Popular Reasons for Historic American Immagration
Popular Reasons for Historic American Immagration
As 17th century England and much of the rest of the world grew and advanced, many people started to notice problems. As a result, they started to immigrate to the New World, America. The three main reasons people came to America were because it offered a better economical situation, some were flat out forced to, and for religious freedom and tolerance.
The first reason many people immigrated to America was because they saw America as a place that offered many economical advantages. As William Penn said in Document 2, America was a place where “labor will be worth more than it is in England…”. This meant that for those who weren't receiving good wages for their work could come to America and make more money doing the same job. Also, for those who were living in complete poverty in England, America enticed them, through the use of the Headright System, with land, as mentioned in Document 5, for all new immigrants. This offered people the chance at a completely fresh start and the possibility of making a good life for themselves.
Of course, not everyone came to America willingly. Many of those who made the journey to America were slaves from Africa who were forced to come. In the early years of settlement, many people had indentured servants to work for them. These indentured servants were from Europe but couldn’t afford to pay for the trip, so in return for the voyage, food, and shelter upon arrival, they worked as a form of payment. Eventually, all the servants became free and the owners had to find a new means of labor. Therefore, they emigrated slaves from Africa to work for them and effectively perform all the needed labor for a very small price. In Document 1, a slave talks about being taken from Africa saying, “…After being marched to the seacoast…I was put under the decks.”
Finally, one of the biggest reason people came to America was religion. They were in search of both religious freedom and tolerance. For example, the Puritans came to America to escape the Church of England, which, to them, was influenced too much by Catholicism. As a result, they left for America in order to, as explained in Document 4, live a pure...