The Labor Problem At Jamestown Analysis

The story of Jamestown has a significant place in the history of America. There is much we can learn from Jamestown through its many trials and tribulations. In this essay, we will discuss the article, The Labor Problem at Jamestown, 1607-18 by Edmund S. Morgan and we will ask a few important questions to better understand its meaning in America’s past. Where does the author stand on the issue of American Exceptionalism? What is Morgan trying to prove in his thesis? How does this article fit with the book Patriot’s History? All of these questions will aid us in comprehending the story of Jamestown. (Thesis.)
In the article, The Labor Problem at Jamestown, Edmund Morgan’s thesis states: “It is difficult, then, to escape the conclusion that there
(pg. 11 in AE) The definition of American Exceptionalism is in no way explained in Morgan’s article. The English colonists of Jamestown had no concept of what it meant to be American yet. Most of the men who stepped foot on what would become Jamestown faced their coastal frontier with little training, preparation, or skills to survive. These were not the “rugged individuals” that would build a nation. It even says in American Exceptionalism that such people tended to be courageous, honest, incredibly hardworking, and to belong to close-knit families. These qualities are the complete opposite of the characteristics the settlers of Jamestown possessed. Even though these settlers were not the “rugged individuals” that America needed, the ones who would build the nation would soon come. Jamestown was almost an experiment. While Jamestown was separated by the Atlantic from the two world powers, England and Spain, the settlers chose an area with a more powerful native government that existed anywhere else on the Atlantic coast. So, they still weren’t free to make their own government decisions. They had no authority over their own choices yet because the Indians controlled them. Because of the colonists’ lack of power, ability to make their own decisions, and qualities to build a nation the Jamestown settlers did not display any signs of exceptionalism. Although Jamestown is a major part of American history, Morgan doesn’t mention any aspect of American Exceptionalism in his article, The Labor Problem at Jamestown.
The book, Patriot’s History by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen, ties in well with The Labor Problem at Jamestown. Morgan’s thesis is confirmed and proven through his own article and through Patriot’s History. In the book, it explains thoroughly the lack of concept the colonists had of what awaited them in the New World. Both of these writings have very similar