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Directions: For this activity, you will create a brochure advertising the English colonies to those back in England who are thinking of making the journey.
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Mapping the Colonies
Geography and Economy
Government and Religion
Family Life and Education
Mapping the Colonies
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Directions, Part 2 - The Cover needs to be creative and informative.
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Geography and Economy
Directions, Part 2 - Geography and Economy: Use the reading and maps below to create the New England, Middle, and Southern colonial regions parts of your brochure.
- Add a title for each colonial region panel (ex. The New England Colonies).
- For each region, title one section "Geography" and include three bullet points about their land and climate.
- For each region, title one section "Economy" and Include three bullet points about how they make money.
- Include at least 1 picture related to the geography and/or economy of each region. The picture should not be a map of the region! (We already have that on the cover.)
The New England Colonies: The New England region included the colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. As you will read, the first settlers of these colonies came to America seeking religious freedom.
In New England, farming was difficult because of the long, cold winters and rocky, hilly land. However, the forests and the sea provided useful resources and ways to make money. New England settlers built their economy on small farms, lumbering (cutting down trees), fishing, shipbuilding, and trading goods.
The Middle Colonies: The four Middle Colonies were New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The geography of this region included the rich soil of coastal New Jersey and Delaware to the valleys and wooded mountains of New York and Pennsylvania. Farmers in the Middle Colonies raised a variety of crops and livestock (farm animals). Lumbering, shipbuilding, and other jobs were common here.
The people who settled the Middle Colonies represented many cultures and religions. One important group, the Quakers, started the colony of Pennsylvania. Like the early settlers of New England, the Quakers were looking for freedom to practice their religion. Others seeking religious freedom soon followed. Settlers from England, France, the Netherlands, and other European countries spread throughout the Middle Colonies.
The Southern Colonies: The five Southern Colonies were Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. This region featured wide rivers and large wetlands that gradually merged with the sea. The good soil and the hot, wet climate were ideal for growing tobacco, rice, and other cash crops.
Wealthy colonists took advantage of these conditions by establishing large farms called plantations. Plantation owners relied on indentured servants and enslaved Africans to sow and harvest their fields. After being harvested, the crops could be brought by river to the coast and loaded on ships for transport to other colonies and to Europe.
In New England, farming was difficult because of the long, cold winters and rocky, hilly land. However, the forests and the sea provided useful resources and ways to make money. New England settlers built their economy on small farms, lumbering (cutting down trees), fishing, shipbuilding, and trading goods.
The Middle Colonies: The four Middle Colonies were New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The geography of this region included the rich soil of coastal New Jersey and Delaware to the valleys and wooded mountains of New York and Pennsylvania. Farmers in the Middle Colonies raised a variety of crops and livestock (farm animals). Lumbering, shipbuilding, and other jobs were common here.
The people who settled the Middle Colonies represented many cultures and religions. One important group, the Quakers, started the colony of Pennsylvania. Like the early settlers of New England, the Quakers were looking for freedom to practice their religion. Others seeking religious freedom soon followed. Settlers from England, France, the Netherlands, and other European countries spread throughout the Middle Colonies.
The Southern Colonies: The five Southern Colonies were Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. This region featured wide rivers and large wetlands that gradually merged with the sea. The good soil and the hot, wet climate were ideal for growing tobacco, rice, and other cash crops.
Wealthy colonists took advantage of these conditions by establishing large farms called plantations. Plantation owners relied on indentured servants and enslaved Africans to sow and harvest their fields. After being harvested, the crops could be brought by river to the coast and loaded on ships for transport to other colonies and to Europe.
Government and Religion
Directions, Part 2 - Government and Religion: Look at the examples above to see where this information goes:
- Title one section "Government" and include at least 3 bullet points outlining how the settlers governed themselves.
- Title one section "Religion" and include at least 3 bullet points explaining religion in the colonies.
- Include at least one image related to the colonists' government and/or religion.
Government in the Colonies: All the colonies were settled with the permission of the king of England. For each colony, the king issued a charter, a legal document that stated the colony’s geographic boundaries and how it would be governed. But because the colonies were so far from England, they needed to be able to make their own laws and keep peace and order.
Meeting of the Assembly
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The colonies developed different forms of government, depending on the settlement’s purpose. Most of the colonies were self-governing. Colonists elected members of their community to make their laws. In many colonies, the king also appointed a governor, who could overrule the elected officials.
In many ways, the colonies were more democratic than England, but not all colonists had a voice in the government. Usually, only free, white, landowning men were allowed to vote. In some colonies, voters also had to belong to the preferred church. Other colonists (including women, servants, and slaves) who were not landowners had no voting rights. |
Religion in the Colonies: Religion was an important part of colonial life. Most colonists tried to lead good lives based on their faith. Most children grew up reading the Bible from cover to cover several times. In New England, the sound of a drum or horn called Puritans to worship on Sunday morning, and the town was patrolled to make sure no one was working. Sometimes houses were searched to make sure that everyone was at church. Church services could last as long as 5 hours, and were held in the town meetinghouse. This was the most important building in the community and was used for all public meetings.
The Great Awakening: Beginning in the 1730s, a religious movement known as the Great Awakening swept through the colonies. This movement was spurred by a feeling that people had lost their religious faith.
The Great Awakening: Beginning in the 1730s, a religious movement known as the Great Awakening swept through the colonies. This movement was spurred by a feeling that people had lost their religious faith.
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To revive people’s religious spirit, preachers traveled from town to town holding outdoor “revival” meetings. They delivered passionate sermons to huge crowds. Benjamin Franklin wrote about the change he observed in Philadelphia: “It seemed as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk through the town in an evening without hearing psalms (Bible songs) sung in different families of every street.”
The Great Awakening had a powerful effect on the colonies. It helped spread the idea that all people are equal in the eyes of God. By promoting ideas of liberty, equality, and self-reliance, the Great Awakening helped pave the way for the American Revolution. |
A Revival Meeting during the Great Awakening
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Family Life and Education
Directions Part II - Family Life and Education: Use the reading and images below to create the first panel on Living in the colonies, Family Life and Education. For this panel, include the following:
- Title one section "Family Life" and include at least 3 bullet points explaining how families were different in the colonial time period.
- Title one section "Education" and include at least 3 bullet points explaining school and education in the different colonial regions.
- Include at least one image related to the family life and/or education information you included on this panel.
Colonial Family Life
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Family Life: The concept of family has changed often throughout history. Today, most people think of a family as being made up of parents and their children. In colonial times, however, families often included grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and stepchildren.
Colonial men and women generally married in their early to mid-20s. Those who arrived in America as indentured servants were not allowed to marry until they had gained their freedom. Men outnumbered women throughout the colonies. As a result, almost every woman was assured of receiving a marriage proposal. However, life as a wife and mother often proved to be even harder than life as an indentured servant. |
Large Families: Most families had between seven and ten children. (Benjamin Franklin had 16 brothers and sisters.) Farm families, in particular, needed all the hands they could get to help with chores. Religious and cultural backgrounds influenced colonists’ ideas about raising children. But almost everywhere in the colonies, children were expected to be hard-working, productive members of the family.
Married women gave birth many times, but nearly half of all children died before they reached adulthood. Childhood deaths were especially high in the Middle and Southern Colonies, due to the deadly disease of malaria. Adults often died young as well. After the death of a wife or husband, men and women usually remarried quickly. Thus, households often swelled with stepchildren as well as adopted orphans (children whose parents had died).
Whether colonists lived in cities, in villages, or on isolated farms, their lives focused on their families. Family members took care of one another because there was no one else to do so. Young families often welcomed elderly grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins into their homes when they could no longer care for themselves. It didn’t matter if there was barely enough room for everyone. No one would turn away a needy relative.
Education: Most children in the colonies did not go to school. Neither the Middle nor the Southern Colonies had public schools. However, children in New England usually attended public school.
Married women gave birth many times, but nearly half of all children died before they reached adulthood. Childhood deaths were especially high in the Middle and Southern Colonies, due to the deadly disease of malaria. Adults often died young as well. After the death of a wife or husband, men and women usually remarried quickly. Thus, households often swelled with stepchildren as well as adopted orphans (children whose parents had died).
Whether colonists lived in cities, in villages, or on isolated farms, their lives focused on their families. Family members took care of one another because there was no one else to do so. Young families often welcomed elderly grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins into their homes when they could no longer care for themselves. It didn’t matter if there was barely enough room for everyone. No one would turn away a needy relative.
Education: Most children in the colonies did not go to school. Neither the Middle nor the Southern Colonies had public schools. However, children in New England usually attended public school.
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In the Southern Colonies, most families were spread out along rivers. A few neighbors might get together to hire a teacher for their children. Wealthy planters often hired tutors to educate younger children at home. Older children were sent to schools in distant cities, or even England, to complete their education.
In the Middle Colonies, different beliefs among the many religious groups slowed the growth of public education. Each religious group or family had to decide for itself how to educate its children. Some groups built church schools. Others were happy to teach their own children at home. |
A New England Schoolhouse
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Only in New England were towns required to provide public schools. The Puritans’ support for education was inspired by their religious faith. They wanted their children to be able to read the Bible. To encourage education, Massachusetts passed a law in 1647 that required every town with 50 families or more to hire an instructor to teach their children to read and write. Towns with more than 100 families were required to build a school. Similar laws were passed in other New England colonies. Parents were asked to contribute whatever they could to the village school. Contributions might be money, vegetables, firewood, or anything else the school needed. Often, land was set aside as “school meadows” or “school fields.” This land was then rented out to raise money for teachers’ salaries.
Schools were one-room buildings with a chimney and fireplace in the center. There were no boards to write on or maps. Pencils and paper were scarce. Students shouted out spelling words and wrote math problems in ink on pieces of bark. There was usually one book, the New England Primer, which was used to teach the alphabet, syllables, and prayers.
Most colonists believed that boys needed more education than girls. First Lady Abigail Adams wrote, “Female education in the best families went no further than writing and arithmetic (math); [and in] rare instances, music, and dancing.” Girls were expected to help with cleaning and other chores.
Schools were one-room buildings with a chimney and fireplace in the center. There were no boards to write on or maps. Pencils and paper were scarce. Students shouted out spelling words and wrote math problems in ink on pieces of bark. There was usually one book, the New England Primer, which was used to teach the alphabet, syllables, and prayers.
Most colonists believed that boys needed more education than girls. First Lady Abigail Adams wrote, “Female education in the best families went no further than writing and arithmetic (math); [and in] rare instances, music, and dancing.” Girls were expected to help with cleaning and other chores.
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