During the 17th century, there was a major cultural gap between the wealthy white settlers of colonial America and the poor white settlers. Many of the poor whites were subject to indentured servitude, which at that time was one small step away from being a slave. Indeed, indentured servants joined slaves in a struggle for land and wealth in what is now called Bacon's Rebellion. There was also a large gap between settlers living in the rural “inland” areas and city dwellers. City dwellers were the ones who were involved in colonial assemblies and therefore made decisions that affected unrepresented hinterland men. Although geographic factors played a role in this cultural divide, the violent uprisings (Paxton Boys, Regulator Movement) of hinterland populations against the wealthy upper class were fueled by the desire for wealth and political control; an idea that would be reflected in America's struggle for independence. Paxton was a settlement in what is now western Pennsylvania, what was considered the frontier in the 17th century. The Paxton Boys asked the colonial legislature to provide arms and ammunition to the colonists in case of an Indian attack, which seemed certain to come sooner or later. When their request was denied, Paxton's men raided an Indian village, killing 6 Indians, and marched on the capital. Paxton's settlers were quite poor. They had little property to protect. However, these settlers felt that their government did not allow them to protect themselves from the Indians. If the Indians destroyed everything in the settlement, the settlers would have no way to expand their economy, because nothing would be left. The people of...... middle of paper...... This thought process was similar to that which was in the minds of many patriots only a few years later, when the prospect of war with England became certain . However, the impact of geography on all these uprisings cannot be underestimated. If it were not for the physical distance between rural settlements and the capitals of their colonies, there would not have been this sense of detachment. Without the existence of the photographs, if the members of the assemblies were not in the hinterland, seeing with their own eyes the conditions complained of by the unhappy settlers, they would not have had the opportunity to fully appreciate the gravity of a situation. It was easy for an assembly to dismiss the grievances of a rural settlement as trivial if they did not experience them firsthand. The geography of the settlements caused this division between rural and urban settlers.