Unit 2: Colonial New Hampshire
1700 to 1763
New Hampshire experienced gradual colonial autonomy beginning in 1679 when King Charles II issued a charter stating it to be a royal colony separate from Massachusetts, but it did not achieve full control of its own government until 1741. A colonial society, economy, and culture developed during this time and local governing continued to oversee the day to day in growing Seacoast communities as well as further inland. Portsmouth served as a proxy of Boston for much of the first half of the 18th century, and its sea-based prosperity made it the obvious choice for a capital when New Hampshire began acting on its own.
The Wentworth family held a political dynasty during the colonial period, beginning with John, who served as Lt. Governor of New Hampshire while it was still under Massachusetts’ s jurisdiction. His son, Benning, was appointed New Hampshire’s first Royal Governor and served from 1741 to 1767, overseeing a period of incredible expansion for the colony. As “Surveyor of the King’s Woods,” Governor Wentworth was responsible for managing the lucrative timber industry that spanned from the Seacoast to Lake Champlain. The society that grew and developed with this economy began to turn away from the mother country in favor of their own towns, regions and overall colony.
Inquiry 2.1: What influenced the development of colonial society and culture?
Inquiry 2.2: What made New Hampshire a prosperous colony?
Class 1: Introduction to Unit 2
1) Go over Unit 1 Test
2) Organize class into theme groups
3) Introduce unit guide and inquiry questions
4) Vocabulary sort activity to build Terms and People to Know database
5) Set up Homework 2 and discuss predictions
Helpful secondary sources to introduce the unit:
Timeline of New Hampshire History, NH Historical Society
Class 2: Use Secondary Sources to learn Terms and People to Know and develop a response to the inquiry, What influenced the development of colonial society and culture?
A standard lesson plan for this class follows this sequence:
1) Evaluate a secondary source as a class (20 minutes)
2) Assign groups to evaluate another secondary source together (15 minutes)
3) Assign individuals to evaluate a third secondary source on their own (15 minutes)
4) Students report out to groups (5 minutes), groups report out to the rest of the class (15-20 minutes)
The secondary source column of the database/bibliography should be updated by the end of the class (5 minutes)
Helpful web secondary sources for class 2:
Website The Portsmouth Treaty of 1713
Timeline of New Hampshire History, NH Historical Society
New Hampshire’s Historical Highway Markers
NH PBS’s Granite State History Minute
Website Historic Houses section of Strawbery Banke Museum’s Website
Short Videos Our New Hampshire: “Inland Settlements” and “Work in Colonial Times”
Class 3: Use Primary Sources to learn Terms and People to Know and develop a response to the inquiry, What influenced the development of colonial society and culture?
A standard lesson plan for this class follows this sequence:
1) Evaluate a primary source as a class (20 minutes)
Suggested: The 1713 Treaty of Portsmouth Proceedings Signers
2) Assign groups to evaluate another primary source together (15 minutes)
3) Assign individuals to evaluate a third primary source on their own (15 minutes)
4) Students report out to groups (5 minutes), groups report out to the rest of the class (15-20 minutes)
The primary source column of the database/bibliography should be updated by the end of the class (5 minutes)
Students should turn to the primary sources they wrote down on their SSE forms during class 2, but also look to this link for more.
NH Historical Society Collections Catalogue
New Hampshire’s Historical Highway Markers
While these markers are secondary sources about this time period, there are many components to a PSA form included with each sign. Most of them are placed on or near sites where events took place and many include valuable information about actions and events that were reflections of the years 1701-1763.
Class 4: Demonstrate competency with homework and a quiz; Begin addressing second inquiry, What made New Hampshire a prosperous colony?
A standard lesson plan for this class:
1) Students take their choice of quiz on reverse side of HW 2.1, and turn paper into teacher for grading (20 minutes)
2) Prepare HW 2.2 and set aside (5 minutes)
3) Watch documentary or listen to audio clips; take notes on a SSE form
Suggested documentary: Ray Mears: Extreme Survival Season 3 Episode 5: “Rogers Rangers” (2002, BBC)
Or
Recommended audio clips from NHPR:
“1763: A Landmark Year In New Hampshire History” from March 2013
Any of the thirteen, 6-minute long episodes that are part of NHPR’s “250 Years in the Making” town profiles from 2013.
4) Students report out to groups (5 minutes), groups report out to the rest of the class (5-10 minutes)
The secondary source column of the database/bibliography should be updated with the video/audio citation by the end of the class (5 minutes)
Class 5: Use Secondary Sources to learn Terms and People to Know and develop a response to the inquiry, What made New Hampshire a prosperous colony?
1) Turn back and go over quizzes from last class (20 minutes)
2) Suggested secondary source to read, complete SSE form for, and discuss as a class:
“Benning Wentworth: Brief life of a colonial grandee: 1696-1770” by Castle Freeman Harvard Magazine Nov-Dec 2004
3) Assign students to listen to audio clips from the “250 Years in the Making” NHPR series. Complete SSE forms as usual, and document on the database.
Other secondary sources for class 5:
Timeline of New Hampshire History, NH Historical Society