1. 3.1 Occupations: How the Colonists Made their Living
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2. Occupations Some settlers came prepared for the New World.
Those who settled in Massachusetts brought materials, tools, and supplies.
They found the climate in New England similar to England.
Most however, were not aware of the variety of land and climate the colonies would hold.

3. Occupations
Plains, mountains, forests, grasslands, warm and cold climates were all available in America.
Colonists had to adjust.
The climate was very important to early settlers.
We buy things today from all over the world.
Colonists had to rely on themselves.

4. Occupations Famers made up 90% of the colonists.
Most of these were subsistence farmers, who were able to raise enough crops for their family.
Even non-farmers had to depend on local farmers for food.
Carpenters and shipbuilders used trees, and smiths used metal from nearby deposits.

5. Occupations Some settlers came prepared for the New World.
Those who settled in Massachusetts brought materials, tools, and supplies.

6. Occupations They found the climate in New England similar to England.
Most however, were not aware of the variety of land and climate the colonies would hold.

7. New England The geography of New England is rough and cold.
It is full of hills and low mountains.
The soil is rocky, making farming difficult.
This made most farmers in New England subsistence.

8. New England New Englanders looked to the ocean for work.
Fishing – they traded codfish with the middle colonies and west indies.
Whaling – took the oil and bones.
Shipbuilding – after starting using English boats, eventually New Englanders started making their own boats as they had a surplus of timber.

9. New England Most settlers were British.
Although they manufactured some goods during the winter, it was generally for personal use.
Since colonists looked to the ocean for profit, harbors became important points of settlement and centers of trade.

10. Middle Colonies
As a result, Middle Colonies were less strictly bound to British traditions.

11. Middle Colonies Geography
Rivers – Hudson River (NY/NJ), Delaware River (Phil), Susquehanna and Allegheny Rivers (Pen) served as water highways for trade and travel.
Soil – Middle Colonies had rich/thick soil. The rivers provided this soil which made for a surplus of staple crops like corn, oats, barley, and wheat.

12. Middle Colonies
For this reason, these colonies were referred to as the bread colonies.
Farming was the major activity. Most farmed for their families, however some were able to sell extra produce for profit.
Abundant pastures fed cattle and horses and made livestock a leading export.

13. Middle Colonies Wood was also used for wagons and barrels.
Settlers in the western part of the colonies, trapped animals for their fur trade with the Natives.
Albany, New York became an early fur-trade center because of it’s location and closeness with the Iroquois Tribe.

15. Southern Colonies
Rich soil and long growing seasons made farming dominant.
While they grew staple crops, colonists found other crops could be more profitable.
Tobacco, rice, and indigo became primary exports because of the demand from Europe.

16. Southern Colonies Large field + unskilled labor = Big $.
This caused large farms called plantations to become a huge part of southern culture.
Plantations leads to growth of slavery.

17. Southern Colonies
Few port towns grew to meet transportation but farming was king.
A wide costal plain gave farmers large amounts of flat land and their crops thrived in the warmer climate.
Most early colonists were British, and set up their plantations like British estates.

18. Southern Colonies
However, there ended up being much more colonists who weren’t so wealthy.
They could not compete with the plantations so they ended up being subsistence famers.

19. Southern Colonies Tobacco became the first important money crop.
Early colonists in Jamestown had learned how important it was to focus on food instead of tobacco.
However, for the south, economic gain overruled better judgment.
Although growing tobacco was hard, and ruined the soil, it became the leading cash crop in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.

20. Southern Colonies
Rice was raised in the tidewater (areas along the rivers)
At high tide, farmers opened floodgates to cover fields with water.
When the tide lowered, flood gates were opened to lower the water level.
Fields were flooded twice each year, and the rice was finally dried in September for harvest.

21. Southern Colonies
Indigo proved to be a good second crop because it grew in the offseason for both tobacco and rice.
When the leaves had decayed, the water was drained out, the plant was beaten and limewater was added to give that rich blue color.
This made a horrible smell.

22. Southern Colonies
Indigo and rice were especially important in South Carolina.
The largest and most important food crop was corn.
The Natives taught them how..

23. Southern Colonies
Corn could grow almost anywhere, was easy to care for, and could be simply made into food.
Dried, corn could be stored until it was needed. Corn stock could be used to “make stuff” such as mattresses, toys, or food for livestock.

24. The Frontier
West of the Atlantic Ocean was the Appalachian Mountains which served as a western border for colonies.
The frontier was the underdeveloped areas on the edge of the settled areas.
As settlements moved west, the frontier moved west too. Easterners called the frontier “back country.”

25. The Frontier Most frontier people were hardworking.
But they were soon joined by people (riffraff) Easterners wanted out of such as:
Debtors
Escaped convicts
Wife deserters

26. The Frontier
Some of the riffraff changed their lives, others backtracked.
Men and women on the frontier worked extremely hard but rarely became wealthy.

27. The Frontier The frontier settlers claimed land anywhere they wished.
Farms were very small. A patch of corn and perhaps some peas, potatoes, and wheat.
Despite the frontier’s problems, the population grew.

28. The Frontier
The Wilderness Road began in 1769, making crossing the Appalachians easier.
The Great Wagon Road connecting North Carolina to Pennsylvania became the primary north-south road.
By 1776, more than 25,000 settlers were on the frontier, and a brave few began to head further west.

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