Chapter 4 Life in the American
Colonies
Colonial Economy
Do Now: Respond to quote
• “Do what you can, where you are, with what
you have.”
Colonial Economies
BIG IDEA: The unique resources and conditions
that existed in each colony helped shape
colonial economies and way of thinking.
Essential Question: How did the economic
activity of the three regions reflect their
geography and climate?
Making a Living in the Colonies
• Geography played an important role in the
colonies’ economic development.
• Colonists learned to adapt to the climate and
terrain of the region where they lived.
Agriculture
• Life in colonial America was based largely on
agriculture. Most colonists farmed or ran
businesses related to farming.
– Example: milling flour
Commercial New England
• Farming was difficult in New England due to
geography
– Soil was rocky and they had long winters
– Made growing things difficult
– Only subsistence farming- (farming enough to eat
and not extra to sell)
– If they can’t make money farming, due to their
geography, what might they do instead? Make a
prediction.
Commercial New England
• Instead of farming, New Englanders tended to
manufacture and sell things.
– Blacksmiths
– Shoe makers
– Furniture makers
– Gunsmiths
– Fishing
– Shipbuilders (New England rich in forests)
• Ships important for port cities like Boston
(TRADE)
Summary: New England
• New England did not have good weather or
geography for farming therefore they
MANUFACTURED AND TRADED.
The Middle Colonies
• Middle Colonies depended mostly on
FARMING
– Region enjoyed fertile soil
– Mild climate
• In NY and PA
– Large farms of wheat and other cash crops
• (crops easily sold to others)
• Farmers sent cash crops to NY and Philadelphia (port
cities) to ship
The Middle Colonies
• Middle Colonies farmed but also had industry
– Carpentry, flour making, lumber mills, mines, ironworks,
etc
– Attracted Scotch-Irish, German, Dutch, and Swedish
settlers.
• Became successful farmers
• Gave Middle Colonies “Cultural Diversity” not found in New
England
Summary: Middle Colonies
• Middle Colonies had a balanced climate and
geography, therefore they BOTH FARMED AND
MANUFACTURED.
Life in the Southern Colonies
• Had rich soil and a warm
climate good for farming.
• Southern farmers could plant
large farms
– Harvested tobacco and rice
(cash crops)
• Little industry developed in
the south
• DEPENDED ON SLAVERY TO
HARVEST CROPS
• Plantation owners (very large
farms with lots of slaves)
controlled the economic and
political life of the region.
Summary: Southern Colonies
• It was warm and mild in the south, therefore,
they FARMED.
• Since they FARMED, they needed SLAVES to
run these farms.
Tobacco and Rice
• Virginia and Maryland
– Main cash crop in MD and
VA was tobacco
• Depended on slave labor
• Georgia and South Carolina
– Main cash crop in GA and SC
was rice
• Depended on slave labor
• Became even more
popular than tobacco
–Very well selling crop
Necessity
• “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
• How did geography and climate make it
necessary for each region to adopt the
practices of farming/manufacturing?
– New England
– Middle Colonies
– Southern Colonies
Closure Day 1
• Write an OER explaining how each region’s
geography influenced its economy.
– New England
– Middle Colonies
– Southern Colonies
DAY 2: Slavery
Human Graph
• African slaves were used more in the south
because there were more racists there at the
time.
Human Graph
• African slaves were used more in the south
because there were more racists there at the
time.
• False: Slavery was used more in the south
because their economy depended on
farming.
Human Graph
• The religious beliefs of Quakers and Puritans
contributed to the fact that Northerners used
slaves far less than those in the south.
Human Graph
• The religious beliefs of Quakers and Puritans
contributed to the fact that Northerners used
slaves far less than those in the south.
• True: However, the main reason the north did
not use slaves was because the North
manufactured and did not need slaves like
the agrarian south did.
The Growth of Slavery
• By the time Europeans were sailing to the
Americas, slavery was widely practiced in
West Africa
• West African kingdoms enslaved those they
defeated in war.
• Slave traders from Arab lands bought some of
these enslaved people.
• Others were forced to work in mines or farm
fields.
The Growth of Slavery
• Colonists who began farming had a need for
slaves
• They purchased them from slave traders who
got their slaves from West Africa
• Slavery became a part of the success of the
colonial economy
Middle Passage
• Triangular
Trade- Was the
second leg of a
trade route
which made a
triangle
between Africa,
America and
Europe
Middle Passage
• The Middle Passage refers to the trip slaves
took across the Atlantic to arrive in the English
colonies.
• Slaves were chained together for more than a
month
• Prisoners could hardly sit or stand, received
little food or water
• Those who died or became sick were thrown
overboard
Life of the Slave
• Some enslaved Africans did housework but
most worked on the farms
• Suffered great cruelty by plantation owners
• Owners of plantations hired bosses to keep
slaves working hard
Life of the Slave
• Many colonies had
slave codes- rules
governing the
behavior and
punishment of
enslaved people.
– Some made it illegal to
teach slaves to read or
write
– Famalies often torn
apart when sold into
slavery
Critics of Slavery
• Puritans in MA refused to hold slaves
– How might their geography and economic
practices have allowed this?
• Quakers and Mennonites in PA condemned
slavery.
• Slavery Video
Closure:
• Write an OER explaining how the economy of
each colony influenced their use of slaves.