1. Life in New England and the Middle Colonies

2. 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

3. 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)

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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)

9. 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

10. 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)

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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)

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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