An extraordinary life

The beginning of the colonial life in America was rough. The British were unscrupulous in making the colony the most successful entrepreneurship so far out of the British Isles. It was not easy to sustain and maintain the order and leadership. However when it was finally done, the colony was thriving. It grew in territory very quickly by 1733 the English managed to build and owe 13 separate colonies. It was wide spread from the New Hampshire to the South Georgia. The division was crucial, three groups of colonies emerged – each with its unique style of life and character.

The most distinctive one was New England group. Its center Massachusetts was rich and fast-developing point mostly due to craftsmanship, fishing industry, farming. The soil was rich with nutriments, yet, stony and difficult to master. They governed themselves in small towns and villages. The fishing industry was crucial so the ships were built. They sailed to catch cod or trade with West Indies and England. Boston became one of the biggest port at that time. The other were New York and Pennsylvania. The farming and fishing were not the only one business like economies; in New York and Philadelphia – the craftsmanship and merchandise became the leading ones. What is important – Philadelphia became the capital of Pennsylvania. In 1770 it was pronounced the largest city in America, with 28,000 inhabitants.

The trade and the development of cities were important factors that made the colonies so alive and relatively economically safe. It must be remembered that in 1760 most of the Americans were farmers, the land was the most important and its value was priceless. The income came from trading goods in and out, but, mostly within the villages and local communities. Philadelphia was the largest point, the investments were seen everywhere – the money was not wasted – the city was well-lit and maintained with brick pavements. The wealth of Philadelphia, New York and Boston came from transatlantic trade.  The exported goods were furs, timber, tobacco, cotton. The trade made the cities united, truly as one nation.

New England was a colony with strict laws and orders, the other colonies were not that demanding but more tolerant and liberal and had ancestors from The Netherlands, Sweden and Germany rather than England.

The third group of colonies consisted of the Southern Colonies of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. The climate made this group a unique one. It was hot, the river and valley were fertile and rich so were the landowners who lived there on the huge land and plantations. The fields were filled with tobacco and cotton. The work was tough, the plantations huge, the landowners needed help, they found it in the presence of the black slaves. At that time slavery was scarcely seen in American colonies, time shows that it was about to change and all south plantations were depended upon it. The richness of the landowners was beyond ones dreams, expensive houses, expensive furniture, it was a business no one wanted easily to let go.

As the colonies grew and became richer so did the inhabitants, who, wanted to explore more and more about the land – they traveled  deeper into the continent. They moved westward. Expanded the territory. Making a new settlement was not an easy task; they started with cutting off the trees and preparing grounds for new housings and fields. They had to choose carefully – the soil was important it had to be fertile and good, rich with nutrition. They grew their own food, were very skillful so they made their own tools and clothing. They were isolated but exceptional with their own music and entertainment, art and religion.

As the settlers move westwards they had to deal with many obstacles and difficulties, the one, that caused them a quite big problems was a range of mountains – the Appalachian Mountains. It was stretching for hundreds of miles, it was beautiful but very, very treacherous. The territory didn’t allow the newcomers to encounter itself without a fight; the first skirmish was water and rocky terrain – slippery hills and think forest awaiting on top. Another skirmishes were fought with the moody and unpredictable weather – winter, especially. In 1775 the hunter and explorer – Daniel Boone led the trip through the mountains, he was sure he and his fellowmen would be able to settle deep into the Appalachians. They found the Cumberland Gap with rich grasslands. This harsh expeditions gave the birth to the new American states; Kentucky and Tennessee.

It is unbelievable how it all made its order so far away from Britain, the Newcomers wanted to show their uniqueness and strength, the exploration and traveling was the only way to understand the new land they found themselves in. The people started to create a nation, this nation needed a system of law and constituency. To begin with they shared a tradition of representative government. Every member of the community had a right to say how they want to be governed.  The governor was chosen by the English king.  The men had a right to vote; mostly those who had land, because land was given for free – America had more voters than England itself at that time. Those elections started long lasting legacy – quite unfamiliar in Europe but so needed in the future.

Bibliography:

1.      The Norton Anthology of American Literature.

2.      A History of American Literature, A. Grey

3.      An Outline of American History.

4.      An Illustrated History of the USA.