Colonial Regions 2025-2026

Jamestown, Plymouth, and All the Rest

​Protestant Reformation

As you watch listen for the following:

• What was the Protestant Reformation?

• What did it cause people to begin to do?

• Why do you think it's important to colonization?

• Why is Jamestown important?

• What dangers did they face?

• How did they eventually make money?

• Who are John Smith and John Rolfe? How did they help the colony survive?

• What was the government?

​Read the letter from William Carter and answer the following questions.

Multiple Choice

The first successful English colony in the New World was...

• Roanoke

• Jamestown

• Plymouth

• Saint Augustine

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was a problem Jamestown faced in the years immediately after it was established?

• Lack of good farmland

• Mosquitoes and other insects that carried diseases

• Lack of food and supplies

• All of the above

• None of the above

​Great Migration

• ​1620 - 1640 thousands of Puritans moved to the New World in search of religious freedom.​

• ​Before long other Protestant groups followed

T.A.C.O.S. - What did Great Britain (England) get from her colonies?

​Let's see why Great Britain wanted to found (establish) even more colonies after Jamestown. We are going to analyze a political cartoon using the T.A.C.O.S. strategy.

• ​T - ime

• A - ction

• C - aption

• O - bjects

• S - ummary

• What was this relationship called?

• How did this relationship work with raw materials and manufactured goods?

• How did Great Britain control this relationship?
  

​

As you watch this video look for:​

​What term describes the relationship between the "Mother Country" and her colonies depicted in this cartoon?

​Plymouth Colony - 1620

• ​Founded by Pilgrims for religious freedom

• ​Created Mayflower Compact - Colonists agreed to obey laws created for the good of the colony

  • ​First example of colonial self-government in the New World

​What do you know?

​Let's see what you already know. With your table group label the 13 colonies

​- New York - Virginia
- Rhode Island - Georgia
- New Jersey - Pennsylvania
- South Carolina - North Carolina
- Massachusetts - Maryland
- New Hampshire - Delaware
- Connecticut

​Student Activity

Were you right?

​Student Activity

• Use the map on the right to color and label your map.

• You may pick your own colors, but be sure to fill out the key correctly.

3 Colonial Regions

​Student Activity

New England/Northern Colonies

Student Activity

With your table group you will read about the New England colonies and look for economic, social, political, geographic, and climate characteristics to put in your graphic organizer.

​New England Colonies/Northern Colonies

• ​Geography

  • ​Thin, rocky soil

  • ​Hilly & heavily forested

• ​Weather

  • ​long winters, short summers

• ​Economy

  • Based on lumber, shipbuilding, fishing, fur trading, and whaling

​New England Colonies (continued)

• ​People

  • ​mostly English seeking religious freedom

    • ​Puritans - Protestants who wanted to reform the Anglican church

    • ​Separatists - Protestants who wanted to start their own church

  • ​Slavery was rare

​Important Colony: Massachusetts Bay Colony

• ​Founded by Puritans looking for religious freedom

• ​Referred to themselves as a "City Upon a Hill"

​Key Colonies: Connecticut & Rhode Island

• ​Connecticut - ​Founded by Thomas Hooker as a place to worship freely after he was kicked out of Massachusetts

• ​Rhode Island - Founded by Roger Williams & Anne Hutchinson for religious freedom

Multiple Choice

Which colony was established to provide Puritans with a place to live and practice their religious beliefs free of persecution?

• Maryland

• Jamestown

• Plymouth

• Pennsylvania

Middle Colonies

Student Activity

With your table group you will read about the Middle colonies and look for economic, social, political, geographic, and climate characteristics to put in your graphic organizer.

​Middle Colonies

• ​Geography

  • ​rich soil

  • large rivers

• ​Weather

  • ​long growing season

  • ​plenty of rain

​Middle Colonies (continued)

• ​Economy

  • ​Based on farming (wheat, barley, oats), ​trade, shipbuilding, ​manufacturing,​timber

  • Known as the breadbasket colonies

​Middle Colonies (continued)

• ​People

  • ​settled for economic reasons

  • ​English

  • ​Germans

  • ​Swedish

  • ​Others (Scotland, Netherlands, Ireland, Wales, France, etc.)

  • Used more enslaved people than N.E. colonies, but fewer than the Southern colonies

  • ​Most diverse of the regions

  • ​New York & Philadelphia are largest seaports in the colonies

​Key Colony: Pennsylvania

• ​Founded by William Penn as a safe haven for Quakers

Categorize

Options (11)

Religious Freedom

Quakers

Breadbasket

Thin, rocky soil

Shipbuilding

Wheat farming

Pennsylvania

Plymouth Colony

Mild/moderate climate

Cold winters/short summers

Make money

New England or Middle Colony? Drag each choice to the appropriate box.

New England Colonies

Middle Colonies

Both

Southern Colonies

Student Activity

With your table group you will read about the Southern colonies and look for economic, social, political, geographic, and climate characteristics to put in your graphic organizer.

​Southern Colonies

• ​Geography

  • ​Rich soil

  • ​Deep broad rivers

• ​Weather

  • ​Long summers

  • ​Mild winters

  • ​Lots of rain

• ​Economy

  • Based on slave labor and cash crops like tobacco, cotton, and indigo

​Southern Colonies (continued)

• ​People

  • ​settled for mostly economic reasons

  • ​mostly English

  • ​few Germans & Scotch-Irish

  • ​widespread use of enslaved people

• Primarily on plantations in the Southern colonies to grow cash crops (tobacco, indigo, rice)

• Some in the Middle Colonies on farms & businesses

• Fewer in the New England colonies as skilled or domestic labor

​

Where was slave labor used?

• Millions of Africans were forced to the Americas against their will

• The voyage from Africa to the New World was known as the Middle Passage

• Forced to grow tobacco and other cash crops without pay or freedom

​

Transatlantic Slave Trade

Free vs Enslaved People in Colonial Society

​Category	​Free Colonists	​Enslaved People
​Rights	​Own property, vote, legal action	​No legal rights or protections
​Work	​Choose jobs, own farms/businesses	Forced labor without pay​
​Mobility	​Free to move	​Restricted movement

​Colonial society treated enslaved and free people very differently.

​Key Colonies

• ​Maryland - Founded by George & Cecil Calvert as a safe haven for Catholics

• Georgia - ​Founded by George Oglethorpe as a haven for debtors

Multiple Choice

Which region of the colonies had the largest concentration of enslaved people?

• New England Colonies

• Middle Colonies

• Southern Colonies

• Slavery was spread equally across all 13 colonies

Multiple Choice

Which region of the 13 Colonies had an economy based primarily on shipping, manufacturing, and industry?

• New England Colonies

• Middle Colonies

• Southern Colonies

• All of the above

• None of the above

Multiple Choice

Which region of the thirteen colonies was the most culturally, religiously, and ethnically diverse?

• New England Colonies

• Middle Colonies

• Southern Colonies