Bernard Bailyn argues that both immigration from Europe and migration within the colonies perpetuated frontier attitudes and characteristics in British North America throughout its colonial history. As a frontier, the colonies were the “western periphery” of European culture and civilization, and it accordingly maintained the wild elements of frontier life. Bailyn notes that Native American attack was a constant threat on the colonial frontier, necessitating the use of violence even as colonists increasingly adopted the refinery of European culture. In addition, Britain treated the American colonies as a dumping ground for prisoners and pariahs—the very people who were wont to act according to the wildness of the frontier mindset. Aside from …show more content…
As cities expanded and as more colonists engaged in frontier speculation, migrants pushed deeper into the American wilderness, thereby perpetuating the growth of the frontier. Bailyn also argues that migration made the American colonies culturally and socioeconomically diverse as immigrants from all walks of life came to the colonies. While most immigrants were English, the many other immigrants from Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, and other European countries made British North America culturally diverse. Immigrants also varied in their skills and socioeconomic backgrounds as destitute prisoners joined wealthy speculators and middling artisans on the voyage to the colonies, thereby diversifying the pool of colonial residents. In addition, Bailyn argues that migration patterns changed over time and across regions, further facilitating diversity throughout the colonies. For example, Bailyn compares Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City, concluding that the different patterns of migration to and from each city shaped their populations and