They were primarily Puritan, or Non Separatists, and were radical, or intolerant to other religions. The colonies also practiced theocracy, which was a government based on religion. In Springfield, Massachusetts, 1636 the Articles of Agreement stated that those whose names were underwritten agreed to the articles that formed a society around God and religion (doc. D). These were signed to enter the new colonies.
Whereas one was founded by a group of pilgrims that mixed religion and law and that, some would say, bordered on being quite zealous in their beliefs. The other was founded by a religious group, which was widely persecuted in the New England colonies, the Quakers, whom had built the laws of their new home secularly so as to ensure freedom for all. However, the differences do not stop there. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by a group of puritans seeking asylum from the suppression and persecution that they had faced under the crown (Brinkley 33). Finally landing on the shores of the Massachusetts bay (hence the name) in 1630, one year after King James I had granted them (under the name Massachusetts Bay Company) a land exploration charter (Celebrateboston.com 1).
The Puritans were unhappy with the state of the Church of England and wanted to “purify” it. Because they were persecuted in England, they wanted to go to the Massachusetts Bay and form a utopian society. According to John Winthrop in his sermon on board the Arbella in 1630, the Puritans wanted to be “knit together” and be “as a city upon a hill”, a perfect community (A). During the Great Puritan Migration in the 1630s, Puritans flocked to the Massachusetts Bay colony in order to set up new lives. The Ship’s List of Emigrants bound for New England tells us that many families went showing that there was a stable family life (B).
Second the Chesapeake region did bring religion with them; however that was second on their list. The Chesapeake colony largely consisted of Anglicans and English Catholics. (Anglicans are a Protestant religion) The Chesapeake people had religious tolerance still there were tensions in order to have other religious dominations within the same colony. Protestants outnumbered the English Catholics; so the fights for religious dominance were mainly between Catholics and Protestants. New England was Puritan Separatists’.
Although the New England and Chesapeake regions were originally colonized by mainly English settlers, the two regions in time evolved into two distinct societies. By 1700, their religious practices, family relations, and political differences led them in two different directions. New England was a refuge for religious separatists leaving England, while people who immigrated to the Chesapeake region had no religious motives. In Document A, John Winthrop talks a lot about uniting together to basically please God, and spread his word. John Winthrop states that the Puritan goal was to form "a city upon a hill", which would represent a "pure" community, where Christianity could be pursued (Document A).
In the 17th century, the English established colonies in the new world and created two distinct regions. New England included colonies such as Connecticut and Massachusetts, while the Chesapeake encompassed Maryland and Virginia. Though both regions had English roots, they grew to become two very different settlements with unique features. The differing social patterns, religion, and motivations of New England and Chesapeake colonies created two immensely distinct settlements. Social patterns differed between New England and the Chesapeake, contributing to the disparities between the two areas.
On a ship manifest twenty four of the forty three people listed were 18 years old or younger (Document B). In the Massachusetts Articles of Agreement they stated that there would be forty families rich and poor (Document D). The people settling this area was to create a place where they could have a “city upon a hill” as John Winthrop called the society. They relied on God to give them prosperity in a harsh environment and depended on the community to help each other out when one was in need. Winthrop said they must “delight in each other, make others’ conditions our own…” (Document A).
As the early 1600s began, a great deal of settlers and pilgrims migrated to the New World from England to start colonization. During this period two regions were formed: New England; including the colonies of New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, and Chesapeake Bay; which included the colonies of Maryland and Virginia. Although both of these regions were both settled by people of English origin, by 1700 these two regions had evolved into two distinct societies due to contrasting reasons for development/differences in development, each region’s geography upon arrival to the new land, and also each region’s demographics differed greatly. The two regions were led by completely different men, each longing to escape England for a different purpose. The men who landed in New England wanted to escape the economic depression of England, yet were more interested in religious freedom.
Not only were the New England settlers to love one another, as a brother, but also “rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before [their] eyes [their] commission and community in the work” (Doc. A). The New England colonies were tied together, and close knit like a family- which was the objective. John porter, a deputy clerk to Edward Thoroughgood suggests that the list of emigrants bound for the New England region consisted mainly of family (Doc. B).
Barack Obama describes the promise from line 17-36. In those lines, he says that everyone has the freedom to make their own lives as they will, but they also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect. He says that the market should reward drive and innovation, and generate growth, but the business have a responsibility to create American jobs, look after the American workers and play by the rule of the road. He says that the government can’t solve every problem, but it should protect them from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep their water clean and their toys safe; invest in new schools, new roads, science and technology. “That’s the American dream – the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper”.