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NE Vs CP
NE Vs CP
Mr. Gillard
A.P. US History
9 September 2006
New England vs. Chesapeake
Today the United States is an extremely diverse racially and religiously. That did
not happen overnight, though. It began when English began to settle and colonize the
country. Two separate areas, New England and the Chesapeake region, may have been
similar in area, but were exceptionally different.
The people of the Chesapeake region, Virginia, were not interested in longterm
colonization of the New World; so few women came over. Most of the settlers were young
white men, in their twenties who were looking for gold and silver. Thanks to diseases
such as malaria, dysentery, and typhoid men outnumbered women 6 to 1 and eligible wo
men didn’t stay eligible for long. The Chesapeake region was also good for growing to
bacco. The people of the Chesapeake also believed strongly that slavery was acceptable,
which would raise debate and dispute between the two regions in the future. The life ex
pectancy of the people of the Chesapeake dropped by approximately 10 years. All in all,
the Chesapeake region was hard for everyone who lived there.
The New England region, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, etc., was
mainly settled by families escaping England for religious or tax freedom, or both. Most
people were from debtors prison or were Quakers were wanted a second chance at life.
Large families traveled to New England in the hopes of starting a new life away from per
secution and prejudice. Life was so prosperous in the New England region that the life ex
pectancy of the people raised by 10 years. Men and women married early in life and wo
men had about two babies a year until menopause. The soil was rich and fertile, which
meant that crops could be grown and harvested.
Though both regions were close to each other geographically, they both developed
different lifestyles and laws. Both were very diverse, ethnically, racially and religiously.
The Chesapeake and New England would be the center of disputes for years to come be
cause of their diversity, but also because of their similarities.