Was America settled by convicts

Answer 1

No. The primary reason for settling America was not to house convicts, however as many as 160,000 (and these figures vary depending on the reference quoted) were sent - a similar period and number to those sent to Australia but in the immediately preceding period (approx 1610 to 1776)

Many of the British were struggling at that time. Many of the crimes were committed by the economic poor - committing crimes to feed themselves and their families. The nature of the crimes committed were not dissimilar to those who fall onto economic hardship today through drug abuse, etc being those petty crimes that would provide an immediate, if comparatively small, return. The crimes not surprisingly included sex offences and theft.

For a serious crime the penalty was execution by hanging and this penalty could be applied for a theft as low level as the theft of goods worth a days pay (today perhaps an iPod or DVD player). "Benefit of Clergy" was given to educated men (often in those times men of the cloth) and these men were sentenced to transportation for seven or fourteen years, often to the Virginian Plantations (where many would be bought and sold and die as slaves).

Convicts sent to Australia settled once they received their 'ticket of leave' and enjoyed a better life, taking up all positions in the small community but few of the American convicts survived their internment - at least few survived and also retained their name and their history, the survivors appear to be those who absconded.