Jamestown and Virginia P6

Last week we talked more on Jamestown, slavery & the American Revolution. With the Virginia Colony's early rejection of the equality of all individuals, it became logical to preserve the sort of class distinctions common in England. At the top were white elites, including plantation owners, government officials (who were often plantation owners), and ministers of the State church. Below this class were white citizens who owned small plots of land, followed by common laborers. At the bottom were free blacks and then slaves. The lower classes were expected to defer to their "betters" and groups and labels became more important than individuals. Despite these gross errors in thinking and philosophy, Virginia nevertheless produced many outstanding leaders including the Reverends Samuel Aavis and John Leland, and statesmen such as George Washington, James Madison, Patrick Henry and George Mason. However, notwithstanding such outstanding contributions, Virginia also fomented the legalization and expansion of slavery, religious intolerance and elitism.

Content Sourced From “The American Story The Beginnings. By David Barton & Tim Barton”