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Religion of early united states
The role of religion in early American society
Social characteristics of colonial virginia
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The Middle region consisting of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania established its lines based on the prosperity of Tobacco Crops, a sanctuary for Catholicism, and a more tolerant society inspired by William Penn.
Virginia found prosperity in Tobacco. Pocahontas’s husband, John Rolfe, innovated this inexpensive crop making it a stable economic source for Virginia. The high demand for tobacco produced in the New World increased the demand for the land to grow it on. This desire for land depleted the quality of the soil and also pushed Virginia’s borders further west. Virginia was predominantly protestant and the basis of its government was the assembly known as the House of Burgesses. It was a representative self government in the form of a small parliament.
Maryland was founded in 1634 by Lord Baltimore who was from an upper class Catholic family. He had the desire to earn profits and to create a refuge for Catholics. He gave large plots of land to Catholic members of his family. Maryland became the home of many Catholics causing some tensions with the proximity of their predominately protestant neighbor Virginia. These tensions were calmed with The Act of Toleration passed in 1649 by a local representative assembly. This granted tolerance to all Christians. However, its tolerance was that of a selective nature. It failed to extend tolerance towards Jews and atheists. Instead of tolerance they received the death penalty instead. (32)
The King of England awarded William Penn a large amount of land in 1681 as part of a debt he owed to the family. The King called this area Pennsylvania. Penn sought to change the name of this region so that it was not assumed that he had named it after himself in vain. Penn was passionate about the believe system of the Quakers and established a “surprisingly modern atmosphere in an unmodern age.” Pennsylvania was well advertised toward potential new settlers and attracted many people. It was a society based on the freedom of worship, peacefulness towards Indians, no restrictions on immigration, and a dislike for black slavery. The death penalty was only used for treason and murder.
The Southern colonies North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia established reputations of their own. This region attracted the more liberal minded who wished to leave Virginia as well as had a greater connection to The English West Indies.
North Carolina was referred to as “the quintessence of Virginia’s discontent.
Because of the way that the New England and Chesapeake regions set up their colonies, they became entirely different societies. One was community based, while the other sought gold and wealth; in one region a poor person had the same opportunities are a wealthy person, while in another place they could not; and one came seeking religious freedom while the other came for gold.
The New England, Middle and Southern colonies were all English ruled, but yet very different. Among their distinctions, was the geography which played an important role in shaping these colonies. New England attracted Puritan farmers who wanted to separate from the Catholic Church. But because of the bone dry soil in the North, these colonists found they couldn't continue with their traditional ways of farming. However, with the immense amounts of water that surrounded them, they found that they could fish and trade. The Middle colonies on the other, hand had a moderate amount of everything. The fertile soil and the major seaports such as Philadelphia and New York, allowed these Middle colonists to make a living any way they saw fit. This led to the brisk development of the Middle Seaboard . Unlike the Middle and Northern colonies, the Southern colonies had large amounts of fertile land allowing for the development of large plantations. Because farming the plantations was the economic thrust for the South, towns and cities developed slowly. Thusly Geography greatly affected the lifestyles of these regions in the New World.
Early Virginia's flourishing cultivation of tobacco drew a diversity of people, from fresh war veterans and former soldiers, to adventurers and ordinary people looking to recoup from former monetary losses. However the tobacco did not only alter the country culturally and economically, but it “ threw more wood into the fire.” It strengthened the infamous individualistic attitude the colonists had. The advent...
While both the people of the New England region and of the Chesapeake region descended from the same English origin, by 1700 both regions had traveled in two diverse directions. Since both of these groups were beset with issues that were unique to their regions and due to their exposure to different circumstances, each was forced to rethink and reconstruct their societies. As a result, the differences in the motivation, geography, and government in the New England and Chesapeake regions caused great divergence in the development of each.
Each of these had specific developments that were unique to the regions. Though there were many similarities in the development of the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies, they were very different: politically, socially, and economically. The three colonies all had comparable similarities, as they were all democratic. But they ran their democratic government in all different types of ways. For instance, the Middle Colonies had their government and church separated. The New England Colonies, however, were a Theocracy, which meant that the church controlled the government. The Southern Colonies had the least autonomy since they were an Oligarchy. This meant that the wealthy plantation owners controlled the government because they were the only people who could manage to pay for all their own expenses. Even though the three colonies were all self-ruled, they all had distinguishing recognize or treat someone or something as different
It would call for death for only two crimes, treason and murder, and all cases were to be tried before a jury. He has also promoted good treatment for slaves, and other Pennsylvania Quakers were among the earliest fighters against slavery. Over twenty drafts, Penn laboured to create his "Framework of Government.” Now time for some interesting facts you may not have known. Also Penn was delighted that the early purchasers of plots in his colony included no lawyers. There is a widely told, entirely apocryphal, story of an encounter between Penn and George Fox, in which Penn expressed concern over wearing a sword, and how this was not in keeping with Quaker beliefs. Fox responded, "Wear it as long as thou canst." Later, according to the story, Penn again met Fox, but this time without the sword. Penn then said, "I have taken the advice; I wore it as long as I could." Like other Colonial settlers who salivated to see wild “fox grapes” growing here in profusion, Penn was dying to make wine. He planted a vineyard in Fairmount and even imported a French vintner to tend
Slavery was the main resource used in the Chesapeake tobacco plantations. Conditions in the Chesapeake region were difficult, which led to malnutrition, disease, and even death. Slaves are a cheap and abundant resource, which can be easily replaced at any time. The Chesapeake region’s tobacco industries grew and flourished on the intolerable and inhumane acts of slavery. The Chesapeake colonies of Virginia and Maryland were settled in the early 17th century.
Once established, the Virginia colony had nothing to offer England. This all changed when John Rolfe introduced tobacco. Tobacco changed a poor useless colony into a thriving cash crop colony in just a few years. After the American Revolution, many farmers began growing grains such as wheat, oats, and corn. These crops required fewer workers to grow, didn’t take as many nutrients as tobacco growing did, and was in great demand in
The unstable tobacco culture, the rarity of women, and aggressive diseases in early Maryland and Virginia severely affected the social and political life of the two colonies. Consequently, the excessive planting of tobacco depleted the soil of nutrients, creating a need for more fertile land. As the colonists took land, which caused many attacks from the Natives, they began to realize that the expanding land demanded more workers; this leads to the increase of indentured servants or people who give up their rights to master in America for several years in exchange for passage to the New World and a few necessities for when they are freed. In addition, the headright system promised the freed servants fifty acres of land, which then led to Bacon’s
Those who hear the name of William Penn may know him as the founder of Pennsylvania, or even recognize him on the Quaker Oat's logo. But this man is more than a another governmental leader or the face of a successful breakfast brand. Penn is, in my opinion, a figure to be admired both in politics and in the Christian faith and I argue that he is highly worthy for the 11th House of The Kings College dawning his name. Although it just so happens that my family is related to William Penn, I am not offering him as an option only because of that fact, but because I discovered his humble and dedicated life to God and people and cannot help but admire this quintessential Christian leader.
This is proven in Job Roberts Tyson in his writing of The social and intellectual state of the colony of Pennsylvania prior to the year 1743, “A survey of the state of knowledge, principles, and taste among the early inhabitants of Pennsylvania, will show how far a love of science, as well as letters, had been implanted in the colony at the first settlement. ” This mindset is not seen in a lot of the colonies and as a result led to Pennsylvania being the hub of knowledge in early America. This mindset is shown again in Tyson's writing, “A printing press was in operation in Philadelphia, so early as the year 1686. This is only four years after the settlement by Penn, while forests were standing in primeval wilderness around the colonists, and before huts were substituted for the caves which first sheltered them from the inclemencies of winter. ” While other colonies were just focused on surviving the Pennsylvania colonists were focused on improving their minds. This was taken to the extreme as in the quote. You can tell from the quote that they built their printing press before they even built suitable houses. This extreme mindset can still be seen today at the prestigious institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Penn State. This mindset is part of the reason the education is such a priority in America. We also have to thank this mindset for crafting the mind of the Great Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin spent most of his life in the colony of Pennsylvania where he became the man who helped institute both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of
The Chesapeake region of the colonies included Virginia, Maryland, the New Jerseys (both East and West) and Pennsylvania. In 1607, Jamestown, the first English colony in the New World (that is, the first to thrive and prosper), was founded by a group of 104 settlers to a peninsula along the James River. These settlers hoped to find gold, silver, a northwest passage to Asia, a cure for syphilis, or any other valuables they might take back to Europe and make a profit. Lead by Captain John Smith, who "outmaneuvered other members of the colony's ruling and took ruthlessly took charge" (Liberty Equality Power, p. 57), a few lucky members of the original voyage survived. These survivors turned to the local Powhatan Indians, who taught them the process of corn- and tobacco-growing. These staple-crops flourished throughout all five of these colonies.
There were many economic opportunities in Pennsylvania. The soil was fertile and there was plenty of land. Grain was a big export here and earned Pennsylvania the title as one of the "bread colonies". The water was also very clean, which helped to prevent diseases. The economic characteristics of Pennsylvania helped the economy to prosper.
As a prime example, the english colony Pennsylvania, had divergent motivations for settlements that crafted it into the religouslly inclusive society it became. The colony was settled based upon the principle of equality, because of this being the root of Quaker beliefs in which the founder of the colony, William Penn strictly abided by. Penn was flexible in allowing people of all religions to settle in the colony, because of the quaker beliefs. Ultimately, Pennsylvania had no state regulated church, meaning people were free to practice the religion they chose. The only exception to this being that while everyone could be an active participant in society, only Christians could vote, and hold office. To support the opposing side, Massachusetts Bay’s motivations to acquire a uniformal society, subsequently made the colony lack religious freedom. Based upon John Winthrop’s “City on a Hill” vision for the colony, meaning that he wanted it to be a colony highly looked upon by its peers, Massachusetts Bay desired an unvarying society. The Puritan religion was the only religion allowed to be practiced in Massachusetts Bay, implicating the colonies lack of religious freedom. The degree to which a colony wanted diversity, ranging from complete inclusiveness to none at all, greatly determined whether the colony incorporated religious toleration. Colonies that had motivations of a
There are fifty different states in the United States of America. Each one has its history and was important in forming our country; this includes Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania started out as just another region of land waiting to be discovered. Like the rest of America, this state has a tremendous amount of history behind it. From the Native Americans to Europeans to being one of the original thirteen colonies, how Pennsylvania helped to shape America is a story waiting to be told. Pennsylvania was more than just one state that contributed to the making of a nation; instead, it could have the “deciding factor” in the way America was shaped. As Professor Evan Haefeli has said, “perhaps Pennsylvania made the difference”. Pennsylvania and its government helped to create America through influences on government, participating in battles that were important to the nation, and aiding in lawmaking today.