The second point about the colonial experience has to do with the people who came. Of all the things that can be said about the settlers who came to America, one thing can be claimed without much fear of contradiction: Those who came differed from those who did not. The settlement of America was not easy; consider the warning at the top of the list of instructions provided to colonists heading to America, "Make Thy Will!" The odds were very high that those brave souls would meet an early death, either during the dangerous sea voyage—when storms often alternated with periods of little wind, when food and water would go bad and sickness rampaged through the passenger holds—or from disease, Indian attack, or other causes once they arrived in the New World. The risk of failure was unavoidable, but overriding the fears that such conditions engendered was hope of improvement, willingness to gamble, to bet one's life on the chance of being able to make a fresh start. Those who were prepared to take the necessary risks came. Those who could not face those odds stayed home.
We should remember that what happened in the colonial world two to three hundred years ago helped to shape us into the nation we are today. Those early colonists were our spiritual ancestors, and the things we admire in them are aspects of our own character that we would emphasize. Their flaws are often shared by us. If we wish to understand who we really are, we must know where we came from. The physical and emotional demands of colonization were such that one needed to be a certain type to try it—one had to be a bold, adventurous spirit, with a work ethic and a determination to prosper—and those traits became basic elements of the American character. In a real sense the broad outlines of the American experience were formed before the colonists left their homeland because of the differences between those who were willing to take that gamble and those who were not. Thus the first seeds of the American Revolution were planted among those early risk takers and their offspring.
We should remember that what happened in the colonial world two to three hundred years ago helped to shape us into the nation we are today. Those early colonists were our spiritual ancestors, and the things we admire in them are aspects of our own character that we would emphasize. Their flaws are often shared by us.4 If we wish to understand who we really are, we must know where we came from.
Summary. Many came voluntarily, many came under duress of some kind. (We will discuss the African experience, which brought thousands of slaves to the New World, below.) Those who came voluntarily thought they could make a better living. They dreamed of finding gold or silver, or of a life that would reward them in ways that were impossible in their circumstances at home. Some felt oppressed by political conditions that required obedience to king, duke or other landlord, which many found intolerable and which often involved involuntary military service. Those who came involuntarily, aside from African slaves who were brought to America, included prisoners, debtors, young people who were sold by their parents or people who sold themselves into indentured servitude.
World History
