Life in New England and the Middle Colonies

Limited Farming New England’s soil was thin and rocky, making farming difficult As a result, New Englanders could not rely on cash crops to earn a living New England farmers grew food only for their own consumption

The Bounty of the Sea Many New Englanders turned to the sea to earn their living. They exploited the rich fishing grounds of the Grand Banks, exporting salted fish back to Europe They built far-ranging whaling boats (whales were a source of both lamp oil and ivory)

Lumber Resources The old-growth forests of New England provided the lumber needed for building the fishing, whaling, and merchant fleets, so many settlers worked in the lumber industry and operating sawmills A great deal of lumber was also exported to other colonies and back to England

Merchants New England’s shipbuilding abilities, good harbors, and high demand for European goods also opened opportunities for some settlers to become merchants and engage in trade

The (New) Triangular Trade New England merchants carried colonial products (lumber, fish, southern cash crops) to the Caribbean sugar plantations The Caribbean sugar planters would then trade sugar, or simply exchange British bills of exchange (a form of money), for the American goods

The (New) Triangular Trade New England merchants then brought the sugar back home to be distilled into rum and used the bills of exchange to buy British finished goods (or slaves, which could be mostly traded to the southern colonies)

Towns Instead of Plantations While southern life was centered on the plantations, northern life was centered on towns, and all towns were centered on their church The Puritans strongly believed that God wanted men to live in tight-knit communities where they could regularly worship together

Town Meetings Towns were governed through “town meetings” where the entire community came together and the adult landowning men elected leaders and passed local laws Those elected to govern were called selectmen; they served for 1 year at a time and appointed all the other local officials (clerks, constables, justices)

Self-Government The town meeting tradition was important in developing the idea that people had a right to govern themselves Once the settlers became used to autonomy, they would resent efforts by the British to limit their independence and govern from afar.

Puritan Morality Puritans were expected to attend church every Sunday for worship and every Thursday night for religious education. Failure to attend was a punishable offense under the law. Puritans were also expected to watch over their neighbors and report immoral behaviors as a religious responsibility to the community

Salem Witch Trials This “Holy Watching” sometimes led to major social injustices, however In 1692, accusations of witchcraft rocked the town of Salem Massachusetts when a group of teenage girls claimed that an African slave and other local outcasts were placing curses on individuals in the community

Salem Witch Trials The trials led to mass hysteria and neighbors accusing neighbors in order to deflect suspicion from themselves In the end 20 people were executed and many others tortured before the girls finally recanted their stories In the years that followed, public outrage over the injustice of the trials put an end to further “witch hunts” in the colonies

Puritan Morality? Despite being opposed to gambling, acting, and dancing, the Puritans did enjoy themselves. They believed that God had made the world for man to both use and enjoy and that wealth was acceptable, since it was the result of hard work They drank alcohol, enjoyed music, and flaunted their wealth through fine clothing, furniture, and the construction of beautiful homes, churches, and public buildings

Rise of Cities The focus on community, coupled with the need to maintain good ports for trade, led to the rapid development of large towns in the northern and middle colonies (such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia)

Urban Problems With the development of cities came all the problems associated with cities – crime, pollution, rapidly spreading disease outbreaks, higher prices for goods, and high poverty rates

New England Society Within these larger towns and cities, a different pattern of social stratification began to develop than what had appeared in the more rural south At the top were the wealthy merchants, who built large homes and lived a luxurious lifestyle

New England Society Next were the artisans, those people who practiced a useful trade – carpenters, masons, smiths, tailors, shoemakers, etc., and other local businessmen, such as innkeepers and tavern owners

New England Society Next on the social ladder were the common laborers – people with no property and no specific skills, who worked for set wages at other people’s businesses At the bottom were the slaves, who made up as much as 20% of population even in northern cities

The Middle Colonies In between New England and the southern colonies were New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware These colonies enjoyed good farmland, but not the type of climate that made southern cash crops possible, so they primarily produced wheat, producing flour both for local consumption and for use in Europe and the Caribbean

The Middle Colonies The Middle Colonies also had good rivers (like the south) and good ports (like the north), putting them in the best economic position of perhaps any of the colonies This created the opportunity in these colonies for individuals to rise to the top of society through either commercial farming or through trade