New England and Southern Colonies

Both the New England colonies and the Southern colonies seemed as though they might be the same. They both started out with the majority of people being from England, they were both in the New World, and they were both ruled by England but, as time went on this theory was proven wrong. The New England colonies and the Southern colonies had many common characteristics but these two regions were very different geographically, politically, and socially.

Geographically the New England colonies were the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire; the Southern colonies were Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. These two regions were on opposite sides of America so naturally, they had different climates. The Southern colonies were very hot while New England was cooler; the hot weather made life in the south much harsher and the death expectancy was ten years shorter than that of New England. Many people in the North lived longer because of the cleaner water and the cooler temperatures which slowed down the spreading of diseases. Although New England was cooler, the soil was not fertile; therefore the economy of New England was run by manufacturing. Such things as trade, lumber and fishing were the primary source of income. In the South, agriculture was very important; the staple crops were tobacco and rice and the Southern colonies were largely considered the plantation colonies. The geography of the colonies was a fundamental key to how the region developed and how the economy was characterized

Because many of the settlers living in the South were planters this had a great effect on the social structure of the South. At the top of this four part structure were the plantation owners, after which were the middle class farmers, second to last were the indentured servants who were people who worked their way in America to pay for their passage, and at the very bottom of the social ladder were the black