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Religion in colonial America
Religion in colonial America
Religion in colonial America
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By 1700, differences in religious convictions, wealth, and climate transformed the New England and Chesapeake Bay colonies into distinct societies with markedly contrasting cultures and values. Having fled England because of religious persecution, the Puritans placed a greater emphasis on religion. In contrast, the Chesapeake society, consisting mostly of men who were affected by the primogeniture laws, placed more importance on wealth and land. The climates of the two societies fostered distinct economies and new cultural practices, such as the tobacco wives in the Chesapeake region. Although the English made up the bulk of the Chesapeake Bay and New England societies, these influences shaped their ways of life and created two distinct cultures with values that continue today. Unlike the Chesapeake Bay colony, the New England colonies were founded because of a desire for religious freedom. The Puritans wanted to 'purify' and fix the morally corrupt parts of the Church of England that were created by King Henry VIII; however, they faced discrimination and were subject to violence. The reformers fled England, working together to create a model of the perfect society, with strong family values. The Puritans generally were not wealthy, with many leading simple lives and using their time to help others in their community. John Winthrop, the first governor of the New England colony, constructed the society around family and religion. Puritans established many churches in the hopes that England would copy their model. The religious influences in the society were clear in the New England Primer, a textbook for Puritan children, in which they described the persecution of their people. The discrimination against the Puritans created a s... ... middle of paper ... ...rn as much as the Chesapeake agricultural business. The warm weather of the Chesapeake Bay created many wealthy opportunities for its citizens, contrasting with the colder climate of New England society. The types of people who settled in New England and the Chesapeake Bay came from different classes in England, and ended up creating distinct societies based on two sets of values and economies. In fact, those distinctions between the colonies hint at conflict at a later time. The Chesapeake Bay society branched out and became the South, an economy based heavily on agriculture, slavery, and large plantations. The New England colony ended up forming the North, which had an economy based on manufacturing and large cities. Because of the differences in wealth, religion, and geography, the two colonies created a diverse country with opposing viewpoints and ways of life.
Two unique societies were constructed by people of common origin. These English colonists immigrated to the New World for either economic prosperity or religious freedom. During colonization, two regions were formed, New England and the Chesapeake Bay area. The two contrasting societies of New England and Chesapeake region were the results of diversity of: social and family structure; health and living conditions; economy; religion and beliefs; and government policies.
silence. Living from “hand to mouth” induced the gold miners to only be able to
The New England colonies, however, were created to be a religious haven for those who opposed the English church. Both regions developed economic and political systems that catered to the desires of the respective populations and the geographical conditions. The Chesapeake and New England regions were both essential to Triangular Trade, but they contributed in different ways due to their differing economic systems. Also, due to these different economic systems, two types of governments emerged in the regions, both helping to lay out the foundation for
The settler’s purpose for coming to America and the obstacles faced in both nature and with the natives caused the New England and Chesapeake regions to develop different societies. The problems that the regions faced were both similar and devastating, yet they had different effects on the regions. They way in which the problems were handled as well as the extremity played a large role in this and helped in the regions obtaining different societies. Despite the fact that the settlers originated from the same area in Europe, they created different societies in their New World homes.
When the English settled into the New World, they were split up into two sections, the Chesapeake region and the New England region. Although the English settled both, the two regions were severely different from each other when they were brought about. The New England and Chesapeake colonies differed in three ways: their reason for venturing over, economy, and population. These major differences were what shaped our nation today and what will continue shaping our nation in the future.
In the 17th century, the British colonies still identified themselves as European, but as the colonies expanded and grew more populous, they developed differing geographic, social, and economic systems. This difference between New England, and Chesapeake, is caused by the motivations for settlement between the two regions. While the New England colonies were mainly settled for religious motivations, most notably by the Puritans, the Chesapeake colonies were settled for economic prosperity. Also, while the Chesapeake colonies were mainly settled by individual young men seeking a profit, the New England colonies were settled by families hoping to settle and expand.
Social differences are one of the reasons New England and Chesapeake developed into two distinct societies. People in England were tired of being oppressed by the government, so they wanted to come to the New World for new opportunities and better treatment. According to a source from Massachusetts of the New England Colonies, “our town shall be composed of forty families,…rich and poor…every inhabitant shall have a convenient proportion for a house lot, as we shall see [fit] for everyone’s quantity and estate…everyone shall have a share o...
The characteristics that came to shape the life in New England were the rocky, barren soil, the extreme climate and the rich waters. Although there was farming in New England , colonists looked to other means of survival. They looked to the rich waters for fishing and trade. The coastline of New England was very fertile with sealife. So, fishing became a way of commerce and trade providing a steady economy to New England. Because of the rocky soil and extreme climate, the colonists were forced to plant many different crops on a small pa...
Second, those who migrated to New England tended to come over as families, quite dissimilar to the single men who flooded Chesapeake Bay. Obviously, a much more stable family life took root in New England. Single women in Chesapeake Bay were few and far between, and the few that were around were not single for long. It was much easier to establish families in New England, where the balance between men and women was much closer to equal. These strong families provided security and made the New England colonists live a more stable life than those who lived to the south in Chesapeake Bay.
The Puritans were mainly artisans and middling farmers by trade and in the wake of the reformation of the Church of England, left for the colonies to better devout themselves to God because they saw the Church of England as a corrupt institution where salvation was able to be bought and sold, and with absolutely no success in further reforming the Church, set off for the colonies. English Puritans believed in an all-powerful God who, at the moment of Creation, determined which humans would be saved and which would be damned (Goldfield 45).
As colonies of the British Empire, both the New England and Chesapeake regions were inhibited by innumerable immigrants of English origin. Despite this common characteristic, the two areas greatly differed from each other. New England was more tolerant and community based whereas the Chesapeake was focused more directly on personal wealth and land. While they both drew from British influence, the distinct conditions in each region caused them to develop separately and become unique in their own way.
Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. There were many reasons in the development of these colonies that cause the differences.
...ere more concerned about the commonwealth of the people due to their strong sense of community. Chesapeake government placed a harsh rule to ensure the survival of the settlers like the colony of Jamestown. New England had a diverse product due to poor soil and cold weather. They engaged in small scale agriculture, fishing, trading and shipbuilding. The Chesapeake regions had a warmer climate therefore it was more suitable to farm. The economic products that the Chesapeake region produced were tobacco and rice. The New England colonies were more of a community than the Chesapeake colonies. One of the reasons was that the settlers New England emigrated as a family and the Chesapeake emigrants were mostly males with the ambition to find gold and to own a large plantation; this resulted in mostly male population without female to enforce a sense of a real community.
During the late 16th century and into the 17th century, European nations rapidly colonized the newly discovered Americas. England in particular sent out numerous groups to the eastern coast of North America to two regions. These two regions were known as the Chesapeake and the New England areas. Later, in the late 1700's, these two areas would bond to become one nation. Yet from the very beginnings, both had very separate and unique identities. These differences, though very numerous, spurred from one major factor: the very reason the settlers came to the New World. This affected the colonies in literally every way, including economically, socially, and politically.
In the 1600s, the ideas and values of the Puritans influenced the economics, along with the political and social development of the New England colonies. The Puritans believed in God and were very spiritual people. They also enjoyed the simple things in life, but realized that guidelines need to be placed. The Puritans behavior affected and created the New England colonies and the world today.