They had different religious views, governments, and economies. Intro is too short. More background information on the time period is needed. While the Chesapeake was mainly based on land and slave ownership, the New England colonies were based on religion. They were primarily Puritan, or Non Separatists, and were radical, or intolerant to other religions.
In America, all the states came together to create one unified group, but each colony is dissimilar and unique. Going back to the mother country England, Puritans wanted to purify the Anglican Church because they believed not everyone should be part of the church. They sought refuge in New England to worship their own religion. Others desired a change in lifestyle. Englishmen saw the Chesapeake as a place to make profit.
Europeans came to the American colonies for many things. One of the main reasons for immigrating was for their freedom from religious persecution. Ironically, when they came they were not tolerant of other religions for the most part. The two main regions, New England and the Chesapeake, differed in the importance of religion, how it affected their government, and how they tolerated it. Most the New England colonies took religion very seriously.
The first goal was even though everyone lives separately they should all come together with love towards their religion, Secondly, the religion that everyone follows is more important than their individual lives, If the group is not good then everyone as individuals are not good. Thirdly, they are to improve their lives so that they will do more for God. They want themselves and their children saved from the corruption of the world, and to serve their God and work out their salvation. Fourthly, their plan will take unordinary ways to reach their goals. Everyone must actually practice what they learn from church everyday not just at church.
John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts, emphasized in his sermon that they were to be “a city upon a hill”, where everyone can see them and can be represented as a model Christian community (Doc A), which would also shame England into truly reforming the Church of England. Unlike the Puritans, settlers in Chesapeake were blinded by thoughts of seeking gold, in which they did not find any (Doc F). Most of the Puritans came as families (Doc B) because they believed that society’s foundation rested not on the
Puritans agree that only visible saints should have Church membership but in England everyone could have Church membership so the Puritans came to the Americas to set up a Church where only “visible saints” could have membership. The Massachusetts Bay colony was set up by non-Separatist Puritans and they came also to set up their own Church because the changes in the way the Church in England was run was too slow for them. The way their government and schools were set up reflected their religious reasons. The government was to enforce God's commandments and every child was taught the Lord's words along with their curriculum. Harvard was established to train local boys for the ministry.
The puritan society is an orderly, tightly knitted model of a holy community. The tradition puritan village was centered around the Town Hall and the Church as religion was held on top of everything in the society (B). They believed that the limitations of themselves were determined by god, as John Cotton stated “it is therefore fit for every man to be studious of the bounds which the Lord has set” (H). The need to educate the youth and to pass on the knowledge of god was stressed in order for future generations to be included in the holy community as well (E). The community lived under a strict code where pleasure is not allowed as people were expected to put all their heart out for the Lord while working hard to gain the Lord’s approval.
As soon as Europeans began to settle in the New World, it was evident that it would become an extremely diverse melting pot of people. Settled by a predominantly English origin, New England and the Chesapeake region morphed into two distinct societies by the turn of the 18th century. Their differences were fueled largely by their motives in migrating across the Atlantic, the economy and form of government that each colony used, and also the fact that these people originated from cultures that were quite separated. There were many motives and incentives that caused Europeans to move to America. One of the most popular causes of migration to the New World was the search for religious freedom.
While the New England colonies and the Chesapeake colonies were both settled by Englishmen the purposes and results of the settlements greatly varied. Differences between these colonies were mainly caused by the people who settled the regions and where they settled, and as their colonies progressed they grew to be very different despite the fact they shared a common English origin. The people who settled the two colonies were very different from each other and their purposes for settling the areas were very different as well. The people who settled to New England colonies were primarily families who came with many children. On a ship manifest twenty four of the forty three people listed were 18 years old or younger (Document B).
Contrasting with the similar origins of these colonies, the New England and Chesapeake societies had developed vast differences, beginning in the 1600’s. Attributes including the economic structures, topography, religious values and geography were opposing in these regions. The distinct societies developed differences that branches off of these attributes, including the New England value of a family-based, religious society and the Chesapeake’s importance of tobacco. By the 1700’s these differences became evident in the New World. The roots of these contrasting societies began in Europe, especially mother England.