How did the middle colonies geography affect its economy?

European settlement patterns were influenced by geographic conditions such as access to water, harbors, natural protection, arable land, natural resources and adequate growing season and rainfall. Examine a variety of primary sources to determine why colonists were drawn to a particular region of the country.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • analyze, interpret, and conduct research with online primary sources;
  • examine regional differences in Colonial America;
  • determine reasons for location to a particular region; and
  • identify how colonists adapted to their environments.

Time Required

Three classes

Lesson Preparation

Resources

New England Colonies

Middle Atlantic Colonies

Southern Colonies

Lesson Procedure

Day One Activities

Step One: Class Discussion (10-15 minutes)
How does environment affect where a person lives?

Discuss with students how people adapt to the environment of a particular location or relocate to suit their needs/wants. For example, people who live in the midwest are most likely farmers. Most actors move to California and New York. Why?

Sample questions for your students:

  • If you wanted to become a movie star, where would you live?
  • If you wanted to be a lobster fisherman, what region of the country would suit your needs?
  • Where would a dairy farmer most likely live?

Step Two 20-30 minutes
Divide students into 6 groups; 2- New England Colonies Region, 2- Middle Colonies Region, 2- Southern Colonies Region. Distribute primary source packets. Assign each group member at least one source to examine and analyze. Students analyze the primary source, recording their thoughts on the Primary Source Analysis Tool. Before the students begin, select questions from the teacher’s guide Analyzing Primary Sources to focus and prompt analysis and discussion.

Interpretation

Based on the evidence of these documents, what was it like to live in a particular region (New England Colonies, Middle Atlantic Colonies, Southern Colonies)? Why would you go to live in a particular region?

Day Two Activities: 90 minute block

Step One: In groups, share findings about the primary sources in your packet. Identify whether or not the region represented by your packet has the following geographical features:

  • Access to Water
  • Harbors
  • Natural Protection
  • Arable Land
  • Natural Resources
  • Growing Season

Then answer these questions about your region:

  1. What kinds of industry can be developed here?
  2. Is this area better for urban or rural living? Why?
  3. What are the positive qualities of the area?
  4. What are the negative qualities of the area?
  5. Which resource was the most useful or helpful? Why?

Step Two: Based on the assessment of the region's geographical features, students write a letter to a sibling "back home" describing his/her experience in the new country and convincing the sibling to join him/her.

Step Three: Students exchange letters with a member of each of the other regions and read the letters, and list at least three different characteristics of each region and at least one they all share.

Extensions:

Students search the Library of Congress digital collections for more sources that depict/describe the region.

Lesson Evaluation

Evaluate completed homework according to your standard. Develop guidelines for evaluating the letters and feature comparison work with your class as appropriate.

The 13 colonies of what became the United States of America can be grouped into three geographic regions: the New England colonies, the Middle colonies, and the Southern colonies. The Middle colonies were made up of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. They were located south of the New England colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The Middle colonies were situated north of the Southern colonies of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

The Dutch and the Swedes established the first permanent European settlements throughout much of the Middle colonies. The Dutch settled in what is now New York in 1624 and in New Jersey in 1660. The Swedes established settlements in the areas now known as Pennsylvania and Delaware in 1638. They remained in control until the Dutch took over in the 1650s. In 1664 the English seized all the Dutch territory in America. Parts of New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania became safe havens for the Quakers.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Many English, Dutch, Germans, Scots, Scotch-Irish, and Swedes settled in the Middle colonies. They practiced a variety of religions, all of which were freely accepted by others. Quakers, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, and Anglicans were among the many religious groups found in the Middle colonies.

The Middle colonies had a mild climate with warm summers. The land was better for farming than in the New England colonies. The region produced enough wheat, corn (maize), and other grains to feed the colonies, with plenty left to export to England. The colonists also built mills to grind the grain into flour. In addition to fertile farmland, the natural resources of the Middle colonies included iron ore and wood from the forests. Factories produced iron goods, paper, and textiles. Like the grain, these products were used in the colonies as well as shipped to England. Shipbuilding was important as well. The colonists built Philadelphia and New York City into centers of trade.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (cph 3g12141)

The Middle colonies had a variety of social and political structures. For example, New York had an extensive system of large estates where tenant farmers rented land from the landowner. The manor lords oversaw the tenants, often administering justice and collecting taxes for the manor. This practice ensured that the large landowning families had a great amount of economic and political power. By contrast, Pennsylvania was the most democratic colony. In 1681 Charles II of England gave William Penn the region in payment of a debt owed to Penn’s father. Penn intended the colony to be a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities. He established a government in which citizens elected representatives to an assembly that made the laws. As a result, Pennsylvania became a diverse and dynamic colony. (See also Middle Atlantic region.)