New England vs Middle Colonies

Middle Colonies enjoyed fertile soil vastly different from the nearby New England Colonies, which contained more rocky soil. Pennsylvania became a leading exporter of wheat, corn, rye, hemp, and flax, making it the leading food producer in the colonies, and later states, between the years of 1725 and 1840. Broad navigable rivers of relaxed current like the Susquehanna River, the Delaware River, and the Hudson River attracted diverse business. Fur trappers moved along these rivers, and there was enough flow to enable milling with water wheel power. Abundant forests attracted both the lumbering and shipbuilding industries to the Middle Colonies. These industries, along with the presence of deep river estuaries, led to the appearance of important ports like New York and Philadelphia. While the Middle Colonies had far more industry than the Southern Colonies, it still did not rival the industry of New England. In Pennsylvania, sawmills and gristmills were abundant, and the textile industry grew quickly. The colony also became a major producer of pig iron and its products, including the Pennsylvania long rifle and the Conestoga wagon. Other important industries including printing, publishing, and the related industry of papermaking. The Middle Colonies political groups began as small groups with narrowly focused goals. These coalitions eventually grew into diverse and large political organizations. The Middle Colonies were generally run by Royal or Proprietary Governors and elected Colonial Assemblies. Many Middle Colony constitutions guaranteed freedom of religion and forbade taxation without representation. Growing unrest in the Middle Colonies eventually led the region to become the meeting place for the Continental Congress, and a center for revolution. The Middle Colonies tended to mix aspects of the New England and Southern Colonies. Landholdings were generally farms of 40 to 160 acres, owned by the family that worked it. Ethnically, the Middle Colonies were more