Better When We Came To America

In current day America, citizens either take their freedom lightly or believe they have no freedom at all. However, our ancestors thought differently in the past. The English colonist came to the New World for a number of reasons. Many came to the New World to escape bad marriages, jail terms, but many historian believe that many came to either get out of poverty or the fear of them falling into poverty. According to Brands, “Religion was a big reason for the English to come across the Atlantic”. The first colony was Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, which was not successful. After the first colony was established many more were established like New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and etc..

One of the main reasons that the settlers came and founded America was for religious freedom. Colonist made the long and dangerous journey for other reasons as well, but a major factor was the search for religious freedom. Coming to America alone did not solve this problem; the journey to religious freedom was just that, a journey. Everyone had a slightly different idea of what this new nation’s ‘religious freedom’ should look like and it took many years to come to a compromise.

Religious freedom was one of the main causes for English peoples to move to the New World. They escaped from the de-catholicization of the Church of England in order to believe in what they wanted to belive in. The government once again did not pay any heed to set an official religious set of rules in the colonies, therefore allowing the people to

During the seventeenth century, colonial America was welcoming many newcomers, several from England. Quantities of these newcomers were seeking land for economic purposes as others were longing for religious toleration. Many of the English colonists settled in the New England region for religious freedoms, to escape the English king, and leave adversaries of other religions behind. Settlers who resided in the Middle Atlantic region were affected differently. Although the Middle Atlantic was more

One of the major causes for emigration from England to North America was religious persecution. Religious tolerance in Britain for other Christian sects besides the Anglican church was virtually nonexistent, resulting in many members of other sects to seek religious haven in the colonies. The vast majority of immigrants coming to New England were followers of

During the 17th and 18th century, English residents felt that England was over-crowded and intolerable. They wanted to lessen these problems that rose up because of the large population increase and to establish more religious freedom (Horn). The English believed that the best way to go about this was to colonize the New World. Subsequently, many colonies began to develop, and of these colonies, Massachusetts Bay and Virginia were the most well-known. The early settlements of Massachusetts and Virginia were both established by similar groups of people at the same time; furthermore, their contrasting beginnings as a colony, views on religion, and method of economic stability all contributed to our American heritage today.

people did not want to leave the comforts of home for the hardships of this new land.

William Bradford left England to avoid religious persecution as a Puritan. Even though there were terrible mishaps along his journey to achieve this, he eventually adapted to the New World with the help of a Native American, who taught them essential survival skills that allowed them to prosper by the second year they lived in America. John Smith and Olaudah Equiano were in a similar situation. All three went through a voyage to come to America, but for different reasons. Instead of coming for religious freedom, Smith came to America on a military expedition, and had to face an angry Native American tribe. Olaudah Equiano didn’t even want to come to America willingly. He was captured from Nigeria and was brought over to Barbados as a slave, going through terrible conditions among the ship he was brought in.

A new land opportunity was a huge impact when it came into the hearts of Europeans between the fifteen and sixteen hundreds. It led most citizens leave their country and settle within the great Americas to achieve either religious freedom or a better protection system.Two of the most famous settlements of the English includes Jamestown,Virginia and Plymouth, Massachusetts. The two colonies had a government and an economic growth, which the Europeans accomplished to make, resulting a balance in society. Though, at the same time the settlers faced many hardships which they later had to overcome in the colonies.

Throughout history, a variety of religions have came and gone due to dislike and uncomfort. Before 1492, a majority of Europe was a part of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church controlled every aspect of a human’s life, for example: education, social status, and family matters. In 1517, Martin Luther had created the Protestant Reformation, which limited the power of the Catholic Church. Europe was now religiously divided, which created a larger diversity of religion to the colonies. Reasons such as Henry VIII decisions with the Catholic Church, English immigrants, and religious groups affected the relationship between religion and the colonies.

Large amounts of immigrants came to colonial America for various reasons, including religious freedom and economic opportunity. Colonists finally had the chance to own property in the vast American territory and others had the opportunity to practice their religion freely. Not everyone came willingly though, some were brought to serve as slaves. Colonial America was a place of opportunities, a place for a brighter future. People could start from scratch and build up their wealth, something that was nearly impossible in Europe.

During this time of great migration, there were two sections of the English colonies in America most seeking a new life settled in. The southern area of the east coast in the state of Virginia and the New England area that encompasses Massachusetts. From the birth of the Jamestown, Virginia settlement in 1607 to 1660, approximately fifty thousand settlers and about the same amount of settlers arrived between 1630 and the 1660s to Massachusetts (Pursuit of Happiness). There was a multitude of reasons for a person to uproot themselves from their English home and disembarked to a new land, but most either came for mercantilism or religious reasons, all seeking a new and better life in the Western hemisphere.

European immigrants from different parts of Europe flocked to North America, not only escaping religious persecution, but also seeking to attain social mobility. Religiously persecuted, they knew they were embarking on a journey that required tremendous entrepreneurial skills, and this might alone have set them aside from countrymen who chose to stay. “Even the most religious of the early Puritan settlers of Massachusetts Bay were alert to the need to create and maintain a viable economy” (qtd. in Perkins 165). As European residents, they might have had little in common, but as immigrants they unknowingly furnished many of the distinctive characteristics of American culture. Westward expansion continued during the eighteen century, when roughly 350 thousand Europeans moved to British North America. Once England’s overpopulation problems were solved, the crown came to regard a large home population as an asset and discouraged immigration to the colonies, but it instead promoted the colonies among German and French Protestants, who were offered free land, religious tolerance, and a relaxed path to citizenship (Norton 87). As earlier settlers’ family farms lost the ability to further divide inheritance among children, adult children migrated westward in search of their own estates. Even though traditional sects had difficulties

In one basic respect, the Pilgrims are a logical outcome of the Reformation. This alliance was dangerous, as Separatist were often arrested, imprisoned, even hanged for treason on the orders of King James I of England. When Bradford and his fellow separatist heard King James I was intending to “harry them for the land”, (Kelso, 2005) the entire congregation fled to the Netherlands.

Religion, whether we realize it or not, is a major element of American society (and also worldwide history). For many, religion is a significant part of their cultural identity. Religion plays a part in all levels of politics and is often an aspect of community events and organizations. Everyday, we all interact with people who have different religious backgrounds and personal beliefs. Children born into religious families are very connected with their religions from birth and this affects the way they will see the world for the rest of their lives. Even those who later explore other faiths or convert to other religious ideas will be affected in