1. Essential Question:
In what ways were the “Southern” and “Northern” British colonies different from each other?
Warm-Up Question:
What impact did Britain’s policies of salutary neglect & mercantilism have on the colonies?
Lesson plan for August 21, 2007: Warm-up question, Regional Differences Notes, Illustrated Journal Entry

2. Regional Differences Among the British Colonies

3. The Economies of the Colonies
The British colonies produced a variety of profitable materials & were populated by a variety of diverse peoples
By the 1700s, the differences among the “Southern” & “Northern” colonies led to long-term differences among these societies

4. “Northern” Colonies
“Southern” Colonies

5. Life in the “Southern” Colonies
The Southern economies were dominated by cash-crop agriculture
Tobacco in VA, MD, & NC
Rice & indigo in SC & GA
As a result, Southern society centered on:
Plantations rather than cities
Gaps between the rich & poor
Forced labor (slaves & servants)

6. Life in the “Southern” Colonies

7. Life in the “Southern” Colonies
By the 1700s, the Southern colonies became more diverse:
English colonists typically made up the plantation owners in the nutrient-rich lands in the east
Former indentured servants, German, Scots-Irish immigrants moved to the “backcountry” with poor soil, near Indians, & lived on the brink of poverty

8. The North American “Backcountry”
Distribution of European & African Immigrants in British North America by 1770
The North American “Backcountry”

9. Women in the “Southern” Colonies
Women in Southern society found their lived dominated by men:
Women were not eligible to vote, divorce, own or sell property
“Common” women were responsible for assisting in the field in addition to cleaning, cooking, & childrearing chores
Upper-class women had slaves or servants, but had few rights

10. Women in “Southern” Colonies

11. Slavery in the “Southern” Colonies
Slavery in the Southern colonies was far more common than in the Northern colonies:
Cash-crop agriculture, like tobacco & rice, required workers
By 1660, fewer indentured servants were coming to America
80-90% of Southern slaves were field workers, most on plantations

13. Slavery in the “Southern” Colonies
Slave culture in the South:
Slaves came from a variety of places in West Africa & had a variety of languages & cultures
Music & dance were used to maintain their African culture
Families were common, but marriage was not recognized
Slave religion often blended African rituals with Christianity

14. The Slave Population Slavery led to resistance:
Runaway slaves were common
Sabotaging of field tools & intentionally slowing down the work were common techniques of slave resistance
In 1739, in South Carolina 150 slaves led the Stono Rebellion against white plantation owners 16

15. “Northern” Colonies

16. Life in the “Northern” Colonies
Northern economies were much more diverse than in the South:
Were restricted to much smaller farms that grew multiple crops
Included wheat, corn, livestock, lumber, shipbuilding, fishing, iron
Boston, Philadelphia, New York were important port cities that allowed for international trade

17. Life in the “Northern” Colonies

18. Life in the “Northern” Colonies
Like the Southern colonies, English, Germans, & Scots-Irish were the major immigrant groups & most moved to the backcountry as small-scale farmers
Slaves worked on small-scale farms or as domestic servants
Northern women could not vote or own property & were to serve & obey their husbands

19. Distribution of European & African Immigrants in British North America by 1770

20. Social Mobility
Northern colonies offered greater social mobility than the South:
Social status was less dependent upon ownership of land
Numerous professional & trade professions in cities
Benjamin Franklin represented opportunities in colonial society; He used scientific innovation & political writing to gain world fame

21. The Great Awakening

22. Decline in Religious Devotion
By the 1700s, American colonists saw a decline in religious devotion:
Church sermons were seen by many as “cold” & impersonal
In the 1730s & 1740s, the Great Awakening was a series of revivals in which of people experienced religious conversion in response to gifted preaching
Outside of NE, 1 in 15 people was a member of a church
NE suffered a decline in church attendance (1:5 were members)

23. The Great Awakening
Preachers like Jonathan Edwards & George Whitefield were the most popular evangelists:
Used “fire & passion” to encourage people to examine their eternal destiny (“New Light”)
Preached sermons to 1,000s in large “camp revivals”
Encouraged questioning of established churches

25. Brown, Rutgers, & Princeton
The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening impacted all the colonists & led to:
New universities were formed to educate “New Light” preachers
Contact among scattered colonists in different regions (1st “national” American event)
Decline in Puritan & Anglican faiths & rise of Methodists, Baptists, & other denominations
Brown, Rutgers, & Princeton
such as Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, & Rutgers

26. Creative Writing Assignment
Create an illustrated journal from the perspective of someone from the colonial-era:
Students will be assigned a role
Create a journal entry written to a loved one who lives far away
Letters must have at least total 5 facts (gov’t, social, economic)
Letters must have 1 picture
Letters make 1 comparison to a person of a different role