Religion In The Northern Colonies Essay

Some of the northern colonies were first established by Puritans, highly religious folk who had beliefs to create better versions of the existing church of England, so naturally the lasting impact of the northern colonies was their religion. The first generation of Puritans that settled in, were very into creating a new society, and they had a burning passion to make a population of their beliefs. This led to very strict Puritan laws that favored church members greatly over any other citizen. The church controlled many parts of

In the South the colonies’ well-known church was the Anglican Church. This church was tax-supported, and commonly oppressed Catholics. Other religions and groups of Protestants were allowed. Generally people didn’t travel to the Southern colonies for religious reasons, being that there were no Puritans in the south. Religious restrictions in the south were sparse and weak, if any at all. In Catholic Maryland, religious freedom was guaranteed through the “Act of Toleration”. This act, however, ordered the death penalty to be given to those who denied holiness of Jesus. This act also better defended the Catholics from persecution. In North Carolina, colonists were not taxed to back the church, because they did not agree with the institution of the Church of

Religion in both regions was important but they both had a different set of ideals on what religion meant to them. Religion is what drove the English to come settle in America. People from new england known as Puritans came to the new world for religious freedom. Puritans strongly believed that there were certain people predestined to go to heaven and the others were damned to hell and there was nothing to be done to change that. This is the reason they ended up in America they did not like having to share a church with those predestined for hell so they broke from the church of England. One group were called the Separatist pilgrims they first settled at Plymouth in 1620. Later in 1630 puritans came to settle in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Both groups cooperated with each other. The difference between the colonies is Spanish Southwest peoples did not come to america for religious freedom.

Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of

The differences between the colonies of New England and the southern region were stark. First, the settlers who immigrated to the new world had different reasons for doing so. South Carolina was established as a buffer zone between other English colonies and the Spanish colonies in Florida. Georgia was founded for an even more interesting reason. In England, there were many social problems including lewdness, drunkenness, and various sexual sins. Also, those in the upper class who found themselves unable to pay back their loans were sent to debtor’s prisons. Georgia was intended to be a place for those people to get a new start, however, most of the colonists who ended up there were poor farmers. On the other hand, the colonies of New England were set up primarily for religious reasons. Although there were some that sought profit in New England, most settlers sought liberty and freedom of worship. English separatists, who vehemently disagreed with the way the Church of England was set up, left Holland and came to America on the Mayflower. They landed in modern Massachusetts and established the Plymouth Colony. Rhode Island was also founded on a religious basis after Roger Williams and his fellow dissenters were exiled from Massachusetts. It became a haven for Quakers, Jews, Baptists and members of other minority religions.

There are many factors that account for the differences between the two colonies. One of the factors that accounted for the differences is the way that certain groups of people were treated when they lived in Great Britain. The Puritans who came to New England were not treated well in Britain. The colonists in the New England colonies came to escape religious prosecution that they faced in the mother country. They didn’t want the church of England to corrupt their religion and try to change their views.

The Southern Colony and the Backcountry were different in terms of society and economy. In the Middle colony, many people that came to America went there because of its diversity. The Middle Colony was known for its tolerance for every culture and religion. Quakers were a large part of the population in the Middle Colony and were very tolerant to any religion.

The two groups that started out there were the pilgrims and puritans. They both disagreed with the Church of England and aimed to practice religion how they chose. This worked for the pilgrims, but the puritans were very strict and if a person disapproved how they taught, then they were kicked out. A few people who got kicked out formed New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. As you may imagine, that makes religion a very important part of the New England colonies. This region wasn’t very diverse and consisted of mostly English people with puritan roots. Because the region was the most northern one out of the three, the climate was cold and made for a short growing season which made for basically no farming industry, but did kill disease. Puritans and Pilgrims founded the New England Colonies on religious

The development of the New England and Chesapeake Colonies differed drastically from social, to political, to geographical and religious aspects. First and foremost, they had different reasons for colonizing The New World in the first place. The settlers of New England wanted to escape religious persecution, while the Chesapeake Colonies essentially sought anything they could bring back to Europe for a profit, such as riches, or a cure for syphilis. Additionally, their respective regions were different and attracted varying groups of people. The colonies of New England included Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Haven, and it primarily attracted devoutly religious families (Puritans, Quakers, and Catholics).

On the other hand, On April 10, 1606 James I issued a charter to the virgina company which was a joint stock company.(Powerpoint English colonization) Later that year in December 120 male settlers settled to Virginia, which later led to the foundation of Jamestown.( Powerpoint English colonization A year later May 1607

The Middle Colonies were not like that. There were over a dozen documented religious groups in the region. Overall freedom was mixed with repression in New England. The Middle Colonies were a much more accepting place as tolerance was practiced by leaders and officials as well as the regular colonists. This can partially be attributed to the fact that people were more spaced out so there wasn't as much face to face contact with different people, but it also can be attributed to the fact that the Middle colonies

The New England believed on English people were aloud. They were all Puritans. In New England there was no such thing as religious freedom, whoever moved to New England had to be an English Puritan and nobody else. The New England was a dominated region. People such as John Winthrop were a big impact on New England since they were the people who decided to leave New England so they could choose their religion and live by it. Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson from Rhode Island believed that even if someone’s religion was different, there would only be acceptance and no harm. The Middle Colonies had a lot more religious freedom than the New England. They were a diverse colony, a colony that accepted anybody from any religion including black slaves. There was no church that dominated the middle colonies. This region was not only a diverse colony but also included Quakers whom was led by William Penn. The Dutch and the Swedish Lutherans were the first Europeans to settle in the middle colonies. In Pennsylvania William Penn, Quaker, soon provided all religious freedoms. Although Jews and Catholics couldn’t vote, they followed William Penn’s footsteps and went to Pennsylvania for religious freedom. Just like the New England, the southern colonies were strict on their religion even if they accepted many people from different religions. Usually the slaves that the southern colonists

The religious intolerance found in the Bay Colonies lead to the colony of Rhode Island being founded by Roger Williams, a Separatist who desired to completely break away from the Church of England, unlike his Puritan counterparts. To make matters worse for the Puritan leaders, Williams also questioned the taking of the Native’s land and the authority the civil government held over religious practices. The Puritan leaders found the last point very dangerous because it undermined the exact idea of government to the Puritans. His radical views resulted in Puritans leaders banning him from the Bay Colony and from there he set off on his journey of finding and constructing the colony of Rhode Island. Due to the adversity Williams experienced while

A plan for some of the colonists moving to the New World was freedom of religion, such as the quakers (located in Pennsylvania) and pilgrims believed in the freedom of living off of your own specific religion. The puritans on the other hand, settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629 , identified themselves as God’s chosen pure angels because of their belief that they were born saved into the world. They would also turn a blind eye to other denominations and focused on their church to be an Angelic Catholic Church specifically. Which of course if you know anything about their “home” back in Europe. That is their “main” denomination over in Britain and they do required everyone to believe in. The puritans brought over their beliefs from England not trying to make it into their own. For example in England they created various religious laws, that were put into place over from England but now the laws transferred into

The influence that Winthrop’s speech had could easily be seen throughout the northern colonies. Because many of the northern colonies were founded for religious reasons, religion played a large role in everyday life during these times. If you were found to violate your contract with god you were kicked out of the colony, forced to live in the woods with the Indians where, more often the not, they would kill you. Roger Williams was an example of this. He criticized many of Winthrop's views on the Puritan society such as the right of the Puritans to seize Native American land (Henretta, 47). Williams and his followers were exiled from the colony, and ended up starting their own colony, named Rhode Island, where inhabitants would have the freedom to practice whatever religion they wanted too. This is yet another example of a colony founded purely for religious purposes. Other colonies were also founded for the same reasons as Rhode Island. Thomas Hooker, for example, founded Connecticut, for almost the exact same reasons Rhode Island