Essay, Research Paper: 13 Colonies: Geographic And Cultural Dif

As the original thirteen colonies developed, they soon grew to be classified by cultural and
geographic differences. They were classified into the New England colonies, the Middle colonies,
and the Southern colonies. This division has long been a source of disunity between the colonies
and later the states.
The New England colonies consisted of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and
Rhode Island. The northern most of the colonies, New England's main geographic trait was
barely arable land, long winters, and broad forests(1). Unlike the other colonies, agriculture was
never a strong industry in New England. Slaves were never needed to work the small farms that
sprung up occasionally. Slavery died out in New England in the shortest amount of time because
of this. However, port cities such as Boston became some of the most important trade centers
and harbors in North America. Due to the poor production of food in New England, trade became
the most lucrative profession. By importing food and exporting manufactured goods, New
England cities became wealthy places of commerce. The broad forests supplied ample lumber to
support the major ship building industry that developed in New England. Also, other industries
that supported sea-based trade like barrel-making and dry-docks(1) brought wealth to New
England shipwrights.
The culture of New England was most deeply affected by the Puritan founders of the
original settlements of New England. The Puritans were a hard working, religious people. They
tolerated no other religion but their own, despite the fact that they migrated to the "New World"
to find religious freedom(6). The resiliency of these people made them able to carve colonies out
of the hostile environment. Unlike settlers to the other colonies, New England Puritans tended to
stay in the "New World," and brought their families and servants with them(6). While
Massachusetts was the major Puritan center, the other New England colonies came about due to
the Puritans strict intolerance to other religions. These colonies were founded by people who
were expelled from Massachusetts by the Puritans for religious and social differences, such as
Roger Williams in Rhode Island. Because of this, these other New England colonies were much
tolerant to all religions. The major cultural aspect of the New England colonies is religion, both
the intolerance by the Puritans and the freedom of religion by the other colonies.
The middle colonies were geographically different from New England in that most of the
region had fertile soil well suited for farming grain and wheat. These became the "bread basket"
of the colonies. Selling their excess grain from ports such as New York City and Philadelphia,
tenant farmers made enough money to eventually buy land. During King George's War, Middle
colonies made tremendous profit selling needed grain for the British and colonial troops that
fought in the Carribean. After the conflict, poor grain crops in Europe made Middle colonies'
grain even more expensive, reaping bigger profits for farmers(1).
The major cultural factor of the Middle States was diversity. Each area had its own
separate culture and origin. The New York area was first settled by the Dutch West India Co. in
1664(1). The result of this was a Dutch-like strong trading economy like the Netherlands. Along
with this came many Dutch customs that remained even after English took control of the New
Netherlands, the name given to New York City(1). Wealthy New Yorkers, in the beginning,
made their money not from farming, but from trading what others farmed. Pennsylvania's culture
was most influenced by the Quakers that founded it under William Penn. Being mostly a Quaker
settlement, they ran it comparably to the Puritans in Plymouth, but were more tolerant. They did
not expel those who did not practice their religion, as long as they kept to themselves.
The Southern colonies were the final group. Made up of Maryland, Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, they were cash crop societies. Unlike the foodstuffs
farming of the Middle colonies, the South relied on cash crops such as rice, indigo, and tobacco.
These were labor intensive crops that required many people to successfully run. To do this,
slavery was instituted on the grandest stand of the "New World." The geographic feature that
most influenced the economy of the Southern colonies was that the soil between Virginia and
George was suited for tobacco and to a later on to the other cash crops. Grown in large
quantities, it was then exported to England. Unlike New England, it was not processed in the
colonies, but in England. This made for fewer profits, as raw materials are always cheaper than
finished goods(1,8).
The major cultural aspect of the Southern colonies was slavery. The other colonies also
had slavery, but not at so large a scale. This dependence on slavery as the only way to make the
labor intensive cash crop economy profitable separated the South into two classes, wealthy land
owners and artisans, tenant farmers, and small land owners. The contrast was so huge that the
wealthy bought more and more land while the poor had to sell their land to the wealthy land
owners they wished to become(1). Also, as the two populations, white and black were mixed
through interracial liaisons, a new class of mulattos was added to the work force. Most slave
owners did not know what to do with their children from interracial affairs, even though the law
said that they could be kept in slavery(8). This moral dilemma is an example of Southern culture,
Christian men who ravage slaves and then don't know what to do with their own offspring.
In conclusion, the original thirteen colonies were divided into groups by their separate
cultures and economies. The difference between New England's strict Puritan culture, the Middle
colonies grain and cultural diversity, and the South's slavery and cash crop economy made it
almost as three separate countries who shared borders. These differences between the colonies
would lead to many problems in the future including the Civil War.

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