Review of Everyday Life in Early America by David Freeman Hawke
David Hawke's Everyday Life in Early America is an enlightening book which gives a detailed account of the history of early settlers in America. Early settlers came to America in search of wealth and freedom, the hope of taking forward their customs and traditions while starting afresh in a foreign land. However, the physical environment brought about certain changes to their traditions and customs and dwindle their hope for freedom, survival become a greater part of the journey and life in the New World. The settlers came to understand that the only way to survive was to modify their way of life and customs.
The shaping of the Early American way of life was influenced by many factors. The relative importance of these factors changed not only with time but by region. Although natural resources and geographical location were important factors, other factors included religion, race, gender, and violence.
David Freeman Hawke gives a detailed account of these factors in his book. While all of these factors were significant in the creation of a unique way of life, violence and wars were the strongest factors in early American life. As the threat of violence diminished with time, the significance of race became stronger.
Most of the early settlers had little or no choice to migrate to the New World. Criminals were given the decision to either immigrate to America or face death penalty. The seventeenth century America was a farmland. Poor people migrated to America in the hope of quick wealth. Individuals from England and later Europe began migrating to America crossing the ocean in groups and started settling down in the New World.
Violence, or the threat of war, played a major role early on in the establishment...