Compare The Political Structure Of The English Colonies

Around the 1600’s, New England started to develop a drastic population growth. This growth caused several problems for the occupants including, high prices on food, land, and a shortage of work for many because of the aggressive competition. Immigrants from New England began to prepare for a voyage that would be beneficial for some travelling to Massachusetts and not so much those who were travelling to Virginia. Although the settlers from the Chesapeake Bay and New England came from the same country, these colonies established different societies because of varying elements such as religious freedoms, economy, government’s role in society and unity.

Durning the 17th and early 18th century, English colonies has adopt unique system of govenrment which had allow them to speak for themself but not on what others

Two unique societies were constructed by people of common origin. These English colonists immigrated to the New World for either economic prosperity or religious freedom. During colonization, two regions were formed, New England and the Chesapeake Bay area. The two contrasting societies of New England and Chesapeake region were the results of diversity of: social and family structure; health and living conditions; economy; religion and beliefs; and government policies.

The colonies in the New World appeared completely different and the prospect of any unity between them seemed impossible. The colonies in New England and the Chesapeake exemplify the many differences in the culture and lifestyles of the settlers, created mainly because of the fact that their founding fathers had held separate intentions when they came to the New World.

Two unique societies were constructed by people of common origin. These English colonists immigrated to the New World for either economic prosperity or religious freedom. During colonization, two regions were formed, New England and the Chesapeake Bay area. The two contrasting societies of New England and Chesapeake region were the results of diversity of: social and family structure; health and living conditions; economy; religion and beliefs; and government policies.

Socially the three groups of colonies developed differently. The New England Colonies life was dominated by the Puritan religion.

The colonists of Virginia were instructed to worship in the Church of England. They created the House of Burgesses, which was the first legislative assembly of representatives in North America. The colony of Maryland was established as a refuge for Catholics. The people of the New England region were Puritans. Puritans were people who wanted to “purify” the Church of England. The Puritans came over from England to flee from economic problems and religious persecution. They were people who followed strict rules and they learned from reading the Bible. The Puritans developed a form of theocracy for their government. They believed that the church was to follow the beliefs of the Puritans, that the church and the government should operate as

Politically, Virginia and New England differed in the basis of their governing systems. Virginia focused on the desire of its individuals: “(t)hat our governors by reason of the corruption of those times they lived in, laid the foundation of our wealth and industry on the vices of men.” This standard of government was an early precursor to democracy and allowed Virginian’s to feel the rights of being freemen. New England, instead of basing their government on the individual desires of man, governed the colony on the basis of Christianity. The New England settlers strongly believed the spirit of God would deliver them and create greatness in the colony: “the God of Israel is among us, and ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies. The Lord will make our name a praise and glory.” The colony wanted to be set above the rest, or in other words,

A1: Though the three English colonial regions—the Chesapeake area, New England, and Pennsylvania—were all relatively close to each other, there were stark differences between them. To begin with, they all had very different government structures. In the Chesapeake area, the government closely resembled that of England where power resided in one individual. In England there was a king while in Maryland, there was a royal governor. In both cases, the ruling individual had control over all branches of the government; however, the successor of the first governor in Maryland soon realized that colonists would not enjoy fewer liberties in the colonies than at home. Hence, Cecilius Calvert gave up their rights to initiate all colonial laws and shifted power to the people by governing by their advice and with consent. On the other hand, in New England, government was theocratic in nature where church and state were synonymous and where power resided in the leaders of the church. In addition, the Pennsylvanians had a much more democratic government structure where there was a proprietor and a legislative assembly that gave the people the right to appoint government officials—one of many rights that

During colonial times, European nations quickly colonized the New World years after Columbus’ so called discovery. England in particular sent out a number of groups to the east coast of the New World to two regions. These areas were the New England and the Chesapeake regions. Later in the late 1700s, these two regions would go though many conflicts to come together as one nation. Yet, way before that would occur; these two areas developed into two distinct societies. These differences affected the colonies socially, economically, and politically.

Life in colonial Williamsburg, Virginia exemplified what life was like in most of the colonies in America. Prior to the Revolution, the colonists were beginning to exert more independence from the Britain. Williamsburg was primed for revolution with its political views, its armory, its weaponry, and its interesting citizens.

No matter where people come from, they are never exactly the same. They bring different ideas and qualities with them wherever they go- which is what happened in the colonies. At the beginning, there was Englishmen in the majority with the Native Americans and the Spaniards. By 1775, there were people from Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and Africa. This created a sense of diversity within the colonies and led them to explore new ideas and inventions. The change in colonial life between 1675 and 1775 was largely due to the growing and developing population- there was a newly found thriving economy, they established governments, and new cultures formed and meshed together. The year 1775 was a turning point in colonial life and would change everything.

However, a characteristic they all shared was that they all had some form of self- government. Each colony had a representative assembly that was elected by eligible voters. Even so, both colonial regions- northern and southern colonies- had their own distinct way of implementing them. The Southern Colonies were Royal colonies who were given charters or grants by the Kings to form their government, and were ruled by House of Burgesses, the first legislative body in America that formed in 1619. In 1649 the Toleration Act, made it so that in some southern colonies, the colony was controlled by the wealthy landowners instead of elected officials by the King. Northern colonies elected their own legislature and had democratic views( Document 4-4). In many northern colonies, particularly in Pennsylvania, one could only be elected of vote is they were white males who owned property, and if they were Christian( Document 4-4). Their system of government all had governors, a court system, and a governors court. The northern colonies had two government systems: Royal Government and Charter Government. The charter colonies were charters granted by the King to colonists but were not directly ruled by the monarchy, and so they were generally self-governed. Royal government’s were implemented within the Royal Colonies in the northern colonies that were ruled directly by the English monarchy in England. A perfect example of legislature within a colony, is in Pennsylvania. The first legislature in the colony was The Laws of Pennsylvania,1682, which details the seventy-one laws of the colony, and illustrates the importance of separation of government and religion( Document

(Middlekauff, 2005). This was not to last however, as the English and American societies were beginning to drift apart. A lot of this was brought about by the differences inherent in the two societies as the American colonists had a different class and political structure. More Americans, at least white males, owned property, there was greater religious diversity, and the population was more ethnically diverse.

American colonies. I took a deep breath through my nose, while wlaking in the city and immediately gagged. Animals ran loose in the streets, the seweres were open, letting out a putrid stench. But in the midst of this, there were marketplaces, streets full of shops and sounds of church bells ringing all around. Contrasting to these bustling cities, were the many farms in the colonies. Families owning farms slept in a one room house. Necessities, such as clothes, food, and drinks were provided from