Settlers

English settlers first arrived to America in the 1700s. They mainly colonized two regions, New England and the Chesapeake. Although both groups of people were English by origin they eventually evolved into two distinct societies. The key differences between these two groups include the following: the New England settlers mainly consisted of puritan families who wanted to permanently settle and seek religious freedom, while the Chesapeake settlers were primarily men who hoped to find profit and gold in the new land.
Document A was written by John Winthrop a puritan leader who led a group of people to the New World in 1630. In A Model of Christian Charity Winthrop describes the perfect “purified” society. A society in which all men of different statuses and social classes work together and sacrifice for one another in order to keep the colony alive. They must “rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together”, meaning that all colonists will deal with the same troubles and triumphs in order for the colony to truly succeed. God is a major portion of this document, showing that Puritans (New England settlers) were very conservative people. They attended church every Sunday and paid the minister. They wanted their colony to succeed through honesty, religion, and hard work, unlike the Chesapeake settlers who wanted to thrive with gold and money alone.
Document B is a list of the emigrants bound for New England. This document shows that the emigrants to New England were very family oriented, because almost all men had a wife and children. In fact, many men had several children. There were only a few servants, preventing class differences among families living in the colony. There was one minister, who was probably considered the “leader” of the colony, because religion played such a prominent role in New England. Overall, this document confirms that the New England emigrants traveled to the New World to permanently settle without returning to England.
Document C is a list of the emigrants bound for Virginia and the Chesapeake region. Most of these emigrants were young men ranging from the age of 16-40. This is evidence that the Chesapeake emigrants wanted strong men to mine for gold, and provide a strong economy and profit for the colony. There were only a few women on the list of emigrants, and their main purpose was to reproduce so that the colony’s population would continue to grow.
Document D was the Articles of Agreement written by the New England colonists. Document D was a set of rules that the colonists were required to live by. The first rule proves that the New England colonists were very devoted to their faith. They were required to faithfully follow a minister, Church and Christ, which shows that the Puritans were very conservative people, and religion played an important role in their lives. The second rule demonstrates their importance for family and equality. They wanted at least forty families that were rich and poor. This is one of the reasons why the town did not have severe differences between social classes. The third and fourth rules stated every inhabitant shall receive an equal portion of land and planting ground allowing each person to make their own profit through hard work and dedication.