Colonial America
 Essential Question:
What was life
like in the
British Colonies?
Push Factors
 A reason that people
would want to leave
or move away from
their current location
Push Factors
 Population Growth
 Agricultural Changes
 Crop Failures
 Industrial Revolution
 Religious Readings
Pull Factor
 A reason that
people would
want to move
some where
new
Pull Factors of America
 Religious
Freedom
 Abundant Land
 Freedom
 Economic
Opportunity
Why British Colonies in North
America?
 Make money
 Competing with other European Countries
 Gain more land
 Mercantilism – economic policy where the government
gets money by controlling trade
Roanoke
First Colony
- 1584
- Was it successful? Why?
Jamestown
- 1607
- Was it successful? Why?
Which colony was the first?
General Information
 There were 3 distinct regions
 Each colony had a charter (rules
for establishing a colony)
 Governor was appointed by king
 Most colonies were democratic/
self governing (ruled by the
people)
3 Regional Colonial Areas
 New England Colonies
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Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New Hampshire
 Middle Colonies
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New York
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Delaware
 Southern Colonies
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Maryland
Virginia
Georgia
North Carolina
South Carolina
New England Colonies
 Based on religion
 Seeking religious freedom
 Not good land for farming
 Relied on selling goods back
to England
 Worked well with Native
Americans
Middle Colonies
 Raised a variety of crops
 Lumbering and shipbuilding
 Culturally diverse
 Religious diversity
Southern Colonies
 Rivers, wetlands
 Good soil
 Tobacco, rice,
 Cash Crops – crop raised
in large quantities and sold
for profit
 Large Farms – Plantations
 Indentured Servants and
Slaves
Indentured Servants
 Had tickets to colonies purchased for them by their
masters
 Once they worked off the cost of the ticket they could
be freed
Life in the Colonies - Slavery
 Didn’t start until a century
after other European
Countries had already
instituted slavery
 Started after indentured
servitude came to an end
 Slaves could earn their
way out of slavery
Life in the Colonies - Slavery
 Purchased from African
Kings
 Part of Triangle Trade
 Endured Middle Passage
Life in the Colonies - Slavery
 Slaves were used to grow
Cash Crops: tobacco, rice
and indigo
 A few slaves in the New
England Colonies
 Slaves were widespread in
the South
 Virginia was the first state to
make slavery a formal
institution
Life in the Colonies - Trade
 Mercantilism
 Little support for English
Monarchs
 Encourage trade between
colonies and mother country
 Limited trade with other
countries
 Could not make profits from
selling to other countries
Life in the Colonies - Education
 Looked similar to English
Grammar schools
 Reading, Writing,
arithmetic
 Religious
 Many Colleges founded in
Colonies – Harvard, Yale,
Columbia, William and
Mary
Life in the Colonies - Religion
 Great Awakening
 Ideas of Liberty, Self
Reliance, Equality
 Almost everyone has a
faith group they belong to
 Pastors responsible for
actions of colonists
Life in Colonies - Government
 Wanted to be part of the
English Government and
society
 Wanted to follow the rules an
policies of the monarch