Chesapeake Indians Dbq

Those who settled in the Chesapeake region and the people who settled in New England may have come from the same country, but what they left behind and what they were looking for varied greatly; their economic, religious, social and political differences were great. The different climates led to the establishment of differing economies. The original motivations of the people were a factor in the development of varying approaches to government. Religion was also a main part of life to the New Englanders and was emphasized in all aspects they could.

Adding to all these differences were those socially, as the two groups were simply different “types” of people. After the defeat of the Spanish Armada, under the reign of Queen Elizabeth, English settlement of the North American continent began hastily. In the 1600s, as a result of economic changes within England that led to the Enclosure Movement , as well as continuing religious conflicts, millions left England for the colonies. These initial differences in the people who were settling the land meant that the regions would continue to evolve into gradually more different societies resulting in tensions between the two regions. These differences between the North and the South will eventually lead to the bloodiest war in United History, the Civil War.

Participatory government was established in both New England and the Chesapeake region, but the forms they took were quite different. In 1620, even before they got off the ship, the Separatists who settled in Plymouth wrote the Mayflower Compact which was a simple agreement concerning self government. The Puritan settlers of New England arrived with very specific ideas about what sort of community they would build. As expressed by John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, they wanted to establish close-knit, Godly communities where the settlers would live in a “city upon a hill” (Docs. 1 & 4). As new communities were established, the emphasis became centered on establishing towns where all those who lived there would “walk in all the ways of Christ ” (Doc. 4). As time went on religious thinking continued to dominate the government, even when it came to court orders. A strong sense of community with equal access to property, fair wages, and fair prices would be maintained (Docs. 4 & 5). This emphasis on religion was not seen in the Chesapeake Region. Winthrop’s vision of a community of equals “knit together” with “brotherly affection” contrasts vividly with John Smith’s recollections of shipboard brawls.

The issues facing the leaders in the Virginia colony were less focused on forcing a Christian vision, and more about simply maintaining law and order. Without the efforts of John Smith, this colony founded by the Virginia Company would have certainly failed. Wealthy landowners of the tidewater region were not responsive to the needs of the desperate