13 Colonies Dbq

VA & US History Essay Question #1

When the United States was still the thirteen colonies, they were characterized into three groups: the New England, the Middle, and the Southern colonies. These three varied in their economic aspects, their politics, social viewpoints, and the religion that was practiced.

Firstly, there were the Southern colonies. These colonies tried to remain true to their roots, the King of England. They made their money by growing cash crops on large plantations: tobacco, rice, and indigo. Colonists came to settle in the Southern colonies mainly to make money. Their social life was based on family status and the ownership of land. Large plantation owners controlled the government, as well as society. The people that lived here were

of Scots-Irish and English descent. The politics here involved farmers contributing as representatives in their colonial legislature. Finally, since they maintained ties with England, they maintained ties with the Church of England.
Secondly, there were the Middle colonies.

They made their money through shipbuilding, small-scale farming, and trading. These colonies also had big commercial centers, such as Philadelphia and New York City. The people that lived here were very tolerant to others’ religions. They had multiple different groups of different religions: Quakers, Huguenots, Jews, and Presbyterians. They had very flexible social viewpoints; they developed a middle class of farmers and business owners. Colonists came to settle in the Middle colonies for two reasons, to make money and to practice religion. Finally, the political life of the colonists reflected around the basic rights of Englishmen.

Thirdly, there were the New England colonies. They made their money through shipbuilding, fishing, lumbering, and eventually manufacturing. One of the main beliefs these colonists had was the values of hard work and thrift. Colonists came to settle in the New England colonies to practice their religion. The social viewpoints were based on religious standing. The Puritans, who settled in these colonies, were very intolerant of any other religion. Finally, the colonists used an “Athenian” direct democracy as their way of politics (town

meetings).
All three sections of the thirteen colonies were very different. The New England colonists came to practice religion, the Southern colonists came to make money, and the Middle colonists came for both. Although they have their differences, they also have some similarities. Throughout all the colonies there was a strong belief in private ownership and free enterprise. Private ownership is where people could own their own land and property. Free enterprise is where businesses operate (mainly) without state control. Another characteristic that all the colonies shared was through the use of slaves and indentured servants. Indentured servants were poor people who could not afford the voyage to the New World, so they signed a contract to work for a set amount of years to pay for that voyage. To sum up, the thirteen colonies had many differences, as well as some similarities. Whether it was for money or for religion, the colonists set a major point in history, for not only Virginia, but the entire United States of America.