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Colonial CultureLife in the Colonies, 1607 Life in the Colonies, 1607 Life in the Colonies, 1607 Life in the Colonies, 1607 –––– 1776 1776 1776 1776

New England Colonies

Geography• Every colony had access

to the coast

• Short growing season

• Harsh winters/cold

climate

• Hard/rocky soil

• Large forests

New England Colonies

• Also :

– Mayflower Compact – 1st doc of self-gov’t

– Fundamental Orders of CT – 1st constitution

• Subsistence farming

• Whaling

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• Pilgrims and Puritans were original settlers

• Movement toward more Religious freedom

• Great Awakening began here

• Towns formed by congregations

– Boston was major city

• Farms established around common area with Meetinghouse

Middle Colonies

Geography• Every colony had access

to the coast

• Moderate growing season

• Mild winters/warm summers

• Fertile soil good for farming

• Large forests

• Iron ore mined in the mountains

Middle Colonies

• New York and New Jersey taken from the

Dutch

• Pennsylvania – limited government, granted

religious freedom and other liberties

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• “Breadbasket Colonies”– Gristmills ground grain

• Artisans (craftsman)

• Trade (ports) export crops/import manufactured goods

• Small scale

manufacturing

Candle-making

Textiles

Woodworking/sawyer

Blacksmith

• Quakers, Dutch influence religious tolerance

• Great Awakening

• Most ethnically (nationalities) diverse

colonies

– English, Dutch, Germans, Africans

• Treated most people as equals

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Southern Colonies

Geography

• Long growing season

• Hot climate

• Flat land and good soil

• Many rivers to transport crops

• Every colony on the coast

Southern Colonies

• Representative Assemblies

• VA House of Burgesses - 1st rep. assembly

• Planter Class controls most of political power

• Indentured Servants/Slavery

• Planters control economy

• Best suited for mercantilism (country controls the trade)

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• Maryland – haven for Catholics

• Great Awakening

• Charleston, Jamestown, Balitmore, Richmond

• English, African, Scots-Irish

• Plantations are self-sufficient

– Not many towns