Traditionalist Approach To The Development Of American Colonies Essay

     Between the settlement at Jamestown in 1607 and the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the most important change that occurred in the colonies was the emergence of a society quite different from that in England. Changes in religion, economics, politics and social structure illustrate this Americanization of the transplanted Europeans.

The thirteen colonies started in 1607, before this England tried to do a colony called Jamestown unfortunately it failed to become a colony. Later the king that had tried to start the Jamestown colony died, then in 1607 the new king and queen Elizabeth I decided to try again this time it worked the first colony was called Virginia and was named after Queen Elizabeth I. Virginia was not dominated by a specific religion they welcomed Baptists, Anglicans, and others. The thirteen colonies included Virginia, Delaware, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

In New England, the Puritans had a strong belief in frugality, believing money spent on entertainment or anything unprofitable was wasted. This directly affected the economy because of the large population of Puritans in New England; they were constantly working and rarely rested. Their work ethic influenced other groups in the area because they had to keep up with the business that the Puritans were doing. In Document I, Robert Keayne writes “…many spare hours to spend unprofitably away or to refreshe myself with recreations…but have rather stuyded and endeavored to redeeme my time as a thing most deare and precious to me…” This excerpt shows how a Puritan would do business. The Puritans made very humble livings in the early days of America. They typically made livings by being farmers and ministers. Others were merchants and sold goods. The merchants were the wealthier of the puritan people. Many of the women in Puritan society helped to make a living in society by creating clothing and food to sell to other villagers.

One might think that all of the British colonies in the new world were all the same. This is not the case though. The colonies, although they were all British they had some similarities but mainly they had differences. The Southern, New England and Middle colonies clearly show theses similarities and differences, particularly in terms of land, labor, religion, and native relations.

During the time period from 1765 to 1800, the government of the Colonies and eventually that of the United States, dealt with countless issues to create the system which governs the citizens of the United States today. Starting in 1765 with the passage of the Stamp Act by the British monarchy up to 1798 with the election of Thomas Jefferson as President in 1800 by the Colonial government, the aforesaid government, fought to rid itself of constant threats to the liberties and freedoms of the American people and the greater good as well as to preserve its intended purpose for as long as it is able. Political leaders such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton all had concerns about competing interests that

There were a myriad of differences between Great Britain and her American colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but these differences can be divided into three basic categories: economic, social, and political. The original American settlers came to the colonies for varied reasons, but a common trait among these settlers was that they still considered themselves British subjects. However, as time passed, the colonists grew disenfranchised from England. Separated from the king by three thousand miles and living in a primitive environment where obtaining simple necessities was a struggle, pragmatism became the common thread throughout all daily life in the colonies. It was this pragmatism that led the colonists to create

The puritans go create the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They didn’t have strict rules like England, people were not forced to go to church, it all seems great. However, there were many issues. Puritans believed in Calvinism, or predestination. This was the idea that everything is preset by God and nothing you do can change your fate. “Nothing a person did in his or her lifetime could alter God’s choice or provide assurance that the person was predestined for salvation with the elect or damned to hell with the doomed multitude.” (The American

Colonists: About 250,000 Spanish emigrants populated the newly established cities; they saw the New World as an opportunity for success. As the natives died off Africans and their children replaced them. As mixing production rose due to Spanish women scarcely traveling to the new world, the government created a hierarchy known as castas to keep social order.

For the people of Europe the Americas was a place to prosper, worship in there own way, and expand there kingdoms. The only problem is that they attempted to settle in their own way and all failed dismally. The New England, Mid-Atlantic and Southern Colonies grew differently in various ways, but each with the same state of mind, “do it our way”. Examining the three sets of colonies will prove that they were all different in religion, government, and ways of expansion.

The relations between England and the British North American colonies could always be considered precarious. Prior to 1750 British essentially followed a policy of benign neglect and political autonomy in the American colonies. (Davidson p.97) The colonies were for the most part content with benign neglect policy, relishing in a “greater equality and representative government”(Davidson p.95) within the colonies. Competition among European Imperial nations began to effect British policy toward North America colonies causing rapid shifts from 1750 to 1776. During this period, the British Empire made a series of policy decision that sealed the fate of the British North American

     Religion was a very important part of everyday life in colonial America. Sometimes people were not allowed to question what they were taught, and if they did so they were punished accordingly. Before 1700 some colonies had more religious freedom then others. While others colonies only allowed religious freedom to a select group, others allowed religious freedom to all different kinds of religions. In the overall there was quite a bit of religious freedom in colonial America

Puritanism was basically a reformation movement in 17th century England and Colonial America within the Church that represented change by religiously advocating strict religious discipline along with simplification of ceremonies and creeds; politically through the Separatists who gave up on any possibility of reform within the Anglican Church as well as separating church and state; socially the Puritans brought socioeconomic opportunities as well as an educated clergy for leadership in both the Church and the community unlike England which lacked thereof; therefore the Puritans represented change.

What was the Influence of European Colonialism on the First Wave of the Rwandan Genocide?

One of the final influences, though not one of the last, of the Puritan people on America was their effect on the values and morals of the society. As Ralph Perry writes in his work, Puritanism and Democracy, “Puritanism springs from a sense of duty, the sense of responsibility…” (627). The American people, especially in the colonial days, prided themselves on their maturity. The colonists had responsibilities to uphold to their families and fellow townsmen because the success of the settlement was intrinsically tied to the ability of every man to do his share. If one person slacked the others suffered. There was also the imbedded sense of morality that the Puritans wrapped themselves in Morality set limits to the temper of man. It guided him through life, pushing him to make the best decisions (Perry, 628). The Puritans also believed that Godly people were sober and hard-working. Difficulties were simply a religious duty. They wished to purify the English society and avoiding the lavishness that had been their downfall would lead to success in their new society. This translated into many immigrants coming to this new land looking for better opportunities. They were willing to put in the work to leave their children better than they themselves had been. This gave the people a sense of mission (Kang).

Conflicts in the Northern Colonies were driven largely by economic and class considerations, namely the significant increase in trade between the Northern colonies and Europe that existed in the mid-seventeenth century. As trade and mercantilism grew in these colonies, hostility between the Puritan Church and those engaging in trade and fiscal exchange grew significantly. The Puritan’s attempts for an ideal religious community in the Northern Colonies was threatened by the rise of trade, pushing