New England, Middle, and Southern colonies have many differences than similarities. The southern colonies were composed of the Chesapeake and Deep South colonies whose primary economic activity was agricultural. The middle and New England colonies were founded on a completely different ground because the New England colonies (Massachusetts) were founded to help people in escaping the rampant religious persecution in England by King Charles the first and the church of England. Member the less, the middle colonies include cites such as present-day Delaware, New York, and the present-day new jersey. The primary activities in these regions involved trade as they were trace centered. Only Pennsylvania in the middle colonies was founded to be a haven for the then Quakers which was a Religious Society of Friends or Friends Church. The Quakers settled in Pennsylvania because it is only in this region that religious tolerance was found.
The colonial leaders of New England were known as John Winthrop. He was in charge of the spiritual and political leadership of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1929. On the other hand, Roger Williams led the Rhode Island Colony. Connecticut Colony was under Thomas Hooker and New Hampshire Colony was under John Mason. In the southern colony, Captain John Smith was the leader. In the middle colonies, William Penn was the leader
The southern colonies were made up of large agricultural lands while the middle colonies and the New England colonies were composed of small farms that grew wheat, squash, beans as well as multiple other crops. The terrain and the nature of the soil in the area drove the economic activities in New England(Randolph et al., 1967). New England was primarily rocky. The soil was also inconsistent. Most of the people that settled in New England were blacksmiths, anglers, and merchants who only took to agriculture as a pastime because they relied mainly on trade. The middle colonies ere made up of large and fertile should be wheat, oats, and barley could perform well. New England colonies and middle colonies were good trading ground for products such as iron and furs
The New England flourished under a unique form of self-government. But in both southern and middle colonies, both male and females church members could vote while in the new England, only men were allowed to vote(Randolph et al., 1967). It is important to note that only in middle colonies where the court system was elected through democratic voting systems.
Religion
In the New England colonies, the puritan Catholics were the dominant religion in these areas. These religious groups did not accept any other form of religion. As compared to the New England colonies located in Pennsylvania, the middle colonies were made up of Quakers who demonstrated a higher level of religious tolerance leading to the multiplicity of religious groups in the middle colonies.
The systems of labor in New England were also unique in that forced labor was used. For example, indentured servitude was borrowed from England. This was the same case in the middle colonies. Nevertheless, the indentured servants worked voluntarily to pay off their debts for between four and seven-year. In the southern colonies, the forced labor included enslaved and Native American were used as the primary labor force. Such difference explains the different evolution of slavery in the middle, southern, and New England colonies.
Reference
Randolph, E., Toppan, R., & Goodrick, A. (1967). Edward Randolph; including his letters andofficial papers from the New England, middle, and southern colonies in America. B. Franklin.
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