Why Was Jamestown Important To The Development Of The United States

The year is 1607. A small group of English settlers seeking fortune has crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a long, arduous journey that has lasted months. These settlers have finally reached landfall on the coast of Virginia, where they will build a colony. That colony, Jamestown, remains even today one of the most influential factors in the development of the United States. Jamestown established the slave trade in America, which in turn resulted in the black population of the United States, and which propelled the early United States economy. Additionally, since Jamestown was the first British settlement in America, it set the precedent for future settlements, and began one of the most American traditions of all: the American dream. Clearly, Jamestown

The first few years in Jamestown were difficult, but when a colonist named John Rolfe introduced tobacco, the new colony flourished. Large tobacco plantations were formed, and many people came to Jamestown to be indentured servants. These indentured servants would work for 7 years, then receive land from the plantation owners. This didn’t always work out, though: many plantation owners would simply refuse to give up valuable land. After a rebellion led by dissatisfied former indentured servants in 1676, rich tobacco plantation owners decided that indentured servants were too risky to employ, so they instead decided to purchase slaves. As morally reprehensible as this may be, buying slaves was a much better deal for plantation owners, as they would no longer be required to give up land. Additionally, the Africans who were sold as slaves could not communicate amongst themselves, as they spoke different languages. This meant that they could not organize an uprising like the white indentured servants had, back in 1676. Black slaves in America were influential for several reasons: first, they would form the black population of the United States, a group with tremendous cultural importance to our country, and secondly because their labor would drive the United States economy for generations. As the first place in America to

As the very first British settlement, Jamestown set the tone for colonies to come, and even for the future United States. The most notable way that Jamestown did this would have to be in regards to the American class system. When the initial group of settlers arrived in Jamestown, some were wealthy people who were used to having others work for them and found the whole concept of labor beneath them. However, in this new colony, there was no one to serve them, and so because of that, many of them died. It quickly became clear that the only way to succeed, or even survive, was to work hard. This fairly classless system changed, though, with the introduction of tobacco. Those with more land became richer, and part of a new upper class. They would hire indentured servants to work for them, and these indentured servants formed the lower class. Former indentured servants formed a sort of middle class. However, this class system was not unmoving. A person could, with enough hard work, potentially move up a class. Here, we see the beginning of an extremely American attitude: that with enough hard work, anyone can succeed. This is the stuff of the American dream, and it all started in