1. Chapter 4: The Colonies Grow 1607-1770
Why it Matters: Independence was a spirit that became evident early in the history of the American people. The spirit of independence contributed to the birth of a new nation, one with a new government and a culture that was distinct from those of other countries.
The Impact Today: Americans continue to value independence. For example: The right to practice one’s own religion freely is safeguarded. Americans value the right to express themselves freely and to make their own laws.

2. Section 1: Life in the Colonies
Main Idea: Each region developed a unique way of life.
Key Terms:
Subsistence Farming
Triangular Trade
Cash Crop
Diversity
Tidewater
Backcountry
Overseer

3. I. New England Colonies pgs. 100-103
Immigration was an important factor to the growth of the colonies.
Between 1607 and 1775, almost a million people came to live in the colonies.
Colonies grew
Parents had larger families
More babies survived childhood diseases
People began to live longer.

4. New England Colonies cont.
Most New Englanders lived in towns.
Each town had a meetinghouse facing a green, or common, where cows grazed and the army trained.
The meetinghouse was used for both town meetings and church services.

6. New England Colonies cont.
The soil in New England made farming difficult.
Farming produced just enough to meet the needs of families. This was called subsistence farming. The farms in New England were also smaller than in the South.

7. New England Small businesses thrived.
Skilled craftspeople, blacksmiths, furniture makers, and printers started businesses.
Women often produced extra candles, garments and soup to sell or trade.

8. Winding the Spools for Weaving
Typical New England Colonial House

9. New England Colonies cont.
Shipbuilding and fishing were important industries.
Trade with Northern and Southern Colonies and with the West Indies centered in northern coastal cities.

10. New England
Trade with the colonies and Europe also centered in northern coastal cities.
Manufactured goods from Europe were traded for fish, furs and fruit from New England.

11. New England Colonies cont.
F. The triangular trade route developed. Ships brought sugar and molasses from the West Indies to New England where the molasses was made into rum. From New England, rum and other manufactured foods were shipped to West Africa. On the second leg in Africa, these goods were traded for enslaved Africans. On the last leg, the enslaved Africans were taken to the West Indies where they were sold to planters. The profit was used to buy more molasses, and the triangular trade continued.

13. New England Colonies cont.
One of the worst parts of the triangular trade was called the Middle Passage. Enslaved Africans endured inhumane treatment and conditions during the voyage across the Atlantic.

14. Middle Passage

15. II. The Middle Colonies pgs.103-104
Farms in these colonies were larger than in New England. As a result, they produced greater quantities of cash crops.
The port cities of New York and Philadelphia became busy with the wheat and livestock that was shipped from them.

16. Middle Colonies
Lumbering, mining, small-scale manufacturing, and home-based crafts were major industries of the region.
Religious and cultural differences existed here.
Immigrants from Germany, Holland, Sweden, and other non-English countries provided a cultural diversity not found in New England.

17. III. The Southern Colonies pg. 104-105
A. The economies of the Southern Colonies were dependent upon tobacco in Maryland and Virginia and on rice in South Carolina and Georgia. As a result, commerce or industry was slow to develop in the South.

18. Southern Colonies
Growing tobacco and rice was dependent upon slave labor. Rice was even more profitable than tobacco. London Merchants, rather than the local merchants, managed this southern trade.

19. Plantation Life Tobacco and rice were grown on plantations.
A plantation, or large farm, was often on a river so crops could be shipped easily by boat.

20. Plantations
Each plantation was a community consisting of a main house, kitchen, slave cabins, barns, stables, and outbuildings, and perhaps a chapel and a school.
They were in the Tidewater region of the South.

21. The Southern Colonies cont.
Some people in the South settled in the backcountry region, toward the Appalachian Mountains.
Small farms grew corn and tobacco.
The independent small farmers out-numbered the large plantation owners.
Plantation owners controlled the economic and political life of the region.

22. Backcountry

23. Slavery pg. 106
Slavery was a main reason for the economic success of the South.
Criticized as being inhumane.
Some colonists did not believe in slavery, nor would they own enslaved people.

24. Slave Life Most of the enslaved Africans lived on plantations.
Many suffered from cruel treatment.
All of the Southern Colonies had slave labor and slave codes,
Slave Codes- strict rules that governed the enslaved Africans.
Most plantation owners hired overseers-or bosses to keep slaves working hard.

25. Slavery They also developed their own culture as enslaved people
Based on their West African homelands.
Some were given the opportunity to learn trades and become skilled workers.
Few could buy their freedom, they developed communities with other free African Americans.

26. Wrap Up Questions
1. Why were the enslaved Africans forced into such a brutal existence during the Middle Passage?
2. What was the importance of cash crops?
3. Would you have wanted to be a backcountry farmer or a plantation owner? Give your reasons.