Colonial Era Essay Example

📌Category: Colonialism, History
📌Words: 1391
📌Pages: 6
📌Published: 12 February 2022

After a difficult war with Spain in the early 1600s that weakened England, King James I established the first North American colony. Jamestown and subsequent colonies were founded by joint stock companies and religious groups to boost England’s economy and reputation. Influenced by mercantilism, a new economic concept that stated that nations gain wealth at the expense of others, England founded colonies to support it economically and increase its revenue and imports. The great physical distance between England and its North American colonies shaped England’s policy of salutary neglect from 1607 to 1763. This allowed the colonies to develop increasing forms of self government and exercise self control over their economy, although groups such as Native Americans, Blacks, and women were largely excluded.

The colonists soon developed early forms of representative government to make sure that their voices were heard and their rights were protected. Before even arriving in North America, Governor John Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony spoke to his Puritan subjects about what they must do once they settle there. In his Model of Christian Charity, he expressed that the new colony would be a model for more to come, and that they must set aside individual needs and work together for the sake of the broader community (Doc A). Winthrop’s speech shows his commitment to establishing a fair society that considers everyone’s needs. This concept of republicanism was evident in the colonies as representative governments were established in Jamestown, Plymouth, and Pennsylvania. Almost every colony set up a bicameral legislature with elected officials, and the colonists got to elect the members of at least one, if not both, houses of government (Doc F). For example, Jamestown set up the House of Burgesses, a legislative body with the purpose of uniting Virginia under an equal government and instituting just laws. The town hall meetings in the New England colonies provided a forum for the people to gather and discuss community issues such as tax policies and religious freedom. The Puritan Separatists, who mistakenly landed in Plymouth instead of Virginia, wrote the Mayflower Compact to protect their rights until they could get a new charter. These colonists set up a working social structure and self government without any aid from England. Also, Pennsylvania’s government included elected representatives, civil liberties, and protected religious freedoms. However, early voting was often limited to only religious men or land owners, leaving women, Blacks, and the poor without the same rights. The self governments that the colonists built for themselves were an impressive display of republicanism and political liberty, but certain groups were denied those liberties.

The colonies established foundational political ideas such as actual representation, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, demonstrating the colonial era’s significance in terms of liberty. As Jean de Crevecouer wrote about Americans in the 1760s, the colonists were an entirely new breed of people, descending from a complex amalgam of races and ethnicities. Because Americans were so completely new, it was only logical that new ideas and principles would arise among them (Doc B). For example, the idea of actual representation that was practiced in the colonies gave the right to vote to the majority, not just the wealthy. England’s Parliament was made up of nobles and the rich, who had been elected by other nobles and landowners. Most Englishmen did not get to vote, and were therefore only virtually represented in the government. In addition, the Zenger Case that occurred in 1735 was a critical moment in protecting freedom of the press. Zenger had printed a newspaper article in which he criticized the royally appointed governor of New York. He was accused of libel, but the jury ruled not guilty, establishing that criticism of officials was legal as long as it was true. This case was about more than just one man and one colony, as Andrew Hamilton so eloquently put it in his closing address in the Zenger Case (Doc D). The ruling identified the American colonies as a place of liberty and protected rights. Religious tolerance, though not protected in every colony, was much more common than in Europe, where religious groups were so persecuted that some even wanted to leave their homes for a new, uncertain life. In the American colonies, religious dissenters were able to leave and go to a more welcoming colony. Since Roger Williams disagreed with certain Puritan practices and the way the Massachusetts Bay colony was run, he simply left and founded his own colony, Rhode Island, known for its religious freedom. Anne Hutchinson also left Massachusetts for Rhode Island, where she held meetings to discuss and interpret the minister’s sermons as she pleased, a practice that would have been unacceptable elsewhere. Finally, Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan at the Albany Congress of 1754 that although not passed, was still important as it marked the first organized plan for colonial home rule. He suggested that the colonies unite under a government by the colonists, for the colonists. The Albany Plan of Union included a centralized government made of elected officials from each colony, showing the progression from the very first forms of self government to a plan for widespread representative government in the colonies. The practice of actual representation and freedom of conscience in the colonies along with the Zenger Case and the Albany Plan of Union show the groundwork for political liberties that was set during the colonial time period.

Because of England’s distance from its North American colonies, not much effort was put into imposing British economic policy on the colonists. This salutary neglect meant that even when England passed laws restricting colonial trade or expansion, the colonies were able to act how they wanted regardless. For instance, the Navigation Acts prohibited the colonies from exporting anything, including tobacco and sugar, to anybody but England. This severely affected colonial trade, as much of the colonies’ exports were to the Dutch and French. However, these acts were barely enforced, and the colonies were able to continue to grow commercially. Many colonists, such as John Hancock, amassed great fortunes in smuggling goods and resisting the Navigation Acts. The colonists continued to resist England’s economic control when they passed the Proclamation of 1763. This proclamation, passed after the French and Indian War, forbade the colonists from settling west of the Appalachians. The colonists completely disregarded this decree, choosing instead to continue their expansion. England’s practice of salutary neglect allowed the colonies to expand both physically and commercially, providing a basis for a strong economy.

Although the colonists succeeded in establishing impressive forms of self government and worked to build their own economy, certain groups were completely excluded, and even oppressed, in their move toward liberty. For example, the Massachusetts government mistreated the Native Americans by attempting to convert them, addicting them to alcohol, and bringing them weapons (Doc C). The colonists denied the Native Americans rights such as freedom of religion, instead trying to “civilize” them and convert them to Christianity. By introducing alcohol and firearms to the Native Americans, the colonists entirely disrupted their way of life. The colonists also continuously invaded Native Americans land, entirely focused on their own economy and expansion and uncaring of the pain they caused the Native Americans. Additionally, class systems emerged quickly in colonial America, leaving the poor without suffrage and vulnerable to exploitation. According to Captain John Smith in his History of Virginia, the poor were forced to buy supplies at fifteen times the value than those with money, and many died because of insufficient food. The gold seekers also took advantage of the impoverished by treating them as slaves and forcing them to work for them in their search for gold (Doc E). Even Captain John Smith, a successful British explorer, acknowledged the unfair treatment of the poor. Another group denied equal rights and liberties were the slaves, who were treated harshly and unfairly. As the Virginia Slave Codes stated, the slaves were denied liquor, education, and trial by jury (Doc G). The colonists, who considered the right to trial by jury fundamental in a libertarian society, denied this same right to Blacks. Blacks in colonial America, along with women, were also not allowed to vote. However, the slave trade was an essential part of the growing colonial economy. The triangle trade was a system in which the colonies exported goods and crops in exchange for slaves. The colonies acted in ways that advanced their political and economic policies but refused many the same liberties they established for themselves.

Although Native Americans, Blacks, women, and the poor were mostly excluded, the political liberties and the growing economy that the colonists built early on provided a basis for greater freedoms to come. With this foundation, the colonies later built a strong, united, and most importantly, democratic government. Additionally, colonial resistance to England’s economic laws continued after the period of salutary neglect ended and eventually was a cause of the American Revolution. The political and economic liberties that were established in the early colonial era were foundational to the United States, a nation that eventually became the land of liberty, freedom, and equality.

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