The first 13 Colonies
The New England Colonies
Massachusetts
(Maine)
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Reasons for coming to the
USA.
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Some people didn’t
like the Church of
England.
They wanted the
Church to be more
pure. These people
were called Puritans.
They decided to start a
colony in the North
East part of the USA.
Settling in Massachusetts

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John Winthrop was the
leader of the Puritans.
Massachusetts means at or
near the great hill in
Algonkian, Native
American language.
The colony’s first
settlement was Boston
along the Charles River.
They wanted to still be a
part of England, but have
a more “pure” religion.
New England Colonies Religions
Church is very important to colonists in
this region, especially the Puritans who
are very strict. People come from England
for religious freedom. The Pilgrims
think the English Church kept too many
Catholic ways. There is a large variety
of beliefs in the New England colonies.
Typically each settlement is for a specific
belief, although any religion is allowed
in Providence.

Colonial Life


Massachusetts and
Connecticut had laws
saying that if there
were 50 families, a
teacher needed to be
hired and a school
setup.
These schools were
called grammar or
writing schools.
Schools

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Boys went to grammar
schools while girls
went to dame school.
There was no
chalkboards, maps, or
paper.
School teachers were
strict and were
allowed to hit their
students or make them
wear a dunce hat.
Physical Geography
The land had poor, rocky soil and a short
growing season. This was not good for
crops.
 The ocean, Charles River, and other various
lakes and rivers provided many varieties
of seafood. Whales were also abundant in this
region.

Climate
There is snow in the winter.
 Short growing season.
 Spring and summer are cool and
comfortable.

Natural Resources
There was a large variety of seafood,
including fish, lobster and whales. The
seafood was obtained by the many bodies
of water in New England. There was
also wild deer and hogs for food. There
were many forests. There are maple trees
in the forests which provide wood and
sap for syrup. There was also granite.
Manufacturing in the New England
Colonies
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Naval products : All the things needed to
build and sail a ship.
England encouraged the New England
shipbuilding industry: England’s forests
were used up.
Middle Colonies
NY

PA
NJ

DE
The Middle colonies
included:
New York (NY) ,
New Jersey (NJ) ,
Delaware (DE), and
Pennsylvania (PA).
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Resources

The climate was good
farming land for grains
and raising livestock.
They called the Middle
Colonies “The
Breadbasket”. Other
resources were furs and
iron.
Manufacturing in the Middle Colonies

Manufacturing in the Middle Colonies : iron
ore products like tools, kettles, nails and
plows and huge blocks of iron to export to
Britain.
People Groups
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People came from
Germany, Scotland &
Ireland.
-Quakers (plain living,
peaceful, against
slavery and dancing)
-Germans
(Pennsylvania Dutch,
skilled workers and
loved music).
-Scotch-Irish farmed
and hunted.
Interesting Facts about Middle
Colonies
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-Called Breadbasket of
Colonial America. The
farmers raised a surplus
so they could sell.
-Germans invented
Pennsylvania rifle &
Conestoga wagon.
-Philadelphia means
brotherly love.
William Penn

-William Penn
owned
Pennsylvania and
made it a place for
religious freedom.
Religion

There was more religious freedom in the
Middle Colonies than in New England. No
single church or religion dominated in
the Middle Colonies.
MD
VA
Southern
Colonies
NC

SC
GA
The Southern Colonies
included: Maryland
(MD), Virginia (VA),
North Carolina (NC),
South Carolina
(SC), and Georgia
(GA).
Southern Colonies Climate

Rich land, plenty of
rain & a long
growing season.
Coastal plains,
swamps, forests,
harbors.
People Groups
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-Maryland was a safe place for Roman Catholics.
-South Carolina settled by French.
-Georgia founded by Oglethorpe for new start for
debtors in England.
What about people in Georgia?

Last of the original 13 colonies was Georgia. In
1733 the king gave land to a man named James
Oglethrope. The king planned this colony as a
place to get rid of people in England he did not
want. The colony was to protect the other colonies
from he French and Spanish to the south and west.
Oglethorpe brought many people to Georgia who
had been in jail or who owed money they could
not pay. The first settlement was Savannah.
Georgia was named in honor of King George of
England.
Interesting Facts about
Southern Colonies
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-Southern Plantations
used slaves to harvest
cash crops.
The cash crop for
Virginia was tobacco.
Indigo and rice was also
grown in the Southern
Colonies.
The Triangular Trade Routes
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During the 1600s and 1700s, people who lived on the
continents of Europe, Africa, and North America all had
products that the others needed. For example, Europeans
produced furniture and tools, while colonists in North
America had fish and lumber. Many ships crossed the
Atlantic Ocean carrying these and other goods to trade
between the continents. The three continents formed the
points of large triangles, giving the trade routes their name.
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