Early American Colonists

732 Words3 Pages

While colonists faced many hardships, America became a place where migrants could seek economic opportunity, religious freedom, and self determination. These three factors gave America the persona of being a land of opportunity, liberty, and ordeals. Coming from various diverse locations, immigrants traveled to America for the liberties in which the monarchy of England failed to provide. America was now the proverbial and ideal locality for acquiring one or all of the three ideologies sought out by colonists. In like manner, economic opportunity was abundant in America, such as in the colonies of Georgia and Pennsylvania. In Georgia, the climate was warm enough to grow and trade cash crops such as tobacco and corn. This would eventually …show more content…

During the jamestown period, there was seldom food to be found anywhere, which led the colony to acquire aid from the Native Americans. The Jamestown population would then slowly decrease due to disease, famine, and attacks from Natives. The one tribulation however that destroyed jamestown, was “starving time.” This period of starvation swept jamestown in the winter, which led most colonists to die, abandon their settlements, and/or return to England. Climate and war were but two common ordeals the colonists had to face traveling to America. Servitude was often another demanding ordeal faced by migrants. Indentured servants were often worked too hard on plantations and many who worked on plantations were treated like slaves. An example of this would be Richard Frethorne 's letter to his parents describing the conditions he worked under. Frethorne stated, "You would understand our sad and unfortunate situation if you could hear the people crying day and night like I do." He then explained how the indentured servants rarely wore clothes and that they barely got food at all. Religious persecution, another ordeal, led colonists to flee England for America searching for the freedom to express their own religion. An example of this was the Puritans under John Winthrop 's governance. The Puritans made an excursion to New England in hopes of reforming and establishing a new church under God. …show more content…

In the final analysis, colonists desired the opportunity to be free from the laws and persecution of England. Colonists wanted to make their lives better even if the ordeals were dangerous and unsafe. America was an answer offered to hundreds of colonists and migrants who desired none other than the opportunity to have freedom for themselves and for their families. This vision of a free, self-governing, idealistic nation in the west, is what led the colonies of America, to become the United States of