Social Studies Study Guide
THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES :
Led by John Winthrop Puritans left England in a
“Great Migration” for the Massachusetts bay
colony. Between 1629-1640 some 15,000
Puritans and other English settlers moved to
Boston and the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Thomas Hooker:
Set up the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
allowing all male property owners to vote. Roger
Williams founded Rhode Island and fostered
religious tolerance in the colony.
Roger Williams:
Escaped to Narragansett Bay where he was
sheltered by his Indian friends. He purchased
lands from them and founded the community of
Providence, accepting all settlers regardless of
their beliefs.
Anne Hutchinson:
a Puritan held prayer groups in her home near
Boston. She was put on trial for holding these
groups. Hutchinson was banished to Rhode Island
after claiming that God spoke directly to her.
Hutchinson is important to the struggle for
religious freedom.
Metacom:
Aka “King Phillip” leader of the
Wampanoag natives attacked villages throughout
New England. 600 colonists were killed and
dozens of Puritan towns were burned. Metacom
was eventually captured and his men were sold
in to slavery.
LIFE IN NEW ENGLAND
Puritans observed the Sabbath, and by law had to
go to church all day on Sunday. Puritans met for
town meetings and had strict laws. The Puritan
economy centered around ship building, fishing,
farming and trade.
13 original colonies into three groups:
New England
Middle Colonies
Southern Colonies
THE MIDDLE COLONIES
Under the leadership of Peter Stuyvesant New
Netherlands became New York when English
warships entered its harbor. Stuyvesant lacked the
resources to defend the city.

New Jersey:
was established by George Carteret and Lord
Berkeley. New Jersey had good farmland and
allowed for religious tolerance.
William Penn:
A Quaker believed in non-violence, religious
freedom and equality. Penn forced the settlers of
Pennsylvania to pay for the land they got from the
Native Americans. Delaware broke away from
Pennsylvania to form its own colony.
Economy Of the Middle Colonies:
Settlers including craftsmen, farmers and African
slaves in the Middle Colonies made their money
growing cash crops such as wheat. Along with the
crops farm animals and crafts were exported to
Europe and the West Indies.
The Great Wagon Road and Settling Back in
Country:
German and Scotch Irish families arrived to
colonize the Eastern Appalachian Mountains. This
is called the Great Wagon Road.
THE SOUTHERN COLONIES:
Mason and Dixon, two land surveyors explored for
years and created a line dividing Pennsylvania and
Maryland. The Mason-Dixon divided the Southern
Colonies.
Lord Baltimore, Maryland & Catholics:
In 1632 Lord Baltimore of England settled
Maryland as a colony for Roman Catholics.
Baltimore however passed the Act of Toleration
allowing religious freedom to all Christians. (This
did not include Jews, Muslims or non-Christians.)
Bacon’s Rebellion:
Nathaniel Bacon a Virginia planter led raids on
Native American villages and burned Jamestown
for the governor’s lack of assistance to rural
planters.
The Carolinas:
North Carolina was settled by tobacco farmers
from Virginia who migrated South. Charleston,
South Carolina was founded by wealthy plantation
owners who grew rice and indigo. Eventually
African slaves made up the majority of the South
Carolina population.
James Oglethorpe:
founded the Georgia colony as a refuge for debtors
to make clean start.
AFRICAN SLAVERY
By 1700 plantations in the South had come to
rely on African slavery. (Slavery existed in all
colonies) Over 400 years some 9-12 million
Africans were brought to the Americas in the transAtlantic Slave Trade or the Middle Passage. At
least 2-3 million died while in route to the
Americas. Slave codes and European racism
allowed Africans to be treated far less than
humans.
Review Questions:
The New England colonies were settled by people
of this religion ________________.
______________ led a war against the
Puritans to protect the Wampanoag's.
Who was the first governor of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony?
Name all four New England colonies.
Which colony did Roger Williams set up? What
impact did Roger Williams have on America?
____________ founded the Connecticut
colony.
Who was banished from Massachusetts for
holding prayer groups? Is she an American hero?
Did the Puritans treat the Native Americans
fairly?
In your opinion why did the Salem witch trials
take place? What does this tell you about the
Puritans in New England?
Who was the governor of New Netherland when it
became New York?
New Jersey was established by whom?
Why was William Penn unique as a colonial
leader?
What was the basis of the economy of the
Middle Colonies?
German and Irish colonists followed the
_________ Road into the backcountry of the
middle colonies?
How were the middle colonies different from
the New England colonies?
Why do you think settlers were attracted to the
Middle Colonies?
Which was the first southern colony? Who
founded Maryland and for which religious
group? Why was the “Act of Toleration” ironic?
What happened during Bacon’s Rebellion?
What were the cash crops or commodities of
the southern colonies? Who grew these crops?
In your opinion, what was the greatest
injustice done to the African slaves?
Who founded Georgia? Why do you think only
debtors would move to Georgia?
What was the line separating Pennsylvania
from Maryland?
Who founded Maryland? Who was the ideal
colonist in Maryland?
Who did Maryland’s “Act of Toleration” leave
out? What happened during Bacon’s
rebellion? What was grown in the Carolinas
and by whom? For whom did James
Oglethorpe found Georgia?
What was one difference between the coastal
plantation owners in the south and the
backcountry southern colonists?
Which colonies had the institution of slavery?
If you were a British person which colony
would you want to come to and why?