Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Settlement of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies
In this lesson, 5th graders learn about the people who founded the New England colonies and the role that religion played in shaping them. Includes background information for the teacher. Students explore primary resource readings on the...
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: Charter of Massachusetts Bay 1629
Provides background information and the complete text of the charter of the Massachusetts Bay 1629.
University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma College of Law: The 1629 Charter of Massachusetts Bay
Complete text of the Charter of Massachusetts Bay, 1629.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: New England Colonies: Massachusetts Bay the City on the Hill
Learn a little about Puritan beliefs and see the importance of religion and the clergy in Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Puritan New England: Massachusetts Bay
An overview of the Puritans who established the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the New Haven Colony and Rhode Island. The internal and external struggles with these colonies is discussed including the Salem Witch Trials, King Philip's War,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Colonizing the Bay
John Winthrop's "Model of Christian Charity" was delivered as a sermon aboard the Arabella, as the Puritans approached their destination of Massachusetts Bay in 1630. The speech spells out his vision of the society they hoped to create...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: New England Colonies: Reaching to Connecticut
Read about how the colony of Connecticut grew from an expansion of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. See how Thomas Hooker's idea of government resulted in a model of colonial charters, and find out how two very different settlements in...
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Religious Dissent [Pdf]
This lesson supplements one on the "Settlement of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies of New England." It looks at religious dissent and intolerance among the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Students look at Roger...
Other
Study Notes: The New England Colonies
An outline of the important information to study on the establishment of the New England Colonies by the Puritans, first in the Massachusetts Bay area, and their evolution and expansion beyond that.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: New England Colonies: Dissent in Massachusetts Bay
The Puritan clergy in Massachusetts Bay colony did not allow religious dissent. Read about the fate of colonists Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams who believed in religious freedom.
Yale University
Explanatory Charter of Massachusetts Bay 1725
The Charter of Massachusetts Bay, digitized by the Avalon Project at Yale Law School.
Siteseen
Siteseen: Land of the Brave: New England Colonies
Article explores the religion, government, economics, and history of the New England colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
Open Door Team
Open Door Web Site: Massachusetts
Read about the colony the Puritans made, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a place Puritans could practice their own religion freely.
Digital History
Digital History: Dimensions of Change in Colonial New England
Dissension in Massachusetts Bay Colony resulted in the formation of other New England colonies. Read about their formations, and the impact on the Native Americans in the area.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: 300 Women Who Changed History: Anne Hutchinson
Encyclopedia Britannica provides a biography of Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643), the woman expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for "Traducing the ministers," of the Puritan Colony. She and other religious dissenters founded Rhode Island.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Massachusetts
During the religious upheavals of the 16th century, a body of men and women called Puritans sought to reform the Established Church of England from within. Essentially, they demanded that the rituals and structures associated with Roman...
Georgetown University
Georgetown University:bay Psalm Book (1640) and New England Primer (1683)
Essay discussing the Bay Psalm Book (1640) and the New England Primer (1683). Topics include: Classroom Issues and Strategies; Major Themes, Historical Perspectives, and Personal Issues; Significant Form, Style, Artistic Conventions;...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Second Generation of British Colonies
The religious and civil conflict in England in the mid-17th century limited immigration, as well as the attention the mother country paid the fledgling American colonies. In part to provide for the defense measures England was...
History Tools
History Tools: Winthrop Defends Right of Puritans to Settle on Indian Land [Pdf]
Primary source material with modernized spellings. Passage written by John Winthrop defending the right of Puritans to settle in Massachusetts Bay territory which was already occupied by Native Americans, 1629.
Other
The Descendants of Henry Doude: Perspectives: The Pequot War
A brief description of the Pequot War, a conflict between the Pequots and the English colonists from the Massachusetts Bay colony. There are two maps showing the location of Indian tribes in 1636 and again in 1639.
Siteseen
Siteseen: Land of the Brave: Anne Hutchinson
Overview and biographical facts on the life of Anne Hutchinson, an early colonist of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who was banished from Boston in 1637 for her religious and feminist beliefs and fled to the Rhode Island Colony.
National Women's Hall of Fame
National Women's Hall of Fame: Anne Hutchinson
The National Women's Hall of Fame honors Anne Hutchinson for her early advocation for religious freedom in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Siteseen
Siteseen: Land of the Brave: John Winthrop
Overview and biographical facts on the life of John Winthrop, founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in New England.
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: Edward Randolph Condemns Massachussetts Bay Company
At this site from the University of Groningen you can read Edward Randolph's address to Parliament concerning the rebellious attitude of the colony of Massachusetts as designated as "articles of misdemeanors." Read each of the...