Colonies Comparison Chart

Colonies Comparison Chart Please use your reading notes and text to compare the American colonies by region: Southern, Middle, and New England. Colonies Southern North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia Chesapeake Virginia, Maryland Middle New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware New England Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut Geography The southern colonies were swampy, the soil was rich and the climate was good(warm with rain). Throughout the colonies there were the coastal plains and piedmont. The weather was mild with a lot of humidity. The soil was rich and great for farming. Tobacco thrived in the Chesapeake area. The weather in the middle colonies was temperate. The geography varied from state to state, there were coastal plains along the coast, rolling hills in the middle and mountains were the farthest inland. Motives Southern settlers were motivated by economic reasons. They wanted to grow their economics. The original purpose of these colonies was to make a profit. Settlers came to Virginia for economic reasons, they wanted gold. Although they did not find much gold or succeed at all at first. Eventually they did find a lot of tobacco. Maryland was originally part of Virginia but then separated from Virginia. The middle colonies were founded for both religious and economic reasons. People no longer wanted to be poor. They also wanted to stop being persecuted for their religious beliefs, Pennsylvania was a place where many religions were welcomed The New England colonies had very cold winters and mild summers. The land near the coastline was flat but became more hilly further inland. The soil was not very good because it had lots or rocks. Settlers in the New England colonies were there for mostly religious reasons. They wanted to escape religious persecution they faced in England. The Southern Colonies economy relied largely on agriculture. There were many large plantations where slaves and indentured servants completed most of the labor. There was also an abundance of cash crops like tobacco, rice and indigo. The economy of the Chesapeake colonies was largely agricultural. There were plantations where rice, indigo and tobacco were produced. The economy of the middle colonies was very diverse. A lot of it was agricultural. It had many types of crops like grains and oats. Shipbuilding, textiles and logging contributed to the economy. The cities of New York and Philadelphia were major shipping ports which greatly contributed to the economy. The economy relied on the ocean. Fishing, whaling and shipbuilding were very important. The New England colonies also economically gained a lot from buying slaves from West Africa during the triangular trade. Most in the southern colonies were Anglican. There were also Catholics and Baptists. Religion never had a huge effect on the southern colonies. Maryland was a mostly Catholic colony but had religious toleration. Virginia was mostly Anglican. There were many different religions throughout the middle colonies. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, a The New England colonies were primarily Puritans. Puritans believed that they had to purify christianity. The Great Awakening Economy Religion Colonies Comparison Chart Please use your reading notes and text to compare the American colonies by region: Southern, Middle, and New England. Society Government Slavery was a very important part of society for the southern colonies. Agriculture was very important to the southern society and a lot of this agricultural labor was done by slaves. The southern colonies political structure was provincial, which means that these states were more controlled by the Crown(The Crown = The British monarch). The British king decided on the provincial governors. These colonies also has legislative assemblies.(The provincial governors could veto any decisions made by these legislative assemblies) Virginia was basically a slave society. Even though all the power was held by male landowners all the work in the tobacco fields was done by slaves. Maryland was the same. Virginia’s political structure was provincial, in a provincial government there were general assemblies but provincial governors appointed by the British king could veto any decisions made by the general assemblies. Maryland’s government was very similar except that governors were appointed by a lord proprietor who was someone who purchased the colony from the British government. Maryland’s type of government was called proprietary. Quaker, even though he was a Quaker he encouraged people of all faiths and religions to reside in his colony. Farming was a big part of society for the middle colonies. The majority of middle class citizens made a living off farming. Society in the middle colonies grew quickly and was diverse. All the middle colonies except for New York had a proprietary government. In a proprietary government there were governors appointed by a lord proprietor, which is someone who bought or received the rights of the colony from the British government. These governors could veto any decisions made by the colony’s general assemblies. New York had a provincial government which was very similar to a proprietary government except that the governors were elected by the British King. started in the New England colonies. New England’s society was very centered around religion since the Puritan religion was very strict. The families were large. A lot of jobs were based on fishing and boating since they were near the coast. There were a lot of slave in the New England colonies which played a big part in their society(and also their economy). Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut were charter colonies. That means that their government was made up of political organizations or interest groups. These political organizations made a charter that specified how power would work between the executive, judiciary and legislative branches of the government. Instead of the governors being appointed by one person these colonies elected their own. New Hampshire was provincial which means there was a general assembly but the governor could veto any of their decisions. This governor was picked by the British king.