The colonists that set off for the New World were all very much alike. For the most part they were whites, seeking new opportunities and freedom in the New World. As the colonists began to settle across the eastern portion of America, forming the thirteen colonies, there began to emerge a sharp contrast between the Chesapeake Region and the New England Region as early as the 1700s. This striking difference between the two areas emerged as a result of the economic differences between the two areas. The way each area produced wealth, distributed land, and established economic classes were all of paramount importance to the unique shaping of the two regions.

The earliest sign of differences between the two areas could be seen in the manner in which the colonies in the Chesapeake and New England region began to distribute the land to incoming settlers. The rich and fertile land in the Chesapeake region was far more economically valuable than the hard rocky soil of the New England region. Furthermore colonies in the Chesapeake or southern region such as Virginia and Maryla

The types of social classes that emerged from these two different economies were as different as the economies themselves. As mentioned before, the key to success to gaining wealth in the southern economy was acquisition of more land. The more land one had, the greater amount of crops that could be planted and eventually sold. Under this system the rich would become richer because the acquisition of land would be easier for those who have more wealth available to them. Because of this the social stratification in the south widened. The poorer farmers were unable to increase their land holdings and a large portion of the population were African slaves who had absolutely no opportunity to further themselves on the economic ladder. By contrast the social stratification in New England was much more narrow with 80% of the society being somewhere in the middle. This was so because landownership didn't translate to greater wealth and in the industrial vectors of economy the chance to better oneself were far greater than in the agricultural economy of the south.

Since the emphasis on cultivation was much less in New England, it was necessary for the economic

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Approximate Word count = 782
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)