Original 13 Colonies
Regional Colonies
• New England
Colonies
o
o
o
o
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Rhode Island
New Hampshire
• Middle Colonies
o
o
o
o
Delaware
New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
• Southern
Colonies
o
o
o
o
o
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
New
England
Colonies
Geography
• Bitterly cold winters
and mild summers.
• Land was flat close
to the coastline but
became hilly and
mountainous farther
inland.
• Soil was rocky,
making farming
difficult.
• Very short growing
season
• Cold winters
reduced the spread
of disease
Religion
• Puritans, reformers seeking to “purify”
Christianity
• Puritans followed strict rules and were
intolerant of other religions
• New England Way of Life
• Singing and celebrating holidays were
among things prohibited in Puritan New
England
Puritans Even Ban
CHRISTMAS!
Economy
• Dependent on the
ocean.
• Fishing, trapping
and fur trading,
shipbuilding, and
logging
• Subsistence
Farming
• Triangular Trade
Triangular Trade
Government
• Seeds of Democracy
• Mayflower Compact – majority rule
• Fundamental Orders of Connecticut – first
Constitution
• Virginia House of Burgesses- first
Representative Assembly
Middle Colonies
Geography
• Warm summers and cold winters
• Coastal plains along the coastline, piedmont
(rolling hills) in the middle, and mountains
farther inland
• Good coastal harbors for shipping
• Climate and land were ideal for agriculture
Economy
• Longer
growing
season
• “Breadbasket
colonies”
• Grain = Cash
Crop
Religion
• No single religion seemed to dominate the
entire region.
• Religious tolerance attracted immigrants
Quakers, Catholics, Jews, Lutherans and
Presbyterians
Southern Colonies
Geography
• Warm climate with hot
summers and mild
winters.
• Coastal plains in the
east to piedmont
farther inland. The
westernmost regions
were mountainous.
• Soil was perfect for
farming long growing
season
• Hot summers =
diseases (malaria &
yellow fever)
Economy
• Almost entirely based on farming.
• Rice, indigo, tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton were
cash crops.
• Crops were grown on large plantations where
slaves and indentured servants worked the land.
• Charleston, South Carolina became one of the
centers of the American slave trade in the 1700′s.
Religion
• Anglican (Baptist or Presbyterian)
• Maryland founded it as a refuge for English
Catholics.
• Religion did not have the same impact on
communities
• Plantations that were often distant and
spread out from one another.
Columbian Exchange
Columbian Exchange
• Movement of plants, animals, & diseases
between the Americas and Europe
• Negatives:
• Diseases brought by Europeans decimate
Native Americans
• Positives:
• Introduction of new crops and foods to both
hemispheres
o Grapes, onions, wheat, cattle, pigs & horses thrive in Americas
o Potatoes and corn brought back to Europe – basis for new diets
Slavery Begins
• As plantation system grows there is an
increased need for labor
• Indentured servants
• Slavery begins
• Little need for slaves in New England colonies
due to short growing season
• Planter class grows in Southern colonies as
cash crops such as indigo grow
Life in Slavery
Directed by an overseer
Spent 15 + hours working
Lived in small one room cabins
Slaves do retain customs, traditions and
beliefs from their homeland
• African kinship customs become basis for
African American family unit
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