Culture and Religion of the Middle colonies

Samantha Marks, Kate Slowikowski, and Peter Iovine

Way of Life 1620-1740

The middle colonies led very diverse and interesting daily lives

Land and weather in the middle colonies was perfect for farming.

Many people lived on small farms where they could produce crops to sell and eat. Farmers would use the long, wide

rivers to ship their goods. Philadelphia and

New York were two places that became very busy ports

and trade centers.

Richer families could afford larger brick homes. Others lived in log homes. Homes were usually made out of wood and mud.

Many families planted wheat, corn, barely, pumpkins, rye, flax, potatoes, and peas; while others ate break and small game. They also raised animals.

Way of Life As in the other English colonies, the Middle Colonies had a free market economy for the most part. Proprietors could

not tell the colonists what to do.

Colonists would just do what made them the most money. This is called free enterprise.

Many artisans and laborers found jobs in the busy ports and trade centers.

Way of Life- Clothes Middle Colony men wore shirts, breeches, and

boots.

Women wore dresses, aprons, bonnets, petticoats, and shoes.

Children under the age of five usually dressed like their parents, but simpler and with slippers instead of shoes.

Clothes could be dyed with things such as roots and berries.

Chores

Girls and women had to cook, clean, make clothing, soap, butter, candles, take care of children, and make cloth.

Boys and men had to build and fix things, work in the garden, hunt, make tools, shoemaking, printing, and raise

animals.

Education In the middle colonies about half of the

adults could sign their names

Colonial leaders leaders agreed that education was important but were not concerned with providing it

In 1683, Pennsylvania passed a law that required all children to be taught to read and write

Pennsylvania’s first school was then established the same year

Education Children attended one-room school houses where they

were taught religion, prayers, reading, writing, and manners.

Depending on their social class, they might also study classical languages, history and literature, mathematics, and natural science

Girls could be tutored at home in a variety of household and social skills.

When their work was done, women sewed, had corn husk weaving contests, and quilted.

Men then had shooting contests, foot races, and horse races.

Children played marbles, hopscotch, and made and flied kites.

Ethnics The Middle Colonies were the most ethnically and

religiously diverse British colonies in North America, with settlers coming from all parts of Europe.

In the 1600’s the Middle colonies accepted people of different religions and cultures. The colonists were German, Dutch, Scottish, Irish, Scandinavian, English, and enslaved Africans.

Religion In the middle colonies there were

people called proprietors. They allowed people to practice different religions.

The religions were Presbyterian, Quaker, Church of England, Dutch Reformed Baptist, Dutch Lutheran, Seventh Day Baptist, German Reformed, and a few other scattered ones.

Religion was huge in the Middle Colonies

Important People by Samantha Marks

There were tons of amazing leaders and important people in the middle colonies

One remarkable leader is Peter Stuyversant. He lead the colony, New Netherland (New York) beginning in 1647.

His accomplishments as a director general included a great expansion for the settlement of New Amsterdam beyond the southern tip of Manhattan.

Some of his projects included were the protective wall on Wall Street and the canal that became Broad Street and Broadway

Important People Cont. by

Samantha Marks

Another important person is William Penn. His colony was Pennsylvania .

He named the capitol of his colony Philadelphia in 1644 and developed it too.

He was a supporter of democracy and for religious freedom

William had good relationships and had successful treaties with the Lenape Indians

More Important People Cont. by Samantha Marks

Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson was a very important person for the Middle colonies

He discovered the Hudson River in 1609 was a great place for trading.

Without him, New York wouldn’t be a main trading place even now in 2015.

Philip Carteret

Was the first governor of New Jersey

Peter Minuit

Purchased the Manhattan Island from Indians

Helped found the first Swedish colony in America, New Sweden, on the lower Delaware River.

Major Cities/Population

by Samantha Marks These are the major towns in the Middle Colonies: New York- by 1646 the population along the Hudson River consisted of

Dutch, French, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, English scots, Irish, Germans, Poles, Bohemians, Portuguese and Italians New York City Albany

Delaware- In the early 1600s Delaware population was about 20,000 , but in the later years (1655-1670) dropped to about 4,000 to 1,700 people Wilmington Georgetown

New Jersey- by 1775, the population was over 120,000 Trenton Princeton

Pennsylvania- by 1685 the population was 9,000 people Philadelphia Lancaster York

Toleration – Petuh Iovine

There was little availability of the land, which led to thinly settled communities.

In more urban areas, there was social diversity, which led to religious differences or reduced their importance.

Faith could dominate the people of the middle colony, combining their differences.

The wisdom did not come easily, and there was lots of bickering and fighting.

They just wanted a colonist to buy their land.

Works Cited - "Religious Pluralism in the Middle Colonies, Divining America, TeacherServe®, National Humanities Center." Religious Pluralism in the Middle Colonies, Divining America, TeacherServe®, National Humanities Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2015

Major Events- Peter Iovine

1623- New Netherlands, which became New York, was settled by Peter Minuit and Peter Stuyvesant.

1630- There was a flock of English people headed to the Americas.

1638- Delaware was settled. The duke of New York combined New Netherland and New Sweden, and called the area Delaware.

1664- New Jersey was born. The duke of New York gave some land to Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley who called their colony New Jersey.

Major Events- Peter Iovine

1682- Over time, the Quakers settle in Pennsylvania. The Quakers were persecuted in England, and hoped to have a colony in America with religious freedom.

1686- King James II combined the colonies of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Bay Colony, Plymouth, Rhode Island, New York, New Hampshire, East Jersey and West Jersey to create a single colony named: The Domination of New England

1702- The two parts of New Jersey, East Jersey and West Jersey, were united into a royal colony, New Jersey.

"Middle Colonies." ***. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2015

Samantha’s Works Cited

"Leaders/important People - Middle Colonies 8th Hour." Leaders/important People -

Middle Colonies 8th Hour. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

"Middle Colonies." ***. N.p., Nov. 2014. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

"Delaware." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.

"New Jersey." Worldmark Encyclopedia of the States. 2007, "New Jersey."

Dictionary of American History. 2003, "New Jersey." The Columbia Encyclopedia,

6th Ed.. 2014, "New Jersey." Cities of the United States. 2006, "New Jersey." World

Encyclopedia. 2005, and "New Jersey." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. "New Jersey."

Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 01 Jan. 2007. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.

Kate’s Works Cited

"Daily Life in the Middle Colonies." Englishcolonizationofna07 [licensed for Non-commercial Use Only] /. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.

"Education World ® Lesson Planning Skills Page: Education In The Colonies." Education World ® Lesson Planning Skills Page: Education In The Colonies. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2015.

"Life In the Middle Colonies." Life In the Middle Colonies. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.

"Middle Colonies." ***. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.

"Religious Pluralism in the Middle Colonies, Divining America, TeacherServe®, National Humanities Center." Religious Pluralism in the Middle Colonies, Divining America, TeacherServe®, National Humanities Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.

2, Chapter 6 Lesson. Summary: Life in the Middle Colonies (n.d.): n. pag. Web.