1. English Colonies: New England, Middle Atlantic, Southern
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Level 1
English Colonies: New England,
Middle Atlantic, Southern

2. Vocabulary
Region: areas of land created by human used to manage and interpret the complexity of Earth’s surface
Patroons: a person who held an estate of land with certain privileges like land ownership, the right to establish courts, and the right to appoint local officers
Proprietors: Investors that support and are supported by the King or Queen, were in charge of colonies to make a profit
Royal Colony: a colony ruled directly by the King or Queen
Subsistence Farming: a farmer who grew just enough food to survive until the next growing season
Theocracy: a government that gets it’s right to rule directly from God
Plantations: large farms that usually grow cash crops like tobacco, rice, or cotton
Legislature: a governing body that creates laws
Self Government: a government by the people for the people
Magna Carta: a constitution that guaranteed rights and laws to the common people of England
Mayflower Compact: an agreement for governing Plymouth colony
Dictionary.com

3. Essential Questions
What are the political, economic, and social roots of colonial settlements in the Americas?
What role did geography play in the settlement pattern?

4. Criteria to Define Formal Regions:
The people who share a language, religion, nationality, political identity and culture
Types of Regions in the 13 Colonies:
New England: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire. New England had a cold climate and rocky soil which made farming hard.
Middle: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware. The Middle Colonies had a mild climate with warm summers and mild winters that were suited to farming and agriculture.
Southern: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. The Southern colonies had a warm moist climate with a long growing season perfect for cash crops.
Most middle school students should be able to label the map in the notes by memory but for the students on a lower ability level or those whom have just moved into the country, help might be needed from the teacher.
Note: Maine was part of Massachusetts.
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Info:

5. Settlement Patterns of the Colonies

6. Religious Patterns in the Colonies

7. Economic Patterns Emerge to Meet Diverse Needs: Agricultural and Urban Settlements
New England
Middle Atlantic
Southern
From the Sea
Shipbuilding, fishing, whaling, fur trapping, lumber, shopkeepers and tradesmen in towns, shipping, slave trading, trade in general
Subsistence farming
corn, pumpkins, beans, squash, apples, tobacco, cattle and dairy
Fur trapping, lumber, shipping, slave trade, merchants tradesmen: cobblers, silversmiths, blacksmiths in towns
Agriculture: corn, wheat, vegetables, tobacco, iron mining, cattle and dairy farming
Lumber shipping, fishing, cattle, iron mining, slave trade, shoe making, brick makers, tailors, blacksmiths, silversmiths, pottery makers
Agriculture: grains, corn, wheat, vegetables, tobacco, fruit trees,
Plantation farming, cotton, indigo, rice
Small farms to Large Plantations
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8. Southern Plantation
New England Cottage
Tobacco Plants

9. Political Systems in the Colonies
Main Idea: Most colonies had some sort of self representation which kept with the tradition of England with the Magna Carta as its basis.

10. New England Political Systems
Rhode Island:
Ruled by Governor with 10 assistants a General Assembly elected by the colonists in each town
Assembly could make laws, create local militia to defend against the natives as well as monitor trade
Massachusetts:
Mayflower Compact
A Theocracy ruled by ministers who got their power from God
White men in good standing with the church could vote to elect ministers
Laws based on church teachings and moral beliefs
Connecticut:
First written constitution called the Fundamental Orders
1 representative from each town and one Governor were all elected by the free white men
New Hampshire:
Constitution
Governor and lieutenant governor with an assembly
NH:
History Alive Information on the Colony of RI, Massachusetts, and Connecticut student handout 1.2A
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11. Middle Atlantic Political Systems
Pennsylvania:
Self government
Free men elected representatives to the General Assembly each year
General Assembly voted on laws proposed by the Provincial Council
Governor oversaw legislature
New York:
Governor appointed by King of England who made all laws
New Jersey:
Governor, council, and an assembly elected by the people
Assembly had power to tax
Delaware:
Legislature but was ruled by the William Penn NJ
History Alive Information on the Colony of Pennsylvania and NY student handout 1.2A
Delaware:
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12. Southern Political Systems
Virginia:
Free, white, male landowners elected representatives to the House of Burgesses
Virginia Company appointed 6 members to the Governor’s Council
Governor was appointed in England and represented the King or Queen
Maryland:
Self government but the Lord Proprietor had more power than colonial leaders
Free men elected representatives who owed loyalty to the Lord Proprietor not the King or Queen
Lord Proprietor printed money, and had the power to create an army and declare war
North and South Carolina:
1st ruled by proprietors, then ruled directly by the King as a royal colony
Had a governor and a legislature
Georgia:
Free, white men elected representatives to the Common House of Assembly
Upper House of General Assembly appointed by the Trustees
Governor had final word and was appointed by Trustees and the King of England
History Alive Information on the colony of Virginia, Maryland, Georgia
Carolina’s:

13. Social Order Gentry Middle Class Hired Farm Hands Indentured Servants
Slaves
worked in the fields usually on plantations
contracted to work 4-7 years without pay in return for free voyage to America; when their contracts were up, they received “freedom dues” (clothes, tools, 50 acres of land)
Some Native, but mostly African, slaves who worked inside the home, in businesses and in the fields
farmers who worked their own land, skilled crafts workers, and trades people, about ¾ of all white colonists
wealthy planters, merchants, ministers, lawyers, and royal officials

14. Review Questions
Copy and complete the chart below using information from the power point.
Colonies
Political System
Economic Systems
Major Religions
Ethnic Groups
New England Colonies
Middle Atlantic Colonies
Southern Colonies
What was the social structure in the Colonies
What role did geography play in the settlement pattern?