As it continued to grow, colonial America stood as a terrific opportunity for those poor Englishmen seeking a way out of economic and religious turmoil. Depression created chronically unemployed drifters across the countryside. Takeover of national power by the Church of England led to unfair treatment of other religious sects. But was it economic of social concerns that pulled more British citizens away from their homeland and toward the dangerous, uncharted Americas? In my opinion, more migration was directly linked to the yearning for wealth and the escape of poverty than the wish for a safer religious environment. It is true that many colonies, Plymouth and New Hampshire for example, were founded with religious freedom as a main ideal. However, the success of virtually every American industry sparked excitement in the hearts of penniless Englishmen, and was in fact the more influential draw to the New World.

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