Northern, Middle, and Southern Colonies

Economy, Religion, Society, and Government

England Colonizes in the New World

Northern Colonies

North (New England) ColoniesEconomy

Could not raise crops most demanded by Europeans (tobacco, sugar, rice, indigo) because of geography

Small farms where they raised livestock and grew wheat, rye, corn, and potatoes

Export lumber and fish to England

Boston (port): merchants did business and carried out trade between the colonies and England

North (New England) ColoniesReligion

The Puritans, unhappy with the Church of England, settle new colonies in New England

The first Puritans to arrive in Massachusetts in 1620 and come over on the Mayflower

In 1630, John Winthrop brings a larger group of Puritans over and founds the Massachusetts Bay Colony called the “City on a Hill”

John Winthrop, 1630

“For we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill. The eyes of the

people are upon us. [So’ that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work

we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us,

we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.”

North (New England) ColoniesGovernment

Winthrop got a charter from the King to settle the new colony

The gov’t was dominated by Puritans---religion and gov’t were NOT separate like they are today

To become a voter you had to be a member of the Puritan church (and remember, not everyone gets to be a member!)

Puritan men elected their governor and assembly---Massachusetts Bay was the first to do this

Colonies sprung up rapidly along the coast and inland—Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire

North (New England) ColoniesSociety

Few African-Americans

Most immigrants were of middle class and came as families

Balance between men and women= rapid population growth

Granted land to men/churches

Establish towns and support public schools

Adults more literate

“Grammar schools” for boys and “Dame schools” for girls

Basics of reading/writing -> Bible

Middle Colonies

Middle ColoniesEconomy

Family farms were able to produce more and become more profitable because of the climate

Crops: corn, wheat, rye, barley

Philadelphia and NY are seaports that were very prosperous

Middle ColoniesReligion

Religion was mostly tolerated

New Jersey- very diverse religions

No single religious group dominated Quakers

Baptists

Anglicans

Presbyterians

Lutherans

Jewish

Middle ColoniesGovernment

William Penn: granted land by King Charles II because he saw the Quakers as dangerous radicals

Governs the colony of Pennsylvania

Advertises land, freedom, refuge for Quakers

“Frame of Government” Guaranteed elected assembly (Representative

Democracy)

Charter of Liberties (freedom of worship, open immigration)

Fair treatment of Native Americans

Middle ColoniesSociety

Relatively few African-Americans

Most ethnically/culturally diverse region and tolerant of religions

Immigrants had better opportunities here then elsewhere

Education is less available so colonists taught reading/math to their own children

Colleges- few, small, expensive

College of New Jersey (Princeton)

Queens (Rutgers)

Southern Colonies

Southern ColoniesEconomy

Produce the most valuable and profitable crops

Cash crop: a crop grown for sale/profit (TOBACCO!!)

Staple crop: a crop in steady demand

Virginia/Maryland: staple crops like wheat and tobacco

North Carolina: cattle and lumber

South Carolina and Georgia: rice and indigo

Charleston, SC: largest port city

Southern ColoniesReligion

A pretty insignificant role

Southern colonies established for profit rather then religious freedom

Maryland: refuge for Catholics discriminated against by Protestants in England

S. Carolina: diverse population of the colony brought diverse religious beliefs and practices

Georgia: religious tolerance and freedom

Southern ColoniesGovernment

Royal colonies: belonged to the Crown (England)

Proprietary colonies: belonged to powerful individuals or companies

Maryland: Lord Baltimore granted charter (proprietary)

The Carolinas: English aristocrats (Lords Proprietor) ended up demanding Crown to take over elected assemblies in each colony

Georgia: James Oglethorpe strict rules for colonists (no drinking, owning slaves, owning plantations)

WHY?!?!

Southern ColoniesSociety

Most immigrants were poor, young, single men seeking work

Slavery produced great profits

Plantations are far from one another and people are excluded from society hard to keep churches and schools going illiteracy is more common

Slavery promoted greater economic inequality