One year later, in 1620, the pilgrims aboard the Mayflower signed the Mayflower compact. This compact pledged the pilgrims to make decisions at the will of the majority. This was considered one of the first forms of colonial self- government, and was the first written constitution In America. If Britain had not imposed the policy of salutary neglect, the colonies would have been under the complete control of England. A new form of democracy was formed at the hands of the salutary neglect policy. The commerce and industry In American economics was another thriving point.
During the Glorious Revolution in 1688, England was experiencing economic hardship. Throughout the 16005, the economy in America was thriving however. By 1612, the production of tobacco allowed the Virginia economy to prosper due to the high demand of it In England because of the newly perfected art of raising and curing tobacco. Further south, the economy was fueled by the production of cotton, and northeast, the economy thrived on manufacturing. If England had not used a hands-off approach when establishing America, these commercial economies would not have prospered.
While in 1650-1673 there were Navigational Acts that England’s government had imposed to try to control the trade of America. The goal of the Navigational Acts was to force the colonial development into the lines of England, and to stop colonial trade with other countries. These acts helped support the Chesapeake economy, but limited trading partners for the colonies. The Navigational Acts came to an end after the Second Anglo-Dutch War in which the Dutch were given the right to ship commodities produced in their German hinterland to England as if these were Dutch goods.
The economies in America thrived due to the salutary neglect policy. From the beginning, America was a place to practice religion freely. Flocks of pilgrims traveled to America In search of this liberty. In 1630, a group of Puritans set sail for America, hoping to escape the oppression facing the Puritan belief. Quakers traveled to Pennsylvania, which was established by a tallow Quaker, and were given the liberty to freely practice their religion. If both of these groups remained in England, they would have continued to be oppressed, beaten, and publicly humiliated.
By traveling to America, where the salutary neglect policy was taking place. During the Great Awakening in the asses and asses, religion was largely revived. George Whitfield and Reverent Jonathan Edwards, the revivalists, stressed the importance of tolerance and unity to the people they preached to. This was the first movement that unified the colonists. It was from the oppression of religions and the revitalization of religion that became prosperous in the times of the salutary neglect policy. The policy of salutary neglect allowed for more freedom, and new ideas regarding government, economy, and religion.
Without this policy, America could still be under a regime of monarchists. The self-government in America became more democratic than that of the monarch in England because of this policy. Thriving commerce and industry prevailed throughout America without the need for English involvement as well. Religion flourished as well as a result of the hands off approach that Great Britain provided while occupying the land. The salutary neglect policy provided the initial crucial drive America needed to increase nationalism, freedom, and pave the American way into the lives of present and past generations.
