Chesapeake And New England Societies example essay topic

Although New England and the Chesapeake regions were both settled largely by people of English origin, by the 1770's, these areas had developed into distinctly different societies. This was due mainly to the economic, religious, and political / social factors that helped to shape both of these societies and the New World. All societies in the New World had to contend with economic struggles and hardships in order to survive and flourish. This was certainly true of the Chesapeake region, which was based primarily on personal economic gain. Even early settlers had to contend with greedy, money-making schemes that kept many in poverty (Document F). Most of the English immigrants who traveled to the Chesapeake region were young men who had high ambition of succeeding in the New World (Document C).

This ambition led to the success of the tobacco crop. A vast amount of farm area and slave labor contributed greatly to the success of tobacco and therefore caused plantations and farms to be much more spread out than in the New England colony, causing much less community involvement and a more independent view of life in the New World. Unlike the Chesapeake region, New England did not originate as a society built upon monetary gain, but rather as a society intended to flourish economically by devoting their practices primarily to bettering the community and to provide for the common man. New England proposed strict laws upon their merchants because the Puritan beliefs clashed with merchant ones (Document E). Also, because New England was a tightly knit community, they were unable to produce as many goods as the Chesapeake region, therefore causing economic growth to be less.

Religion and religious conflicts helped to shape many societies throughout history. This is very true of the New England society. John Winthrop's vision of "a city upon a hill" was the collective vision of the majority of individuals in the New England colonies (Document A). Having escaped from religious persecution in England, New England gave Puritans the opportunity to develop a society from scratch based on the idealistic morals and beliefs that they had for so long tried to instill in England. The community played a major role in Puritan lives because they were expected to not only provide for their own survival, but for the community's survival as well.

These beliefs brought this society a sense of togetherness that the Chesapeake society did not posses. Most emigrants traveled to the New England area with families and because families became very tightly knit; this created great stability and firmness within the society (Document B). The Chesapeake society, because it was based mainly on individual success did not establish a religious society in the least. The main goal of the Chesapeake society was economic and religious practices. There was also a shortage of clergymen, which did not enable the Chesapeake society to gain half as much religious insight, as the New England society, which led both colonies to a completely different outlook on life and way of life (Document D). Political and social events always help in shaping a developing society, which is certainly true of political events in both the Chesapeake and New England societies.

Because New England had a firm, religious bases, political events and uprisings were usually caused by religious tensions, although economic development did cause some conflict. New states were constantly being formed in order to accommodate new beliefs and ideas that were not tolerable to the Puritans. In fact, most of the states surrounding the Massachusetts area were formed because certain members of the Puritan community (Roger Williams, Thomas Hooker, ect.) were displeased with how the government and the law making bodies in Massachusetts were dealing with the issues presented to them. Strict laws were imposed upon the communities in New England in order to establish firm societies. The Old Deluder Act is a perfect example of how easily political bodies passed bills and laws in New England so they could better their religious community. Throughout the history of the Chesapeake society, we were able to locate events and uprisings caused mainly by economic and social conflicts.

Due to the fact that there was an uneven distribution of wealth in this society, many people living I poorer conditions felt great resentment toward those living in luxury. Social tensions between settlers and Indians greatly added to the conflicts of the Chesapeake society faced. Because Virginia was such a vast amount of area to govern, the officials had no means of defending all of its borders against raids and attacks (Document G). Poor settlers in the area felt that they were not being adequately defended. This belief led to riots such as Bacon's Rebellion against Governor Berkley in 1676 (Document H). Discontent between social classes was a major issue in the Chesapeake society since about 75% of Virginia consisted of indentured servants, as were the economic situations of most settlers in the area, merely trying to sustain a livelihood and succeed in the New World.

Even though settlers that established both the New England and Chesapeake societies originated from the same country, they developed many different beliefs and customs that formed both into two very different societies. Economics helped to shape the New England society and was the basis upon which the Chesapeake thrived. Religion was a vital part of the New England society and brought about very little impact upon the Chesapeake. Political and social tensions often determined the course of events that both societies faced. These societies are prime examples of how different priorities and goals in people will lead to the development of very different societies, regardless of the fact that those individuals may have originated from the same country.