The Importance Of English Immigration To America

Immigration is the movement into a destination country to which they are not native nor possess its citizenship in order to settle or reside there, especially as permanent residents or naturalized citizens, or to take up employment as a migrant worker or temporarily as a foreign worker. English immigrants were the first who left their home countries in hope of improving their lives, taking the first very important step towards a completely new culture. They had to establish an entirely new nation, on land that was inhabited by Native Americans.

The main reasons for the English immigration to America was first based on obtaining new land but quickly changed as people decided to move from England to escape religious and political prosecution. In their native countries, they often had little money and could not worship God in the way they wished. The immigrants hoped for freedom and good fortune in their new lives. The ride to the new land was very rough, (in line 74) Bradford stated “Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and

brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the fast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element” The ride on The Mayflower had very harsh winds which would drift them off course, lots of passengers got sea sick, they were cooped up below deck and because of that it was very uncomfortable and had a pungent smell.
After 65 days The Mayflower finally landed in Massachusetts. As they drew near shore they saw about 10 to 12 Indians very busy about something (Line 133-134). The next day the Pilgrims split up and searched for not only land but other people, they didn’t have luck with finding either. Once the initial joy faded, the enormity of their task dawned: They had no houses, no stored goods, no knowledge of the country they faced, nor any knowledge of its inhabitants besides fantastic myths of cannibals. They made Barricado with Logs and shrubs from pine, which they had kept open to protect from the wind and also from the Indians who they thought might attempt to attack. The first encounter between the Indians and the Pilgrims was very violent. Bradford refers to them as the savages and the barbarians after this experience.
In about 2 or 3 months of the pilgrims being there almost half of their company had died because they had nothing and no one helping them survive on this new land, especially through the brutal winters that they were not used to.

Another major impact of all these deaths were diseases like scurvy which the horrible conditions from the long voyage had a large impact on. Bradford eventually realizes his assumptions are wrong when a certain Indian named Squanto Around the 16th of March approached them speaking in broken English. He taught them how to set their corn, where to take fish, and to procure other commodities, and was also their pilot to bring them to unknown places for their profit, and never left them till he died (Line 391). "They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty (Line

400).
In Conclusion, The ones who immigrated to America had a drastic impact on the way that we live today. The Indians get most of the credit for reaching out to the Pilgrims and teaching them the survival tactics they would need to overcome winters, and to start their lives in America. And if it weren’t for Squanto who knows how long it would have taken for the Indians and Pilgrims to come together and help out one another.