Jamestown vs Plymouth P1

In reviewing the period of American discovery of its early planting, a clear contrast can be made between the first two permanent colonies: Virginia and Massachusetts (which were formed jointly by the Pilgrims and Puritans). Each colony had a powerful impact on the nation, and each created a long-lasting legacy felt across the generations, but in dramatically different ways. Comparing the two illustrates how that in some respects, America became a Tale of Two Cities — Jamestown and Plymouth.

The Jamestown settlers came from a world radically different from anything to which Americans today are accustomed. There was no private property per se. The king claimed ownership of the land, and would sometimes grant portions of it to lords and nobles, but he could always take it back and give it to someone else. Therefore, not only was all land in England his, but he likewise claimed ownership of America by right of English discovery. English subjects were at the mercy of the king, and as a common legal phrase of that day explained, “the king can do no wrong.”

Content sourced from “The American Story the beginnings. By David Barton & Tim Barton”