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Characteristics Of The New England Colonies

Decent Essays

The thought of a New Land seemed promising to the English who were seeking opportunity, religious freedom, and a new beginning. These characteristics of an ideal life were not available in their home country. The land that would one day become the United States offered the chance to achieve these ideals to settlers, as they arrived and dispersed in the vast country. By the seventeenth century the southern, middle, and New England colonies were becoming highly populated. Each region of colonies contained their own individual characteristics separate from one another. As centuries have passed, each colonial region has adapted their own systems involving economic, political, religious and social aspects to become unique while all possessing a common, federal history. The New England colonies have the most complex history, as they were originally founded. This region is where the Puritans first settled, seeking religious freedom. Because of this, the northern region has strong religious roots. The Puritans emigrated to America to escape religious persecution and inevitable poverty. Upon arrival in the New World, the leaders began to create a new colonial government and by 1648, a colonial legislature. The freemen decided to elect military officials and governors. Within the church, Bay colonists accepted Congregationalism as a form of church government, though it was not by any means a try at democracy or theocracy. The goal of this group was to live according to the

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