Characteristics of New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies: A Historical Overview

1. Essential Question • What were the characteristics of New England, Middle, and Southern colonies?

2. The 13 Colonies

3. Types of Colonies • Royal Colony – controlled by the king • Proprietary Colony –land granted to a group of private owners for development

4. Joint Stock Company • Pooled money of many investors • Merchants could trade with and colonize other parts of the world

5. Relationships with Native Americans

6. New England • At first – peaceful relations • Taught Puritans how to grow corn and survive the harsh winters

7. Pequot War • Fighting erupted after two Massachusetts traders were killed in Pequot territory

8. King Philip’s War • 1675 – MA arrested and executed three Wampanoag for murder • Metacomet – Wampanoag chief also known as King Philip who led the fighting

10. King Philip’s War • 1678 - colonist victory – ended Indian uprisings in New England • Turning point for settlements

11. Virginia • Tribal confederation led by Chief Powhatan • Traded with the colonists

12. Opechancanough • Powhatan’s brother • Attacked Jamestown in March 1622 and killed 300 colonists

13. Southern Social Structure

14. Headright System • 50 acres of land promised to anyone who would settle in the colony

15. Indentured Servants • Agreed to work for a landowner in the colonies for 4-7 years • Received passage to America and land

16. Bacon’s Rebellion • Small farmers in Virginia rebelled against the rich who controlled the colony • Led by Nathaniel Bacon

18. Southern Slavery • Plantation System • Huge farms raised cash crops – needed large numbers of laborers

19. Middle Passage • The route taken by ships carrying slaves from Africa to North America

20. Middle Passage

21. Africans • Isolated in the South • Kept African culture, languages, music alive

22. Gullah • Rice plantation slaves in South Carolina created their own language • Mix of African and English

23. Puritan Society

24. New England Society • Small farms • Cities for Atlantic trade (Boston)

25. New England Education • First colony with public education - Massachusetts • Two of the nation’s earliest colleges – Harvard and Yale

26. German Immigrants • Settled in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Dutch • Many moved into the Shenandoah Valley (VA)

27. Scots Irish • Settled in PA • Moved west to the backcountry or the southern colonies

28. Jewish Community • Fled persecution in Europe • First arrived in New Amsterdam (NYC) • Also lived in Charles Town and Savannah

29. Great Britain and the Colonies • Salutary Neglect • English government let the American colonists govern themselves • Created representative governments

30. House of Burgesses • Virginia • First elected legislative body in the colonies • White males as voters

31. Mayflower Compact • New England colonists first form of government • Government derived its power from the people of the colony

32. New England Government • Town meeting – local citizens met and voted on issues • Direct democracy

33. Massachusetts Assembly

34. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut • Body of the laws for the colony (1639) • All adult men could vote • Limited powers of government

35. The Great Awakening • Religious revival movement • Stressed an individual’s devotion and emotional connection to God

36. Revivals • Large public meetings for preaching and prayer • Revival of religious feeling

37. Jonathan Edwards • Preacher in Massachusetts who hoped to restore New England’s spirituality • Focused on repentance and being “born again”

38. George Whitfield • Arrived in Philadelphia in 1739 • Powerful, emotional speaker • Preached throughout the colonies to large crowds

39. Social Mobility • Ability to move from one social status to another • Individualism – each person can achieve success with hard work

40. Benjamin Franklin Oct. 6, 1723 – he arrived in Philadelphia: “I was in my working dress . . . I was dirty from my journey, and I knew no soul nor where to look for lodging. I was fatigued with traveling, rowing, and want of rest; I was very hungry; and my whole stock of cash consisted of a Dutch dollar and a shilling in copper.”

41. Mercantilism • Country tries to accumulate gold and silver • Sell more goods than buy from other countries • Exports greater than imports

42. Mercantilism • Buy raw materials from colonies • Sell finished products to the colonies

43. Difficulties for the Colonies • Cannot sell products to another nation • Cannot accumulate gold and silver • Cannot manufacture own goods

44. Navigation Acts • England attempted to enforce their mercantilist policies on the colonies

45. Quote, Boston Gazette “A colonist cannot make a button, a horseshoe, nor a hobnail, but some sooty ironmonger or respectable buttonmaker of Britain shall bawl and squall that his Honor’s worship is . . . maltreated, injured, cheated, and robbed by the rascally American republicans.”

46. Triangular Trade