Virginia Vs. New England

In religious and political matters, Virginia varied considerably from the New England colonies. The Church of England was the established church in Virginia, which meant taxpayers paid for the support of the church whether or not they were Anglicans. A lack of clergymen and few churches kept many Virginians from attending church. Religion thus was of secondary importance in the Virginia colony. While New England was a land of towns and villages surrounded by small farms, Virginia and Maryland were characterized by large plantations and little urban development. The emphasis on indentured labor meant that relatively few women settled in the Chesapeake colonies. The price for tobacco in England was worth ten times what it was worth in the United
It required that all New England villages of 50 families or more hire a teacher for reading and writing. Towns that grew to 100 families were also required to set up a Latin grammar school to prepare young men for college. The teacher's salary was to be paid by the parents of the children who attended the school. Many young Puritans, primarily boys ages six to eight, learned reading, spelling, and prayers. Later, either the boys went on to a Latin grammar school to prepare for college and an eventual religious or political career or they trained in a trade. In most of the middle and southern colonies children received very little formal education because they lived far apart or because of religious differences. Because of this the North had higher literacy rates that would take the Southern Colonies over 100 years to reach. The largest social class in the south and Chesapeake regions were the merchants, vendors and small farmers of the colonies. These people were the rank and file citizens, moderately educated and skilled, but willing to work hard and create the America they