Chesapeake Vs.New England

Although the New England and Chesapeake regions were both settled by people of the same English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. This difference in development occurred as a result of geographic, economic, religious and cultural/social differences between the two regions.

The New England and Chesapeake areas varied largely in geographic terms. The New England region was more consolidated because the towns were planned and laid out in lots that were relatively close to one another. The towns consisted of about forty families that had a good deal of contact with one another (D). The center of the New England areas became the town. The Chesapeake area, however, consisted largely of plantations or estates, people were grouped by counties and had less contact with one another and were often large distances apart (G). These geographic differences influenced the development of other changes. The town and county also became the political units in the North and South, respectively, which also differed between the two regions. The geography of the North and South also influenced the economic development of the two regions. The closer knit North developed into commerce while the South became primarily agricultural. The North relied much on manufacturing because it had more individuals in close contact that weren't as self-sufficient, whereas, the farmers living in the South that had to rely on themselves for most goods due to distances from any type of a store. These differences in the economic developments of the regions led to a further separation between the New England and Chesapeake societies.

The New England and Chesapeake regions also held very different religious beliefs. The New Englanders were primarily Protestant and Catholics who came to America to flee religious persecution. They were deeply devoted to their theological belief and therefore their society was largely based on Christian religious principles. In the "great migration" John Winthrop was a puritan leader who wanted to found Massachusetts Bay Colony into "A City on a Hill", where all people could see the religious example of their colony (A). The Church was included as a provision in the charter for many towns and settlements in the New England area and the courts and legislative bodies of the New England towns often based their rulings in cases and their precedents for decisions on Christian moral values (E). Because many New England towns were also founded by people from one church, the whole began to form a close-knit culture where everyone looked out for everyone else to keep them on the path to salvation. In contrast, the Chesapeake colonies were founded mainly by single men who were looking to make a profit. Religion could