American Revolution in 1783

Challenges Facing the Newly Independent United States

As the nation regained its long-lost independence from the English, the American Revolution brought about a number of changes. Any country that experiences a shift in guard typically faces numerous challenges, and the United States was no exception. Americans had to consider how they would create a perfect society that would basically take into account their distinctive culture as a people. The newly independent United States will consider how to handle education given that the majority of the population lacks formal education, launch its own economic system, unite the different states under one nation despite the mutual mistrust between the different states and at the same time maintain traditions among its different people. The country was also supposed to address how it was going to address contentious issues such as slavery that had been rampant in the society during the British rein and whether it was going to ban such a system. Economically, the country had been poor as it had not developed any existing system in place that could collect revenue. Politically, it had to grapple with the effect of the British system and how it was going to form its own unique system that addressed the needs of its people without any form of interference from other powers. To achieve any political movement the signing of the Article of confederation was key though the drums of political overtones were already kicking with different states demanding different social and economic aspects. In total there were thirteen different states that made up the United States though they had a similar political and legislative system that had been largely adapted from the British. Ideally, this were challenges that were facing any new nation ahead and could largely be acknowledged since the country had been in war for a long period before gaining independence. At the centre of this conversation was three key regions: New England, Mid Atlantic and the South. The three regions of New England, Mid Atlantic and the South. Different sharply in their economic , social and cultural activities .

Social Aspects

New England was largely made up of Puritans and other individuals that had escaped punishment fin England. As a result, it was largely inhabited by Protestants as well as other indigenous people. Their religion came to be known as Congressionalism. In this form of religious structure all churches were expected to run their activities independently and autonomously. This church differed from the other protestant churches that had established a form of hierarchical ladder that was closely monitored. There was also s substantial number of Puritans in New England who believed that people should live together so that they could watch and protect each other. New England also emerged as the only area in the whole of the thirteen colonies that had an education system. Public schools were a common site in this state and most of their children went to school. A good example is Boston Latin schools that were established in the area before independence (Foner 34). The schools taught rudimentary skills such as arithmetic and literacy skills. New England was largely made up of farmers who grew cash crops during the year. They also engaged in other economic activities such as fishing, logging and shipping products. The area became the first region to be involved in mercantile activities meaning it allowed for the shipping of different products from one region to the other with the most common path being the movement of goods from Europe to the southern area. Ideally the cultural practices of people who lived on New England during the aforementioned period was largely geared with the creation of a society norm where people would live together in clustered region as one. Most activities would be conducted by people as a society rather than specific individuals. Since the environment was harsher certain crops such as tobacco were never grown in the region though the community came together to construct roads. When any group wished to move out they would occupy a specific area referred to as a township where they would build new houses and a church.

The Mid-Atlantic Region

The Mid-Atlantic region in the United States largely compromised of areas around the Hudson River and East River. This area was largely tolerant to different religious groups and as a consequence various groups with different religious intonation settled in the mentioned area. The region had a more moderate climate as compared to the harsh climate witnessed in New England. As a result more people in this region were farmers who grew crops such as grain for food consumption and for sale. This areas established some of the great markets that grew to become some of the major cities. Other key economic activities associated with the Mid- Atlantic region included shipping due to the huge numbers of rivers that were present in the region (Foner 44). The Mid- Atlantic region lagged in education development as compared to the other areas. Culturally, this remained one of the most democratic and civil areas since they allowed people of all religion to peacefully co-exist in the same region. Nonetheless, some form of social class existed in this society considering that this was the major business hub in the entire region as well as home to Pennsylvania which at this point was regarded as one of the central power locations.

The Southern Region

The Southern regions had been home to some of the indigenous communities before the start of the war and as expected some conflict had existed between the British and the community before gaining independence. The community in question was the Powhatans who were largely Indian Americans who lived in gated communities. They had no form of formal education though their children were taught informally about their culture. After independence there was a clash of culture between the newly independent south region and traditional inhabitants of the land who did not want the new Christian religion to interfere with their religion though Christianity became the dominant religion in the area. The area had an ideal agricultural climate that was used for the growth of various crops including tobacco which had emerged as one of the best cash crops during this period. The sale of tobacco to other areas would ideally result in more cash flows in the region. There was some form of societal class in the Southern region with some people owning huge tracts of land while other were closed down to small pieces of land (Foner 76). Those with larger tracts became wealthier due to the huge amounts of cash crops harvested on a yearly basis. The growth of Tobacco as a cash crop was labour intensive as a consequence people required more workers. Slaves from other parts of the world were bought to work on some of the plantations as well as the poor in the society though the remuneration was quite poor. Culturally, the societal divide was eminent with some poor individuals having to pay their debts in form of labour for years on end.

Conclusion

The divide in the three regions of the United States is evident from the onset. All of the mentioned regions were largely working as autonomous states furthering their own agenda even though the three areas had come together and been regarded as one nation. The social values in the different states was totally different with some areas advocating for specific religious rights while other allowing for the freedom of expression. The southern area allowed for all religious groups to exist though different forms of Christianity were practised. Economically, the states different based on their surrounding environment. Some regions heavily invested in agricultural practices and more specifically in the growth of cash crops such as tobacco. Other areas where the environmental conditions were harsher preferred different form of business such as trade while other areas allowed for practises such as shipping. Education had only been developed on one region of the world. The differences between the states is quite clear as each of the former colonies preferred to act as single bodies. Therefore, the three states, Mid- Atlantic, Southern and New England were divided after the 1783 independence.

Work Cited

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History: Seagull Fourth Edition. Vol. 1. WW Norton & Company, 2013.