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How was the economy and society of colonial america the same and yet different than england
The Influence of Religion on Colonial America
The Influence of Religion on Colonial America
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The Virginia Colony Vs. Massachusetts Bay Colony Thesis: Despite bearing some superficial similarities, the differences between the Virginia Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony are prominent. Reason to come to the states: Virginia: to make a profit Massachusetts: for religious freedom Econ differences: Virginia: large plantations of corn, tobacco, sugar Massachusetts: artisan-industries like carpentry, shipbuilding, and printing Social differences: Virginia: Massachusetts: Religion centric. Family oriented. Education. Political differences: Virginia: Wealth Massachusetts: Church; Community The Virginia Colony Vs. the Massachusetts Colony 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; the Chesapeake and the New …show more content…
England colonies. Although these two areas bear some minor similarities, the differences between the Virginia Colony, in the Chesapeake region, and Massachusetts Bay Colony, in the New England region, are prominent; the reason the settlers came to the New World affected the colonies economically, socially, and politically. The few similarities between the colonies of Virginia and Massachusetts were the outlook of the people. All English colonists believed themselves to be superior to the Indians and the Slaves. They also believed they could own property, many times encroaching and causing warfare with the indians. However, these few similarities are not as massive as the differences. To start off, in Jamestown, Virginia most of the colonists came to the New World looking for gold and other profitable products to send back to England. However, because of the low survival rate, the English offered anyone who paid his or her own passage to Jamestown received fifty acres of land plus another fifty acres for each additional individual they might bring. Their motives were economic in nature. In contrast, as harassment by the Church of England and a hostile Charles I increased, and an economic recession began, the Non‐Separatist Puritans to decide to settle in North America.
More than twenty thousand Puritan men, women, and children took part in the “Great Migration” to their new home. Their motives were, thus, religious in nature, not economic. In addition, the Church of England was the established church in Virginia, which meant taxpayers paid for the support of the church whether or not they were Anglicans. However, church membership ultimately mattered little, since a lack of clergymen and few churches kept many Virginians from attending church. Also, education was only something for the wealthy to afford for their children. Either in England or with private studies. In contrast, church attendance was compulsory and education was a high priority in Puritan society because literacy was essential to Bible study. Laws were passed calling for the creation of grammar schools to teach reading and writing, and Harvard College was founded in 1636 to train the
clergy. Finally, Virginia’s colonial government structure resembled that of England's county courts. A royal governor appointed justices of the peace, who set tax rates and saw to the building and maintenance of public works, such as bridges and roads. In the 1650s, the colonial assembly adopted a bicameral pattern: the House of Burgesses (the elected lower house) and an appointed Governor's Council. In contrast, the Puritans brought a high level of religious idealism to their first colony, which their leader John Winthrop described as “a city upon a hill”—a model of piety for all. Almost overnight, they founded a half dozen towns, setting up churches on the congregationalist pattern under the Reverend John Cotton. These churches ran their own affairs, taxed the community to finance operations, and hired and fired ministers. The Chesapeake and the New England regions differed in numerous ways because of the reason they came to the New World; these differences included population, religion, and economy. It was due to these ideals held by the groups that lead them to create the contrasting societies. The fortune-seeking economists in the Chesapeake created a society based around this ideal, which affected their entire community. The New Englanders, looking for religious freedom, sought to create a very different society centered around a very different ideal, that of religion, not economic gain. It is because of these motives that the Chesapeake and the New England regions of the New World were very different by 1700.
Just like their religions, Massachusetts gave more power to the people and Virginia gave power to England. In the New England Handout, Mailer describes the difference further, “Unlike in Virginia where a governor is elected from a faraway company in London, and after 1624, by the Crown itself, the ‘freemen’ of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire elect their own governors.” (1) This information describes the contrast in the way a governor gets elected. In Massachusetts, the “freemen”, men who own land, get to vote for their governor, while Virginia’s governor gets appointed by the crown. Virginia’s government also consisted of the Governing Council, rich elites controlling everything, and the House of Burgesses, upper middle-class landowners. The main reason the governments of these colonies differ is the fact that the charter of Virginia created by the Virginia Company resides in England, or in other words it is controlled by the crown. On the other hand, Massachusetts’s charter, created by the Massachusetts Bay Company, resides in the colony, so the colony self-governs itself. This brings forth another comparison of the two colonies; the reason why they were founded.
While the Protestant Revolution raged in Europe, Catholics and other radicals were fleeing to the New World to find religious freedom and to escape prosecution. Because of this, the northern colonies became more family and religiously orientated as the families of the pilgrims settled there. From the Ship’s List of Emigrants Bound for New England we see that six families on board made up sixty nine of the ships passengers (B). Not only did families tend to move to New England, but whole congregations made the journey to find a place where they could set up “a city upon a hill”, and become an example to all who follow to live by as John Winthrop put it to his Puritan followers (A). Contrastingly, the Chesapeake colonies only had profit in their mind, which pushed them to become agriculturally advanced. Since Virginia, one of the Chesapeake colonies, was first settled with the intention of becoming an economic power house, it was mainly inhabited by working-class, single men. The average age of a man leaving for the Americas was only twenty two and a half years old according to the Ship’s List of Emigrants bound for Virginia (C). The harsh conditions of the colony did not appeal to those who wished to settle with a family. Added on to that was the fact that the average lifespan in the Chesapeake colonies was a full ten years or more shorter than that in other more desirable living quarters to the north.
The political difference between the New England and Chesapeake region was that New England government associate more with religious matter than the Chesapeake government. The New England regions included the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Plymouth colony, the New Hampshire colony, Maine colony, Connecticut colony, and Rhode Island colony. Massachusetts colony for example was governed as a theocracy government. As the first governor of Massachusetts colony once stated in A Model of Christian Charity (Written on board the Arbella on the Atlantic Ocean, 1630),"we shall be as a city upon a hill" a holy commonwealth that could be served as an example community to the rest of the world. The Massachusetts Bay colony placed great importance on religious matters. Only the church member were allowed to vote or held office position. Those who held office position would enforce the law requiring attendance at services. Jamestown, Maryland and the Carolinas were some colonies in the Chesapeake regions. The governments in these regions were less concerned about...
New England was north of the Chesapeake, and included Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Haven (which soon became part of Connecticut). The New Englanders were largely Puritan Separatists, who sought religious freedom. When the Church of England separated from Catholicism under Henry VIII, Protestantism flourished in England. Some Protestants, however, wanted complete separation from Catholicism and embraced Calvinism. These "Separatists" as they were called, along with persecuted Catholics who had not joined the Church of England, came to New England in hopes of finding this religious freedom where they would be free to practice as they wished. Their motives were, thus, religious in nature, not economic. In fact, New England settlers reproduced much of England's economy, with only minor variations. They did not invest largely in staple crops, instead, relied on artisan-industries like carpentry, shipbuilding, and printing.
The Puritans who were seeking religious freedom were the first to affect New England religiously. Therefore, religion was heavily influential in the New England colonies. This area was strictly Calvinist, and there was little to no tolerance for any other religion. This homogeneity allowed for a rigorous sense of local order. The church was an equally-important partner with town governance in preserving social order (Church and State were not separate!) In every colony except for Rhode Island, law required everyone to attend worship services on the Sabbath and every taxpayer to contribute to the support of the
During the 1700's, people in the American colonies lived in very distinctive societies. While some colonists led hard lives, others were healthy and prosperous. The two groups who showed these differences were the colonists of the New England and Chesapeake Bay areas. The differentiating characteristics among the Chesapeake and New England colonies developed due to economy, religion, and motives for colonial expansion. The colonists of the New England area possessed a very happy and healthy life. This high way of living was due in part to better farming, a healthier environment, and a high rate of production because of more factories. The colonists of the Chesapeake Bay region, on the other hand, led harder lives compared to that of the colonists of New England. The Chesapeake Bay had an unhealthy environment, bad eating diets, and intolerable labor.
Their charter and ideology of being an ideal community were not the only contributions Puritans made to the American Dream. Their courage and religious convictions made them into symbols the country still connects with freedom in American society and government today. Even with dissenting religious and government, foundation views, the Puritan’s “Great Migration” truly did plant the seeds of the American Dream.
In 1419, Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal began the period of time known as the “Age of Exploration”. Europe’s leading superpowers, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, and England, all competed for colonization in unknown territories. Samuel de Champlain colonized along the St. Lawrence River in 1608, Henry Hudson of Holland established Albany in 1609, and Spain established colonies in Mexico and Mesoamerica. In 1607, England established its first colony in North America around the Chesapeake Bay, and nearly a decade later established a second colony in present-day New England. Both New England and the Chesapeake were founded by the British around the same time; however, both colonies developed a different economy, government, and many other ways of life.
...ve in Virginia did not mean immigrants were free from its rule. Upon departing England, those leaving would take an “oath of allegiance and supremacy” (Virginia Ship’s List). This meant that the people owed their loyalty to the monarch of England, not to Virginia itself. The colonists of Virginia could have been frustrated that their head official was chosen by a single person, a person who had no place within their community. In fact, Berkeley, the governor the monarch of England elected, “brought high taxes on the people, increased his power at the expense of local officials and created a monopoly on Indian trade” (Divine, 85). This abuse of power is possibly one of the causes of rebellions, specifically Bacon’s rebellion. This republic government leading the Virginia Colony was an increasingly stark contrast to the Massachusetts’ Colony’s democratic government.
Furthermore, according to professor Foner, each colony experienced distinct political development. In Virginia, the crown appointed governor, and local elite was in charge of the colony’s advancement. There was also the county court, or the Justices of Peace. Only the colonial assembly was elected. The House of Burgesses, established in 1639, was the first legislature in Jamestown. Contrary to Virginia, Maryland was a proprietary colony settled in 1632. The charter granted Cecilius Calver...
Virginia was very culturally diverse. No real belief was the right one. Everyone brought their own beliefs and lived according to what they believe is right. Due to it being a very large trading port they attracted many different merchants from various different backgrounds. People stayed isolated with people from their backgrounds to stay with the familiarity.
England was beginning to discover the North America In sixteenth century by Sir Walter Raleigh. He sent two groups to discover the North America, but he failed. In seventeenth century, England established the joint stock company, that the king James I granted a charter to two such company which helped England to established colonies in North America. For example, Virginia colony and Massachusetts Bay. There are several similarities and differences in founding and development of society in Virginia and Massachusetts Bay.
Colonial America of 1620-1776 began the system for free public education for all New England colonies except Rhode Island. Has this system for free schools been maintained in part by “public funding?’ The Puritans believed the local governments should see to it that all children learned to read the Bible. Without being able to read the Bible, the children would not know how to denounce Satan. The Eight General Assembly, provided, for the people of each county, by a two-thirds vote to tax themselves three and one-third cents per dollar for school purposes.
Even home furnishings were simply made of wood. The result of this lifestyle of hard work was a community that was wealthy and industrious as we are now. Lastly the Puritans have influenced America society is through Education. The Puritan emphasis on education led to an American school system whereby everyone is taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. Puritans formed the first formal school in 1635, and it was called the Roxbury (near Boston) Latin School. In 1638, the first printing press arrived. In 1639, Harvard College was founded. By 1647 a Massachusetts law mandated that every town of 50 families or more support an elementary school and every town of 100 or more families support a grammar school where boys could learn Latin in preparation for college. The Puritans have influenced American society with Religion, Work and Education and it is universally agreed that the Puritans did much to establish and maintain a presence on the initial colonies and the expansion of the colonies into the United States of America. They established a healthy economy, a school system, and believed that the political system should be an efficient
Are you tired of your church’s ridiculous beliefs? Do you want to be free from your religion? Well, what are you waiting for? Sail aboard and land in Massachusetts! In 1620 a group of Protestants called Pilgrims arrived on land. After 10 years, In 1630, Another group of Protestants called Puritans were led by the governor, John Winthrop who was known as the Founder of The Massachusetts Bay colony. John Winthrop was permitted to leave England by King Charles I to settle in Massachusetts and to escape from the Anglican church. Both Puritans and Pilgrims migrated to Massachusetts for religious freedom. Coming to our colony is probably the best thing that ever happened to you.