Freedom In Jamestown

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From the very beginning of colonial settlement to the crafting of the Constitution, freedom was never a given, and was often used as a tool to increase economic output for those who selfishly held it. This essay will discuss how the theme of freedom, particularly the pursuit of acquiring it, was immensely important during the initial centuries of America and absolutely essential to its creation, growth and development. In the difficult early years of Jamestown’s settlement, privileged and work averse English colonists relied heavily on the native Powhatan tribe for food. During these years, they lacked a profitable product to send back to England, and relations with the natives became more and more agitated. The Jamestown colony was quickly …show more content…

Aboard a ship called the Mayflower came a host of Puritan passengers in search of religious freedom instead of profit. These people were under the belief that America might be a sort of perfect solitude in which they could worship God in the way that they wanted. This would not prove to be as easy and joyous as they had hoped, however. Upon arriving near Cape Cod, Indians almost immediately attacked them, and “far worse, disease ravaged the ranks of the colonists, killing more than half of them.” Despite these setbacks, the Puritans struggled on and managed to create Plymouth, which became one of the first symbols of freedom in the new …show more content…

However, after a string of discrepancies between the colonies and England, the English Parliament, who still ruled over the colonies, passed harsh laws mainly regarding commerce and taxes. Led predominately by the wealthy, elite white men, the colonies drafted a declaration of independence from England, citing a list of unacceptable acts committed by the king of England. One of the most iconic lines from the declaration reads, “all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness” This Declaration led to an all out revolutionary war in which the colonies banded together to obtain freedom from the perceived tyrannical government of England. This is the ultimate example of freedom being the most prominent factor in America’s

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