The Middle Colonies
The Mid-Atlantic Colonies are Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey
and Delaware. Just like in New England, the environment greatly impacted
the way people who lived in the middle colonies made a living and went
about their daily lives. There are some similarities between New England
and the Mid-Atlantic such as the nearby Appalachian Mountains but there
are even more differences.
The first difference between New England and Mid-Atlantic colonies
was the quality of the land. The Middle colonies had rich farmland and a
moderate climate which made farming much easier than it was in New
England. Many people made their living raising livestock or growing grain.
Due to the ease of farming these colonies were able to provide food for
their own people and to send to the other colonies; the Middle colonies
became known as the breadbasket colonies.
Land in the middle colonies also consisted of coastal lowlands (or the
Coastal Plain) which contained harbors and bays with wide, deep rivers.
Part of the area is also known as the Piedmont. The location along the
Atlantic Coast also allowed people in the Mid-Atlantic colonies to make a
living through fishing. Those who did not make a living by farming or
fishing were able to find work as either skilled or unskilled workers.
People in the middle colonies had varied lifestyles and participated in
many different religions. The reasons for the variety of cultures is due to
the fact that the people of the Middle colonies came from many different
countries. Despite this the variety of people’s backgrounds, social life still
revolved around the village or city one lived in. Market towns were
extremely important in the Middle colonies because people needed to go to
town to trade the products they grew or made.
Name
Date
CHAPTER 6, LESSON 1
Summary: The Middle Colonies
New York and New Jersey
In 1664, England captured the colony of New Netherland.
King Charles II gave the colony to his brother, James the
Duke of York. James kept some of the land and named it
New York. He gave the rest of the land to two friends. They
divided the land into East Jersey and West Jersey. In 1702,
the two colonies joined to form New Jersey.
The proprietors of New York and New Jersey picked
governors to rule the colonies. The proprietors allowed the
colonists to be part of the government in two ways. First, the
governors chose a council that helped make decisions.
Second, colonists elected representatives to an assembly.
The assembly did not have much power, but it was a step
toward self-government.
Pennsylvania and Delaware
William Penn belonged to a religious group called the
Quakers. In England, people who did not belong to the
Church of England were punished. Penn wanted a colony
where all Christians could live in peace.
In 1681, King Charles gave Penn land in the Middle
Colonies. This land was named Pennsylvania. The Duke of
York gave Penn more land, which later became Delaware.
In Pennsylvania, colonists worshiped freely. They also had
a more powerful elected assembly that could approve or
reject laws. Penn bought land and made treaties with the
Lenni Lenape Indians. His fairness helped everyone live
together peacefully.
Penn planned the colony’s first city, Philadelphia. This
city became a big trade center because it had a good harbor.
Ships brought goods from other colonies and from
Europe.
Benjamin Franklin was Philadelphia’s most famous
citizen. He published a newspaper. He also helped to
start Philadelphia’s first fire company, hospital, and
library. Franklin became famous for his inventions.
Find and underline each
vocabulary word.
proprietor noun, a person
who owned and
controlled all the land in
a colony
representative noun,
someone who is chosen
to speak and act for
others
treaty noun, an official
agreement between
nations or groups
REVIEW How did
colonists in New York and
New Jersey take part in
government? Highlight two
sentences that tell how the
proprietors allowed the
colonists to take part in the
government.
REVIEW How did the
government of
Pennsylvania differ from
those of New York and New
Jersey? Circle the sentence
that describes the
government of Pennsylvania.
Resources for Reaching All Learners
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Use with United States History, pp. 188–191
Middle Colonies
Colonies - New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware
Climate/Geography - The Middle colonies spanned the Mid-Atlantic region of America and were temperate in
climate with warm summers and cold winters. Geography ranged from coastal plains along the coastline,
piedmont (rolling hills) in the middle, and mountains farther inland. This area had good coastal harbors for
shipping. Climate and land were ideal for agriculture. These colonies were known as the "breadbasket" because
of the large amounts of barley, wheat, oats, and rye that were grown here.
Religion - Religion in the Middle Colonies was varied as no single religion seemed to dominate the entire region.
Religious tolerance attracted immigrants from a wide-range of foreign countries who practiced many different
religions. Quakers, Catholics, Jews, Lutherans and Presbyterians were among those religious groups that had
significant numbers in the middle colonies.
Economy - The Middle Colonies enjoyed a successful and diverse economy. Largely agricultural, farms in this
region grew numerous kinds of crops, most notably grains and oats. Logging, shipbuilding, textiles production,
and papermaking were also important in the Middle Colonies. Big cities such as Philadelphia and New York were
major shipping hubs, and craftsmen such as blacksmiths, silversmiths, cobblers, wheelwrights, wigmakers,
milliners, and others contributed to the economies of such cities.