Chapter 4 Life in the American Colonies

Colonial Economy

Do Now: Respond to quote

• “Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.”

Colonial Economies

BIG IDEA: The unique resources and conditions that existed in each colony helped shape colonial economies and way of thinking.

Essential Question: How did the economic activity of the three regions reflect their geography and climate?

Making a Living in the Colonies

• Geography played an important role in the colonies’ economic development.

• Colonists learned to adapt to the climate and terrain of the region where they lived.

Agriculture

• Life in colonial America was based largely on agriculture. Most colonists farmed or ran businesses related to farming. – Example: milling flour

Commercial New England

• Farming was difficult in New England due to geography– Soil was rocky and they had long winters– Made growing things difficult– Only subsistence farming- (farming enough to eat

and not extra to sell)– If they can’t make money farming, due to their

geography, what might they do instead? Make a prediction.

Commercial New England

• Instead of farming, New Englanders tended to manufacture and sell things.– Blacksmiths– Shoe makers– Furniture makers– Gunsmiths– Fishing– Shipbuilders (New England rich in forests)• Ships important for port cities like Boston

(TRADE)

Summary: New England

• New England did not have good weather or geography for farming therefore they MANUFACTURED AND TRADED.

The Middle Colonies

• Middle Colonies depended mostly on FARMING– Region enjoyed fertile soil – Mild climate

• In NY and PA– Large farms of wheat and other cash crops• (crops easily sold to others)• Farmers sent cash crops to NY and Philadelphia (port

cities) to ship

The Middle Colonies• Middle Colonies farmed but also had industry – Carpentry, flour making, lumber mills, mines, ironworks,

etc– Attracted Scotch-Irish, German, Dutch, and Swedish

settlers. • Became successful farmers• Gave Middle Colonies “Cultural Diversity” not found in New

England

Summary: Middle Colonies

• Middle Colonies had a balanced climate and geography, therefore they BOTH FARMED AND MANUFACTURED.

Life in the Southern Colonies• Had rich soil and a warm climate

good for farming.• Southern farmers could plant

large farms– Harvested tobacco and rice (cash

crops)• Little industry developed in the

south• DEPENDED ON SLAVERY TO

HARVEST CROPS• Plantation owners (very large

farms with lots of slaves) controlled the economic and political life of the region.

Summary: Southern Colonies

• It was warm and mild in the south, therefore, they FARMED.

• Since they FARMED, they needed SLAVES to run these farms.

Tobacco and Rice• Virginia and Maryland– Main cash crop in MD and

VA was tobacco• Depended on slave labor

• Georgia and South Carolina– Main cash crop in GA and SC

was rice• Depended on slave labor• Became even more

popular than tobacco–Very well selling crop

Necessity

• “Necessity is the mother of invention.”• How did geography and climate make it

necessary for each region to adopt the practices of farming/manufacturing?– New England– Middle Colonies– Southern Colonies

Closure Day 1

• Write an OER explaining how each region’s geography influenced its economy.– New England– Middle Colonies– Southern Colonies

DAY 2: Slavery

Human Graph

• African slaves were used more in the south because there were more racists there at the time.

Human Graph

• African slaves were used more in the south because there were more racists there at the time.

• False: Slavery was used more in the south because their economy depended on farming.

Human Graph

• The religious beliefs of Quakers and Puritans contributed to the fact that Northerners used slaves far less than those in the south.

Human Graph

• The religious beliefs of Quakers and Puritans contributed to the fact that Northerners used slaves far less than those in the south.

• True: However, the main reason the north did not use slaves was because the North manufactured and did not need slaves like the agrarian south did.

The Growth of Slavery

• By the time Europeans were sailing to the Americas, slavery was widely practiced in West Africa

• West African kingdoms enslaved those they defeated in war.

• Slave traders from Arab lands bought some of these enslaved people.

• Others were forced to work in mines or farm fields.

The Growth of Slavery

• Colonists who began farming had a need for slaves

• They purchased them from slave traders who got their slaves from West Africa

• Slavery became a part of the success of the colonial economy

Middle Passage• Triangular

Trade- Was the second leg of a trade route which made a triangle between Africa, America and Europe

Middle Passage

• The Middle Passage refers to the trip slaves took across the Atlantic to arrive in the English colonies.

• Slaves were chained together for more than a month

• Prisoners could hardly sit or stand, received little food or water

• Those who died or became sick were thrown overboard

Life of the Slave

• Some enslaved Africans did housework but most worked on the farms

• Suffered great cruelty by plantation owners• Owners of plantations hired bosses to keep

slaves working hard

Life of the Slave• Many colonies had

slave codes- rules governing the behavior and punishment of enslaved people. – Some made it illegal to

teach slaves to read or write

– Famalies often torn apart when sold into slavery

Critics of Slavery

• Puritans in MA refused to hold slaves– How might their geography and economic

practices have allowed this?• Quakers and Mennonites in PA condemned

slavery.

• Slavery Video

Closure:

• Write an OER explaining how the economy of each colony influenced their use of slaves.