Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
Chapter 1, Lesson 4: Life in the English Colonies (pp. 33-39)
I. The Demand for Labor
B. In the early 1600s, the need for labor in the South was filled by indentured servants.
C. By the early 1700s, however, slaves from Africa had become the major source of labor on Southern plantations.
II. Regional Differences
B. Farms in the Middle Colonies enjoyed good soil and climate and were able to produce more than just what the farmer needed.
C. Tobacco, rice, and indigo were grown on large plantations along the coast of the Southern colonies, while farms in the backcountry were subsistence only.
III. Patterns of Colonial Life
B. Away from the seacoast, colonial taverns served the same functions of the port city.
Lesson at a Glance Outline
A. The large plantations of the Southern colonies required many laborers.
A. New England farms were much smaller than Southern plantations, producing just enough food for their own support.
A. Port cities like Boston, Newport, New York, Philadelphia and Charleston were the centers of trade, transportation, and communication in the colonies.
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