Question please man i need serious help. i need to find out 3 comparisons and contrasts about the politics in the southern, middle, and new england colonies. i need it by tomorrow, to write an essay , yeah i know i waited towards the end, please help me. Don't know what to do if i don't get the info. YOUR MY ONLY HOPE ON GETTING THIS DONE.
Answer John:
Read the following in its entirety!
Settlements needed to be near waterways because boats were the most practical way to transport cargo. In particular, access to the Atlantic Ocean was crucial at the time, as trade with Britain, the rest of Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa was essential to the colonial American economy.
Geographical barriers such as rivers and mountains limited settlement because transportation technology was much less developed than it is now. Climate and geography had a major impact on the crops that settlers could grow for food and for trade. Tobacco, imported from Trinidad in 1612, became an important export crop for the Southern Colonies, where it grew particularly well. In addition, other crops such as corn and wheat grew well throughout the colonies. Fishing developed as an important industry, especially in New England, where ocean geography offered ideal conditions for abundant fish populations. About 4/5 of the colonial population were farmers. Approximately ¼ of the colonial population were slaves, brought to the colonies against their will from Africa in the triangular trade system, in which European manufactured commodities were traded for slaves in Africa, who were then traded for agricultural commodities such as sugar, cotton, and tobacco to be taken back to Europe and the colonies.
All land was taken from Native Americans, either peacefully or forcefully. Native American friendliness was the only way that the initial colonies survived. Native American communities did not have the same sense of land ownership that Europeans had; they shared the land they occupied rather than staking a claim. Thus, there was a major cultural difference between the Europeans and the Native Americans, which resulted in major displacements of the latter.
People came to the colonies for different reasons, such as seeking freedom from religious persecution, seeking fortune, or being kidnapped and enslaved. Naturally, their reasons for coming and their backgrounds had an impact on their values and priorities. Life was very different in the various colonies. For example, slaves, who were an important part of the economic system, made up about 40% of the population in the Southern colonies at that time, while they were less common in the Northern Colonies. Agriculture was the primary industry in most colonies, but almost universally in the South. In New England, government was organized around town councils, whereas the Middle and Southern Colonies generally tended to organize their governments around counties. This is still true. Desire for religious freedom was a major incentive for settling in New England and the Middle Colonies, whereas economic opportunity was a primary factor in the settlement of the Southern Colonies. The Middle Colonies were settled largely by non-English Europeans, including Swedish, Dutch, and Germans, Swiss, French, Scottish, and Welsh.
Despite their differences, people in all colonies were becoming increasingly discontent with British colonial rule and its various manifestations, especially taxation without representation. Other concerns included British regulation of trade, mandates to house and feed British military, and lack of due process of law, i.e. fair trials. It is this discontent with British rule that united the diverse colonies in a fight for independence from Britain.
During the Revolutionary years, leaders from each colony joined together to claim independence from Britain and set up a unified government.
