AMS 355 Exam 1

Push-Pull Immigration

Push: England was in a Depression, and there wasn't much opportunity to make money, or live above the poverty line. --> *pushed* them away from England Pull: The attractiveness of being able to make money quickly in North America

English Economic Depression

- 40 - 45% of Englishmen were below the poverty line - Worst Economic Crisis, Ireland and Scotland were hit even harder - Especially hard for people who didn't have their own land - Almost half of people were unemployed

"Money Honey"

- Central Motif in Virginian Society: Religion and Money. -Money is *initially* what drove people to Virginia - John Smith, a leader in Virginia, knew that the only reason people moved to Virginia was to make money - At the time, England was experiencing debt and economic crisis - People moved to the colonies to make money as fast as possible, with intentions to go back as soon as they did make that money.

London / Virginia Company

- Company formed that was able to give money to the gov't

Solution to Landlessness

- John Smith told people, when he came back to England that the New World was the solution to the issue of landlessness --> every man had their own land - Virginia did not actually live up to this promise: they ended up having to create a dependency and a labor system far worse than what the peasants in Europe (indentured servitude)

Fear of being Landless and a "Slave"

- Most feared position of Englishman was to be landless - Working for someone else was considered "slavery" (this was before Africans were brought to North America) - People all over England -- who owned land for years -- were pushed off to be able to be able to herd sheep and make textiles

Sir Walter Raleigh

- The leader of Roanoke Island - He was Queen Elizabeth's "favorite man" when he settled in Roanoke - The settled so south (in N. Carolina), because they wanted a good port for pirate ships // Raleigh was a privateer: a pirate who agrees to give half of what they get to government. - The settlers of Roanoke Island didn't think about ways to make money and where to grow food -When they needed food, they raided Indian camps and killed many of them

Roanoke Island (1585)

- This settlement was founded before all the other immigrants came to N. America (abt 45 years) - Island off the coast of North Carolina - Was kind of a big! deal! - Was like equivalent to like NASA : They got lots of educated people, and people who were willing to learn Native Languages

Virginia v. New England

- Virginia was more successful & things tended to be in the South - Both had religion (Puritanism) to bring them all together - New England esp, was a part of the country no one else wanted. --> VERY cold and hard to grow anything - Jamestown (Virginia) was somewhat successful, but Roanoke (North Carolina now) was a complete disaster and no one wanted to put money towards it - England was very lax with both colonies (preoccupied with things locally: poverty, bankruptcy, etc.) so the colonies were pretty sovereign at first