Colonies in the New World exhibited diverse structures which markedly distinguished them from one another. There were four main components for each colony: economic, religious, political, and founding factors. All of these were representative of their respective standards of living and the underlying factors of each colony’s purpose.

New England colonies held themselves to higher standards of living than their fellow colonies to the south. Aimed to be the center for commerce and trade for Britain with other foreign nations, the New England colonies were far different from the other colonies. The area was without fertile farming or grazing land, the economy centered on the fishing industry and trade. New England, although the center of the fishing industry, held its true economic significance in trading the goods of the colonies with foreign countries. Religion, namely the Puritans played an instrumental role in New England society. Priding themselves on solid marriages and families, the society was constantly reinforced with strong values. Also, the belief in higher education led them to be more efficient politically. The eventual introduction of institutes of higher level education (i.e. Harvard, Yale) produced the most intelligent and innovative members of their society. The intelligence of the society allowed their political structure to outweigh those of the southern colonies. Everyone was under the rule of England, but New England paved the way for individual thoughts and liberties.

The middle colonies were a combination of the cultivating southern colonies and the industrial New England colonies. Possessing fertile soil and expansive land, the ability to grow (predominantly grain) was a major component of their economy. However, the middle colonies of also tapped into the fur trade of the interior and enjoyed the power source of the rivers. Religion, namely the Quakers of Pennsylvania, helped to maintain a balance of democracy and toleration of fellow religions. Middle colonies seemed to prosper with the growing tide of the rest of the colonies, especially politically. Never the forerunner like the New Englanders, they did utilize the knowledge of their neighbors in maintaining stable and intelligent societies. One of major players in the middle colonies was Benjamin Franklin. As one of the foremost authorities in the colonies, Franklin helped to maintain the thriving and ever growing presence of the economy and society in the colonies by helping to intertwine the societies from all the colonies-a very accurate description of the mixed nature of the middle colonies.

Colonies in the south utilized the old methods of cultivating and living. This was the predominant reason for their unhealthy lifestyles and the failure to mature in different manners alongside the rest of the colonies. Southern economies were based on one universal idea: plantations worked on by slaves. The predominant number of slaves was located in the south, where they worked on large plots of land cultivating everything from food to cotton. Religion played a key role in the south, but on different levels. Unlike many of the white land owners, slaves used religion as a means of hope and inspiration to survive. Religion served more as a surviving tactic in the south compared to any of the other colonies. They needed this hope because of the great distinction in the classes of the society in the south. There was no assimilation of cultures between the home owners and the slaves. Tensions arouse from this and the political system was forced to maintain a stranglehold on the slaves in order to keep the plantations functioning as a unit. Revolts by slaves were quelled in order to preserve the founding notion of the south, an idea that would lead to further horrors in the future.

Although all of the colonies were founded around the same time, they were and still are very different places. An average day for someone from a New England colony would be completely different from that of a Southerner’s.

            New England’s economy was based on fishing and fur trading. The Puritan’s settlement in Plymouth was economically miniscule and unimportant, but they were very enthusiastic about their religion. The Puritans had originally wanted to purify the English church because they believed in “divine right,” and that only “visible saints” should be admitted as church members. The English church didn’t believe in divine right, so they decided it would be best if they formed their own community in the New World. New England’s political system was largely based upon England’s, but religious leaders were the same as political leaders. The puritans had no separation of church and state, and this was their main fault.

            The Middle colonies started out very tolerant and embraced Catholics, like Maryland did. Some English thought that Maryland would be a “Catholic Haven” of sorts. Although there were tensions between the rich Catholics and back country Protestants, Maryland prospered. It relied on white indentured servants, like Virginia, and didn’t largely use black slaves until later in the seventeenth century. The Middle colonies weren’t as religious as their neighbors to the north and south. Their political systems were also separate from their religion, unlike the New England colonies.

            The Southern colonies all exported staple crops such as tobacco and rice. The South is also known as the “Bible Belt” which says much about their religious dedication. The South’s political system was in great disrepair because Virginia’s governor was glad that there were no free schools or printing presses in his colony. How widely the plantations were spread stunted the growth of cities and made organizing churches and schools difficult. The Carolinas emerged because they wanted a better life than they had in England. They were the poverty stricken outcasts and religious dissenters that had no where else to go. Most didn’t even have a right to the soil, but raised their crops none the less.

The differences between the New England colonies, middle colonies and southern colonies were quite profound.  The different areas of the new world were dramatically different even though the space between them was hardly expansive. 

          Royal authority created the Dominion of New England in the year 1686.  It was imposed from London, unlike the New England Confederation.  It expanded two years later to include New York and East and West Jersey.  It also aimed at bolstering colonial defense in the event that a war with the Indians would arise.  From the imperial view of parliament, this was a statesmanlike move.  This dominion of New England was created to promote the urgently needed efficiency in the administration of the English navigation laws.  The colonial rivalries of the seventeenth century began to intensify.  Sir Edmund Andros was the head of the new dominion.  He established the headquarters in Puritanical Boston, and created so much hostile energy by his open affiliation with the Church of England. The New England colonies detested the Church of England.   The people from the old country resisted oppression and stole a march on the people of New England in 1688-1689.  It was dubbed the Glorious Revolution.   In 1969 Massachusetts was made a royal colony.  This was a staggering blow to the Puritans.  The Glorious Revolution reverberated throughout the colonies from Chesapeake to New England.  Unrest rocked New York and Maryland from 1689 to 1691 until royal governors restored a sense of order.

          The Middle colonies were much different than those of New England.  The middle colonies had fertile soil and the expanse of land was broad, unlike the rocky landscape of New England.  The middle colonies came to be known as the bread colonies, because of their heavy exports of grain.  Rivers were also extremely vital to life in a middle colony.  The Susquehanna, The Delaware and the Hudson made fur trade possible, and beckoned the adventurous spirits into the virgin frontier.  The rivers had a few waterfalls, where as New England’s rivers did not.  The waterfalls made water wheel power possible.  Industry also was profitable in the middle colonies.  Forests were used for lumber and shipbuilding.  The deep river estuaries and landlocked harbors made it easy to trade within the ports.  The Middle colonies had local government that was between the personalized town meeting of New England and the diffused country government of the southern colonies.  There were much feted industries in the middle colonies than in New England, yet more so than in the south.  In the middle colonies, certain distinctions claimed their own right.  The people were blessed with a huge amount of religious tolerance and control. 

          The southern colonies were much smaller in stature as well as industry than the middle and New England colonies.  Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland comprised southern colonial America.  Considering the amount of colonies that comprised the southern portion of the new world, the economy and industry levels was relatively high.  The southern colonies were not Puritanical in religion or government.

The Thriving Colonies

            The American colonies began to prove themselves as valid imperialistic undertakings in the 1600’s.  The colonies were beginning to thrive, due in large part, to each portion of New England’s individual attributes.  The New England colonies differed from the Middle Colonies, which in turn, differed from the Southern colonies.  This was due, in large part to the varying basis on which each area was founded.  The political, economic, and religious differences caused sub-cultures to emerge from the newly formed American Culture.

            The New England Colonies were based on Puritanical ideals and principals.  The Puritanical culture influenced many aspects of New Englander’s everyday decorum.  People were expected to maintain a somewhat serious attitude, and to be respectful and God-fearing.  The Puritans left England to seek religious freedom.  This idea was carried throughout the generations, and was transferred into daily life.  Puritans were Christians, however, were also Calvinists.  They believed that one was pre-destined by God; (his or her salvation was decided at birth.)  The New England colonies’ main source of economics was industry.  Its soil was too much rocky to be tilled properly for planting.  Thus, farms were usually relatively small.  The New England state of Rhode Island was one of the most liberal out of all of the New World.  It supported religious freedom openly, and allowed Catholics and even Jewish people to worship.  This was quite revolutionary for the time.

The Middle-New England economy was based upon its rich resources.  Surrounded by many bodies of water, it had prime soil, good for cultivation of crops.  The Middle New-England states were soon known as the “bread colonies,â€� a name which paid homage to its remarkable grain production.  The Middle Colonies also relied on their soil to also produce crops such as tobacco.  The Middle Colonies, in some ways, were the most diverse of all.  They had the most ethnic diversity of any of the other areas.  They also had industry as well as farming.  They were religiously tolerant, and predominately Quakers, as well as democratically advanced.  The middle colonies were probably the most advanced and well-off out of the three different areas.

The Southern colonies relied on cash crops for their economy.  Their main export was cotton.  Cotton was cultivated and planted largely by the African slaves.  This cash crop provided a large sum of money when the crops were harvested well, however, caused problems when the harvest was not good; the crop was too inconsistent to rely on for a main source of income.  The Southern culture was based on Southern values with good families.  Slavery, was however, widely practiced among white landowners.  Religion was more restricted than the New England and Middle New England lands were.  In fact, many aspects of Southern lifestyle were much more conservative than that of the other areas.  The politics too were much more conservative.  The South was not nearly as economically, politically or religiously advanced.

The colonies continued to thrive under British rule in the earliest days of industrialization.  The British made ample amounts of money because of the lucrative America.  The South, however, would need to industrialize more.