The New England, Middle, and Southern colonies were similar in that they all had a parliamentary system to some extent within their government. In New England, each colony had a governor appointed by the king, however, the towns were self governed by the puritan church and community and tried to stay largely independent of the colonial government. The Middle colonies had some similarity in the representation factor but in contrast they were ruled by a board of supervisors for each county made up of one representative from each town. Similarly the Southern colonies had governors appointed by the king although he was advised by a colonial legislature made up of the wealthy land owners, furthermore increasing the power of the rich and providing
no representation for poorer classes. In conclusion the political structure of the regions differed because of geography, social structure, and religious practices of the region. The geography of the South called for plantations, along with comes very wealthy owners and a very poor worker class, furthermore the religion of New England came into play with the church and community being of importance in governing society. The Middle colonies were socially different and made up of different people in different areas and were greatly effected by the other colonies around them, so being ruled on a county basis allowed for the most diversity.
In the early stages of North American colonization by the English, the colony of Jamestown, Virginia was founded in 1607 (Mailer Handout 1 (6)). Soon after the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1629 (Mailer Handout 2 (1)). These two colonies, although close in the time they were founded, have many differences in aspects of their lives and the way they were settled. The colonies have a different religious system, economic system, political system, and they have a different way of doing things; whether that be pertaining to making money, practicing religion, or electing governors. Along with the differences, there are also a sameness between these two colonies. Each colony has been derived from England and has been founded by companies
The colonies, Massachusetts and Connecticut, had many similarities, which made them live similar lives. Massachusetts and Connecticut were both Puritan, but they had different ways of following their religion. Both Massachusetts and Connecticut did not grow tobacco because they did not have a slave trade and enough suitable land to grow it. The two colonies were both democratic. So, they were both self-governing and had an elected assembly. Also, the Puritan colonies both got charters from the king of
The English Settlement in the New World was largely the result of the Age of Exploration. The English started emigrated to the New World around the early 1600s; they settles in regions including the New England and the Chesapeake region and by the 18th century these two regions had developed their own society. These two regions had developed different political, economic and social system in their regions. The political differences were due to who governs the colony. The economic differences were due to the motives of the settlement. The social differences were due to the people who settled there, while the New England emigrated as a family, the Chesapeake emigrated with mostly male.
As colonies of the British Empire, both the New England and Chesapeake regions were inhibited by innumerable immigrants of English origin. Despite this common characteristic, the two areas greatly differed from each other. New England was more tolerant and community based whereas the Chesapeake was focused more directly on personal wealth and land. While they both drew from British influence, the distinct conditions in each region caused them to develop separately and become unique in their own way.
Question: Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Why did this difference in development occur?
During the late 16th century and into the 17th century, European nations rapidly colonized the newly discovered Americas. England in particular sent out numerous groups to the eastern coast of North America to two regions. These two regions were known as the Chesapeake and the New England areas. Later, in the late 1700's, these two areas would bond to become one nation. Yet from the very beginnings, both had very separate and unique identities. These differences, though very numerous, spurred from one major factor: the very reason the settlers came to the New World. This affected the colonies in literally every way, including economically, socially, and politically.
Each of these had specific developments that were unique to the regions. Though there were many similarities in the development of the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies, they were very different: politically, socially, and economically. The three colonies all had comparable similarities, as they were all democratic. But they ran their democratic government in all different types of ways. For instance, the Middle Colonies had their government and church separated. The New England Colonies, however, were a Theocracy, which meant that the church controlled the government. The Southern Colonies had the least autonomy since they were an Oligarchy. This meant that the wealthy plantation owners controlled the government because they were the only people who could manage to pay for all their own expenses. Even though the three colonies were all self-ruled, they all had distinguishing recognize or treat someone or something as different
their time. They developed confederations and other styles of ruling that greatly differed from the iron fist of the absolutist monarch of Britain. Among these colonies, Connecticut was the forerunner. Among three major towns, Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield, Connecticut formed what is today known as a federalist government. Within Connecticut’s federalism, the ideas of many modern governing techniques were applied, such as a written constitution and popular sovereignty. Because of this, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was a blueprint for the modern day Constitution because it contained a central government linked to local governments, three separate branches of government, and a representative government unlike the one of Britain.
During the 1600’s the New England and Chesapeake regions were beginning to settle and colonize. While both came from English origin and had dreams of wealth and freedom, differences began to form just as they settled and by the 1700s the two regions will have evolved into two distinct societies. Because of the exposure to different circumstances both regions developed issues that were unique from one another and caused them to construct their societies differently. Therefore, the differences socially, politically and economically in the two regions caused the divergence.
It is evident then, that geography and climate greatly shaped the lifestyles of the early colonies. The frigid North had the close knit towns, smaller farms and central governing bodies. The moderate climate of the Middle colonies allowed for prosperous farming, trade and, opportunity. Large plantations ruled the Southern Colonies with their scattered settlements and independently-run lifestyles.
During the 1700's, people in the American colonies lived in very distinctive societies. While some colonists led hard lives, others were healthy and prosperous. The two groups who showed these differences were the colonists of the New England and Chesapeake Bay areas. The differentiating characteristics among the Chesapeake and New England colonies developed due to economy, religion, and motives for colonial expansion. The colonists of the New England area possessed a very happy and healthy life. This high way of living was due in part to better farming, a healthier environment, and a high rate of production because of more factories. The colonists of the Chesapeake Bay region, on the other hand, led harder lives compared to that of the colonists of New England. The Chesapeake Bay had an unhealthy environment, bad eating diets, and intolerable labor.
These four colonies are entirely diverse from one another. They are also not like any of the other colonies. They are the middle colonies because they separate the southern colonies from New England. Each colony within the Middle Colonies had its own different religious and political ideas. The diversity that was brought about between these different groups was a change because usually those that live in surrounding colonies have similar beliefs. Here though the diversity was encouraged and it is what made this section so special but also so different. Their different beliefs shaped the political and religious landscape for the people of this region giving everyone a dose of different ideas. New York would be considered one of the most diverse because it was home to Dutch, Scandinavians, Germans, French, Jews, Africans, and Indians. New York grew rapidly because of the Dutch heritage. They started the business of trading shares of companies, which then flourished into the start of the New York Stock Exchange. They also started banks and insurance companies which led to a very successful colony. New Jersey shared great ethnic and religious diversity like New York, yet it was not as successful because of the lack of large landowners. Pennsylvania had a big amount of immigration which led to a great success for the colony. The perfect climate and good soil made Pennsylvania an ideal place to
To the south of New England were the middle colonies. There the soil was fertile, and the weather more acclimated to farming (Sarcelle, 1965). Rivers flowed west toward the frontier, enabling transportation. The middle colonies, as opposed to the relatively Puritan dominated New England, were very diverse in people. A mixture of Dutch, German, Swedes, English and other smaller groups were present in middle colonial cities such as New York (Higginbotham, 1996).
One of the first ways that the colonial government was similar to ours today was that they both had a bicameral legislature. It is like our congress that includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, theirs
The London Chronicle helps those in England understand how life in the colonies is going, but is what they say really fact? Or is it mere foolishness. Continue reading this article if you urge to know the truth once and for all, about what the colonies are really like.