In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, two major settlements developed in what would become the United States. In Virginia sat Jamestown, England’s first permanent settlement of the New World; to the north, hundreds of miles away, was Plymouth, Massachusetts, founded there over a decade later. Though both these towns were British in origin, they grew in completely separate ways. Political, economic, and social differences led to two towns, though established by people of the same nationality at similar times, that had little in common. A central explanation for why Plymouth and Jamestown were so different is that the two towns were founded for totally different reasons. The settlers of Jamestown were hoping to discover a rich new world
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In Plymouth, no one was really far richer or poorer than their fellow inhabitants. This led to a certain measure of equality among the men who lived there. Women were still viewed as inferior and the Native Americans who had taught the people of Plymouth to farm and live on the land were seen as a lesser race. Still, between the men of Plymouth, there was no one who was viewed as truly superior. This was different in Virginia. The rise of large farms gave way to more distinct social classes. At the top were the wealthy landowners who ran the plantations. They had more power than anyone else. Viewed as being below them were the workers of the land, especially the indentured servants. Indentured servants were young men and women who wished to come to America but couldn’t afford the extremely expensive trip, which had a cost of nearly six times the average worker’s yearly salary (Doc. 2.4). They traded a few years’ worth of labor in order for the cost of their journey to be paid. In theory, after seven years at most, the servants would be free (Doc. 2.6). However, these laws were not heavily regulated, and as the wealthy landowners had the most power, many indentured servants ended up working longer than their contract stated. At the bottom of the social hierarchy were black and Native American people. White men and women saw those of other races as inherently inferior, and treated …show more content…
General opinion and the socioeconomic status of black people was so low in Jamestown that between 1630 and 1705, a series of laws were passed in Virginia legalizing slavery and discrimination. These new laws, among other things, legalized the beating and murder during punishment of black slaves, did not allow slaves to carry anything that could be used as a weapon, disallowed slaves from gathering, and also punished white people for crimes such as sleeping with black people, as they believed it “defiled” the white race. These laws also applied to enslaved Native Americans. No such laws had been passed in Plymouth, which had a far smaller black population, and only the wealthiest of families had a slave or two. Plymouth colony also had better relations with the local Native Americans of the area, with no major conflict occurring until 1675, more than half a century after Plymouth’s founding (Doc. 2.8). When Plymouth was founded, all the men of the settlement were allowed to vote in annual elections, but as wealthy landowners came into power in Jamestown, the political structure weighed heavily in their favor. These rich men controlled the government and as Jamestown’s social classes grew more rigid, poorer people and workers had less and less
In Plymouth, no one was really far richer or poorer than their fellow inhabitants. This led to a certain measure of equality among the men who lived there. Women were still viewed as inferior and the Native Americans who had taught the people of Plymouth to farm and live on the land were seen as a lesser race. Still, between the men of Plymouth, there was no one who was viewed as truly superior. This was different in Virginia. The rise of large farms gave way to more distinct social classes. At the top were the wealthy landowners who ran the plantations. They had more power than anyone else. Viewed as being below them were the workers of the land, especially the indentured servants. Indentured servants were young men and women who wished to come to America but couldn’t afford the extremely expensive trip, which had a cost of nearly six times the average worker’s yearly salary (Doc. 2.4). They traded a few years’ worth of labor in order for the cost of their journey to be paid. In theory, after seven years at most, the servants would be free (Doc. 2.6). However, these laws were not heavily regulated, and as the wealthy landowners had the most power, many indentured servants ended up working longer than their contract stated. At the bottom of the social hierarchy were black and Native American people. White men and women saw those of other races as inherently inferior, and treated …show more content…
General opinion and the socioeconomic status of black people was so low in Jamestown that between 1630 and 1705, a series of laws were passed in Virginia legalizing slavery and discrimination. These new laws, among other things, legalized the beating and murder during punishment of black slaves, did not allow slaves to carry anything that could be used as a weapon, disallowed slaves from gathering, and also punished white people for crimes such as sleeping with black people, as they believed it “defiled” the white race. These laws also applied to enslaved Native Americans. No such laws had been passed in Plymouth, which had a far smaller black population, and only the wealthiest of families had a slave or two. Plymouth colony also had better relations with the local Native Americans of the area, with no major conflict occurring until 1675, more than half a century after Plymouth’s founding (Doc. 2.8). When Plymouth was founded, all the men of the settlement were allowed to vote in annual elections, but as wealthy landowners came into power in Jamestown, the political structure weighed heavily in their favor. These rich men controlled the government and as Jamestown’s social classes grew more rigid, poorer people and workers had less and less