Social Tensions In Colonial America

The non-Indian population grew exponentially in the 1700’s throughout America. Europeans from many countries continued to transplant their lives into the colonies, bringing with them their cultures, religions, family values, and their need for prosperity. Many came to America for asylum, to escape religious persecution back home from the grasp of the Catholic Church. Turmoil also plagued England, which brought about the English Civil War in 1642 between the King and his supporters fighting against the Parliament forces who (were mostly Puritans) organized a military force to overthrow and behead the monarch 7 years later (Brinkley, 2012, p. 50). New colonies were being established with settlers moving further south into the Carolinas and …show more content…
Political tensions such as when Charles II’s brother and successor, James II, created a single Dominion of New England in 1686 which eliminated the existing assemblies of several colonies into the new Dominion and appointed a single governor to supervise the entire region (p. 63). This was short lived, lasting only 2 years with the toppling of James II and his appointed governor, which came to be known as the “Glorious Revolution.” Social tensions can be seen through inequality of the rich and poor, or the haves and have-nots just like in today’s society. Economic tensions were felt through fluctuations of prices; such as an over supply of tobacco that would eventually lower the price of the product and effect the sellers and farmers. Lastly, one example of religious tensions again arose with James II, who tried to strengthen the Anglican Church in Massachusetts where he was despised (p. …show more content…
Indentured servitude was a practice brought over from England that bound young men and women to masters for a fixed term, usually 4 to 5 years, in return for passage to America, food, and shelter (p. 68). It became a system of chance, because not everything that these people hoped to happen after their service was complete; happened in the way they would have like, such as prosperity and land ownership. Slavery, however, was more of a crude way of subjugation for Africans or people of color. African slaves were sold or traded into slavery from Africa and brought into the colonies to work the agricultural fields, doing the work that whites preferred not to do. These slaves became highly concentrated in the southern colonies where most were forced to work unbearable conditions, day in and day out, until they met their