Between the settlement at Jamestown in 1607 and the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the most important change that occurred in the colonies was the extension of British ideals far beyond the practice in England itself. Changes in religion, economics, politics and social structures illustrated this Americanization of transplanted Europeans.
By 1763, although some colonies still maintained established churches, other colonies had accomplished a virtual revolution for religious toleration and separation of church and state. As new immigrants arrived from Germany, Ireland and Scotland, along with captured enslaved individuals from Africa, and at the same time the great awakening swept across the North American Colonies, a rapid rise in the number of distinct denominations occurred, which forced the people of different beliefs to endure one another and coexist. This eventually led to the American willingness to tolerate religious diversity. …
