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Differences between the Chesapeake Bay and New England Colonies

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Differences between the Chesapeake Bay and New England ColoniesThere are many key differences that distinguish the inhabitants of the New England colonies from those of the Chesapeake Bay colonies. These dissimilarities include but are not limited to the differences between the social structure, family life, forms of government, religion, and the lives of indentured servants and children in the two colonies.

The social structure and family life of the two colonies varied greatly. The inhabitants of the Chesapeake Bay colonies were never able to establish a successful social structure or sense of family life due primarily to the nature of its inhabitants. According to the essay Looking Out for Number One: Conflicting Cultural Values in …show more content…

Some what different from this was the government that was present in the New England colonies. As with many other aspects of life, the Puritans government was based on family. According to the essay The Godly Family of Colonial Massachusetts, The household—not the individual was the fundamental unit of society. The political order was not an agglomeration of detached individuals; it was an organic unity composed of families. (The Way We Lived 43). Since the political decisions were based on families instead of the individuals themselves, each Puritan household received only one vote on issues that were presented. As was customary in the time, the father would represent the head of the household at the polls. If the husband was not able to go to the polls then it would be handed down to the wife and she would represent the family at the poles.

Another major difference between the Chesapeake Bay colonies and the New England colonies was religion. The street toughs and roughnecks who settled in the Chesapeake Bay colonies were not very churchly people although occasionally someone would comment on the need for churches and more importantly schools. Although it was commented upon, the large distances between plantations would have made it nearly impossible to build a church that was close enough to be used by everyone. The quote, Church buildings were in perpetual state of decay; ministers were poorly supported by there parishioners (The Way We Lived 27), shows just

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