Alex Morris
DBQ 1
Between the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, England began to colonize the Americas, which ultimately paved the way for the introductory elements that make up America, as we know it today. The doubling of England’s population over a 150-year period after 1530 led to competition for goods, inflation, and low wages. The gap between the rich and poor grew, tenants were kicked off their land and cities became overcrowded. Religious inequality, due to the recent English reformation, inclined many Puritans to move to America in search of religious freedom. Succeeding the initial colonization of the two areas, New England and the Chesapeake region immediately diverged into two different societies with opposing beliefs that came to distinguish the two from one another. However, there were also particular aspects that linked the two regions together, revealing that they were not complete opposites. Although New England and the Chesapeake region were inhabited by people of English descent who impeded on Native American territory, they differed in their motives for colonization and family life, models of behavior and social standards, and systems for governing and lawmaking.
New England and the Chesapeake region differed in their reasons for coming to America and the way in which they adapted to the new environment they occupied. Both colonies contained people who had migrated for varying reasons. This contributed to the fact that the social aspects of their societies differed to a great extent. The primary motivating factor for migrations to New England in 1631 was for people to escape the religious persecution present in England, which greatly drove people away from their homeland. According to a ship`s list of emigrants bound for New England, the ages and genders of the people aboard the ships to New England varied in the sense that there were men, women, and children present (Document B). It soon became apparent that New England was a place to permanently settle. This was the first time in which people moved over in families and the average Puritan woman had between five and seven children, as religious individuals tended to reproduce more than those of a secular background. New England consisted of towns and cities in which people lived close together, which distinguished it as a tight-knit community. These families had no intentions of returning back to England. In contrast with New England, an economic impulse led to the colonization of the Chesapeake region. According to a different ship`s manifest for emigrants bound for Virginia, a large majority of the people headed to America were men around the age of 25 to 30. (Document C) These men left England with the intentions of making money and a name for themselves, with the help of nearby Native Americans economic prosperity could be achieved. The Chesapeake region was rural and built on a swamp known as Tsenaacomoco by the natives. The swampy environment contributed to the spread out nature of the land, in which your closest neighbor could live miles away. The few women that inhabited the region tended to have one to three children, as family relations were not as crucial to society as they were in New England. Therefore, all of these aspects provide reason as to why New England and the Chesapeake regions had such distinct ways of living, which ultimately separated them into two distinct societies.
In addition to their motives for colonization and family life, New England and the Chesapeake region had contrasting models of behavior and social standards. Socially, this greatly contributed to creating contrasting socities. In New England, the idea of personal behavior was stressed and limited people in the ways they could act as well as in the activities they could partake in. For example, the use of alcohol and cursing were prohibited, and adultery could result in women being forced to wear the letter A on their dress to signify their disobedience to the community. In New England, the overall well being of the community was placed over the well being of the individuals that comprised the community, which was expressed in governor John Winthrop’s “City Upon A Hill” .(Document A) His speech written while aboard the Arbella in 1630 was meant to encourage people to completely submit to God, which would present them with freedom, otherwise referred to as achieving salvation. Based on Winthrop’s role in society as well as what his missions were in presenting this dialect, an encouraging and persuasive tone was used to rally the people together as one community against the evils of selfishness and disobedience. Winthrop believed the Puritans had made a covenant with God in which he promised to protect and favor them in exchange for complete submission from the citizens. (Document D) This aspect of his speech clearly indicates the heavy role religion played in governing the people of the colony.
In contrast with New England, the Chesapeake region held different models of behavior and social standards for the citizens to obey. In Virginia, people were separated into different social orders, which justify its portrayal as an individualistic society. Every man was for himself and strove to become rich, which juxtaposes the communal attitude of New England. William Berkeley, the governor of Virginia, favored the submission of the poor Englishmen to the wealthy elite and promoted a hierarchical society, unlike Winthrop. (Document G) This speech is logical with Berkeley and the ideas he so strongly believed in, in the sense that he spoke to his people as lower beings who deserved nothing more than scolding and critique in the way they lived and failed at protecting their colony. His beliefs are brought to life through the existence of the headright system, which used indentured servants as a way for wealthy men to expand their influence at the expense of poor men hoping to obtain land and freedom. Although this system was not considered to be slavery, it ultimately led to the introduction of legalized slavery in the colonies, which was manifested in the “Morgan Thesis”. The paradoxical connection between slavery and freedom that is rationalized in Morgan’s thesis can be explained through his analysis of the trends of colonial Virginia, which include the introduction of blacks into the colony in 1619 as well as the introduction of legalized slavery in the 1640s. This transformation ultimately changed Virginia and caused it to drift farther away from the trends of New England. Therefore, New England and the Chesapeake region differed in their conflicting views regarding the importance of human life and how these lives are preserved and looked after.
New England and the Chesapeake region had varying systems for governing and lawmaking as well. In New England, the main governing body was the General Court, which started out as a small governing body that eventually turned into a two-house legislature. Not only did it serve as a court, but it also made legal decisions and operated to ensure the utmost success for the community as a whole. (Document E) The General Court often solved marital and communal quarrels involving the citizens and required that members be landowning men who were part of the Church, which reiterates the importance of religion in society. Although it can be seen as sexist, which relates back to John Demos’ “Life In Plymouth Colony”, the General Court was an organized way to represent the views and opinions of the people as a whole. In opposition with New England, the Chesapeake region’s stress on an individualistic society can be seen through the frequent occurrence of individual leaders, such as John Smith and Nathaniel Bacon, who held the colony on their backs. John Smith was a mercenary and soldier for hire who protected the citizens of Jamestown and defeated the Algonquian tribes in order to acquire land and influence throughout the territory. Although he was absent during the Starving Time of 1609-1610, he realized that more than half of the citizens died and worked to ensure that a similar event would not occur. His speech was intended to acknowledge the fact that while the rich assimilated into society without a problem, the majority of the citizens were left with no supplies nor the proper skills to adequately survive, thus inciting people to action .(Document F) With his words, Smith tried to relate to the colonists and persuade them to make a better life for themselves rather than continue to sit around and allow full control to be held by the wealthy elite. An additional example of an individual leader who took control in the Chesapeake region was Nathaniel Bacon, who rallied angry, single men together to obtain land when there was little food or space for them, ultimately contributed to the “Morgan Thesis”, in which the freedom of these angry men promoted them to enslave formerly free African American indentured servants. His personal views can be seen through his manifesto, which portrayed a sense of hope and confidence in the people, which would urge them to rebel against Governor Berkeley and the wealthy elite of Jamestown for their rightful land and prominence in society. Therefore, while New England settled their disputes through an organized governing body, the Chesapeake region did so through an array of strong individuals.
Although New England and the Chesapeake region have major differences that set them apart from one another, there are several similarities that link them together. A prevailing similarity is the predominant presence of people of English descent in both regions, which interconnected them at the core. A second similarity is their tendency to participate in quarrels with Native Americans who had formerly inhabited the territory the English were impeding on. For example, in New England, the Pequot War was fought in 1637 and characterized by the extermination of 90% of the Native Americans in the Connecticut River Valley. Similarly, in the Chesapeake region, John Smith accompanied the English in their clash with the Algonquian tribes, which included the Powhatan Confederacy. Along with kidnapping Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, the Virginians defeated the tribe in 1666, thus claiming power throughout the region. Therefore, while these two regions were set apart by their fundamental differences, there were still aspects that justify they had certain resemblances.
While New England the Chesapeake region were both inhabited by people from England who ultimately pushed Native Americans off their land, they had different motives for colonization and adaptation to life, models to live and abide by, and systems by which they governed their territories. Both regions represent the foundation for modern day America and give historians a glimpse into what the first permanent settlements were like. While different in the way they functioned and survived in the new world they were introduced into, they both successfully thrived and are remembered today as remnants of colonial American society at its core.