Perhaps part of the problem here is that commenters are making broad statements about the 13 colonies and their history of more than a century and are conflating different systems that evolved over time. The 13 colonies had significant differences in the origin of the populations, their cultures and habits, and relationships with each other. The culture of colonial Pennsylvania was quite different than Virginia, New York or Massachusetts; moreover, these colonies changed over time and were quite different in the 1770s than in the 1600s.
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I think youâre on to something. About a dozen years ago, author Colin Woodardâs book American Nations presented the idea that the USA has been driven by 11 (often very) different regions over the course of its history, which affects us to this day.
Of the nations, Woodard explains, âIt isnât that residents of one or another nation all think the same, but rather that they are all embedded within a cultural framework of deep-seated preferences and attitudes â each of which a person may like or hate, but has to deal with nonetheless.â
Pete
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Mexican states are almost as different as USA states. E.g., the Aztecs were hated and successfully fought by an alliance of tribes centered in Guanajuato with an entirely different set of values society. That same bunch, centuries later, launched and led the war for independence from Spain.
I live right there. My neighbors are descendants.
My favorite food on earth is the local specialty called enchiladas mineras, âminers chile fried tortillasâ, which were the staff of life for the semi-enslaved miners. The miners descendants are very very very proud of NOT being like the cockroach crawling denizens further southâŚ
Texas and Maine have a greater distance in miles, but not in attitudes.
david fb
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I agree. But here we are speaking of New England. Not the original 13 colonies. The Mayflower Compact was especially influential there. And this is the origin of many of the Ivy League Universitiesâmost founded to teach theology to future pastors. Until about 1930 it is also the source of the strong preference for White Anglosaxon Protestants (from good families) as the leaders of most US businesses. (Mere mortals need not apply.)
And by the way, few would include even New York, a Dutch colony, in New England.
Who would include New York in New England? It is part of the Northeast but certainly not part of New England.
JimA
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That has never been an issue as far as I ever knew.
Some indeed are. Others are not. The initial colonizers of New England were certainly not libertarian and they very much did not view economic matters in the same way we do. The past is a foreign country, and attempts to impose our modern concepts on the thinking of our predecessors usually says more about ourselves than of those who came before us.
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OK, but I still say the New England commitment to improving the community is a major factor in their success. And that spirit is lacking in Latin and South America.
They worked to build their community and survived. Iâm not sure that is either libertarian or economic.
It is not missing in Latin America. We have more resources in general. Just the luck of the draw. Our power spirals from there. Our brain drain does not help. The phenomenal architecture alone in Latin America tells a story.
New York used to be called New Amsterdam.
The Captain