2 Distinct Societys of Colonial America

The two distinct regions in colonial America are the northern New England region and the southern Chesapeake region. Each of these regions had distinct characteristics that made them their own. The New England and the Chesapeake regions differed greatly in their economy, their community, and their religious values. Even today there are vestiges of their two unique colonies.

The economies in New England and Chesapeake regions greatly were unlike each other in that they had different economical setups and trade. New England had individual farmers that made their own living, rather than plantations. They had good relations with the local Native Americans. This helped them with their planting, because the Native Americans showed them the ropes. They celebrated their bountiful crops with Squanto and Samoset, the main helpful Indians, and their tribe on Thanksgiving, which is now a major holiday in the United States. In Chesapeake, they eventually evolved into the plantation system. They used indentured servants, and then slaves. The New Englander’s main trade was mercantile and shipbuilding, while the Chesapeake’s was cash crops including tobacco and the search for gold. These different economies had a part in the distinct communities they are today.

New England and Chesapeake regions have completely different communities. This colony had very religious views. They were mainly Pilgrims and Puritans. When the Pilgrims immigrated to the colonies, they came because they were getting thrown out of England into Holland, and they didn’t want their children to be brought up in a Dutch society. This means that these families were coming from England to escape religious persecution in England. However, the Puritans came over from England, because they thought that the Church of England wasn’t pure enough for them, hence the name Puritans. With these families coming over, the community was given a chance to thrive. However, in the Chesapeake region there was a bad sex ratio. There were many more single unmarried men than there were women, because of the calling of the trade. Unmarried men were more likely to go for this risky lifestyle, rather than a married one. Having these tight communities in New England, led to better community life. On the other hand, in Chesapeake the main life was spread out, because of the plantation. People didn’t see each other often in the south, because they were so spread out. This also led to problems for education, religion, and government, because of the unavailability of a close point to fit most of the people in that area, because they were so spread out.

One of the most unique factors of these societies is there religion. In New England, there was a strong religious base. The main two religious groups were the Puritans and the Pilgrims. The Puritans came to the Americas, because they wanted to create a “city on the hill”. They wanted to be a religious example for the rest of the world to follow, and have a mass convert to Puritanism. This led to fanatical religious following. They banished people for speaking out. This includes Anne Hutchinson, who was banished for supporting the idea of antinomianism, or the idea that you can talk to God through prayer. The Pilgrims are another religious group that came to the Americas with a religious based reason. The religion in the Chesapeake region doesn’t ever stand up for comparison with New England. There was a high lack of it. Single men searching for riches weren’t the religious types. They weren’t the devout Puritans. They were looking to be rich, not to follow their faith. This also didn’t attract ministers, because they would have to work so hard just to get people to come to church, even if they could find a convenient place to hold such a meeting, since everything was so spread out.

New England and Chesapeake are different, because of their economy, community, and their religion. These two societies have carried their characteristics through to modern life. When one thinks of the North, they would think of close-knit places in the cities. Contrastingly, in the South you would think of spread out farmland. While they have become more Americanized now, they were still unique societies that flourished to become the country of the modern ages, the good old US of A.

Bibliography:
Source 1: Textbook
Thomas Bailey, David Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant Eleventh Edition. Boston, Massachussets. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1998

Source 2: Internet
Unknown Authors. Wikipedia Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page. Accessed October 2, 2005

Henry J. Sage. Colonial American History: Puritan New England. http://www.sagehistory.net/colonial/topics/NewEngland.htm. Accessed October 2, 2005