European Settlement of North America

Two Compelling Factors

The “Push – Pull” Effect

• Two forces working together to result in the movement of people to the Americas.

• The “Push” factor represents a variety of reasons causing people to be “pushed” from England to the Americas.

• The “Pull” factor represents a variety of reasons causing people to be “pulled” to the Americas.

Factors which “Push”• Laws of PRIMOGENITURE: Law which forbid

the breakup of family held lands among several sons. Eldest son received all of father’s land, younger siblings left on their own to find “wealth”.

• Land Enclosure: In England it was common for Lords and landowners to “rent” out land to commoners to farm, this practice would come to an end. This forces common farmers to move to cities and try to find a trade or job.

• Overcrowding: Land Enclosures increase the size of cities.

“Push” Factors: Continued • Religious Intolerance : Puritans seeking to

“purify” the Church of England come under attack from English authorities.

• Unemployment: Few jobs and a poor economy in England lead people to look elsewhere for work.

Summary of “push” Factors

PushFactors

LawsOf

Primogeniture

Land Enclosure

Unemployment Religious Intolerance

OvercrowdingOf

Urban Areas

Factors which “Pull”

• LAND, LAND, LAND: Land is money and power. People understood the value that land held and the Americas had an unimaginable amount of “free” land.

• Adventure: The Americas represented an untamed wilderness that for some was an exotic pull to adventure.

• Economic Opportunity: Silver, gold and agricultural possibility in the Americas.

“Pull” Factors: Continued

• Religious Freedom: No formal government allowed for the free practice of religion.

• New Start/New Life: The Americas represented an opportunity to start anew in the face of decreasing opportunity in England.

Summary of “pull” Factors

PullFactors

LAND AdventureEconomic

OpportunityReligiousFreedom New Life

Parrish Maxfield Art

Parrish Maxfield was a Romanticist artist whose works can be seen as representative of the ‘pull” factors.

His use of light in natural surroundings present the nature of the Americas as alluring and almost heavenly.

This particular painting is titled:

The Spirit of Transportation

Harvest

Thy Templed Hills

Class Activity

• In your groups, you are to create a pictogram illustrating the “push – pull” effect.

• The pictogram will not only illustrate what is meant by the “push – pull” effect but the factors causing the “push” as well as the “pull” to the Americas.

• The assignment is worth 50 points. Your participation with the group is worth 35 of those 50 points.

• Clarity and neatness do count toward your final score.• As a group, share ideas of how to complete this task

BEFORE you start drawing and illustrating the pictogram.

• This is due at the end of class, so use your time wisely.