American Colonies(2 of 2)

Two Cultural Forces: Gold versus God

Sik-Lam Wong 黄锡林January 2013

NOT FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

Two Different Kinds of Immigrants to America With Two Different Sets of Values

• Most of the early arrivals in America were interested in getting rich quick: looking for gold and silver

• Later, others came to America to escape poverty– Making money was highest priority

• Human suffering through violence, slavery and indentured servitude• Some came to America to escape religious persecution

and left a strong tradition of Christian values including equality and justice for all– Pilgrims and Puritans in New England– William Penn and Quakers in Pennsylvania– Lasting impact on the constitution of the US– Started the idea of democracy for the world

Pilgrims First Arrived in Plymouth in 1620 to Escape Religious Persecution

• Puritans believed that the Anglican Church, with the king as the head, was corrupt– Want to keep themselves

pure from the corruption of the Anglican Church, hence Puritans

– Persecuted/discriminated by the Anglicans

• Pilgrims: Puritans who felt they could not remain pure unless they left the English society and start their own community

Pilgrims Arrived in America in 1620

• Pilgrims came to America through many difficulties– First escaped to Holland and lived there for 12 years,

but decided they did not want to be Dutch– Then left Holland for America on the Mayflower and

the Speedwell, via Southampton in England– Speedwell: too unsafe to make it to America and

turned back– Mayflower got blown off course and landed at

Plymouth near present day Cape Cod in 1620

Pilgrims Started the First Thanksgiving in America

• Half of the Pilgrims died during the first year

– Helped by Squanto, a native American who went to

England previously and knew English

– Established friendship with locals, who taught the

Pilgrims to grow corn and other survival skills

• Pilgrims had first Thanksgiving after harvest in 1621

– Local tribe joined them in feast

Pilgrims Had First Constitution in America: Mayflower Compact

• Pilgrims were aware that Jamestown was teetering on the edge of survival because it was basically a lawless society– People more interested in extorting gold from the natives than

planting and preparing for the winter– No structure to get people to work for the survival of the colony

• Pilgrims made a compact among themselves to set up rules for governance: the Mayflower Compact – Consent by the governed, not forced, for the common good– To abide by decision of majority– Believed in Higher Law based on the Bible

Pilgrims Learned Planting Skills from Native Americans

• Co-planting “three sisters”: corn, beans and squash together on the same mound– Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in

beans provides fertilizer– Corn provides support for

beans to grow– Squash provides shade to

roots as well as reduce loss of moisture

• Fertilized soil by adding fish, abundant in Plymouth Colony

Healthier Life Style for Early Colonists in New England

• Pilgrims in New England tended to be healthier than colonists in Jamestown– Cooler climate without the threat of malaria– Christianity and church/community integral to

their lives leading to healthier lifestyle• Pilgrims were strict about their beliefs, given that

they had to risk their lives to come to America• Not everyone in New England were Pilgrims

– Longer lifespan (in 1700’s): 70’s versus about ~45 in the, for those who survived childhood

Life Was Different for Early Colonists in New England

• Different business model than colonists in Virginia and Carolinas– Did not come for silver and gold

• Did not use violence to extort gold and silver from natives• Initially on good terms with locals

– Later conflicts due to expansion and acquisition of land– Family farms and trade

• Puritans came mainly as families• Children worked alongside parents in the fields

– No plantations and basically self-reliant• Not too many indentured servants and very few slaves from

Africa • Pilgrims were not wealthy to begin with

William Penn and the Founding of Pennsylvania

• William Penn (1644-1718) was son of Admiral Sir William Penn who helped to bring King Charles II to power– William Penn was a Quaker and

was jailed a number of times for his faith

– Believed that everyone was created equal: did not sit well with the king

• Because of the high social standing of his father, the younger Penn was able to appeal to the King to establish a colony for Quakers– Pennsylvania was named after the

older William Penn by King Charles II and chartered in 1681

Philadelphia

Governance of Pennsylvania Was Based on Biblical Principles

• All men equal under God– William Penn bought land for his mansion from the native Americans– Treated them as equals and with respect, even giving them rights to

lawsuits– Women given high status– Pennsylvania opened to other Christian group under

persecution, such as Amish (Pennsylvania Dutch), unlike the Puritans in New England

• Respect for the individual– Personal rights to properties and trial by jury

• Limited rights of sovereign (Penn himself) and governance through two-house model

• Open political discourse• Constitution could be changed over time through amendments:

admitted the limited knowledge of man

William Penn Had Lasting Impact on American Constitution and Political Thought

• Impact on Founding Fathers, such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson

• Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal…”

• Amendment process in US Constitution– Religious freedom was guaranteed in First

Amendment • Personal rights and open political discourse

could all be traced back to William Penn

Influence of Early Christians: Colleges and Crossing Racial Barriers

• Established schools to train pastors– Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth were all first started as

seminaries– Earliest colleges strongly influenced development of

America• Reaching out to non-whites, especially in 1700’s

– Even have preachers who were black or native Americans

– Native American preacher was major fund-raiser for Dartmouth

– More successful in the North than in the South

Constitutional Government Workable Because of Belief in Higher Law

• “Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other people”- John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers and second president of United States

• Constitution is only words on paper unless it is respected by all including the leaders– Dictators would change or to try to change the

constitution to suit his/her personal interests

Gold Versus God Even Today

• Most of the early arrivals in America were interested in getting rich quick: looking for gold and silver. – Later, others came to America to escape poverty

• Making money was highest priority– Human suffering through violence, slavery and indentured

servitude– Perhaps unfair to judge the early American colonists by today’s

ethical standards, but injustice eventually led to bloodshed• Some came to America to escape religious persecution

and left a strong tradition of Christian values including equality and justice for all

Gold Versus God in America Even Today

• Parallels for today: A lot of people wanting to get rich quick to make lots of money– Corruption, even US Senators and Congressmen

• LAW ( 法律 )is doing the minimum to avoid punishment while ETHICS ( 道德 ) aims to do what is right– Business ethics ( 商业道德 ) only works if there is

belief in Higher Law: justice, equality, love and respect for human beings as God’s creation

– Converse is also true: 无法无天 !