THE NEW ENGLAND

COLONIES
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
NEW ENGLAND COLONIES
GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
● Rocky soil (difficult to grow crops)

● Cold, long winters (a short growing season)

● Natural harbors
(easy access to the ocean)

● Forests (provides timber for

building, animals for hunting)
NEW ENGLAND COLONIES
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
● Trap & sell animal furs

● Fishing

● Whaling (whale oil)

● Ship-building

● Harvest & sell timber

NEW ENGLAND COLONIES
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
● Eventually, a few large port cities like
Boston developed to support commerce
and trade between New England and the
rest of the world
NEW ENGLAND COLONIES
CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
● Puritan religion shaped the culture
○ Small towns and communities were built
around a church congregation
○ Strict church rules were enforced
community-wide
NEW ENGLAND COLONIES
CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
○ Every community had a common school
– all children were educated
– high literacy rates
NEW ENGLAND COLONIES
POLITICAL CHARACTERISTICS
● Puritan religion shaped politics
○ Only male church members could vote
○ Towns were governed by (somewhat)
democratic town meetings
IMPORTANT INDIVIDUALS
MASSACHUSETTS
● Other Puritans followed after the Pilgrims and
Plymouth expanded to become the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
● John Winthrop became the very
strict leader of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony.
IMPORTANT INDIVIDUALS
CONNECTICUT
● Thomas Hooker left
Massachusetts to establish his own
colony where church and state
governments would be separated

● Connecticut would be governed by a

constitution called the Fundamental
Orders of Connecticut
IMPORTANT INDIVIDUALS
RHODE ISLAND
● Roger Williams left Massachusetts to
establish Rhode Island, where there would
be separation of church and state.
● Anne Hutchinson also spoke out against
Puritan laws and was banished from
Massachusetts with her family.
THE MIDDLE COLONIES

New York
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Delaware
THE MIDDLE COLONIES
GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
● rolling hills
● fertile soil
● mild winters
THE MIDDLE COLONIES
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
● Growing grain crops:
○ wheat
○ barley
○ oats
○ rye
○ corn
● Livestock farms
● Trade & commerce in the cities
THE MIDDLE COLONIES
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
● Philadelphia and New York City grew
into major port cities and centers for trade
THE MIDDLE COLONIES
CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
● A religious group called the Quakers established
Pennsylvania and influenced the whole region
–Founded by William Penn
–Quakers were tolerant of other religions
–Quakers believed in equality of race and gender
–Quakers were anti-slavery
–Quakers believed in self-government
THE MIDDLE COLONIES
CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
● Education was available in the cities, mostly
for boys
● Apprenticeships began for boys at age 13-14
to learn a skill or trade
THE SOUTHERN COLONIES

Maryland
Virginia

North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
THE SOUTHERN COLONIES
GEOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
● Flat, marshy land near the coast
● Mountains in the west
● Fertile soil
● Long, hot summers
THE SOUTHERN COLONIES
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
● Cash crops
○ Rice
○ Indigo
○ Tobacco
○ Cotton (later)
 THE SOUTHERN COLONIES
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
● Cash crops were grown in large quantities on
huge farms called plantations
● Enslaved people were forced to tend these
crops (more on this later)
 THE SOUTHERN COLONIES
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
● Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah,
Georgia grew to become large port cities.
● Cash crops and slaves were imported and
exported through these cities
 THE SOUTHERN COLONIES
CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
● Plantation culture dominated society.
–Communities were rural
–Education only available for the rich
–Laws were made to protect the rich planters
 IMPORTANT INDIVIDUALS
MARYLAND
● In the 1630’s, Catholics began to be
persecuted in England.
● George Calvert, Lord
Baltimore, received a charter to
establish the colony of Maryland.
● Maryland became primarily a place
of religious refuge for Catholics.
 IMPORTANT INDIVIDUALS
GEORGIA
● Georgia was the last of the 13 colonies to
be established, in the 1730’s.
● It was started by James Oglethorpe as a
social experiment.
● Poor people and families from England
were sent to start a new life.
● Georgia would also serve as a buffer
 REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT
IN THE COLONIES
● What is a representative government?
→ A government in which groups of voters choose certain
individuals they trust to speak for them in the lawmaking
process.
● How is this different from a monarchy?
→ Only one leader makes decisions
● How is this different from a direct
democracy?
→ Everyone votes on all decisions
 REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT
IN THE COLONIES
Why was representative government
common in the 13 Colonies?
○ The Colonies were very far away from the Mother
Country (Great Britain).
○ The British king ignored the colonies for many years
(salutary neglect).
○ Enlightenment philosophers like John Locke
encouraged the idea of citizens being involved
in their government.
REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT
IN THE COLONIES
What were some examples of representative
government in the colonies?
○ The Virginia House of Burgesses (Jamestown)
○ The Mayflower Compact (Plymouth)
○ The Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut (written by
Thomas Hooker)