The Southern Colonies
Ch. 3: Colonies Take Root (1587-­‐1752) Sec<on 4 1.)
Students will describe the geography & climate of the Southern Colonies. 2.) Students will describe the early history of Virginia. 3.) Students will explain how Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia were founded. 4.) Students will iden<fy the factors that produced the Tidewater and backcountry way of life. Remember the diversity in the middle colonies: the Southern colonies are much less diverse. Keep this in mind as we learn about the new colonies. • During the 1760’s, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were hired to seQle a boundary dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania. They conducted a survey which took 4 years to complete and labeled it the Mason Dixon line. • This line marked the boundary between the two colonies; as well as aUer the American Revolu1on, it was the dividing line between Northern states, where slavery was abolished & Southern states, where slavery persisted. Map of the Mason Dixon Line • 5 Colonies are located south of the Mason Dixon Line; Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. • Each of these colonies shared a coastal area called the Tidewater, a flat lowland that included many swampy areas. • On its west, the Tidewater blends into a region of rolling hills called the Piedmont. • The climate of these states is warm and humid. • Hot summers provide a long growing season; colonists used this to plant tobacco and rice • Both of these crops required many workers in the field; helped spur the early development of slavery. n
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s What condi<ons in the Southern Colonies favored the development of a planta<on economy? (A) They had preQy houses; (B) Hot and humid summers allowed them a long growing season; (C ) They were more ar1s1c than the colonists in the north. (D)  None of the above. • The death rate was high due to disease and poor condi1ons; but seQlers kept coming from Europe so the popula1on grew gradually during the 1600’s • AUer 1650, the death rate decreased and the popula1on began to grow more rapidly • By 1670, popula1on had reached nearly 40,000 • The makeup of the popula1on had also changed; there were more children during the 1670’s because fewer were dying at a young age. • The percentage of women in the popula1on also increased. • While the white population grew; Native Americans
population shrank due to disease and violence.
• In 1607 there were about 8,000 Native Americans in
Virginia; by 1675 only about 2,000 were left.
• Farmers took more land to plant tobacco; which led
to trouble with the Native Americans
• There were 2 instances of violence; one in 1622 and
one in 1644; both times Natives were defeated; after
1644, those left had to accept English Rule Bacon’s Rebellion • Beginning in the 1660’s wealthy Virginia tobacco farmers bought most of the good farmland near the coast. • This leU liQle land for poor colonists who wanted to start their own farms. • Most of these farmers were young men who were forced to work the land of wealthy farmers. • This made them angry; they also could not vote because they didn’t own property. Bacon’s Rebellion • Many poor colonists began to move inland to find good farmland and figh1ng broke out with the Na1ve Americans. • Farmers on the fron1er demanded that the government take strong ac1on against the Na1ves • The royal governor, William Berkley, was reluctant to do so; he did not want an all out conflict with the Na1ves • He also benefited heavily from fur trade with them. Bacon’s Rebellion • Nathaniel Bacon became the leader of the fron1er seQlers • In 1675 he organized a force of 1,000 westerners and began aQacking and killing Na1ve Americans • The governor then declared Bacon and his men as rebels. • Bacon then reacted by aQacking Jamestown; burning it to the ground and forcing the governor to run away Nathaniel Bacon Burning of Jamestown Bacon’s Rebellion • This revolt, known as Bacon’s Rebellion, ended when Bacon became sick and died. • 23 of his men were hanged by the governor • But he was unable to stop English seQlers from moving onto Na1ve American lands. • Although the rebellion was not successful in driving the Na1ve American’s from Virginia; Governor Berkley was eventually recalled to England to answer for the events and his part in them. c
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What was the main cause of Bacon’s Rebellion? (A) They were upset because the royal governor had laughed at Nathaniel Bacon’s clothes (B) They wanted to decrease the popula1on in all of the colonies (C) Desire for Western Land; (D) None of the above. Religious Tolera1on in Maryland • In 1632, King Charles I granted a charter for a new colony to George Calvert, an English Catholic. • Catholics had suffered great discrimina1on • Calvert wanted to establish a colony where Catholics could be free from persecu1on • Maryland lay across Chesapeake Bay from Virginia Religious Tolera1on in Maryland • The Act of Tolera1on was passed in 1649 under Lord Bal1more as a result of conflict between the Catholics and Protestants • This act gave adult Chris1an males the right to vote and hold office • Although it did not help people who were not Chris1an; it was s1ll an important step toward religious tolera1on in America. t i
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Who benefited from Maryland’s tolera<on? (A) Everyone (B) Na1ve Americans (C) Chris1ans (D) None of the Above • In 1663 King Charles II granted a charter for a new
colony there, Carolina.
• The northern part developed slowly; lacking
harbors and rivers for ships to easily travel
• Settlers here lived on small farms, raising and
exporting tobacco with a few producing lumber
• The southern part grew more quickly; sugar grew
well in swampy lowland; many people came from
Barbados and brought slaves with them. They
began growing rice & it became the most
important crop. • As rice produc1on spread, Carolina’s main city, Charles Town (today’s Charleston) eventually became the largest city in the Southern Colonies. • By this 1me, Carolina had two separate colonies, North Carolina and South Carolina The Original Carolina Colony • The last of England’s 13 colonies, Georgia was founded for 2 reasons: (1) The English feared that the Spaniards would expand their Florida colony northward (2) James Oglethorpe wanted a colony where there would be protec1on for English debtors (people who owed money) (**Under English law people could be imprisoned for owing money un1l they paid it) • Georgia’s founders wanted Georgia to be a colony of small farms, not large planta1ons. • Therefore, slaver was banned. • This was not popular with the seQlers and didn’t last; by the 1750’s slavery was once again, legal in Georgia. o
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What were the 2 mo<va<ons for crea<on of the Colony of Georgia? (A) To contain the Spanish in Florida (B) To enjoy the beaches (C ) To provide a place were debtors were free from persecu1on. (D)  A & B (E)  A & C (F)  B & C • Planta1ons were the most important feature of life along the coast in the Southern colonies • This was primarily because of the hot climate; which made it possible to grow coQon, sugar, and rice. • The planta1on system actually began in Virginia and Maryland where seQlers were growing tobacco. • Expansion southward occurred when people discovered other crops that they could produce and export to England. • The 1dewater region in South Carolina and Georgia was well suited for rice. • Rice-­‐growing required large numbers of workers laboring in hot, humid, unhealthy condi1ons. • This need increased the slave popula1on; eventually, the number of enslaved people would outnumber the free people in South Carolina • The planta1on system also divided the white popula1on into the wealthy and extremely poor; who owned no land and lived in the Backcountry south. • Was cut off from the coast by poor roads and long distances. • Families usually lived on isolated farms in 1 room shacks; oUen not owning the land they farmed. • Very few had servants to help them; women and girls worked in the fields with the men and boys. • Here, people cared much less about rank; it was a sharp contrast to life near the coast. • These people believed that colonial governments didn’t care about them; cared only about protec1ng the Planta1on farmers. c
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How did people live in the backcountry? (A) They led very extravagant lives; had large farms; lots of servants and lots of money. (B) They had many servants that farmed for them on small farms. (C ) They frequently lived on small isolated farms; they oUen farmed land they didn’t own, lived in one room shacks; women worked equally with the men. (D)  None of the above Questions 1.)
2.)
3.)
3.)
What was the climate and geography of the Southern Colonies? What was the early history of Virginia? Why were Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia founded? What produced the Tidewater and backcountry ways of life.