VOICES FROM AMERICA’S PAST THE BEGINNINGS OF AMERICA 1607-1763 Edited by Richard B. Morris Gouverneur Morris Professor of History Columbia University New York, New York James Woodress Chairman, Department of English San Fernando Valley State College Northridge, California WEBSTER PUBLISHING COMPANY ST. LOUIS ATLANTA DALLAS PASADENA VOICES FROM AMERICA’S PAST _The Beginnings of America 1607-1763_ _The Times That Tried Men’s Souls 1770-1783_ _The Age of Washington 1783-1801_ _The Jeffersonians 1801-1829_ _Jacksonian Democracy 1829-1848_ _The Westward Movement 1832-1889_ _A House Divided: The Civil War 1850-1865_ (_Other titles in preparation_) Copyright ©, 1961, by Webster Publishing Company Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface v I Settlements North and South The Founding of Jamestown 1 William Simmonds Describes the Settlers’ Problems 2 John Smith’s Adventures 4 The Founding of Plymouth 9 William Bradford’s History Of _Plymouth Plantation_ 9 John Winthrop, Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony 17 Cotton Mather Describes John Winthrop 18 John Winthrop’s Letters to His Wife 19 II Religious Life in America New England 22 Edward Taylor’s Poems 23 The Salem Witch Trials 25 Samuel Sewall’s Confession of Error 30 The Great Awakening: Jonathan Edwards 30 Other Colonies 33 John Woolman’s Journal 33 III Colonial Problems Indian Troubles 37 Mrs. Rowlandson’s Captivity 38 Conflict with France 42 George Washington’s Letter on Braddock’s Defeat 42 Benjamin Franklin’s Comments on Braddock 44 IV Colonial Life Transportation 46 Sarah Kemble Knight Journeys to Connecticut 46