New England Colonies

New England was settled by Puritans seeking freedom from religious persecution in Europe. They formed a “covenant community” – a promise between community members that their lives would center around fulfillment of their religion and their religious beliefs. This covenant community was based on the principles of the Mayflower Compact and Puritan religious beliefs. As a result, Puritans living in New England were often intolerant of those not sharing their religion. The Mayflower Compact was a document signed on the English ship Mayflower in 1620 before they landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was the first framework of government written in the new colonies. The New England settlers also sought economic opportunity in the New World. New England’s colder climate and rocky soil, due to the Appalachian Mountains, had a major impact on the economic system of that region. In order to make money, people in New England often took jobs in lumbering, shipbuilding, fur trading, and fishing. These jobs were more lucrative in the New England colonies due to the climate and agriculture. Because of the colder temperatures and shorter growing season in New England, farming in that region took the form of subsistence farms. Subsistence farming occurs when farmers grow just enough crops to meet the needs of their own families. The farmers’ goal is to grow enough food to feed their own family, not to have plenty of extra to be able to sell or trade. The New England colonies consisted of the present-day states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Middle Colonies

The Middle Atlantic region was settled chiefly by English, Dutch, and German-speaking immigrants seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity. Because of the variety of settlers in this region, the Middle Colonies became incredibly diverse and religiously tolerant, as they accepted many different religious and cultural groups. Quakers came from England, usually settling in Pennsylvania. Huguenots were French Protestants who settled mostly in New York, alongside a large Jewish population. In New Jersey, there was a substantial Presbyterian community. Economic development in this region centered around trade. Because the Middle Colonies were situated geographically in the middle of the English colonies, they were best able to facilitate trade between all three regions, and oversee trade back to England. Members of these colonies also excelled in shipbuilding, as many ships were needed for the trade occurring in that region. Farming in the Middle Colonies took the form of small-scale farms. These farms were larger than the subsistence farms found in New England, but not nearly as large as the plantations found in the Southern Colonies. Farmers would be able to grow enough for their own families, and would often have large amounts of excess they could trade or sell to others. The Middle Colonies consisted of the present-day states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Southern Colonies

Virginia and the other Southern colonies were settled by people seeking economic opportunities. Some of the early Virginia settlers were “cavaliers,” English nobility who received large land grants in eastern Virginia from the King of England. Poor English immigrants also came seeking better lives as small farmers or artisans and settled in the Shenandoah Valley or western Virginia, or as indentured servants who agreed to work on tobacco plantations for a period of time to pay for passage to the New World. When the slave trade began in 1619, the South also became home to a large population of forcibly transported Africans, who were sold into slavery. Together, these groups of people cultivated an agriculture-based economic system that centered on the large plantation farms of the South. Because of the warmer climate and the longer growing season, the Southern colonies were prime territory for these large farms to grow enormous amounts of crops. The three “cash crops” of the South during this time were tobacco, indigo and rice. Jamestown, established in 1607 by the Virginia Company of London as a business venture, was the first permanent English settlement in North America. The Virginia House of Burgesses, established by the 1640s, was the first elected assembly in the New World. It has operated continuously and is known today as the General Assembly in Virginia. The Southern colonies consisted of the modern-day states of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.