Southern Colonies Religion: The Rise of the Three Main Colonial Regions

The Thirteen Colonies started as the birth of one of the largest, most successful nations in the world today. The differences in these three regions helped define a future democracy of the United States of America. Religion, economy, government, and social life all play a role in the development of these different colonies. Many immigrants fled to the colonies for freedom from their homes. New England colonists were seeking a new way of life, Middle colonies welcomed people from various lifestyles, and the Southern colonies were established as economic ventures and were seeking natural resources to provide material wealth to the mother country and themselves. The religious aspects of the three colonial regions influenced almost everything in their lives.

In the New England colonies, Puritans and Quakers built their societies on precepts of the Bible. Quakers was a new form of religion built for the Northern colonies. Founded by pilgrims, New Englanders valued education and promoted literacy to understand the Bible. This is different from the Southern colonies because the religion in the southern colonies was mainly an Anglican faith. English catholics fled from the Old World to Maryland for escape from religious persecution. In the Middle colonies, the largest religious groups in the Middle Colonies were Dutch Reformed.

Lutherans resided in southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, while most Quakers lived in Pennsylvania. Religious intolerance was the worst in the New England colonies: most people were defined of class by religion. The Middle colonies were the most open minded, believing that one can be adopted openly into a religion and not have to be born into it.

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Religion was a huge defining factor in the government of the Northern states, particularly those that make up New England. These were primarily religious communities. Christianity shaped their law, and they set up a "covenant community" with the Mayflower Compact, the first agreement for self-government to be created and enforced in America. In the Middle colonies, they used many different democratic principles that reflected the basic rights of Englishmen. Religion influenced the democracy. The Southern colonies on the other hand had a more representative government. The planters played lead roles in representative colonial legislatures, and supported by slave labor, held most of the political power and owned the best land. They built great houses, adopted an aristocrat way of life and kept in touch as best they could with the world of culture overseas.

In the South, cash crops, such as corn and cotton, was a vital way to make a living for southerners. They exported agricultural products to both New England and Europe. Many farmers relied on slavery for agricultural use. Farmers raised tobacco, corn, and grains in Virginia. They also raised rice and indigo in South Carolina and Georgia. The southern colonies were mostly chartered as joint-stock ventures. The southern states were foremostly economic enterprises, and these colonists living there were more concerned with making money than building a righteous community.

New Englanders harnessed waterpower and established grain mills and sawmills because it was too difficult to farm. Shipbuilding was encouraged by large amounts of timber. Harbors on the coastlines promoted trade with other colonies and countries. In Massachusetts, the cod industry alone quickly grew into a successful thriving business. The Middle colonies seemed to be the in-between of the two, with rich farmland and a moderate climate. Many people made their living raising livestock and growing grain. They were known as the 'Breadbasket colonies' because they provided their own abundance of food and traded with other colonies.

The Southern colonies had a smaller social life. Many people lived on large farms, known as plantations. There was less emphasis on education, since many of the inhabitants were slaves or indentured servants (laborers who signed a contract in exchange for land). In the southern colonies, German, Scottish, and Irish immigrants populated the land. There were not many schools nor cities. The middle colonies had a great social life. They could communicate much more easily with each other than those to the north or south could.

People came from many different cultures and participated in many different religions. Immigrants from many countries chose the Middle colonies due to the variety of opinions that were available to them. Men, women, and children all worked long hours in the fields and in the home. Boys helped plant and harvest crops, while girls did housework, cooking, and sewing. Most New England families lived in small homes with one main room. They cooked by the fireplace and slept on mattresses next to the fire. Colonial homes were like busy workshops. In societies like those of the Quakers, even women were granted an education. Young men were expected to earn a trade or work towards a religious or political career.

Throughout all these colonies, work and religion were the main points in life. Even though these people believed in different things or stood up for different reasons, they all came for the same reason: freedom to start a new life, and the excitement of a brand new land.

Citations:

1. http://peopleof.oureverydaylife.com/political-southern-colonies-during-1600s-11222.html
2. http://www.greenup.kyschools.us/Downloads/Compare%20Colony%20Regions.pdf
3. https://prezi.com/lisezjytzah1/the-economic-difference-between-the-three-colonial-regions/

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