How The Southern and New England colonies were so different from each Other

“The Southern and New England colonies were so different from each other, that there was not one feature shared by these two groups of colonies.” This statement is true because of mainly two reasons. While cultural forces contributed to the differences of both regions, the distinction of economies played the key role in driving the quote true. These two characteristics made each of these regions unique in its own way.

Economy was the major distinction of the New England and Southern colonies. The New England colonies were more diverse than the Southern colonies. This was a key role between the two regions. The South was more agricultural and had more plantations than the North. Sometimes the plantations would separate from the town and become self-contained communities. This is what the South was mostly made up of, self-contained communities. The South grew more cash crops than the North since they were more agricultural. Some cash crops included indigo, tobacco, rice, and cotton. The North in contrast had plantations but not as many as the South. The North was more city and industrious than the South. The North was forming many different types of industries that made them more diverse than the South. The South on the other hand, barely had large industries and large towns or cities.

With the self-contained plantation societies in the South and the cities and industries in the North, theses two regions were very different among each other. One other factor that contributed to the differences of the colonies is the location. The New England colonies were located in an area with rocky soil and a very short growing season. While the Sothern colonies had great fertile soil and a growing season much longer than their friends up north. The longer growing season made the Southern colonies more agricultural. Lastly, the New England colonies didn’t depend on slaves as much as the south. The Southern colonies had the greatest slave population in America. Many slaves that came into America went into the Sothern colonies. The shorter growing season in the North meant that slavery was not as economically feasible. With the plantations, cash crops, longer growing season and self-contained communities in the South and the cities, and industries in the New England colonies had demonstrated how different they were.

One other feature that made the New England and Southern colonies differ is culture. The early model of New England could hardly have worked in the South, and neither could the early model of Virginia have worked in the North. Two main cultures emerged from the English settlements in the North and South. In the South, the Southern planter society had a ruling aristocracy and great class distinctions between the wealthy and the poor. While New England was more of an equal settlement under the control of a Puritan oligarchy, in which a strong middle class had developed. The life spans for each region differed dramatically. In the South people lived less longer than the folks in the North. People in the South lived up to about 40 years of age while people in the North lived up to be about 70! People in the South lived less long because of the disease brought upon them and the climate. The climate in the South was hotter and therefore easier for deadly insects to breed and carry diseases.

In contrast the climate in the North was much colder and therefore there was a less chance for insects to breed and spread disease. In the South since the climate was generally warmer, mosquitoes lived longer and spread malaria. Many people in the South died of malaria and other infectious disease. The sex ratio in the South differed from that of the North. Since there were more men in the South than women, the women had more power over the person they got to marry. In the North the sex ratio was equal so women had less power. Plus in the North since the life span was longer women usually had their parents still alive. Since the parents were still alive they had power to say who their daughter married. This drained the power of the women in the North. Religion also made the two regions differ. The South was more religious than the North and therefore had more time for it. While the New England colonies had no time for religion because they were usually busy in other things such as industry.

The Southern and New England colonies were different in their own ways. Economy and culture affected the Southern and New England colonies in various ways. These two characteristics made each of these regions unique in its own way. “The Southern and New England colonies were so different from each other, that there was not one feature shared by these two groups of colonies.”

Bibliography

Alan Brinkly. American Histroy A survey. Glencoe.1995