17th Century New England: A Unique Lifestyle

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The 17th century lifestyle in New England differed greatly from the lifestyle in the South and England at the time. New England colonists reaped the benefits of longevity and as a result, many families grew to be extremely large and developed. The colonists, primarily united under the shared goal of escaping religious persecution, established many small towns that were one of the first to exercise democracy. Education was also an important part of the New England lifestyle. Due to the climate, the economy in New England was vastly different compared to the South. Unlike the South, which mostly relied on cash crops, the New England economy was composed of many different things. These factors helped shape the New England lifestyle into one that was very different than that of the South. …show more content…

The codes varied by state but were generally very cruel, giving the owners of slaves rights such as being able to own all the offspring of slaves and the ability to inflict cruel punishments with little to no purpose. Bacon’s Rebellion: An armed rebellion in 1676 led by Nathaniel Bacon against Virginia’s governor, William Berkeley, due to his refusal to drive the Native Americans away from Virginia for personal gain. William Berkeley and Native Americans were driven out of their homes and Jamestown was torched. The rebellion helped popularize slavery. Halfway Covenant: A form of partial membership into the Puritan Church created in 1662 to popularize church membership. The unconverted children of existing church members could join the Puritan church. The halfway covenant helped lessen differences between normal church members and elect church members and weakened the power of the church. William Berkeley: The governor of the Virginia colony from 1642 to 1652 and from 1660 until 1677. He promoted economic diversity and trade with the Indians residing in western Virginia, which resulted in Bacon’s

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