Jamestown and Plymouth

Every Great Thing has a Beginning 1. In order for something to exist it must have a beginning. 2. The United States of America has to have a beginning. 3. That beginning started with two towns called Jamestown and Plymouth.

The British 1. Remember in the previous lesson how we learned about the British wanting to leave for a better opportunity? 2. We are going to focus on where exactly the first British citizens settled in the New World.

Jamestown 1. Jamestown is located in present day Virginia at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

Failure at Jamestown 1. Many colonists came to Jamestown and struggled to survive. 2. They came unprepared and unsuited for the environments. 3. The colonists anticipated good conditions and gold. Neither were found when the first groups of colonists arrived in Jamestown 4. One group of colonists became so unsuccessful that only 61 people survived out of the original 500 !

Success at Jamestown 1. A man by the name of John Rolfe finally came to Jamestown with high hopes. He was a very bright and intelligent man. 2. John Rolfe became successful as he began to plant tobacco which grew very successfully. 3. Tobacco at the time was extremely valuable in the world. 4. Failure turned into success and Jamestown began to flourish into a thriving town filled with many colonists.

Plymouth 1. Travel up the coast a couple of hundred miles from Jamestown and we find another group of colonists in the present state of Massachusetts.

Plymouth Facts 1. The colonists who settled Plymouth were called Pilgrims. 2. They were a religious group of people seeking religious freedom in the new world. 3. They were not interested in money and wealth.

Plymouth Hardships 1. The colonists arrived right before winter and did not have much time to prepare for the cold season. 2. Nearly half the colonists died during the first winter.

Plymouth Successes 1. After the first brutal winter at Plymouth, the colonists eventually met an Indian tribe who were friendly. 2. This is where the Pilgrims and the Indians shared many things together and eventually had the first unofficial Thanksgiving together. 3. Plymouth would flourish and the population would increase.

Over the Next Hundred Years… 1. Tens of thousands of people would travel to the east coast of what we now know as the United States of America. 2. If it were not for Jamestown and Plymouth becoming successful then we may not have the United States today !