Colonies
New England, Middle, and
Southern colonies
New England Colonies
The New England Colonies were:
1. Massachusetts
2. Connecticut
3. Rhode Island
4. New Hampshire
Reasons for settling in the New
England Colonies
1. Seeking Religious Freedom
Puritans left England and started the
Massachusetts Bay Colony in an
effort to make their religion more pure.
Dissent/Disagreement
Not all Puritans who settled in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony agreed with
the way matters were being handled.
Some disagreed with religious matters and
others disagreed with the way Native
Americans were being treated.
Speaking out
Roger Williams believed that the Puritan
leaders should not punish people for
having different beliefs. He also disagreed
with Puritan leaders over their treatment of
the Native Americans.
The Puritan leaders did not like this dissent.
They decided to EXPEL, or kick him out,
of the colony.
Williams and his followers founded the settlement
of Providence.
Anne Hutchinson was another person who
disagreed with the Puritan leaders.
She was also EXPELLED from the colony.
She and her followers settled near Providence.
Later, Hutchinson and Williams joined together to
form the colony of Rhode Island.
Reasons for settling in New
England Colonies
2. Many English were working jobs for low
pay. They came to the colonies seeking
economic advantages.
3. Some were not happy with the way
things were being done in the Church of
England.
4. England was very crowded. Settlers
could settle on large areas of land in the
colonies.
Connecticut and New Hampshire
Connecticut was founded by Thomas
Hooker who was seeking religious
freedom.
New Hampshire was founded by David
Thomson who, along with others, was
seeking economic opportunities.
WAR
Wars were fought in the New England
colonies
The King Philip’s War and the Pequot War
were fought between the Native
Americans and the colonists over LAND.
Government in the New England
Colonies
• Mayflower Compact- Early form of
government signed by the Pilgrims
• Town meetings
– At town meetings, people voted on laws and
elected leaders. Anyone could attend but
ONLY WHITE, LAND-OWNING MEN could
vote.
Life in New England
Church services were held on Sundays.
Everyone in the town had to attend.
Religious beliefs told the Puritans how to
live, work, and spend their free time.
Religious services lasted most of the day,
with a break for a meal at noon.
Common punishment for speaking against
the Puritan beliefs was spending a few
hours in the “town stocks.”
Everyday Life
Women and girls spent hours preparing food. They
churned butter and dried fruits and vegetables
Women also spun thread, made clothing, made
candles, made soap, made brushes, etc.
Men and boys spent their days working in the fields and
hunting. They cut firewood and made their own tools.
They raised cattle for food and leather. They raised
sheep for wool. The men also guarded the town.
Childhood in New England
• Children had few toys
• Most families had 5 or more children
• School was very important because Puritans
believed that everyone should be able to read
the Bible.
• Any town with 50 families had to have a school.
• One-room, one teacher
• Most teachers were men
• Main subject taught was Reading (hornbook)
• Didn’t go to school for long. They were needed
at home. Some boys continued their education
and attended college.
• Harvard College started by the Puritans, to train
ministers.
Geography in the New England
Colonies
• Poor, rocky soil
• Good Harbors
• Swift, shallow rivers
Climate in the New England
Colonies
• Long, cold winters
• Short, cool summers
This made it difficult to grow
crops.
Natural Resources of the New
England Colonies
• Forest- Trees for lumber
• Atlantic Ocean- Fishing and
Whaling
Products/Crops of the New
England Colonies
• Furs
• Lumber
• Whale Oil
Economy/Jobs of the New England
Colonies
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Whaling
Fishing
Shipbuilding
Trade barrel making
Craftsmen
Economy of New England
• Struggled to grow crops. They first had to clear rocks
and trees from the land.
• Long winters made it difficult to grow crops.
• Colonists soon began to raise dairy cows and sheep.
• Surplus
• Farmers traded or sold their surpluses in port cities.
• Farmers bargained with merchants over prices or items
to trade.
• Many merchants became rich from trade.
• Free market- people are free to choose which goods to
buy and which services to offer or use. They are free to
compete in business and set whatever prices they
choose for goods and services.
Logging and Shipbuilding
• Industry- All the businesses that make one
kind of product or offer one kind of service.
• Naval stores- the products used to build
ships. (turpentine and tar)
• Cost of building ships in the New England
colonies was lower than the cost of
building them in England. (Large supply of
wood in New England)
Colonial Trade
• Exports-Goods leaving the country.
• Imports-Goods brought into a country
• Whaling-trips sometimes lasted months or
even years.
• Whalers cut up and boiled the whale’s
blubber to get oil for lamps.
• Fishing-surplus fish were dried, packed in
barrels and sent to other colonies or to
England.
Triangular Trade Route
• These routes connected
– England
– Africa
– English colonies
Ships left New England carrying furs, lumber, grain,
whale oil, and dried fish. These exports were carried
to England.
New England then imported tea, spices, wine, and
English made goods such as cloth, shoes, and paper.
Middle Passage
• Africa was one of the three points of the
Triangular Trade Route.
• Trading ships carrying goods and raw
materials also carried enslaved people.
• The journey across the Atlantic Ocean
from Africa to the West Indies was called
the Middle Passage.
• Africans suffered terribly on the ships.
(Slave trade)
Middle Colonies
The Middle Colonies were:
1. New York
2. Pennsylvania
3. New Jersey
4. Delaware
Reasons for settling in the Middle
Colonies
• Religious Freedom
The Quakers wanted to break completely
away from the Church of England. They
settled in Pennsylvania.
• Climate better for growing crops than the
New England colonies
• Land rich and fertile
• Business opportunities for small shop
owners.
Government in the Middle Colonies
Town Meetings
Only white, land-owning men could vote
House of Burgesses
Frames of Present day Government
(Pennsylvania)
Geography of the Middle Colonies
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Sandy soil
Grassy meadows
Rich, fertile areas for growing crops
Thick forests
Gentle, rolling hills
Flat plains
Climate of the Middle Colonies
• Mild and more inviting than the colder New
England colonies
• More inviting than the humid Southern colonies
• Summers were long
• Amount of rain was good for crops
Middle colonies
The Middle Colonies got their name
because of their location between the New
England and Southern Colonies.
Breadbasket Colonies
Middle Colonies grew so much: wheat, rye,
and corn that they became known as the
Breadbasket colonies.
New Netherland
• New Netherland was still controlled by the
Dutch.
• Few people came to the colony because
they saw no reason to leave their
homeland.
• The few people who lived in the colony
had problems with Native Americans and
the English colonists.
A New Leader
• Peter Stuyvesant was chosen to lead the colony and
bring order.
• Stuyvesant helped the colony grow and gain more land,
but their were still few settlers.
• To increase New Netherlands popularity, people from
Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, and Brazil were
allowed to settle in the colony.
• Africans (both free and enslaved) also lived in New
Netherland.
• A group of about 40 formerly enslaved Africans were
given land to settle. They became the first community of
free Africans.
The English Take Over
• King Charles II wanted England to control the Atlantic
Coast of North America.
• He wanted more settlements, natural resources, and
control of the fur trade.
• The Colony of New Netherland stood in his way.
• King Charles sent his brother, the Duke of York, and 4
warships to take control of New Netherland.
• Peter Stuyvesant wanted to fight against the English to
keep New Netherland. The colonists of New Netherland
did not want to fight.
• Stuyvesant gave up and the English took control of the
colony of New Netherland.
New York and New Jersey
• James, the Duke of York, divided this new
land into two parts. He named them New
York and New Jersey.
• James kept New York for himself. He
gave New Jersey to his two friends, John
Berkley and George Carteret.
• Most Dutch settlers chose to stay. The
new leaders promised to protect their
religious freedom, rights, and property.
• At first, almost all of the colonists lived in
New York.
• To attract more settlers to New Jersey, the
new leaders offered to sell land at low
prices.
Quakers
• Many of the new settlers to New Jersey were
members of a religious group known as the
Quakers.
• Quakers believed that all people were equal.
They refused to fight in wars or swear loyalty to
any king or country.
• Quakers bought Berkeley’s share of New Jersey
and founded Salem, New Jersey, the first
Quaker settlement in North America.
Pennsylvania and Delaware
• William Penn, an English Quaker, was
given a charter making him the owner of
what is now Pennsylvania.
• Penn was given this land because the king
owed money to Penn’s father.
• Pennsylvania means “Penn’s Woods.”
• Penn wanted all people living in
Pennsylvania to live together peacefully.
Frame of Government of
Pennsylvania
• This plan of government set up a legislature
called the General Assembly.
• It gave citizens freedom of speech, freedom of
religion, and right to a fair trial by jury.
• In a trial by jury, a group of citizens decides if a
person is guilty or innocent of a crime.
• White, male colonists were allowed to elect
representatives.
• The Duke of York gave Penn control of the land
that now makes up Delaware.
• Penn wanted the Native Americans to be
treated with fairness, or Justice.
Life in the Middle Colonies
• Settlers in the Middle Colonies came from different
places and backgrounds.
• Diversity-Differences among people.
• Like all of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia was founded on
the idea that people of all backgrounds could live
together peacefully.
• Immigrants came from different countries to
Philadelphia.
• An immigrant is a person who comes into a country to
make a new life.
• Some immigrants came to escape war, find religious
freedom, own land, start businesses, and seek better
economic opportunities.
The Great Awakening
• In the 1720s, a new religious movement began in the
Middle Colonies.
• It was known as the Great Awakening because it
“awakened” many people’s interest in religion.
• It also changed the way many people practiced their
religion.
• The Great Awakening helped bring people together.
• It led to greater religious tolerance or acceptance
• During this time period, women, poor people, free and
enslaved Africans, and others participated in the
religious gatherings.
• Because not everyone agreed with the ideas of the
Great Awakening, the movement was eventually split.
Religion and Social Life
• Towns in the Middle Colonies often had more than one
type of church.
• Religion was a major part of social life in the Middle
Colonies.
• After services, neighbors would talk and exchange news.
• Social gatherings included: dances, plays, concerts,
social clubs, horse races, sleigh rides, and ice-skating.
• In rural areas, a barn raising was a big social event.
Neighbors would gather to help build a barn and
afterwards, everyone would gather for a large meal.
Philadelphia Grows
• As owner of the Pennsylvania colony,
William Penn planned both its government
and its settlements.
• Penn designed Philadelphia with wide
streets and many public parks.
• As Philadelphia grew, it became the home
of many famous scientists.
• The most famous Philadelphian was
Benjamin Franklin.
Benjamin Franklin
• Set up the first trained fire-fighting company in
the English colonies.
• Raised money to build the city’s first hospital.
• Set up a militia or volunteer army to protect the
city and the rest of the colony.
• Founded Pennsylvania’s first college and first
public library.
• He was a printer, scientist, and inventor.
• Became a leader in the colony’s government.
Rich farmlands
• Unlike the New England colonies, the
Middle colonies had plenty, of fertile soil.
• Since most people in the colonies earned
their living by farming, the Middle colonies
attracted many settlers.
• Wheat, corn, and rye were the main crops.
• The land was also used to feed the dairy
cows. The pigs ran though the forests,
eating acorns and berries.
• Farmers traveled to market towns to sell or
trade their livestock and crops.
• Each market town had a grist mill (grind
grain into flour)
• Most towns had a lumber mill.
• Families shopped at the general store.
– Bought things they could not make: iron tools,
shoes, paint, and buttons.
Port Cities
• Port Cities were major trade centers in the
Middle colonies.
• Economic success (prosperity) depended largely
on these port cities.
• New York city was one of the most famous port
cities.
• The Hudson River helped make trade easier.
• Farmers, fur traders, and lumber workers could
float their goods down the river to New York.
• The busiest port was Philadelphia, along the
Delaware River.
Imports and Exports
• Imports:
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Furniture
Tea
Gunpowder
Medicines
Metals
• Exports:
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Furs
Salted meat
Lumber
Wheat and grains
Colonial Jobs
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Artisans- craftworkers
Blacksmiths-used iron to make horseshoes and tools
Coopers- made barrels out of wood
Bricklayers- worked with stone and clay to pave streets
and raise buildings
Carpenters- used wood to build houses and ships.
Bakers, butchers, flour millers, soap makers
Dressmakers, tailors
Tanners-turned animal skins into leather
Cobblers- used leather to make shoes
Learning a trade
• A few young colonists in rich families went to college to
become lawyers, bankers, and ministers.
• Skills needed by artisans were not taught in school.
• Young people learned skills by becoming apprentices.
• An apprentice lived and worked with an artisan and his
family for several years to learn a skill.
• He could then go on to earn a living as a journey man
and later a master.
• These professions were practiced by men.
• Women had few chances to work outside the home.
• Sometimes if a woman’s husband died, she would take
over his business.
Natural Resources of the Middle
Colonies
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Forests
Swamps
Mountains
Atlantic Ocean
Good Harbors (connected to Hudson and
Delaware Rivers) Making trade easier
• Navigable rivers
Products/Crops of the Middle
Colonies
Called the “Breadbasket Colonies” due to
amount of grain grown.
• Wheat
• Corn
• Rye
• Barley
• Oats
Economy/Jobs of the Middle
Colonies
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Trading
Finance Merchants
Craftspeople
Gristmills
Southern Colonies
The Southern Colonies were:
1. Maryland
2. Virginia
3. North Carolina
4. South Carolina
5. Georgia
Reasons for Settling in the
Southern Colonies
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Religious Freedom
Given 50 acres of land
Second chance for debtors and prisoners
Mild climate
Long growing season
Government in the Southern
Colonies
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Town Meetings
Only white, land-owning men could vote
House of Burgesses
Representative Government
Geography of the Southern
Colonies
• Rich, fertile soil
• Flat, Coastal plains
• Good River System
Climate of the Southern Colonies
• Mild winters
• Mild to hot summers
• Longest growing season of all colonial
regions
Natural Resources of the Southern
Colonies
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Forests
Swamps
Mountains
Atlantic Ocean
Navigable rivers
Products/Crops of the Southern
Colonies
Cash Crops
Tobacco
Indigo-blue dye from plant
Rice
Cotton
Wheat
Economy/Jobs of the Southern
Colonies
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Farming and Agriculture
Trading (barter system)
Indentured Servants
Slavery
Maryland
• The Maryland Colony was founded by the
Calverts, a family of wealthy English
landowners.
• The Calverts, who were Catholic, wanted to start
a colony in North America that would make
money.
• Like the Quakers, Catholics in England could not
worship as they wished.
• They wanted a refuge for Catholics in North
America.
The Calverts
• George Calvert, also called Lord
Baltimore, had invested in the Virginia
Company.
• Calvert asked King Charles I to give him a
charter to start a colony north of Virginia.
• Calvert died before the charter was
signed.
• His son, Cecilius, became the owner of the
new colony, Maryland.
Maryland
• Maryland’s first governor was Cecilius
Calvert’s brother.
• The Calvert brothers had learned from the
bad experiences at Jamestown.
• They planned their colony carefully.
• The first colonists were sent in 1633. Most
of these colonists came as indentured
servants.
Life in Virginia and Maryland
• The Maryland colony had much in common with its
neighbor, Virginia.
• They both had a mild climate.
• Tobacco grew in the fertile soil along the Coastal Plain.
• Some colonists got rich from growing tobacco on large
plantations.
• Most colonists struggled to make a living on small farms.
• Many of Maryland’s farmers had come as indentured
servants.
• Maryland’s government helped former servants by giving
them land, clothes, tools, and barrels of corn.
• Virginia and Maryland had similar governments.
• Both colonies governors and elected
assemblies.
• The King controlled the royal colony of Virginia.
• The Calverts controlled the proprietary colony of
Maryland.
• In 1649, Maryland passed the Toleration Act,
which gave religious freedom to all Christians in
the colony.
The Carolina Colonies
• In 1663, England’s new king, King Charles II, granted
land for another colony, Carolina.
• The charter divided Carolina among eight leaders, called
Lords Proprietors.
• They adopted a constitution, or a written plan of
government.
• Most of the power was still held by the King, but white
males were allowed to make some laws and choose
some leaders.
• The Carolina Colony became hard to govern.
• It was large and colonists often did not follow the laws
they did not like.
• In 1712, the colony was split into North and South
Carolina.
• In hilly North Carolina, farmers grew
tobacco and corn.
• In South Carolina, farmers had trouble
making money by growing tobacco. The
land was too wet.
• Things changed when enslaved African
workers brought with them the knowledge
of how to grow rice successfully.
Georgia
• England, France, and Spain all claimed the land to the
south of South Carolina.
• By 1727, England’s new ruler, King George III, knew that
to gain control of the area, he had to send colonists
there.
• A wealthy English leader named James Olgethorpe had
an idea.
• Why not send debtors, people who had been put in
prison for owing money, to settle a new colony?
• The settlers would defend the land against the other
countries.
• The King granted a charter for a new colony, Georgia.
• The leaders of Georgia limited the size of
farms and did not allow slavery.
• Georgia had no plantations.
• In 1751, Georgia’s leaders decided to
allow slavery.
• Georgia’s economy grew as a result of
plantations and the labor of enslaved
Africans.
Heading West
• Backcountry-area between the Coastal Plain
and the Appalachian Mountains.
• This area had very few colonists.
• The Great Wagon Road- a Native American trail
that led through to the backcountry. As more
settlers traveled the trail, it became wide enough
for wagons to use. It became known as the
Great Wagon Road.
• It was the only way for wagons loaded with
household goods to the backcountry.
Conflicts with Native Americans
• As more Europeans arrived in the colonies, they
built their settlements on Native American lands.
Conflicts arose between the Native Americans
and settlers.
• The Tuscarora War-The Tuscarora attacked
several settlements. Their attacks led to war.
About 950 Tuscarora were killed or captured and
sold into slavery.
• As numbers fell, many Native American groups
were forced to move west to lands that the
European settlers had not yet reached. Settlers
soon moved west too.
Life in the South
• The first Africans in the English colonies were indentured
servants. They were used as workers.
• As more workers were needed, slavery was made legal.
• Children born to enslaved people were born into slavery.
• Families were often broken apart and sold to different
owners.
• In the Southern colonies, most enslaved Africans worked
on plantations.
• Some enslaved people were beaten and abused.
• It was difficult to escape but some did try.
• They were not free to speak out against slavery.
• Some slaves broke tools, pretended to be sick, and
worked slowly to resist slavery.
• Enslaved people tried to keep their culture alive by
singing songs and telling stories.
A Farming Economy
• Southern economy based on plantations
• Labor- enslaved people
• Planters- Plantation owners (richest people in Southern
colonies)
• Plantations often looked like small villages. There were
many buildings. (workshops, overseer house, slave
quarters)
• Overseer- Person hired by plantation owner to watch the
enslaved people as they worked.
• Enslaved children were not allowed to attend school. It
was illegal for enslaved children to learn to read and
write.
• Many colonists in the Southern colonies
did not own plantations. They lived and
worked on small farms.
• Some of these small farms had enslaved
workers. Many farm owners worked
alongside their slaves. They did not treat
them as equals.
• Church services were major events since
churches were often hours away.
Free Africans
• A few Africans were able to buy their freedom and start
farms.
• To escape slavery, many enslaved people ran away.
• Some found safety in Spanish Florida.
• The Seminole tribe gave runaways food and shelter. The
Seminole also gave them land if they were willing to give
back 1/3 of the crops they grew on this land.
• Many runaways dressed like the Seminole and learned
their language. They became known as the Black
Seminoles.
• Fort Mose became the first settlement in North America
for free Africans.
Southern Economy
• Cash Crops- Plantations in different colonies
grew different crops
• Tobacco- Maryland, Virginia, and Northern North
Carolina
• Rice- Southern North Carolina, South Carolina,
and Georgia
• Indigo- South Carolina
• Indigo was a blue dye that was used in the
making of clothes.
• Eliza Lucas Pinckney experimented with Indigo.
It became a major cash crop.
The Economy Grows
• Plantation owners sold their crops through the
use of a broker.
• A broker is a person who is paid to buy and sell
for someone else.
• Most successful plantations were located on
rivers or near ports. This made transportation of
goods easier.
• Baltimore became a major center for
shipbuilding.
• Forests were important natural resources.
• Naval stores- used in shipbuilding