Comparing Regional Cultures

1. Comparing Regional Cultures Ch. 3.3

2. Objectives • Explain the impact of geography on the economies of the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies. • Compare and contrast differences in the social structure of the three major colonial regions. • Describe the cultural life in the British colonies.

3. Key Parts • Regional Economic Patterns • Regional Social Patterns

4. Regional Economic Patterns. • The vast majority of people in the 13 colonies made their living as farmers. • Other than shipbuilding and some iron works, the colonies lacked industries. • By the mid 1700s the colonies developed important regional distinctions. • Variations in geography and climate helped explain the differences between life in New England, the Middle Colonies, and the South.

5. New England • This area has cold winters, a short growing seasons, and a rugged landscape. • This made growing crops very difficult for them, especially tobacco, sugar, rice and indigo. • The New Englanders worked small farms where they raised livestock and grew wheat, rye, corn, and potatoes for their own use.

6. The Middle Colonies • The Middle Colonies also had family farms but they were more successful due to the more temperate climate. • They produced a large amount of wheat in which they began exporting. • The economy in the Middle Colonies began to boom whereas the New England colonies economy stagnated.

7. The South • Due to the warmer climate and longer growing season the Southern Colonies could raise the most valuable and profitable colonial crops. • Such as: Tobacco, rice and indigo. • The land consisted of large plantations that had enslaved Africans working in them.

8. Regional Social Patterns • In New England and the Middle Colonies were few enslaved Africans. • Down south there was mostly poor, young, single men that worked as indentured servants. • In New England most people were middle class who could pay their own way. This means a better balance between men and women. • Most people moved to the Middle Colonies or New England due to the economic oportunity.

9. Women in the Colonies • By law and custom, there were few opportunities for women outside of the home. • Women were typically legal dependants of men. • Women could not own land, vote, hold political office, or be on a jury. • Women generally just worked around the inside of the house maintaining the home.

10. Education • New England offered the most opportunity for education based on their style of a compact society. • In the mid-1600s, Massachusetts law required towns to provide schools where students could learn the basics of reading and writing. • The ultimate goal was to enable students to read the Bible.

11. Cont. • In Larger New England towns they offered a more advanced grammar school education mostly for boys and some girls. • Some girls received education from dame schools which were private schools that operated out of a woman’s house. • Outside of New England education was less available.