John Cass

Seventeenth- Century English Immigrant Motivation and the Making of New England Institutions

This presentation reframes the Great Migration (1620–1640) by showing that religion was only one motivation. Many migrants also left England out of Duty — a belief that the King, gentry, and aristocracy were corrupting the state — and out of a desire for Justice — reacting to Crown‑controlled courts and uneven legal protections. These concerns shaped how settlers imagined a fairer society in New England. While early colonists could be autocratic, they also attempted to build systems that were more equitable than what they had known in England. To understand New England governance, law, and religion, we must look back at English political tensions that later erupted in the Civil War, the Commonwealth, and the republican experiments of the 1650s. The Migration didn’t cause these conflicts, but the same forces that pushed people to New England also influenced England’s own political evolution. Using Neighbor History examples from New England and Hampton, New Hampshire, this talk explores how Faith, Duty, and Justice shaped both the immigrant experience and the development of local institutions.