New England and the Chesapeake Colonies

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Economic and political differences lead to further distinction between the colonies. New England colonies were far more democratic. They did not have an aristocratic system and a prominent hierarchy. Their economy was centered on industry rather than agriculture, due to their land, which was ill-suited for farming. The people in this region felt that all the profit they made enabled them to serve God. They worked with what little they had and they sought a purpose and reason for it, even though it was little made through tough labor (Document E). The people in the Chesapeake colonies had a more aristocratic system of government. Their economy was centered on agriculture, as their land was very fertile. Due to their aristocratic form of government, it was often the case that workers did not feel as though their work was earning the profit it deserved. In the New England colonies, the people believed they did what they were doing for God. In the Chesapeake regions the people did not seek out the same reasoning. Complaints broke out against the conditions of the workers in Virginia, as they felt they deserved more than what they were receiving (Document H). It is a representation of the differences in the forms of government as well as the motives for economy in each of the regions.

All the colonies grew and adapted to what their regions had to offer. Their distinctions grew on the climate they encountered, their views on how a society and an economy should be run, and the original beliefs that they had immigrated with. Each of these things shaped the colonies into the two very different regions that they came to be.

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