Colonial Life in America

Northern colonies:

• New England Group centered on Massachusetts

• small farmers or craftsmen, others depended on sea – built ships and sailed to catch cod or to trade with England (a busy port Boston)

Middle colonies:

• biggest New York and Pennsylvania

• mainly farmlands, with growing numbers of craftsmen and merchants

Philadelphia (capital of Pennsylvania) – largest city in America

• people more tolerant to other religions and differences than in the North, many had German, Dutch and Swedish ancestors

Southern colonies

• fertile river valleys where wealthy landowners farmed large plantations

• lived in great houses with expensive English furniture and most of the work was done by black slaves

• in all colonies people lived near to the coast – the “tidewater period” of settlement

• later they moved deeper into the continent, the area where the settlement came to an end “the frontier” - new settlers pushed the frontier steadily westwards in search for fertile soil

• farms were separated from each other by miles, so people had to rely on themselves (grew their own food, built own houses, made own clothing)

• strong belief of cooperation and need to help each other strengthen the feeling of equality

• in the West the settlers were stopped by the Appalachian Mountains

• the explorer Daniel Boone took some axmen and cut a track through the forest of Appalachians – “The Wilderness Road” – the settlers passed and got to a rich grassland which now make up the states of Kentucky and Tennessee

The Roots of Revolution

• 17^th century – Britain and France fought several wars which went on in America

• France claimed to own Canada and Louisiana, based on journey by explorers (Samuel de Champlain who explored Québec and Montreal and René la Salle who explored valley of Mississippi River – New Orleans)

• 1756 - British knew France would send soldiers to stop colonists to move westwards in this areas – the Seven Years war began

• Peace of Paris – France gave up claim to Canada and areas east of Mississippi River

• colonists got into the Ohio valley – English king forbade it to prevent war with Amerindians

• 1765 - Stamp Act was passed (intended to raise the money to pay for the defense of colonies)

• Americans refused to pay the taxes when they had no representatives in parliament (“no taxation without representation”)

• taxes on goods imported abroad were placed in America – they refused to pay, in Boston broke up riots – British soldiers kept order

• England removed all taxes except for tea

• some Americans continued the quarrel – 1773 - a group in disguise of Mohawk Amerindians boarded British ships and threw 342 cases of tea into the sea – “Boston Tea Party”

• Boston harbor closed until the tea was paid for

• when British warship took over Boston harbor, colonial leaders met in Philadelphia, formed Continental Congress – claimed to be loyal to England, but supported Americans to refuse to buy British goods, organized part-time soldiers and gathered weapons and ammunition