Why Did the Early Colonists Come to America?
“The colonists came to America because they heard it was a free country. They came from neighborhoods that had problems,” says Nathan, age 7. I wonder if you’re thinking of Australia instead of America. “Early American colonists came to America for freedom, God and gold,” says Jenny, age unknown. Legends of gold cities lured some of the earliest Spanish conquistadors to the Americas, but Natalie, 12, says many early American colonists risked hardship and deprivation for religious freedom: “In their countries, it was illegal to practice religion the way they wanted to. They had to do what their leaders ordered. “This posed a problem since those beliefs were not their own. When they came to America, they established colonies where they could worship freely. The dream of freedom is what brought them to America.” American colonization and independence can be partly explained from economic, political and military perspectives; however, any view that omits the longing for spiritual freedom d
