Embracing God and Family in New EnglandThe first New England settlement at Plymouth was not an official colony. The Pilgrims who landed there on the Mayflower in 1620 were separatists. That meant they had separated from the Church of England entirely. They planned to create a new society based on their religious beliefs. The modern American tradition of Thanksgiving each November made the Pilgrims famous. But they were part of a larger trend of religious settlers in the region.The Puritans, who began to arrive in 1630, created Massachusetts Bay Colony. Like the separatist Pilgrims, the Puritans faced religious discrimination in England. They, too, wanted a place of refuge. Both the Pilgrims and the Puritans developed cultures based on their ideas of Christian morality. The government of Massachusetts Bay Colony was rooted in the Bible instead of British common law. Their communities were structured around close family units. They preferred villages of perhaps 50 families, with the Puritan meetinghouse at the center of the community. After 1660, the population of the region became more diverse. New England saw an increase in settlers coming for economic reasons rather than religious ones.Even so, religion was the foundation of New England culture. Most Puritans attended church at least two or three times each week. In time, it became clear that the settlers did not always have a uniform vision of religion. This led to the creation of Rhode Island under the Puritan minister Roger Williams in 1635. Later, other Puritans moved from Massachusetts Bay Colony to Connecticut to practice their faith in different ways.Despite their differences, the Puritans of New England created a culture that promoted reading and learning. They valued literacy because they believed everyone should be able to read the Bible. New England became the home of many Puritan writers and thinkers who would influence colonial society, such as John Cotton and Cotton Mather, and the poet Anne Bradstreet. New England writers developed a new genre of writing known as the captivity narrative due to the colonists’ relationships with Indigenous peoples. At times, the colonists had good relationships with their communities, but they also fought. Captivity narratives were written as true accounts of colonists’ experiences being taken captive by Indigenous communities. They were intended to provide a moral or religious message.

Question

The World of the Southern ColoniesThe Southern colonies included all the colonies from Maryland south to Georgia. Maryland and Virginia are also referred to as the Chesapeake colonies because they are located around Chesapeake Bay. Culturally, the Chesapeake colonies were more like the rest of the Southern colonies. These were all places that developed into slave societies. Here, settlers relied on enslaved peoples’ labor to create economic profit.Like Pennsylvania, however, Maryland was a place of religious toleration. It was created as a place where Catholics could live and practice their faith. The other Southern colonies, however, did not emphasize religion. Many colonists were members of the Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church, because it was the official state religion.The emphasis on financial gain in the Southern colonies created tensions with local Indigenous Americans at times. As colonists tried to expand the lands they held, they often pushed into Indigenous territories. In some places, such as Jamestown, Virginia, this led to new conflicts. However, just as in other colonies, some settlers also traded with local Indigenous peoples.The Southern colonies became slave societies because of their agricultural systems. Tobacco, rice, and later indigo and cotton were important crops. They were also labor intensive to grow and harvest. To be profitable, planters had to have a large number of people cultivating and harvesting the crops. In some places, the number of enslaved people was larger than the number of White settlers. Enslaved people created cultures of their own, building unique communities with their own customs. They blended African ideas, language, and traditions to create a new African American culture. Enslaved people also created new foods and cooking styles that became an important part of Southern culture.

Which of the following best compares the role of religion in early New England and Maryland?(1 point)ResponsesIn Maryland, any religious practice was allowed, but early New England colonists wanted freedom of religion only for a particular form of practice.In Maryland, any religious practice was allowed, but early New England colonists wanted freedom of religion only for a particular form of practice.Religion was important only in early New England and was never particularly important to people who decided to settle in the colony of Maryland.Religion was important only in early New England and was never particularly important to people who decided to settle in the colony of Maryland.The Church of England was only the foundation of New England society and was not the foundation of Maryland’s society in any way at all.The Church of England was only the foundation of New England society and was not the foundation of Maryland’s society in any way at all.The king of England instructed colonists in both places to create communities based on their own religion and to invite other people to live there.The king of England instructed colonists in both places to create communities based on their own religion and to invite other people to live there.

Answer 1

The best comparison between the role of religion in early New England and Maryland is:

"In Maryland, any religious practice was allowed, but early New England colonists wanted freedom of religion only for a particular form of practice."

This response accurately reflects the differences in religious practices between the two regions, with early New England focusing on specific religious beliefs (such as those of the Puritans and Pilgrims), while Maryland was established as a place of religious toleration, particularly for Catholics.