Chesapeake And New England Colonies Comparison Essay

Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Why did this difference in development occur?

Thesis Statement: When talking about New England and the Chesapeake region, you have to consider the differences in motives and geography. Consider economic situations (reasons for settling where they did, reasons why they came to New England in the first place). One has to think about the family development and demographics, as well as the government structure.

The differences in the two regions are not only seen in their religion, but can also be found in their economies. The economy of New England was far more inferior to that of the Chesapeake economy. This was because the New England society was family-oriented and primarily owned only small family farms just large enough to feed their families. Their economy was mainly based on small farming and fishing. This shows that New England was not focusing on economic growth and expansion. The Chesapeake Bay, on the other hand, had a vast economy. The population of Chesapeake Bay outnumbered New England's population nearly three to one. Their economy was mainly based on the tobacco and slave trading industries. These businesses contributed greatly to the Chesapeake Bay's economic and colonial expansion. This explains why people who came to the New World looking to make money chose to go to Chesapeake Bay rather than the New England area.

Despite the common English backgrounds, societies in the New England and Chesapeake regions of Colonial America had split off into two incredibly different cultures: A very religiously focused New England and the more economic-oriented Chesapeake. Because these regions were settled for different purposes, the development of these societies led to the distinctions between them.

The New England colonies were formed by Protestants who were escaping England. They ‘planned’ their society. When they came over they brought entire families, not just random people. The Chesapeake region colonies were formed by whoever signed up. The reasons that resulted in the differences between the New England and the Chesapeake colonies were political, social, and economic.

While both the people of the New England region and of the Chesapeake region descended from the same English origin, by 1700 both regions had traveled in two diverse directions. Since both of these groups were beset with issues that were unique to their regions and due to their exposure to different circumstances, each was forced to rethink and reconstruct their societies. As a result, the differences in the motivation, geography, and government in the New England and Chesapeake regions caused great divergence in the development of each.

In the past historians have written that the regions of Chesapeake and New England are extremely different, but still have something in common. Accordingly, they are found in their times of origination, they were both founded around the same time and also by the same people. Ultimately, they have both accepted Protestantism and the colonies both speak English. One major similarity is that they haven't forgotten who and where they came from, England, they still pledge allegiance to one crown. Like any other colony, they have created a society where both have been slow to establish social status. Unlike New England in Chesapeake a governing power tried to create a feudal system but the colonies shit it down quite fast. Notably they both have put themselves into a social group and no outside force trying to sway the people's social ranking placement.

The Chesapeake and New England colonies had many differences when it came to development; however, similarities can still be found. Some of the main similarities between the colonies were the time period in which they developed and their early demographics. Both colonies were founded in the early 1600s and started off with a demographic of mostly young white European males. In contrast, many differences between the New England and Chesapeake colonies can be found in their distinct geographies, economies, religions, and governments. In terms of

Another major difference between the two colonies was their religious views. The New England colony did not agree with The Church and decided to start their own more pure way of religion in the New World, hence the name Puritans, this was one of the main reasons they embarked on a journey to America (DOC D). The freedom of religion was a promised attribute that England used as part of their propaganda to lure people over to America. The Chesapeake Bay settlers still followed the way of The Church and did not intend to purify themselves in any way. As shown in the documents God was more important to the New England colonists than he was to the Chesapeake Bay colonists. The New England colonists mention how they will incorporate God into their lives in almost every document that they have written. Contrary to that the Chesapeake Bay colonists are not forming their lives around religion they are trying to make a life in the New World for the sole purpose of becoming wealthy and could care less about their religion.

Some of the most populous colonies were the ones situated in the Chesapeake and New England areas. Although these colonies were both settled by the English and had other key similarities, there were also many differences between them. The New England and Chesapeake colonies both had an aristocracy that governed over them, and had frequent issues concerning the Native Americans that previously inhabited the lands. However, their political and economic systems were considerably different. Chesapeake had an oligarchy whose main export was tobacco, while New England had a theocracy whose exports included timber, fur, and fish. Therefore, although the colonies had similarities their differences outweighed the resemblances.

The first difference between the New England colonies and the Chesapeake colonies was political. The New England colonies had a more democratic government system; while it was not completely democratic or representative it had a basis of democratic principals. Alternatively, the Chesapeake colonies were largely run by aristocratic leaders rather than the people working together for the common good. Document A explains how the New England colonies had more of a democracy by stating “we must be willing to abridge ourselves… for the supply of others necessities,” it also states “we are to be looked at as a city upon a hill.” This is relevant to why New England colonies were more democratic because this comes from John Winthrop who was on his way to America to the New England colonies. This more democratic mindset politically from the New England colonies stems back to the Mayflower Compact that was written when the pilgrims were on their way to America, explaining the first difference in these two colonial regions because there were no democratic government documents created for when people were going to the Chesapeake colonies. The Mayflower Compact stated,

The political difference between the New England and Chesapeake region was that New England government associate more with religious matter than the Chesapeake government. The type of government was a theocratic environment. Each town, which was filled with educated people, had a local authority and held monthly town meetings in the meeting hall. The Chesapeake Colonies was a legislative owned by aristocrats. The county governments were more spread out; therefore the backcountry farmers were underrepresented. Both colonies had their set way of organizing their government.

Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by the people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. The reasons for this distinct development were mostly based on the type on people from England who chose to settle in the two areas, and on the manner in which the areas were settled.

By the 1700s the two regions, New England and Chesapeake varied greatly in spite of being from the same mother country, England. Physical and cultural differences separated these two regions distinctively. While religion moulded the daily life in New England, Money and tobacco farming dominated the Chesapeake.

The difference in development between New England and the Chesapeake Bay region was a matter of several issues ranging from freedom of religion, economy, the system of governing and most importantly, unity. What made these two societies differ was the effort