I assume that when the first people from England arrived in the colonies they spoke just like the people they left behind.  During the years since then, American pronunciation has undergone quite a few major changes (including a splintering into Southern, Midwestern and Eastern divisions).  This can be attributed to normal evolution of language.  I am told that the Québecois French is very similar to that of 16th Century Parisian French and has undergone less change that Parisian French itself has since the time of Molière.

Questions:  1) Is Eastern AE closer to what was spoken in England at the time than the other American patterns?  2) Has BE evolved as much as AE during the same period of time?  3) How did the "southern accent" come about?  4) Does anyone know of a book that discusses these things?

Thanks, Friends.

Philip