Social Aspects of the Southern, Middle, and New England Colonies
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Populations differed in each of the colonies. The migrants of the northern and southern colonies were mainly Englishmen who came to colonial America to provide themselves and/or their families with a better life and religious freedom. In the north, emigrants tended to migrate in families, and
homes were built close together, encouraging community and a strong value of
family. Community schools and churches were common here. Family life was not as common in the southern
colonies. Towns were widely spaced apart due to the plantation system, and men
outnumbered women 7:1. By contrast, the population in the middle colonies was highly diverse. Many Dutch and Irish immigrants settled in these areas, as well as German and Scottish folk. People were attracted here for two reasons: opportunity and religious freedom. Families wanted a better life for themselves, and, in that, didn’t want to be told how and what religion to practice. While the northern colonies attracted a population that was predominantly Puritan, the middle colonies of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware promised no dominance of one faith. This high degree of diversity and religious freedom allowed middle colonists to focus less on social and religious issues, in contrast to their northern and southern counterparts who spent a lot of time on these matters, and more on what they could do to help their colony prosper. This eventually gave rise to many innovations and inventions in the middle colonies.