During the late sixteenth century and into the seventeenth century, European nations rapidly colonized the newly discovered Americas. England chartered groups to two main regions of the New World: the Chesapeake and the New England areas. The Chesapeake region of the colonies included Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia; New England was north of the Chesapeake and included Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Unemployment, as well as a thirst for adventures, for markets, and for religious freedom provided the motives for potential colonists to make the voyage. The colonies differ from each other primarily because of the main reason each colony was founded; however, this principle has affected the colonies economically, politically, and socially.

A major difference caused by the founding purposes was the economy of the two regions. Chesapeake settlers traveled to America purely for economic gain; they hoped to find gold, silver, a northwest passage to Asia, and anything that might be worth a profit in Europe (Document F). The Chesapeake economy revolved around the tobacco industry, which paved the way for slave trading.

The religious beliefs of the two regions controlled the political aspect of their societies. New Englanders were largely Puritan Separatists, who wanted complete separation from Catholicism and embraced Calvinism. The religion was family-based and was regarded with extreme devotion for there was a sense of unity due to equal proportions of land and wealth (Document D). The church established conditions that focused the colony on the unity of the church, and not on personal wealth (Document A). However, the church allowed some personal gain by social reciprocity, and not to the extent of enriching themselves by oppressing their neighbors (Document E). The law making body in the New England area consisted of town meetings where visible saints, those Puritans that had undergone a conversion experience, were allowed to participate. In the Chesapeake, religion was much less severe. The established church was the Anglican Church, but only became so after 1692. The House of Burgess was the first representative legislative body in colonial America; the sessions included two citizens from each subdivision of Virginia. The majority of the southern population, black slaves, did not attend church making religion a miniscule factor in the Chesapeake.

The Chesapeake and New England regions clearly differ economically, politically, and socially.

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