The Pilgrims In Colonial America

Between 1492-1776, although many people moved to the “New World”, North America lost population due to the amount of Indians dying from war and diseases and the inability of colonists to replace them. John Murrin states, “losers far outnumbered winners” in “ a tragedy of such huge proportions that no one’s imagination can easily encompass it all.” This thought of a decreasing population broadens one’s perspective of history from that of an excluded American tale full of positivity to that of a more unbiased, all-encompassing analysis. The Indians and slaves have recently been noted as a more crucial part of history than previously accredited with.

Settlers came to america for it’s many advantages. The pilgrims came for land, self government, work, chances of their own children living longer, and there were also rumors of gold and silver in america. Settlers didn’t know what was in america but, they did imagine that there would be plenty of land full of opportunities, and work to be done. This small community could start to plant crops like tobacco, and because they had new and healthy crops because of how they learned to farm, themselves and their children lived longer. I found these facts in a prezi facts presentation and also in the historical america video.

According to Peggy Baker, of the Pilgrim Hall Museum, the fur trade between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans began sometime around 1625. The Pilgrims were in enormous debt with investors in Europe and needed money to repay this debt. They knew that one of the best ways to make the money was through fur trade and they knew the best furs to trade were beaver furs. However, the beavers were in Maine with the American Indians. Hence, the Pilgrims began the fur trade with the Native Americans. The Native Americans would hunt the beaver and trade the fur with Europeans for goods such as grain, cooking pots, tools, clothing, and blankets. As the fur trade continued throughout America, the impact on the Native Americans began.

This paper will explore the history of the colonial settlements of the Quakers, who are also known as the Society of Friends, who settled in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in colonial times. The history surrounding the establishment and growth of the Quaker colonies of West Jersey and Pennsylvania will be discussed. William Penn’s efforts in establishing the colonies of West Jersey and Pennsylvania were paramount to Quakers immigrating to America. John Fenwick also played a major role in founding the colony of West Jersey, which is now known as New Jersey and the later immigration of Quakers to Pennsylvania. The abolitionist efforts of the Quakers in their fight against slavery, their equal treatment of slaves and the assistance that they provided to slaves will also be discussed. Quakers provided shelter, financial support and harbored many slaves so that they could avoid capture by their owners. Quakers were a large part of the abolitionist movement in the colonies while slavery was legal. Many Quakers played a role in the Underground Railroad, which assisted slaves in obtaining their freedom and avoiding capture. The terms “Quaker” and Society of Friends are interchangeable and will be used throughout this paper accordingly.

In Of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford writes of multiple acts of God’s divine providence acting on the Pilgrims during their journey to Virginia and the subsequent founding of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford’s portrayal of events he labels providence, such as the death of the lusty seaman, the finding of the corn seeds by the exploring party, and the repulse of the Native American attack, shows his belief that God acted through natural events and reveals aspects of Puritan theology and thinking.

or "Children of Light," they felt that God speaks to their hearts, as some sort of inner light. Because they were said to tremble or quake whenever receiving this inner light, they got the name Quakers.

The Massachusetts bay Colony was found y the puritans and religious minority group who migrated to the New World seeking to create a model religious community The Puritans believed that the anglican church needed to be purified of the influences of catholicism.

Whether by land or by sea, eighteenth century colonial travel was arduous, expensive, and many times dangerous. Because of this, few people traveled very far from their homes. Transportation has changed dramatically since the late 1700’s. It was during this time that Colonial America was budding as a new country. This was before airplanes, which appeared in the very early stages of the 1900’s. Cars showed up about the same time, so rewind about 200 plus years and we’re back in colonial America. It wasn’t civilized like it is today. The dirt roads were bumpy, grimy, and when the rains came, they were mud baths. So how did people during this time get around? Often, they didn’t. Not many people could afford the cost of travel back then. Daily American Colonial Life was extremely harsh for the first settlers and colonists. They were faced with a new country, unknown territory and no friends, relatives or neighbors to help them “In those days, it was fairly expensive to travel. Because of this, generally only government officials, merchants, and planters took the risk (Constitution Facts).” Women were supposed to stay home and look after the children while the husband went off to do business. America was still a budding country, so there were not as many cities as there are now and they were more spread out. If the man wanted to travel, it would require several hours, or even several days to ride on horseback. Often the husband wouldn’t return for a couple of days, and when he

The earliest English settlements in Northern America consisted of Jamestown, Plymouth, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Pilgrims were Separatists that journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Mayflower in 1620 in order to break away from the corrupt Church of England. They established the colony of Plymouth where they were able to practice their religion freely. Similarly, another Christian group called the Puritans, left England in 1630, also seeking refuge to practice their beliefs freely. John Winthrop created the notion of the “City Upon a Hill” for the Massachusetts Bay colony that exemplified the ‘pure’ lifestyle and governance that would influence other societies (Doc D). The United States has a long history of religious splintering and various religious movements- over 900 denominations of

Native Americans during 1785-1829 were affected by western expansion because of the removal of Native Americans from the land, white settlers attempting to assimilate Native Americans to their culture, and were involved in battles between the a Native Americans and white setters which led to the depleting number of Native Americans.

When Europeans came to the American continent, contact with the Native Americans who were already living there was inevitable. In the colonization of early America, the various groups of European settlers: the Spanish, French, English, and Dutch each had unique experiences with, and therefore individual opinions of the Native Americans whom they interacted. Each of these nations also shared commonalties in their colonization processes and in how they viewed Native Americans. Furthermore, the Native Americans held differing opinions of each group of Europeans whom they encountered while some features of their relationships with Europeans were consistent despite the tribe or nation involved.

Although many of the people who came to the new world were from a similar English origin, what they found in the colonies they settled determined what they could and could not do. Factors like temperature and geography played a huge role in things such as farming. In the south, the un-unified people failed to create as stable a colony as those in the North. Large flocks of servants came to the Chesapeake region to work the plantations, these men came seeking riches and glory but most found neither while few grew very Rich. New England did not have this type of workforce.

Within the colony of Massachusetts, religion played an important role in shaping the community’s people and interests. The reason for the Puritans move to North America was to escape the convictions the Christians of England were placing on them (Divine, 89). Winthrop and his followers believed that in this new land they must create a place where they could come together as a people and build the perfect religious society (Divine, 90). In a speech about his vision for the land, John Winthrop said, “We must delight in each

Despite the fact that they both came from England, the New England and Chesapeake settlers displayed different characteristics in their societies. The cause of this development originated back to the reasons why they came to America. The Chesapeake settlers came looking for a religious safe haven while the New Englanders were on a quest for raw materials. With two distinct outlooks, their societies grew with differences in foundations, social formation, and economic systems.

The British have been the source of American trade since the founding of the colonies. Colonist had a slight fear always on their mind of the British revoking that help. When colonist thought of breaking away, they also considered the dire situation they could put themselves in. While in America, there wasn't any form of government to help with trade, so the fully relied on the mother land. With Britain's knowledge of this, the colonist thoughts shifted and they viewed their mother land