United States History Student Edition

Workers floated the lumber down rivers to shipyards in coastal towns. Cities along New England’s Atlantic coast became centers of the colonial shipping trade. These busy seaports linked the New England Colonies and Southern Colonies, and they linked America to other parts of the world. Agriculture and Industry in the Middle Colonies The Middle Colonies were rich in a variety of resources. Vast woodlands supplied lumber for building. The region had fertile soil and a good climate for growing crops and raising livestock. Farmers in the Middle Colonies produced large harvests of wheat and other cash crops . Cash crops could be sold for profit to buyers in the colonies and overseas. Middle Colony farmers sent their wheat and livestock to port cities such as New York City and Philadelphia, where they could be shipped to distant markets. By 1760, New York City and Philadelphia were two of the largest cities in the American colonies. This poem describes the many advantages of Philadelphia: “ On Delaware does Philadelphia stand, And does her stately buildings far extend. cash crop agricultural product intended to be sold for profit

The Streets laid out directly by a Line, And house to house contiguously does joyn. The Governor here keeps his residence, One grave in years and long experience. Four sacred houses in this city are, And one not distant from ye city far. To this long known & well frequented port From sundry places many shipps resort. In merchandising most men are here imploy’d: All usefull artists too are occupy’d. ” — from “A Discription of Pennsylvania” by Thomas Makin, 1728 Manufacturing and other industries thrived in the Middle Colonies. Some were home-based crafts such as carpentry and making clothing. Others were larger commercial businesses such as lumber mills and ironworks. The Southern Colonies and Slavery Farming was the main economic activity in the Southern Colonies. The region’s warm, sunny climate and rich soil allowed farmers to grow huge quantities of valuable cash crops— particularly tobacco and rice. These crops brought

contiguously next to each other sundry various

New York City, shown here in the late 1750s, was a bustling center of trade and population in the American colonies.

PHOTO: Collection of the New-York Historical Society, USA/Bridgeman Images; TEXT: Makin, Thomas. “A Discription of Pennsylvania” (1728), in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 37, No. 145 (January, 1913).

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