During the early 1600’s, the British joined the ranks of the French and Spanish by establishing their first American colony in Jamestown, Virginia. As time progressed, so did the numbers of colonies and their respective populations. Initially, the English were hoping to discover gold, but had no success. So the colonies became a means of gathering natural resources and an extension of British trade. Though conditions were harsh and the mortality rate was high, still, colonists were willing to risk their lives for the opportunities the new land promised. These privileges included land, religious freedom, and a political voice. Ideas of individualism and reason from the Enlightenment movement became the fundamental basis and driving factor for…show more content… A primary social development and significant motivation for a majority of colonists was religious freedom. For instance, in the document “William Penn’s Charter of Privileges” (1701), William Penn, governor of the Pennsylvania Colony, states, “ BECAUSE no People can be truly happy, though under the greatest Enjoyment of Civil Liberties, if abridged of the Freedom of their Consciences, as to their Religious Profession and Worship…” this illuminates Penn’s democratic ideals for religious freedom and free thinking, not to mention Penn’s was the first english colony to become a sanctuary for various ideals such as religious tolerance, Another social development was the early foundation for women’s rights and equality, which were finally publicly voiced. For example, in the document, Abigail and John Adams: Views on Women 1776, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, in which she states, “If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation”, though her husband John Adams laughed at her request, her message was imperative because it further solidified this passion for individual voice and freedom from imposed and unconsented authority. Still, this democratic expansion did not stop at social
