John, with electrics, for the most part the planes are "on" as soon as you plug the batteries in.

Most electrics have a speed controller for the motor. The speed controller usually has an arming sequence that prevents exactly what happened to you.

For the arming sequence to work properly, the transmitter must be on first, and usually at full or half throttle, though this depends upon the ESC itself.

Do yourself a favor and go to Tower and pick up a better RTF or PNP plane oriented towards the neophyte.

The instructions alone will cover a lot of the details of setting a plane up.

If possible join a club and try to find someone to help you out.

Even if you got the motor to work properly it was HIGHLY likely that your plane would have ended up in a pile of debris within seconds of your first atttempt.

Planes don't fly well until they are both properly set up and trimmed out. No plane comes trimmed out, out of the box.

That means someone new is not only contending with trying to deal with something unknown, but also with the fact that the thing simply will not fly as it is. It needs an experienced hand to adjust it.