Free «Comparison and Contrast of the Mid-Atlantic, Northern and Southern Colonies» Essay Sample

A number of diverse aspects characterize the United States. The history identifies the USA as the Mid-Atlantic region, which was mostly inhabited by the Quakers under the leadership of William Penn. The Northern colony, on the other hand, consisted of the Puritans after the Catholics had been banned from the region and the Southern colony consisted of both the Catholics and the Protestants. The formation of the Northern, Southern, and Mid-Atlantic colonies dates back to 1776, a time when the USA declared its independence. Various scholars, like Professor T. H. Breen and Professor Carl N. Degler, have differed in their views on the American Revolution, which seemingly led to the independence of the US. Breen acknowledged that the shared concepts of the different consumers led to the separation from the British (Breen 1).

On the other hand, Carl stated that the revolution originated from the rebellious acts of individuals who were in opposition to the imposition of taxes. This led to the inflow and settlement of different ethnic groups, like the Dutch of New Netherlands, the Quakers of Pennsylvania, and the Puritans of New England among others. These settlements resulted into the construction of ethnic diversity in the United States. The different groups formed their own distinctive colonies that differed in terms of religion, politics, social construction, and economic practice. The colonies seemingly differed in the way they conducted their issues (Roark et al. 79). These distinctions in reference to the social, religious, political, and economical features define the USA as it is today. In this regard, the paper seeks to focus on the distinctive factors that form the USA in reference to the aspect of the economic, political, religious, and social composition of the three major colonies that define its existence.

  •  

    0

    Preparing Orders

  •  

    0

    Active Writers

  •  

    0%

    Positive Feedback

  •  

    0

    Support Agents

 

?
Type of service ?
Type of assignment ?
Number of pages ?
-
+
Academic level ?
Timeframes ?
Spacing ?
Currency ?
  • Total price
Continue to order
 

The economic aspect in these colonies was distinct in a number of ways. The Northern colony of New England mostly traded with different communities like the Indians. This was because of the nature of its soil composition, which was mostly made of rocks. This factor discouraged farming of any kind, thereby, forcing the populace to adapt trading. Additionally, fishing and lumbering contributed to the development of the economy following the vast landscape of forest and availability of the codfish in the neighboring waters. The Mid-Atlantic colony was, however, fortunate in its soil composition. This is evident by the abundance in food production in the region, which also contributed to a larger portion of the exports. The tobacco plantations in the Southern colony formed a major source for the economic growth. This fact has contributed to the development of the slave trade within the region. This is because of the high demand for labor force required to work in the massive tobacco plantations.

Political practices in the colonies varied just like the population composition. The Northern colony was under the leadership of the Puritans. It was characterized by a general court composed of free men who were sanctioned by a charter to formulate laws for the colonies. This form of leadership was adapted by New England during the colonial period; colonies provided their representatives to the general court. The Mid-Atlantic colony was under the British rule. In this system, the right to vote was only restricted to the Christians. The leader seemingly was under the King of England and was answerable only to him. In this system, unlike the Puritanism in the Northern colony, landowners had been given the authority to make laws and control the government. The Southern colony was under the rule of the House of Burgesses; an ancient form of ruling in the USA, which constituted the appointment of a governor by the King who in turn selected individuals to form a council. This colony was characterized by the county court, which was responsible for the judicial and executive affairs (Roark et al. 82).

 
Get 24/7 Free consulting
Toll free

Socially, the Northern colony mostly advocated for the establishment of schools in each village to enable individuals to learn to read the Bible; a major aspect of their religion. This attempt was made with an aim of eradicating sin in the community. The Mid-Atlantic society, on the other hand, encouraged equity among its populace. For instance, women could occupy the leadership positions within the government and religious circles. The Southern societies socialized in a different way. Individuals lived as a family in diminutive plots with their servants; a structure that led to the development of social class systems, which created a division in the society.

Religious compositions in the colonies of Mid-Atlantic, Northern, and Southern differ considerably. In the Northern colony, the Puritan religion was dominant following the banishment of the Catholics. This religion emerged after the reformation of the Protestants and became a major influence in the colony. This is contrary to the Mid-Atlantic colony, which is characterized by the Quakers who believe that there is no use of the religious leaders and the Bible is the main form of worshiping God. This view contradicts that of the Puritans who strongly believed in the preachers and the Bible, as a guide to worshipping (Roark et al. 72). The Mid-Atlantic colony allowed its populace to engage and practice in the religion of their choice without restrictions. On the other hand, in the Southern Colony, religion was not given much zeal because most people put their faith in the tobacco plantations.

   

What Our Customers Say

Now Accepting Apple Pay!
Click here to chat with us