Colonial America

Farms were larger in the middle colonies. The soil was better. And the growing season was longer than in the north. On the farms in the middle colonies they grew wheat, corn, rye, oats, and barley. Farmers in the middle colonies were able to grow a surplus. What they did not need for their own family they could sell at the market.

Cities were usually larger in the middle colonies. These cities grew rapidly. They became the centers of trade and business. New York and Philadelphia are good examples. They became important places of trade. Being in the middle of so much trade and commerce made them important cities. They grew quickly in size. The number of businesses also grew.

Churches from a number of faiths were in the middle colonies. There were Quakers. There were also Mennonites, and Presbyterians. Also there were Dutch Calvinists, and Lutherans. No one religion was in control. Churches had to work together. They had to get along.

Laws in Pennsylvania gave a number of rights to the people. William Penn helped to make this happen. He was the proprietor for this colony. When he arrived he made some basic laws. His laws were called the Charter of Privileges. Penn was a Quaker and wanted more freedom of religion. He made it so all people, of any religion, could worship how they wanted. The people had more freedom here than they had in England. Quakers also did not believe that churches should get help from taxes. People from Pennsylvania were represented in their government. It is said that Penn even made a treaty with the Native Americans. The people got a taste of many new freedoms. They would not want to give them up as the colony developed.

People of the middle colonies were not the same. Their background was diverse. This means they came from many different places. They were more diverse than the other colonies. Many came from England, Scotland, and Ireland. Others came from Sweden. Some came from Germany, Holland, and France. Others came from Africa. There were also two native Indian tribes, the Algonqiuns and the Iroquois.

Some important things took place with the laws in the middle colonies. In 1665, for example, New Jersey leaders made some changes. They created a constitution. The changes brought more freedom. They also created an elected assembly. They gave full authority to tax. And, they granted 60-150 acres of land for new settlers. They wanted to attract a larger tax base.. These changes started a tradition for a government by the people.

Reading resources

© Reading-SocialStudiesSolutions

Text Credits:

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/13-colonies-colonial-life-economics-politics.html;
Northern Colonies- Mayflower Compact, governments- http://www.ushistory.org/us/3b.as; The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America by Dale Taylor, p. 40, Rhode Island p. 49;
Middle Colonies- New Jersey government- The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America by Dale Taylor, p. 55; Pennsylvania colony (Freedoms);
The Extraordinary Suzy Wright: A Colonial Woman on the Frontier by Teri Kanefield, p. 9;
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/colonialtimes.htm;
Farmers- The Farmer by Wil Mara;
Women- The Extraordinary Suzy Wright: A Colonial Woman on the Frontier by Teri Kanefield, p. 14 (rights);
http://www.history.org/almanack/life/trades/traderural.cfm;
http://www.history.org/almanack/life/trades/traderural2.cfm;
http://www.ushistory.org/us/5e.asp;
http://www.usahistory.info/colonial/customs.html;
http://www.history.org/History/teaching/dayInTheLife/webactivities/dress/dress.cfm (Colonial dress);
Two Sets of clothes- The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America by Dale Taylor pp. 254) http://www.williamsburgkids.com/people/;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeCXLiwWqKw (Making linen from flax);
http://www.ushistory.org/us/5a.asp;
http://www.ushistory.org/us/5b.asp;
http://www.history.org/kids/visitUs/colonialPeople/slave.cfm;
http://www.ushistory.org/us/1a.asp;
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/perspectives_daily.html#;
Abigail Adams by Kem Kapp Sawyer; DK Publishing 2009;
A Museum of Early American Tools by Eric Sloane;
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcolonial.html;
www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/00165897ch01.pdf- Population statistics;
Wool and Flax- The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America by Dale Taylor pp. 252-253;
My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams by Margaret A. Hogan and C. James Taylor p. 162

Image Credits:

Penns treaty with Indians from Young Folks' History of America;
Map of territorial growth 1775 by cg-realms from the National Atlas- Wikimedia Commons and by BNielsen- Openclipart.org;
Wheat Harvest by bf5man- Openclipart.org;
Quaker Oats- Wikimedia Commons

Text Readability:

ATOS- 5.0
Flesch-Kincaid Level- 5.42
SMOG Index- 8.57

Notes: