Differences Between North And South Colonies Essay

, Research Paper

Differences Between the Northern and Southern Colonies

In the time of 1607-1783 there were many social, economic, and political differences between the two Northern and Southern colonies.

The Southern colonies consisted of Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. People that went to the Middle colonies were seeking economic well being and they did not bring their families to the New World. Without families, they could focus more on economic issues, making more money, and working hard within their goals.

Church, religion, and God were important, but southerners tended not to be very religious due to the number of churches and other religious institutions in the South.

Almost all the inhabitants of the South lived on plantations. The plantations were very important to the economy as well. The crops were planted, harvested, and processed to be exported to England. Due to the amount of labor needed, thousands of slaves were forced to labor these plantations.

Elected assemblies met to make laws and rules. They began to meet regularly after King James I revoked the Virginia Charter in 1619. With the need for additional taxes, the assemblies were forced to meet more frequently and regularly. In the 1650 s, the assembly council ended up splitting up into two chambers, the House of Burgesses and the Governor s Council.

There were two main products that made up the Southern colony’s economy. One of them being tobacco and the other product being rice. Tobacco was the most domineering product in the South. Almost everything depended on the sale and price of the tobacco market. The major tobacco period was the time from 1618 to 1629 while the crop was still new. With the huge demand, labor was always an issue. Due to this many servants were imported. The negative aspect of this being the huge amount of people. This gap expanded the classification between the rich and poor. Another important product was rice. Beginning in the 1690 s, rice was the staple crop. Rice was used as a scheme to get rich fast. Rice also had an effect on shaping the south to where much more labor was needed to farm it. Due to this demand, many African slaves were forced to be imported into this region.

The Northern colonies consisted of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. These colonies were the first regions of America to actually be colonized successfully. These colonies had a high belief of family life. Families were almost forced to be perfect. Many believed to have a successful community, you would first need to perfect each individual family.

Hard work was believed by many in these colonies. This was one reason why these colonies became so productive. Some of their major industries included: trading, shipping, lumbering, and fishing. Most people grew their own food. They made some of their clothing and produced many of their own supplies. They also sold slaves in the South. Another way to make money was selling different items such as; iron, pots, and tools.

Politics and religion were closely related. For the most part people were very religious. One of the main reasons for colonization was that the Church of England bothered many of the people. They felt it was time to begin their own beliefs. As John Winthrop described shall be as a city upon a hill.

As noted in the above explanations, there were many differences between the Northern and Southern colonies. This occurred while looking at the social, economic, and political developments.