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,...
The History Cat
The History Cat: History of Colonial America: The Thirteen Colonies
Compares life in the three regions of the thirteen British colonies - the New England colonies (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut), the Middle Colonies (New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey), and the...
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...
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...
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.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: 300 Women Who Changed History: Anne Bradstreet
Basic biographical information about Anne Bradstreet, one of the first poets to write English verse in the American colonies. Content includes two of her poems: "The Prologue" and "To My Dear and Loving Husband."
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...
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.
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.
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.
Ducksters
Ducksters: Massachusetts State History for Kids
On this webpage, students learn about the history and timeline of the state of Massachusetts including early explorers, Native Americans, the Pilgrims, an English colony, and the Revolutionary War.
Yale University
Explanatory Charter of Massachusetts Bay 1725
The Charter of Massachusetts Bay, digitized by the Avalon Project at Yale Law School.
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...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Utopian Promise: John Winthrop
John Winthrop rose to power in social, spiritual and political circles and served as Massachusetts state governor for twelve years. His views are documented in "Journal." Click on "John Winthrop Activities" for related materials.
PBS
Pbs: About All You Can Eat: A Feast at Plimouth Plantation
A lesson in the culinary delicacies of the Plymouth Plantation in 1627. For this integrated lesson, students examine the history of foods eaten during this colonial era and prepare an actual meal based on what they have learned. This...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: New England Colonies: Witchcraft in Salem
The hysteria in Salem which resulted in trials of innocent people accused of witchcraft has invited many theories on why the accusing girls made such claims. Read about the evidence admitted in the trials and the results of the trials....
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: New England Colonies: Puritan Life
Find out about the life of the Puritans. Education was important, as well as church attendance. Read about the forms of punishment, and the ways Puritans had fun.
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...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Raid of Deerfield
Discover facts about the raid at Deerfield, Massachusetts. This feature describes the attach of the colony, as well as the ally relationship between the French and Native Americans. Provides three pages of information, as well as an...
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...
Yale University
Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents
Scroll to Massachusetts and link to the colonial documents establishing the colonies' earliest forms of government and laying the foundation for self-governing and eventual independence from England. Beginning with The Charter of England...
Other
Winthrop Society
At the online home of the Winthrop Society find information on the early settlers of Massachusetts, the ships that brought them to America, the documents that the colonists lived by, and the Great Migration of Puritans to the New World.
University of California
The History Project: The Antinomian Controversy
One of the most enduring myths in American history is the belief that the Puritans fled to America in search of religious liberty. Unfortunately, this belief is at best only a half-truth, The Puritans were strict religious people who...
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Anne Hutchinson
Considered one of the earliest American feminists, Anne Hutchinson was a spiritual leader in colonial Massachusetts who challenged male authority.