Colonies England created the colonies to generate additional economic value via access to new resources as well as products. However, England did not intend for these dependent colonies to develop an independent mindset. Through exposure to new religious philosophies, the colonies were able to further detach themselves from the Anglican Church. The composition of the colonies was altered by a great influx of culturally diverse people, creating yet another difference from English society. Additionally, the colonies developed a distinct material culture that encouraged them to function as their own economic entity. Tension between the colonies and England, created by religious, cultural, and economic differences, led to the colonies’ development of an American identity. The colonies’ ability to embrace different religious denominations marked a significant separation from the English church, and thus from the English way of thinking. Throughout the 1700's, the ethnic homogeneity within the colonies was shattered; …show more content…
there was greater religious diversity, as well as an increase in nationalism. This religious expansion and exploration, known as the Great Awakening of the 1730's, became one of the most profound religious discoveries of the era. The America’s History textbook explains that “The Great Awakening was not education for the privileged few but a new sense of authority among the many." The Great Awakening assisted in fostering unity within the colonies, for many religious groups believed that they could individually have a connection with God; this focus upon individuality became a driving force behind the development of a national identity, one in which the colonists saw themselves as an individual entity distinct from England. Immigrants seeking religious freedom gave way to culturally diverse communities distinct from the English society.
The America’s History textbook explains this when it says “Most European migrants held tightly to their traditions, creating a patchwork of ethnically and religiously diverse communities” . America provided religious refuge for these immigrants, allowing them to create their own unique communities, usually within their own ethnic groups. These pockets of diversity within the colonies struck a sharp contrast from England, whose ethnic composition was much less varied. The Pursuit of Happiness reading states “…the consequent intermingling of peoples of diverse cultural and national backgrounds…enhanced capacity for the toleration and acceptance of ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity.” This receptiveness to toleration, juxtaposed with England’s perceived lack of toleration, made England a common adversary, thereby uniting the
colonies. Not only did the colonies begin to develop and unify over religious and cultural identities, but they also participated in their own distinct consumer culture based upon their economic profitability, which caused them to grow more competitive and less dependent on England. As the colonists’ economy matured, through the help of English goods, they also acquired a taste for more. This consumption of desired English goods established a need for the colonies to be on an equal status with England. The Salutary Neglect Act in 1775 enabled colonies to become more self-sufficient and less reliant on England, therefore establishing their own commercial identity. Historian Carole Shammas remarks upon the development of a colonial consumer market: “Their mass consumption led to their mass mobilization…and ultimately declaring independence" . Indeed, the Pursuit of Happiness reading corroborates Shammas’s point by arguing that "Commerce became the great bond of unity in societies otherwise divided” . This production of raw material allowed the colonies to generate more income and aspire to be competitors with England. The colonies were able to make their own American Identity through religious expansion, creation of new cultural identities, and economic development. Because of the dramatic differences between the American colonies and England, particularly regarding the extent of religious diversity and economic objectives, tension developed between the two competitors and eventually led to a revolution.
The settlers of the Jamestown were members of the great Anglican Church, which was the official Church of England while the Pilgrims were dissenters from the Church and established the Puritan faith. Due to the Jamestown settlers being a part of the Anglican faith, they were not under any fear of religious persecution. They remained loyal to their superiors. The Puritans were separatists, which was considered an act of treason at the time. They believed that the Church was still too connected to the old ways.
As the regions began to expand and develop, their motivations for settlement helped to mold their societies. New England was a place where men sought refuge from religious persecution and was established as a haven for religious refugees. Despite this reason for settling, the New Englanders still attempted to spread their own beliefs of religion. As illustrated by John Winthrop in his Model of a Christian Charity, he preached to his fellow colonists that “we shall be a city upon a hill” (Doc A) exemplifying the Puritans’ aspirations of a Holy Utopia. He and countless other New Englanders practiced the belief that they must all work together. They were determined to “mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work.” The Articles of Agreement plainly laid out the basis for the New England region. These articles made New England a cosmopolitan mix of rich and poor families, all being in possession of land and resolute in doing God’s work (Doc D). However, while the New Englanders settled to create a Holy Utopia, the people of the Chesapeake were concerned not only with their religious freedom, but also ...
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.
There were a myriad of differences between Great Britain and her American colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but these differences can be divided into three basic categories: economic, social, and political. The original American settlers came to the colonies for varied reasons, but a common trait among these settlers was that they still considered themselves British subjects. However, as time passed, the colonists grew disenfranchised from England. Separated from the king by three thousand miles and living in a primitive environment where obtaining simple necessities was a struggle, pragmatism became the common thread throughout all daily life in the colonies. It was this pragmatism that led the colonists to create their own society with a unique culture and system of economics and politics.
When all things are considered, one can see the colonies didn't always agree with the way England handled things, in the area of religion, economics, politics, and social structure. Through their determination to obtain a better life for themselves, they ventured away from England and created their own nation over time.
Most of the first settlers in America came from England and considered themselves to be Englishmen. At first they relied on their mother country for money, supplies and protection. As the colony became larger and more populous, people gradually started feeling as if they were a separate nation. By the eve of the Revolution the patriotism has built up to such an extent, that the colonists believed America was self-sufficient enough to exist as independent unit from England.
By the time the colonists had settled into their new land they had established some order such as small governments to keep the colonies in line. The ocean separating England and the colonies made it difficult though for England to guide the colonists successfully the way they had wanted. The main thing the British tried was implementing taxes, but they also went so far as letting the colonies on their own for awhile and using military to keep them in place. On the other hand, the colonists saw that the British were stalling their attempts at self-governing so they worked together to disregard any British policies. By the eve of the Revolution, colonists had developed a sense of their identity and unity as Americans that was brought about by the British parliament. Exasperated by British efforts to hinder their growing self-reliance, colonists began pushing them away by doing various things such as rioting, boycotting, or voicing their opinions on paper.
Prior to Enlightenment the colonists, like the Europeans, were guided by their fear of God and rulers. They followed their church’s teachings blindly, as many of them could not read the scripture themselves. As the colonists began to educate themselves, they found that their interpretation of the readings did not always match what was preached to them in Sunday’s sermon. Even with the vamped up services and revivals during the Awakening many continued to question organized religion and separate from the Catholic Church. Many smaller denominations resulted from these breaks caused by the Awakening, leading to the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther even wrote entire doctrines based on his differences of opinion which would eventually form the basis for the Lutheran Church. The colonists also questioned the authority of their European rulers. Many believed that God himself had put their rulers in charge, but with all the political disasters and condemnation they were seeing they began to question their...
Between 1607 and 1733, Great Britain established thirteen colonies in the New World along the land’s eastern coast. England’s colonies included Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Though the colonies were classified as New England, middle or southern colonies, the colonists developed a unifying culture. With this new American culture, the colonists throughout the colonies began to think differently than their English cousins. Because colonial America displayed characteristics of a democratic society and, therefore, deviated from England’s monarchic ways, it was established as a democratic society.
To the south of New England were the middle colonies. There the soil was fertile, and the weather more acclimated to farming (Sarcelle, 1965). Rivers flowed west toward the frontier, enabling transportation. The middle colonies, as opposed to the relatively Puritan dominated New England, were very diverse in people. A mixture of Dutch, German, Swedes, English and other smaller groups were present in middle colonial cities such as New York (Higginbotham, 1996).
There were many reasons why the colonists came to North America. One reason was because they wanted to escape King Edward so they could fallow freely their own religion and to seek riches. Also the Puritans came to North America because they wanted a lace to practice their religion without fear of the government. Also that the religion they wanted to practice was considered more fundamentalist than what was being practiced from where they came. the English colonies were successful in North America was because the British tried so many times to get more money the colonists got mad and boycotted- refuse to use-the British goods. Then the British government kind of loosened their restraints and gave the American colonists some freedom.
Though there were religious concerns that contributed to the settling of British North America, the economic concerns outweighed the notable religious concerns. A religious concern that played a role in British colonization was that the British wanted to have the Indians of North America converted to Protestant Christianity (Boorstin et al. 34). In addition, specific groups that were seeking religious freedom used the British colonizing as a venue to achieve this objective. Such groups included the Puritan separatists who had begun to lose their freedoms in England, and thus they became colonists in New England.
A new era was dawning on the American colonies and its mother country Britain, an era of revolution. The American colonists were subjected to many cruel acts of the British Parliament in order to benefit England itself. These British policies were forcing the Americans to rebellious feelings as their rights were constantly being violated by the British Crown. The colonies wanted to have an independent government and economy so they could create their own laws and stipulations. The British imperial policies affected the colonies economic, political, and geographic situation which intensified colonists’ resistance to British rule and intensified commitment to their republican values.
When settlers from England came to America, they envisioned a Utopia, where they would have a say in what the government can and cannot do. Before they could live in such a society they would have to take many small steps to break the hold England had on them. The settlers of America had to end a monarchy and start their own, unique, form of government. They also had to find a way that they would have some kind of decision making power. The most important change that the colonies in America had to make was to become a society quite different from that in England.
A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and souls of its people. Many countries have been influenced by various things such as immigration, media, news, as well as trends and fads from both in and out of the country. However, in the 1950s and 1960s, there was mainly news and word of mouth. Many had argued that Canada should establish its own culture to have an identity separate, later growing into a concern of the government. Most would think that the cultural influence was negative as the influences of other countries would take away from the country’s own culture and identity, but it was not the case. The influence of American culture in the 1950s and 1960s in Canada was positive. American music, Hippie culture, and the impact the American