New England
Geography, ClimateNatural Resources
The New England colonies shared the same geographic land forms. To the west they had the Appalachian Mountains that were plentiful with trees for timber or lumber. They had very deep harbors that could dock large ships. Located along the jagged coastline of the Atlantic, the New England colonies had many types of fish like cod and lobster as well as whales. In the Northeast, they had moderate summers and long, cold winters. Together with rocky soil, this made fertile land for farming scarce. Therefore, they usually only produced enough food for their own families.
New England
Social and Political Life
Life in New England was defined by hard work and prayer. They had many well organized villages and towns that were centered around the meetinghouse and town green. The meetinghouse was used for church services and town meetings; the town green in front of the meetinghouse was where cows grazed and the citizen army trained. The village and church was the center of life. Pilgrims and Puritans were Christians who were very strict in their religious beliefs and most of their laws were based on the Bible. They were religious reformers and separatists; and had left England so that they could practice their own religion in peace. Hence they were not very tolerant of other religions or differing beliefs coming into their towns and trying to make them change. Their laws were debated and voted on during Town Hall meetings.
New England
Education
Because Puritans and Separatists thought it was absolutely essential that people read, memorize and know the Bible; they believed that all citizens must be able to read. In towns that had over 100 families, grammar schools were set up to teach boys, and a schoolteacher hired. In all other places, children were home schooled. Hence citizens in America were among the most literate in the world.
New England
Specialization
Because of their geography, people in New England specialized in fishing and shipbuilding. New England ships traveled to Europe, Africa, West Indies and the other colonies with supplies. The many rivers helped to power factories, and hence different industries sprang up that made things like metal tools and equipment. The people also specialized in producing many naval supplies.
New England
Examples of Interdependence
The people in New England came to depend on the Southern colonies for crops like tobacco, rice, cotton and indigo - along with forest products like lumber, tar and pitch.
They also came to depend on the Mid-Atlantic colonies for livestock and grains.
New England
Natural, Human, Capital Resources
New England had many Natural Resources such as timber, fish and deep harbors.
It also had Human Resources of skilled craftsmen, shopkeepers and shipbuilders.
The combination of New England’s natural and human resources produced the Capitol Resources of tools, buildings and ships.