How Did Colonial Culture Influence American Culture

To help with emerging oneself into the text, the author uses photographs and illustrations from living museums and authentic historical reenactments to show how colonial people lived in the 1600 and 1700s. The author does not just make mention of names of those who come over to settle into the New World but tells how and why the New World was settled. The author is very detailed in describing how things were for the settlers. The author even includes the hardships settlers and their families faced when they arrived in the New World such as the death of many settlers due to illness. There is so much information in the book and the author provides the reader with questions to begin each new topic in the book. This will help readers with critical thinking. The book has colored sidebars with even more interesting information and historical facts about colonial times and activities to try with the class.

Gordon S. Wood, in The Radicalism of the American Revolution, explicitly details the societal, economic, and governmental institutions of Colonial American society, and considers the era to be pre-modern because of its strong focus on monarchy, hierarchy, and patriarchy. The colonial world in America was “traditional in its basic social relationships and in its cultural society.” (Wood 11). Wood even suggests that, “in some respects colonial society was more traditional than that of the mother country” (12). With the concept of the traditionalism of the colonial world, Wood declares the era to be “pre-modern.” Pre-modernism can be defined as the era before industrialization, which radically altered the social contract within families and between

The British Invasion was a phenomenon that began in the 1960’s and has somehow kept itself alive even to this day. Americans have been bombarded with British culture for years, and rather than shun the differences, they have accepted them into their lives. Music, television, and literature in America have all been changed due to British influence. In many different ways, the British Invasion has greatly affected American culture.

As English settlers arrived in the Chesapeake and then New England in the seventeenth century, they disembarked their boats and marveled at the seeming abundance of the landscape. They arrived with hopes of recreating their “old world” and prospering from the merchantable commodities that were lying before them. However, English colonization did not occur in a vacuum, and the settlers soon discovered that their survival would be dependent upon a forged coexistence with the native inhabitants. Surrounded by Indian worlds, the colonists established unique regional identities, with the south becoming dependent upon the cultivation of tobacco and the use of slave labor, and the north establishing subsistence family farms and developing a commercial economy. This capitalist system eventually reshaped the colonies, leading to continued expansion that transformed the American landscape, destroyed the delicate intercultural diplomacy with the natives, and cemented territorial distinctions – creating “new worlds for all.”

More than thousand years ago before present time, and still now, First nations encountered several relationships with a mix of different nations, as it fell in their culture to welcome all. “These encounters often included news, ideas, and goods”. The Europeans who immigrated to North America, were one of the nations who the First nations was compatible with. In other words, it was natural for the First Nations to extend their traditions and cultures with the Europeans. The Europeans traded pots, beads, knives, fortune, kettles, and guns, in order to get fur and other goods, as it was their main goal of establishing a colony in New France. The fur that the French were searching for was specifically beaver pelt. Additionally, the Europeans had also discovered the best furs came

The early European explorers had a profound impact on the population and culture of early America. The moment that Christopher Columbus set foot on one of the Islands of the Bahamas, the world would drastically change for many of the Native Americans. The Aztec people of central and South America, or Mesoamerica, had a very advanced and complex society that they established in approximately 1428, that would undergo a transformation and descent from dominance that they could never have imagined. The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and Christianity were the single greatest contributions to the fall of the Aztec Empire and the cultural transformation that occurred in the 1500s. This in turn led to the Spanish colonization of the Americas and the eventual transformation to the world as we know it now.

Early colonial America was influenced by many various factors. There are three main factors. These three main factors are: the cultivation of tobacco in Virginia, the introduction of slavery to America, and the enclosure of croplands in England. In order to fully understand how America was influenced and shaped by each individual factor, it is imperative to understand the consequence of each factor and the importance of each consequence. These three factors are not equally important in regard to their consequences.

“America was first colonized by Puritans. Most of our earliest immigrants and many since have come here in order to practice their religious beliefs as they please. Our culture has always been, and will most likely always be, profoundly influenced by religion." said James Frey. Was he right? Have American culture and way of life being shaped by Puritans?

Closely followed by Columbus’ “discovery” of the New World in 1492 were the establishments of European colonies with the French primarily in the north and down the Mississippi, and with the British along the east coast. As a result, the Native Americans’ lives changed drastically. Before 1750, in terms of economically, French responded mutually in terms of economy, culturally befriended them and in terms of religion, responded benignly by encouraging Catholicism through missionaries and on were on the best terms with the Natives; the British by contrast, economically oppressed the Native Americans, responded ungratefully and harshly in terms of culture, and responded without zeal or much motivation in terms of religion and had the worst relationship

Colonial America’s history from European settlement to the revolutionary war is a story that is best understood when told from multiple perspectives. It is a history that is not one of just the European immigrants, but also the African Americans and American Indians as well, with each ethnic group playing their own role in the development of the region. Although each group’s perspective may not be the same, their collective history is what makes Colonial America. Thus, through analyzing the various historical events and accounts of each of these groups, it can be determined that the history of Colonial America is one of liberty, opportunities, slavery and dispossession.

One of the many cultures in the 1700’s consisted of the European settlers and how they lived their everyday lives through this time period. They had multiple different religions in the colonies. The music had changed drastically during this time with their instruments, famous composers, and even the messages and dedication toward the songs. They also entertained themselves by doing a variety of crafts and games that benefited the children in the later ages and taught them different roles in society. These three topics have changed throughout the time span of 1700- 1800 and shows how they part from the European culture to create a new American culture that is represented through the Declaration of Independence and other literary works.

The 17th century, known as the colonial era, reformed the United States and brought about many changes within the Native American culture. The whites who overtook the native colonies thought that they transformed culture, when in reality they did not. Property was taken from the natives, so “the term New World” does not fit (Rury 27). Several cultural traditions and religious values were adapted after life in the Americas, and became the predominant culture among the people. Anyone that resisted the new lifestyle and concepts were left behind in the process of the growing and progressing civilization.

The Native Americans lives have been changed dramatically ever sense the Europeans arrived in America. They have experienced brutal treatment that no one should ever have to endure. Although much lose came from the European contact, there were some plus sides to the Europeans coming to America. European have changed the Native Americans lives as a whole for the worse because they were enslaved by the Europeans and they brought diseases killing off a huge portion of their population.

Everyday life in the United States is very different today than it was in the 1700's. Life was harder and the settlers did not have nearly as many luxuries as society has today. Some aspects of the colonial times that were different then are today include family, employment, and social activities. Life in the United States in the 1700's was filled with hard work, cooperation, and dedication to one’s land and family.

When America’s search to find new ways to enhance life began, much aid was needed from neighboring countries, and achievements later shown through in the sciences and arts. While both derived from European ideas, they also had similar purposes in bringing betterment to the country. In matters of science, steps were made to create a better understanding of unknown information and to better the country’s health circumstance. The arts too wanted to reface the country, both physically, and in ways of new understanding, to improve the way previous inhabitants of America thought of the arts in American culture. The progression of both fields though was halted by conflicts within the country. But, when the struggles encountered were disregarded and overcome, achievements in science were made, and the arts advanced even further having pushed aside opposition from the country’s past.