Characteristics In The Colonies Of America

This paper is about the different characteristics of the Southern colonies for use in the plausible war. Based upon the areas of geography and climate, resources, and political and social life, the southern colonies will prove to be an asset to England in a possible war with France.

Diversity in the American Colonies: The Formation of English, Native American, African and German Identities

One might think that all of the British colonies in the new world were all the same. This is not the case though. The colonies, although they were all British they had some similarities but mainly they had differences. The Southern, New England and Middle colonies clearly show theses similarities and differences, particularly in terms of land, labor, religion, and native relations.

Most colonies had a powerful royal governor appointed by the King of England. These royal governors often held massive power, being able to do things that even the king could not do, such as vetoing legislation and dismissing judges. They also served as the military commander for their province. In most colonies, adult, white, and land-owning males were permitted to vote in elections. The New England colonies’ governments were dominated by religion. They followed a unique form of church government known as congregationalism, where the people, known as the saints, pledged to follow God’s law. In the Middle colonies, a document called Duke’s Laws guaranteed religious toleration and created local governments. The colonies had Councils and Assemblies that gathered to initiate legislation. In the Southern colonies, one of the first representative-style governments was created. The House of Burgesses was created in 1619 in Virginia by Sir Edwin Sandys, and was created mostly to make the colony more attractive to wealthy

Whether by land or by sea, eighteenth century colonial travel was arduous, expensive, and many times dangerous. Because of this, few people traveled very far from their homes. Transportation has changed dramatically since the late 1700’s. It was during this time that Colonial America was budding as a new country. This was before airplanes, which appeared in the very early stages of the 1900’s. Cars showed up about the same time, so rewind about 200 plus years and we’re back in colonial America. It wasn’t civilized like it is today. The dirt roads were bumpy, grimy, and when the rains came, they were mud baths. So how did people during this time get around? Often, they didn’t. Not many people could afford the cost of travel back then. Daily American Colonial Life was extremely harsh for the first settlers and colonists. They were faced with a new country, unknown territory and no friends, relatives or neighbors to help them “In those days, it was fairly expensive to travel. Because of this, generally only government officials, merchants, and planters took the risk (Constitution Facts).” Women were supposed to stay home and look after the children while the husband went off to do business. America was still a budding country, so there were not as many cities as there are now and they were more spread out. If the man wanted to travel, it would require several hours, or even several days to ride on horseback. Often the husband wouldn’t return for a couple of days, and when he

The differences between these colonies also arose due to different opinion on functioning of the government and ideologies. New England, being majorly settled by the Puritans, was intolerant to all other religions. The one exception to this was the colony of Rhode Island. Because it was settled by a dissenter from the Massachusetts Bay colony, it was the only New England colony to have complete religious freedom. Most of the New England based groups wanted to reform the Anglican Church from inside. The Chesapeake region was completely tied to the Anglican Church and did not care about reforming it in any way. The New England colonies also had a large central government which allowed for their administrations to be more organized and uniform throughout the region. This idea came from the Mayflower Compact signed at Plymouth by the Pilgrims. The American Pageant describes it as, “ It was simple agreement to form a crude government and submit to the will of the majority under the regulations agreed upon” (Bailey 47 ). According to Document A,

The people of the New England and Chesapeake colonies, although came from the same people, turned into very different cultures. For example, in New England, Puritanism was favored while in the Chesapeake region Christianity was practiced. Often times, religion would dictate a certain peoples way of life. Although both religions were strict, both had different ideas. Also, there were disagreements that occurred between the people within a colony. Many other ways of life were established in each of these areas independent of each other.

The reasons behind the sudden transition of England and it’s American colonies from allies to enemies is still debated today. When the colonies were first created they had a somewhat dependent relationship with the British. Trade was regulated through the British homeland while the British provided structure for the developing colonies. As salutary neglect came into play, the colonies became more independent in their ways by developing their own governments and laws. After the French and Indian War, the British economy dropped due to war expenses. The passing of the Stamp Act and all the taxes to follow were an attempt to create revenue for the British. This created tension between the colonists and the British government. The British government caused rebellion by trying to tax the colonists in ways that had not previously been done and by trying to control the colonies more closely than it previously had. The colonies were justified in waging war and breaking away from the British due to the unfair tyrant, burdensome taxes, and the aggressive behavior of the British.

DBQ- Democracy in Colonial America The democracy in colonial America which, was a work in progress, had both democratic and undemocratic features. A Democratic Feature of colonial America was the Control of Abusive Power. Document 1: The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut are an example of the Control of Abusive power in colonial times. The order talks about the forms of check and balance used.

Colonization DBQ Although America is based on democratic values, and early colonies demonstrated democratic features, certain aspects of colonial life were not democratic. Virginia’s House of Burgesses was a legislature that was comprised of representatives chosen by the people, an example of a representative democracy (Doc. 6). This was the first democratic government to be established in America. In the house of Burgesses, a group of representatives were elected by the people to represent them and make decisions.

The four Middle Colonies consisted a mix of both northern and southern features. In this region Dutch and German were the majority and the English colonists were in the minority. The geography of the Middle Colonies had a mix of the New England and Southern features. So it had the fertile soil and land that was suited to farming. Good farmland, timber, furs and coal. Iron ore was a particularly important natural resource. Unlike the northern colonies the Religion was not dominated by a specific religion. There were other religions like Catholics, Lutherans, and Jews. The economy of Middle Colonies was booming because it was the food producing region Food like corn, wheat, beef and pork was exported in other colonies . There were also other

The 13 Colonies are broken down into 3 parts, Middle, Southern, and New England Colonies. There were many similarities and differences between all of the 13 Colonies. Many of them ranging from their climate and geography to the role women and African Americans played. A variety of people came from all around the world to the 13 Colonies for many different reasons. In the Middle Colonies, there was a very diverse population.

The values of each the North, Middle, and South colonies were different. Each region had things that they were good at and things that they were not good at. To decide which region was the best, I have chosen three factors to focus on, economy, cultural values, and physical geography. It would seem if a region were to outperform the others in this analysis, it would be the best.

The Massachusetts colony, otherwise known as the ‘Massachusetts Bay colony’ was originally settled by Puritans in 1630. They were plagued by the religious persecutions of King Charles I and the Church of England. Weary from this dogged torment, they left England under the leadership of John Winthrop. These original colonists quickly established many small towns in the name of high religious ideals and strict societal rules. They also planted churches, spread Puritanism and religiously educated the masses, as these were some of their goals. A utopian society that other colonies looked upon with high regards was the ultimate goal.

From 1607 to 1754, people’s views on governing themselves changed greatly. It began in 1607, with the settlement of Jamestown. They were a corporate colony, working for the Virginia Company, they were whole-heartedly British. The Great Awakening, the Enlightenment, and the Tradition of Neglect all introduced new ways for the American colonies to think of themselves as more independent. Although they still considered themselves part of the British Empire, by the end of this era they had discovered that they could make their own laws and constitutions that fit the way that their world worked as opposed to Great Britain.