13 Colonies

13 COLONIES

The United States began as a group of thirteen English colonies. These thirteen colonies did not begin all at once. Explorers and traders came first. Then slowly, over time, the colonies were created. The first colony was founded in Virginia in 1607, and the last of the thirteen colonies was founded in Georgia 1732.

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Thirteen in All

The first European settlers came here from England. They brought with them everything they owned. When the settlers arrived, they had no family to greet them. Sometimes the Native Americans who already lived in North America welcomed the settlers. Other times, however, the Native Americans were not happy to see newcomers settling on their land.
There were no houses to live in, so many of the first settlers lived in tents. Their living conditions were harsh, especially during the winter. Many died of hunger, cold, and disease.
Even though life in the early colonies could be hard, most settlers did not return to England. They started a new life in a new place instead.

Thirteen in All

Early settlers had different reasons for coming to America. Some people came because they had been very poor in their homeland. Some colonists came because they thought they could get rich in America. Some hoped to find gold and silver.

Why They Came

Colonists came for religious reasons, too. In England, not everyone could practice their religion in the way that they wanted. Some people came to America because they wanted to worship in their own way. For these colonists, living in a land where they could have religious freedom was important.

Why They Came

Not everyone who crossed the Atlantic Ocean found opportunity and freedom. As the colonies developed and grew larger, some people from Africa were forced to settle in America. They did not choose to settle here. Instead, they were kidnapped from their homes and brought across the ocean to be enslaved workers.

Slaves

Dropdown

There were ​

Select answer

English colonies in America.

Multiple Select

What are some reasons English colonists came to the United States? SELECT THREE CORRECT ANSWERS.

• To escape from the cold weather
• Religious Freedom

• To find gold, silver, or other riches

• Some came by force.

The map shows that the colonies were divided into three groups, or regions.

The New England Colonies made up the northern region. They included Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

Impact of Geography on the New England Colony

The lifestyle of New England’s people was greatly impacted by both its geography and climate. New England’s economy depended on the environment.
In New England, the winters were long and cold. The soil was rocky. The short growing season and poor soil made it difficult for the colonists to grow crops there.
Usually, New England colonists grew only enough vegetables and grains to feed their own families. They were unable to grow extra food to sell to others.

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Impact of Geography on the New England Colony

​Colonists could only grow enough to get by on.

Multiple Choice

True or False. The colonists of New England were successful farmers.

• True, they were highly successful farmers.
• False

Multiple Choice

What prevented the New England colonies from growing cash crops like tobacco?

• Their religion taught that farming for profit was wrong.

• The colonists did not have the desire to farm.

• The soil in the area was rocky and unfit for farming.

• They did not have the tobacco seeds to plant.

New England's location near the Atlantic Ocean along a jagged coastline determined how people made a living.

Impact of Geography on the New England Colony

Not far off New England’s coast were some of the world’s best fishing grounds. The Atlantic was filled with mackerel, halibut, cod, and many other types of fish and whales.

 

Whale oil was an important resource that was used as fuel for lamps and could also be sold.

 

Many New Englanders became fishermen and whalers.

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Impact of Geography on the New England Colony

When the colonists first arrived, they found many forests in the region. The colonists cut down trees for timber. They used the timber to build ships, houses, and other buildings. Timber was also used for firewood.

As the colonies grew, trading ships sailed in and out of the busy New England harbors. The ships carried timber to the West Indies, the Caribbean, and Europe.

New England became a major center for trading, buying and selling products. In the port city of Boston, ships came and left carrying goods. The New England colonies sold goods to the other colony regions and to England.

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The New England Colonies

Multiple Choice

A specific area that has common features such as geography, climate, or religion.

• Continent
• City
• Region
• Country

Multiple Select

The geography of the New England colonies supported which TWO industries?

• tobacco farming

• fishing

• ranching

• Ship building and Lumbering

The colonies in the middle region were called the Middle Colonies. They were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

​Winters in the Middle Colonies were not as long and cold as the winters in New England. Warm, rainy summers and fertile soil made growing crops much easier in this region.
Colonists in the Middle Colonies could grow enough food to feed themselves and still have crops left over to sell.

​The Middle Colonies

Unlike New England, the Middle Colonies were a good place to farm. The soil was rich. The climate was usually mild. Summers were warm and rainy. Many kinds of crops grew well there.

The early settlers grew different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Farmers grew enough crops to feed their families. They also had enough left over to sell for a profit. Soon farmers grew cash crops just to sell. The main cash crops in the Middle Colonies were grains, such as wheat, rye, and oats. Because the Middle Colonies grew large amounts of grains, they were called the “breadbasket colonies.”

​Farming in the Middle Colonies

After the harvest, many farmers took their wheat to a miller. The miller, a person who owns a mill, would then grind the wheat into flour.
Now the farmers were ready to sell their flour in markets in big port cities, such as Philadelphia and New York City. But how would they get the flour there?
Farmers in Pennsylvania used the Delaware River to move crops from their farms to Philadelphia. Farmers in New York used the Hudson River to move crops to markets in New York City. Both the Delaware and Hudson rivers are very wide and deep.
When the farmers reached Philadelphia or New York City, they sold their flour and other crops to merchants. Sometimes the merchants shipped the crops to other colonies. Other times the merchants shipped the crops to England or other European countries. New York City and Philadelphia became centers for trade and shipping

​River Highways

Multiple Choice

The Middle Colonies had a longer growing season than the New England colonies which allowed them to grow

• grains such as wheat and barley
• cotton and tobacco
• vegetables such as carrots and potatoes
• fruits like apples and oranges

Multiple Choice

Because the Middle Colonies produced large amounts of grains, they became known as the

• Breadbasket Colonies
• Meatpacking Colonies
• Fruit Basket Colonies
• Dairy Colonies

Multiple Select

Why is it helpful for a settlement to be on water? CHOOSE THREE CORRECT ANSWERS.

• For fishing

• For trading

• Help provide good farming land.

• For mining gold

The Southern Colonies were made up of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

The Southern Colonies were perfect for farming. They had mild winters and fertile soil. Crops grew so well that some colonists built large farms called plantations. Many plantations grew large amounts of a single crop that was then sold to make a profit.
These cash crops included cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar cane and indigo.

​The Southern Colonies

Southern plantations relied on the work of African and African-American slaves. There were many more slaves in the Southern colonies than there were in the New England and Middle colonies.
By 1750, slaves made up almost half of the population of the Southern colonies. Slaves worked long hours in the hot fields harvesting cash crops. They were not paid for their labor. If they made a small mistake, they were often beaten and whipped by the overseer, the person watching over the slaves’ work. When slaves had children, these children were born enslaved. It was also illegal for slaves to learn to read and write. The first slaves arrived in the colonies in 1619, and slavery didn’t end until almost 250 years later.

Slavery in the Southern Colonies

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Dropdown

The economy of the Southern colonies was based primarily on ​

Select answer

Multiple Choice

A crop grown for profit.

• Cash crop
• Credit crop

• Ornamental plant
• Food crop

Multiple Choice

Large farm found in the south that grew large cash crops.

• Plantations

• Territories

• Domains

• Stomping Grounds

Multiple Choice

People from the continent of __________ were enslaved in the Southern Colonies.

• Asia
• Africa
• Australia
• Europe