faiths |
| Church & State Link | Voting restricted to male church members (“freemen”) | Strict separation of civil state and religious church |
| Native Land Policy | Claimed right by charter & vacuum domicilium (empty land) | Required fair purchase of land from Narragansetts |
Historical Synthesis Argument: Write a clear 2-3 sentence historical claim answering: Why did New England develop as a commercial, town-centered society while the Southern colonies developed an agricultural plantation society? Cite at least two specific pieces of evidence (geography, labor, or motives for settlement).
Standard: Analyze the religious, environmental, and political foundations of the New England Colonies. Page 2 of 2
