Jamestown Journey: Tidewater-Frontier Tensions I

Intro.: Dan Roberts and A Moment in Time with Jamestown - Journey of Democracy, tracing the global advance of democratic ideals since the founding of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.

Content: As Britain’s American colonies began to fill up, the difference between east and west became more pronounced. Settlers had made their way to the New World in various ways. Some paid their own way and arrived able to support themselves to one degree or another as they had in England. Other earned their passage and then had a period of service before they could build an independent life. Most of the best land in the tidewater was quickly bought up and became the basis for huge commercial estates. The arrival of African slaves made life even more risky for poor whites in the east. Wealthy planters no longer needed them.