Life in the Northern Colonies

1
Life in the Northern Colonies

• The New England
• and Middle Colonies

2
New England Spreads Out
3
New England Colonies, 1679
4
The Economy

• Several cash crops per farm (NJ, PA, NY)
• Wheat, corn, cattle, hogs
• Surplus food went to West Indies
• Commercial Industries (All colonies)
• Wheat grinding
• Harvesting Fish
• Sawing Lumber
• Ship Manufacturing
• Many Merchants

5
Urban Life Style

• Trade caused Port Cities to Grow
• Ie. NY, Boston, Philadelphia
• Sophistication paved streets, police patrols,
  whale-oiled lamps on sidewalks
• Overcrowding did cause problems
• Firewood/clean water scarce
• Disease/fire spread rapidly
• Poverty

6
Diversity of the North

• Pre-1700 immigrants were indentured servants
  from England
• 18th century 585,000 immigrants
• 1/3 from other countries
• Scotts, English, Dutch, Germans, Irish
• Variety of Religions
• Reasons for coming
• Escape economic devastation
• Religious freedom

7
Problems with English and The Others

• Different groups did not always get along
• Why should the Germans be suffered to swarm
  into our Settlements, and by herding together
  establish their Language and Manners to the
  Exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania,
  founded by the English, become a Colony of
  Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to
  Germanize us instead of Anglifying them?
• Suspicion of each other occurred on both ends.

8
Slavery in the North

• No need for as many slaves why?
• Less labor in wheat than tobacco/rice
• Considered property, but had more legal standing
• Could sue, right to appeal in court, could
  testify against whites in cases not involving
  Africans.
• Hard lives, considered less human, no gathering,
  no weapons, no protection from cruelty.

9
Life in the North

• Family Stability grandparents too!
• Population grew initially from reproduction
• Booming birthrate
• Avg. life expectancy was 70

10
Patriarchy

• Authoritarian male father figures controlled each
  household.
• Patriarchal ministers and magistrates controlled
  church congregations and household patriarchs.

11
Women in the North

• Extensive Work Responsibilities
• Weaving clothes, sewing, gardening, tending
  livestock, baking, make candles
• Few Legal Rights
• No vote
• No entering into contracts
• No buying/selling property
• No keeping wages
• Only single women could run business
• Religion was used to keep women subordinate to
  husbands and men.

12
Salem Witch Trials

• Cause
• limitations on women
• tensions from uneven economic growth
• strained relations with Natives
• misdirected religious zeal.
• Constant occupation with violence and death b/c
  feared Native attacks

13
The Beginning of the Salem Witch Trials

• Girls accused Tituba, African slave, of practice
  witchcraft
• Received attention for this, so accused others as
  well
• Those accused tried to save themselves by
  accusing others as witches

14
Patterns of those Accused

• Economic
• Salem undergone economic growth left some very
  wealthy and some poor
• Poor accused the wealthier area
• Women
• Women who were too independent
• Violated puritan standards of behavior

15
Result

• Ended when girls accused the governors wife
• Courts realized evidence was false
• The Accused
• 19 people hanged
• 1 person crushed to death
• 4 witches died in jail
• 150 others spent time in jail.