Unknown America Read online

  Early Housing

  When the colonists first landed in America they had to quickly find some kind of shelter. Their first homes were dugouts, then huts, and finally cabins. The walls of the dugouts were made out of tree branches woven together and plastered with mud.

  Colonial Parenting

  Becoming a parent in Colonial America was both tough and risky. 10% of all infants died before the age of one. A full half of slave children died before their first birthday, and 40% of children died before age 6. This was the case with all classes of people. Disease, disaster, weather and accidents all played large roles in the high death rates of Colonial children. Infant mortality rates were so high in the mid 18th Century in the future United States families typically did not name a child until he or she had reached the age of two. Prior to that time, parents would call the baby “it,” “the little angel,” or “the little visitor.”

  The first “Legal” slave owner in America was Black

  Prior to 1655 there were no “legal” slaves in the colonies, only indentured servants. All masters were required to free their servants after their predetermined time, or “indenture” was up. Seven years was the limit that an indentured servant could be held. Upon their release they were typically granted 50 acres of land. This included any Negro that had been purchased from slave traders. At this point in time, slaves (Indentured servants) whether black or white were treated pretty much the same.

  Then along comes Anthony Johnson.

  Johnson was a Black man from modern-day Angola. He was brought to the US as an indentured servant to work on a tobacco farm in 1619.

  When Johnson was released he was legally recognized as a “free Negro.” In 1651 he owned 250 acres and five black indentured servants. In 1654, it was time for Johnson to release one servant by the name of John Casor. Casor worked for Johnson as an indentured servant. Instead Anthony Johnson told Casor he was extending his time. Casor left anyway and became employed by a white man named Robert Parker.

  Johnson sued Parker over the “rights” to Casor in the Northampton Court in 1654. In 1655, the court ruled that Anthony Johnson could hold John Casor indefinitely. The Virginia court then gave judicial sanction for blacks to own slaves of their own race. Thus Casor became the first permanent slave and Johnson the first slave owner of a legal slave for life.

  (It's worth noting that the practice of indenture of both blacks and whites was more common and enduring than many people realize. Our 17th President Andrew Johnson was even sold off by his own mother after the death of his father. Born in Raleigh North Carolina, Johnson's father died when he was just 3 years old. Facing poverty, he and his brother William were sold as indentured servants to a tailor. In 1824, they both ran away, breaking their contract and eventually reuniting with their mother before moving to Tennessee.)

  Before New Jersey

  New Jersey was originally called Lorraine and New Sweden. New Sweden, the first Swedish colony in America, took in the Garden States southern most counties, parts of Delaware and Pennsylvania. However details of the colony are few because the settlement only lasted about 17 years with a maximum population thought to be about 500.

  Before New York

  New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern end of Manhattan Island, which served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherlands. It became a provincial extension of the Dutch Republic as of 1624 and was designated the capital of the province in 1625.

  New Amsterdam was renamed New York on September 8, 1664, in honor of the then Duke of York (Who later became James II, in whose name the English had captured it.) In 1667 the Dutch gave up their claim to the town and the rest of the colony, in exchange for control of the Spice Islands.

  New York's Independence Day

  When the Continental Congress declared independence from Britain the official vote was 12 Colonies in favor, 0 against. Yes that's right just 12 and not 13. The colony of New York abstained from the original vote on July 2. New York did not vote to join the fight for independence until July 19. Weeks after the Declaration of Independence had already been approved.

  Colonial Currency

  Due to a chronic shortage of official English coin, colonists often bought and sold items with tobacco or other “rated commodities,” to which colonial authorities assigned a certain value in pounds, shillings, and pence. In addition to using tobacco leaves for commerce, each colony printed its own paper money and also acted as a currency trader, assigning a value to foreign money, often Spanish dollars, and English pounds.

  Because the value of that paper money and foreign coin depended on each colony’s proclamation, it was known as “proclamation money.” This, for all intents worthless “money” inspired England to issue a “Commerce Clause” after England based Merchants complained of being paid with unreliable currency. Many historians believe it was the Commerce Clause, which forced Colonists to trade with English merchants in English Pounds, that was the main provocation for the Revolutionary War.

  Illegal Christmas

  For 200 years Christmas was considered an Ancient Pagan Holiday. In 1647, under Oliver Cromwell, the English Parliament banned Christmas. That ban was lifted after 12 years only for it to be reimposed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1659. This ban on Christmas, becoming law in many places, lasted until the state of Alabama made Christmas a legal holiday in 1836. (The purpose of the law was to make Christmas day a bank holiday which was the first “official” recognition of the day) Meaning there was almost 200 years during which Christmas in the US was just another day. The US Government made it a federal holiday in 1870. (Oklahoma became the very last state to make Christmas a legal holiday again in 1907)

  Colonial Courtships

  In the 1700s, about one third of girls were pregnant when they married.

  In the northern colonies, it was common for courting couples to engage in the tradition of “bundling” or “bed courting,” which meant spending the night in bed together, although fully clothed. The point of this custom was to help determine whether or not the potential couple were compatible with one another.

  Traditionally, participants were adolescents, with a boy staying at the residence of the girl. They were given separate blankets and expected to talk throughout the night. Occasionally a bundling board or bundling sack was placed between the boy and girl to discourage sexual conduct. Obviously with the high rate of premarital pregnancies the intended purpose of bundling; to determine compatibility, either failed or succeeded, depending on your point of view, at least 30% of the time.

  Quickie Consummations

  In Colonial America, sex was supposed to be reserved for married couples. However in those days it was quite easy to get married. All you needed to do was clasp hands and declare that you were husband and wife. This method was called “handfasting,” (Today referred to as Common Law) and it was brought to the New World by English settlers. Colonists used it as a way to bypass the societal mores of the day primarily for the purpose of having culturally acceptable sex.

  Marrying for Love, how odd!

  Arranged marriages were common in Colonial America. During the 18th century however, love became more important when choosing a mate. Marriages used to be arranged to consolidate family power. But parents' influence over the children declined around the time of the Revolutionary War and the practice of courting and romancing as we understand it today, began.

  The “Bride Brigades”

  During the early 18th Century when the French controlled the Gulf of Mexico territory including Louisiana, they had a man problem; too many of them for the available ladies. These new settlers included soldiers and tradesmen and of course were valuable to the growing region but as all governments of the time understood, a successful colony requires families, not just single men. Obviously this meant the men needed wives.

  However, finding ladies willing to marry a stranger and endure the rough frontier with their husbands wasn’t easy. Beginn
ing in 1704, the Compagnie des Indes (Company of the Indies) which held the monopoly on trade in the area, sent 20 young French women between the ages of 14 and 18 to Louisiana via the ship Le Pe'lican. These “Pelican girls” as they became known, were snapped up by men desperate for marital bliss and of course the generous dowry subsidized by the King didn't hurt either.

  Over the next few years other shipments of volunteer brides were sent. Many were orphans, some from “houses of correction.” The most famous were the seventy-eight upstanding “casket girls” named after the small casket like suitcases that carried their belongings. Upon arrival, they were sent to a newly built convent in New Orleans until they found husbands. Today, claiming a “casket girl” as an ancestor is a matter of pride for native Louisianans.

  In God We Trust

  There has been much debate over whether or not America was founded as a Christian Nation. While some of the founders were Christians and others Deists (Deists believe in the existence of a creator on the basis of reason but reject a supernatural deity who interacts with humankind.) It is known that the Framers did in fact believe in God. Want proof? The very first resolution brought before the First Continental Congress, and immediately passed, was the declaration that they would open every meeting with a prayer. Which, if you think about it is kind of odd for the Deists considering prayer by it's very nature denotes an interactive relationship with God. We're the Deists just being considerate of the Christians? Perhaps, or maybe they were hedging their bets just in case.

  MYTH BUSTER ALERT!

  Turkey Day Tales

  It’s one of American history’s favorite, most enduring, yet totally inaccurate tales. Thankful Pilgrims gorging on a huge feast to give thanks for a bountiful harvest and to show their appreciation to the Indians who helped them survive their first winter. Except it never happened. At least not the way it has been portrayed and taught.

  Here are some common misconceptions about the origin of one of America's favorite holidays:

  * They didn't know they were Pilgrims. They called themselves “Saints.” Early Americans used the term “pilgrim” to describe all of the early colonists. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that it was used exclusively to describe the folks who landed at Plymouth Rock.

  * Thought and taught as though it was a religious occasion… Nope! It was a three-day hoedown that included drinking, gambling, sporting events, and even target shooting. The target shooting was intended as a friendly reminder to the Indians that they were armed and dangerous.

  * Contrary to popular lore the event did not take place in November. It was some time between late September and the middle of October—after the harvest had been brought in. According to historian Richard Ehrlich by November, “the villagers were working to prepare for winter, salting and drying meat and making their houses as wind resistant as possible.”

  * They did not dress anything like the way they’ve been portrayed in art. The “Pilgrims” didn’t dress in black. They didn’t wear buckles on their hats or shoes, and didn’t wear tall hats. This was all fabricated by artists in the years that followed.

  * No Butterballs were injured for the feast. As a matter of fact the diners ate deer instead. One of the Pilgrims, Edward Winslow later wrote, “For three days we entertained and feasted, and the Indians went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation.” Winslow does mention that four Pilgrims went “fowling” or bird hunting, but neither he nor anyone else recorded which kinds of birds they actually hunted.

  * There’s no evidence the Pilgrims celebrated again in 1622. The great feast of the bounty seemed to be an isolated event that for all intents never was repeated.

  MYTH BUSTER ALERT!

  The Civil War was not the first time American’s made war against each other.

  A very common belief among many American's is that during the Revolutionary War days, the Colonists were a unified body rising and resisting the tyranny of England’s King George III in a pursuit of liberty and freedom for all. This is simply false. During the Revolutionary War many Colonists fought for the British, and some of the British sympathizer units were the most ferocious of the war.

  Contrary to popular belief only about 30% of the Colonists were Patriots, that is, supportive of the cause, either by fighting or offering some other kind of assistance. Roughly 20% of population remained loyal to the King (Although John Adams estimated this number was actually closer to 30%). Known as “Loyalists” this group believed George III to be their legitimately ordained ruler. The rest chose to sit idly by and await the results before deciding to which flag they would be loyal.

  A couple of examples of the impact the loyalists had on the war effort was Washington’s defeat on Long Island in 1776. Loyalists to the crown told British commander William Howe of relatively unknown back roads which allowed for the Continentals to be outflanked, and also served as guides for the British and Hessian troops (Hessians were German mercenaries hired by the Crown). Similar events occurred at the Battle of Brandywine, which allowed Howe to occupy Philadelphia one year later.

  However these loyalist sympathies would later be exploited by General Washington who planted spies in known loyalist taverns and shops, thus learning of British activities and intentions. After the war little sympathy or forgiveness was given to those who had supported the King’s counter rebellion and many of the Loyalists fled to British Canada or the Caribbean colonies.

  Another aspect of the war that is often overlooked is that the fighting did not come to a swift end after Yorktown. Several battles between groups of newly minted American's and the remaining Loyalists took place, mostly in the South, after the surrender. Although legally allowed to remain in America, those loyal to the Crown that chose to stay found themselves ostracized and for the most part retreated from society, trying to live their lives by flying below the radar, so to speak.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE UNKNOWN PRESIDENTS

  Stuff you just never learned in school

  George Washington (1789-1797) gave the shortest inaugural speech in American history on March 4, 1793. It was only 133 words long.

  * Of the founding fathers that did become President, Washington was the only one that did not attend college.

  * George Washington never lived in the White House. The capital was actually located in Philadelphia and other cities when Washington was President.

  * He is the only President that was not affiliated with a political party.

  * When George Washington found a lost dog during the battle of Germantown, he crossed enemy lines to return the wayward K9 to its rightful owner, General William Howe, his opponent in the battle.

  John Adams (1797-1801) Adams defended British soldiers after the Boston Massacre where five people were killed. Although Adams objected to what he believed was unfair taxation by the British government, he also believed in the primacy of the rule of law. After the killing of five colonists in the March 1770 massacre, Adams volunteered to represent the nine British soldiers charged with manslaughter to ensure they received a fair trial. Adams argued that the soldiers fired in self-defense against “a motley rabble” and won a surprising acquittal for seven of the nine defendants.

  * He was the first president to live in the White House. The President moved into the White House on November 1, 1800. Construction was not quite completed and the house reeked of wet plaster and paint fumes.

  * Adam's last words were “Thomas Jefferson still survives” not knowing that Jefferson had died earlier that same day in Virginia. (July 4th 1826)

  Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) and John Adams both died on the exact same day, July 4th 1826. Jefferson felt that he would not last the summer of 1826 but he hoped to live through July 4th which was the officially recognized 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

  * Jefferson wrote his own tombstone epitaph... It states that he was the author of the Declaration of Independence, the Statuette of Virginia for Religi
ous Freedom and that he was the father of the University of Virginia. But it made no mention that he had ever been President of the United States.

  * It is well known that Thomas Jefferson liked to party. He was known to throw frequent lavish parties spending up to $50 a day (About $980 in today's currency) on food and wine. Incidentally Jefferson died flat broke.

  James Madison (1809-1817) Madison was the shortest of all the Presidents at only 5'4". He never weighed more than 100 pounds in his entire life.

  * Madison once lost an election because he didn’t give alcohol to voters. In 1777 a young James Madison lost a bid for election to the state’s House of Delegates. He would later write that the defeat was the result of his refusal to provide free liquor to the voters on election day, a common custom then known as “swilling the planters with bumbo.” The future President believed that bribing electors with booze was contrary to republican principles. (The use of the word republican in this context was a reference to the “Republic” and not the Party. The Republican party would not be founded until decades later).