English American History

This lesson falls under our homeschool curriculum on European American History. We recommend that this lesson be taught after the lesson on Irish Americans.

1. Internet Access – Pull up the following:

1. Europe Map

2. United States Map

3. Pictures of Pocahontas

1. Teacher: Last week, we learned about the Irish Americans and what a tough life time had in moving to the United States. Today, we will learn about the English American people. The English American people come from the country of England [point to England on the Europe Map – it’s located in the lower right corner of the United Kingdom where the city of London is located].

2. Teacher: The English American people today make up the third largest group of people in the United States, just behind the Germans and Irish. The story of the English American people is kind of the same as the Germans and Irish, but also different too, as you will see.

3. Teacher: So are you ready to learn about the English? [Get positive response from Student and begin lesson].

1. Teacher: Great. Now, the English came to the United States for some of the same kind of reasons than the Germans and Irish did like they wanted to provide a better living for their families, but most of all the English moved to the United States because they wanted more religious freedom. Religious freedom means being able to believe in anything or anyone you want such as God, or someone or something different than God, or even more than on god.

2. Teacher: Now, I’m not talking about the sort of religious freedom that people in Europe in those days were looking for. I mean, the way things looked in England back then for religion were especially bad. The King of England thought that he could tell the English people whatever religion he wanted them to worship. And so, the King created a church called the Anglican Church.

3. Teacher: But some English people really really didn’t want to follow the way of the Anglican Church. Well, things got so bad that people in England were actually being killed for believing in some religions. If you believed in a religion that people wanted to hurt you and your family for, would that make you move to the United States? [Engage the Student in conversation].

4. Teacher: Also, from what the English heard about tales from the United States, it seemed like you could really start a new life in the United States. You see, the English people heard that in the United States, by growing sugar you could make a boatload of money. And, in the United States, you could actually use the money that you made from growing sugar and buy more land to grow even more sugar or whatever else you wanted on the land (because if there was one thing that was plentiful for everyone, it was land…land was everywhere and it didn't cost as much to buy it in the United States compared to Europe). This sort of behavior, where you could use money made from your business to grow your business even more was not allowed in England.

5. Teacher: And so, the people who believed in different religions in England thought that they could not only worship in a way they wanted to in the United States, but also thought that they could create a life of their own. And so, the English started to migrate over to the United States.

6. Teacher: The first group of English to migrate to the United States settled here in Virginia [point to Virginia on the United States Map] and named their colony "Jamestown". There were about 200 English people who settled in Jamestown.

7. Teacher: Now, when you arrive in a new land, it’s great because there aren’t too many people telling you what you can and can’t do. But because it’s new land, you don’t know yet what kinds of food you can grow or what kind of homes you need to build on the land. Also, you’re not sure what kind of animals live nearby for hunting. To learn all these things take time and so it was very tough at first to live in Jamestown.

8. Teacher: In fact, there was a time when everyone in Jamestown was ready to give up and move somewhere else. Why? Because of something called the “Starving Time”. What do you think this was all about? [Engage the Student in conversation but come to the point that it was famine that caused the English people to almost abandon Jamestown].

9. Teacher: Remember we learned about the Irish and the Great Famine? And remember when I told you that in a group of you and two other friends, that one of you would probably die during the journey to the United States? Well, in the case of Jamestown, let’s imagine you had a group of seven of your friends, including yourself. If you were in Jamestown with those friends of yours, five out of the seven of you would have probably either died from starvation or disease…that’s how bad the Starving Time was in Jamestown. It was much worse than those coffin ships that the Irish traveled to the United States in.

10. Teacher: One more thing about Jamestown before I move on, remember someone by the name of Pocahontas? [Engage the Student in conversation].

11. Teacher: Well, it’s true there was someone named Pocahontas. Her real name was Matoaka, but her nickname was Pocahontas, meaning “playful one”. Pocahontas was the daughter of an Indian chief. Do you want to see a real picture of Pocahontas? [Get Student’s positive response and show Student pictures of Pocahontas – there are numerous pictures of Pocahontas in the link above so make sure you read ahead so you can describe each picture to the Student].

12. Teacher: Anyway, Pocahontas helped Jamestown survive by acting as the person who sent messages between the Indians and the English people. By doing this, Pocahontas was able to give the English people food so they wouldn’t starve. By the way, did you know that Pocahontas became Christian and married someone named John Rolfe? It’s true. She married John Rolfe and had a son named Tom. Why, she even changed her name from Matoaka to Rebecca. Rebecca Rolfe.

13. Teacher: Rebecca seemed to have a very exciting life; she helped saved an entire town, she changed her religion, changed her name to Rebecca, married and had a baby with a European, even got kidnapped for a few years (but was returned to her father safely). And that’s not all! John Rolfe even took Rebecca and her son to England to show her off to the Queen of England!

14. Teacher: Unfortunately, when Rebecca was in England, she became sick and died, at the very young age of 22. But Rebecca Pocahontas Matoaka Rolfe probably lived more in those 22 years than even many people did in their lifetimes.

15. Teacher: Anyway, the English American people today made up so much of how Americans live today. The language we speak and write comes from them. The laws that we have today came from England. And that’s just the beginning, there are way so many things that are English which are a part of how Americans live their lives today that I can probably say that most of the things we do in our lives were somehow created by the English.

16. Teacher: OK – time for review. Get in front of the class. [Have the Student stand in front of you (consider inviting other members of the family also to set the stage) and ask her the following:

1. Why did the English move to the United States? Any one of the following: 1) (biggest reason) to gain religious freedom and 2) To provide adequate food and clothing for their families

2. What was the name of the town that the first English people settled in? Jamestown

3. What was the name of the famous daughter of the Indian chief that helped the English people of Jamestown? Pocahontas (her real name was Matoaka, then later Rebecca).

Next Week's Lesson: Italian Americans >>