East Coast Of North America Dbq Essay

Why were there so many European citizens migrating to the East Coast of North America during the 18th century? During the mid 17th century, a majority of the East Coast, in North America, was controlled by the British Empire. Although there were problems with ownership of property and slavery in the East Coast, a more prominent issue occurred in 1691, in Salem, Massachusetts. The accusations of being a witch spread like wildfire, which caused the Salem witch trials. The Salem witch trials deemed whether a person was guilty or not guilty of committing witchcraftery. After the Salem witch trials diminished, in the late 17th century, the colonies in the East Coast began to flourish with agriculture and newborn children. Later on, in the 18th century,

Germany, on the other hand, had problems with religious freedom and “found themselves worshiping the wrong religion” (Foner 109). Due to religious conflicts, the local citizens of Germany formed a group of people who wanted to migrate out of Germany to go to the East Coast of North America in order to acquire land and feed their families. In an document Letter by a Swiss-German Immigrant to Pennsylvania, by Johannes Hanner, it showed Hanner was directing his message toward his “dearest Father, Brother, and Sister and Brother-in-law” (Foner 112) in August 23,1769. Hanner described his experience, living in Pennsylvania, as a fulfilling lifestyle where one can simply earn money for food and farm. Hanner also described America as a “free country” (Foner 112). In Europe, there were many restrictions and requirements on land ownership. The reason why Hanner called America as a “free country” was because of America’s free ownership of land and the opportunity to grow and prosper without having to deal with taxes and regulations. Because of the prosperous population in the East Coast of North America, more European immigrants migrated to the East Coast of America to spread a new culture and be