In the first decade of the seventeenth century, English immigrants began to arrive at the newly discovered land called America. Escaping from their poor, decrepit lives in England, these people longed for a peaceful, comfortable existence. In 1609, the first official settlement was established in Jamestown, Virginia, in the Chesapeake Bay area. Separatists with the same origins and the same dreams arrived in Massachusetts in November of 1620 on the Mayflower. Within seventy years, these two establishments grew larger and larger. But as they developed, two distinct societies emerged because of vast differences in the values of the populace, political efficiency, and community intima ...view middle of the document...
In Virginia, Governor Berkeley dealt with state affairs. But he was unable to defend his people from attacks by the Dutch (Doc G) and Native Americans. Berkeley blamed it on the fact that he could not gather the people together because of the distance of their homes, but the citizens blamed it on a lack of effort by their governor. The lack of control by the government and anger from the citizens erupted into Bacon's rebellion (Doc H), where Nathaniel Bacon led hundreds of men through the streets of Jamestown, burning it down completely. In New England though, the rules were set up to follow their plans for a perfect society. The Articles of Agreement (Doc D) laid down the first rules. It also showed much influence the minister, who would most likely be Anglican, as it was the first priority of the Agreement. The laws, taxes, and other governmental issues were decided at town meetings, which happened to take place in the same building that court rulings were made. Unlike in Virginia, the New England government was made up of everyone as they kept their promise of togetherness.
The variation in community intimacy is the fundamental difference between the New England society and the Chesapeake society. The arriving ships describe why. The emigrants bound for Virginia (Doc C), were made up of individuals who's ages ranged mostly from twenty to thirty. Few women came and none of these people came w...