Ch.4, Sec.2 – The Middle Colonies: Farms & Cities

A Wealth of Resources

- the Middle Colonies consisted of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, & Delaware

Ch.4, Sec.2 – The Middle Colonies: Farms & Cities

- the Middle Colonies, especially Pennsylvania, provided a climate of acceptance for all religions

- the Middle Colonies attracted a wide variety of immigrants from all over Europe

- resources included houses, roads, meadows, orchards, bridges, a long growing season, and soil rich enough to grow cash crops such as fruits, vegetables, and grains

Ch.4, Sec.2 – The Middle Colonies: Farms & Cities

The Importance of Mills

- gristmills were used to turn grain into usable flour or meal

- bread was crucial to the Middle Colonists’ diet, but they also sold a lot of it to the region’s coastal markets for sale

Ch.4, Sec.2 – The Middle Colonies: Farms & Cities

The Cities Prosper

- New York City developed along the Hudson River in New York and Philadelphia developed along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania

- trade made cities grow very fast, but even more so in Philadelphia where buildings like Independence Hall were built

- port cities exported cash crops and imported goods

Ch.4, Sec.2 – The Middle Colonies: Farms & Cities

A Diverse Region

- the Middle Colonies showed a vast diversity of immigrant people from all over Europe

- the colonies were mostly made up of English, Germans, Dutch, Irish, French, Swedish, etc…

- many German artisans made rifles, furniture, glass, etc…

- the Germans used Conestoga wagons for trade, which would later be used to settle the West

Ch.4, Sec.2 – The Middle Colonies: Farms & Cities

A Climate of Tolerance

- no single cultural group dominated, so the Middle Colonies has a great amount of tolerance for each other and their religious differences

- the Quakers in Pennsylvania supported equality, religious tolerance, and spoke out against Native American & African American slavery

Ch.4, Sec.2 – The Middle Colonies: Farms & Cities

African Americans in the Middle Colonies

- by A.D. 1750, about 7% of the Middle Colonies’ population was enslaved

- most worked as manual laborers, servants, wagon drivers, and assistants to artisans

- free African Americans made their ways to cities, like New York, where they worked as laborers, servants, and sailors