Poor economic conditions, societal stresses, and political turmoil plagued England in the 17th century, leading thousands of men, women, and children to depart for British colonies in America. Between 1630 and 1643, the prospect of a reformed church and a better life motivated over 20,000 Puritans to sail to the new Massachusetts Bay Colony in New England. They carried with them distinctly English economic and cultural assumptions that strongly influenced the way they interacted with the “New World” and the Indigenous peoples who had lived there for thousands of years.

Independence introduced another “newcomer” to the American scene: the United States citizen. By embracing equality, Americans began rejecting the coercive and unequal relationships of pre-Revolutionary society. Optimism abounded regarding mankind’s, and especially Americans’, ability to improve themselves and the world. Citizens tirelessly banded together in countless associations, societies, and reform movements. This same confidence fueled the Second Great Awakening (circa 1795-1835) in religion that swept the nation.

Waves of immigration continued to alter the economic and cultural landscape. The United States welcomed over 20 million newcomers between 1880 and 1910. Their arrival evoked a complex and often hostile response from the “natives” (American-born White citizens) already living there. Although they maintained their language and other cultural elements of their homeland, first generation immigrants also began the process of adapting to American ways, a process usually completed by their children.