How did the Southern colonies differ from the Middle & New England colonies?

Question

With regards to economic, social and ethnic colonies?

Answer 1

A frightening array of answers...

"The War between the States" would be the war in 1861-1865, and there were no colonies left by then. Mississippi was never a colony regardless of how many per capita millionaires they had.

Someone has already given the main difference, that the northern states were primarily industrial, and the southern states were primarily agrarian. The New England colonies were more educated (although the second oldest college in America, William and Mary, is in Virginia, and the fourth oldest college, Princeton, is in New Jersey). The middle colonies were more sympathetic toward the southern slavery movement. For that matter, the unofficial "border" between slave states and free states is that between Maryland and Pennsylvania, although Maryland was a slave state it remained in the Union, and West Virginia remained a slave state (and part of the Union) that seceded from Virginia when Virginia seceded from the Union, showing the deep division with respect to the slavery issue in the Middle colonies (then states when the Civil War started).

Socially, the larger cities, Philadelphia, Boston, etc. were the hubs of socialite colonial America. Atlanta was also a social hub. Since the majority of trade was via ship, large port towns were typically the center of social as well as economic activity.

Ethnicity was far more divided in colonial times; the New England colonies were almost exclusively caucasian, and as you travelled further South the diversity with african-americans became more of a factor.

Answer 2

The southern colonies were far more agrarian and far less industrialized, a trend that continued into the nineteenth century. Obviously, the southern view of slavery was different from the northern view, and the southern economic engine was based on slave labor. The free people of the south, overall, were probably a far less ethnically and culturally diverse lot than the free people of the north, with the exception of the French-speaking groups in Louisiana - who, however, regarded themselves as separate from the others in the region, whom they called "Americans" - they themselves did not identify as Americans until far later. I think it is also fair to say that the northern colonies sustained a viable middle class to a far greater extent than the southern ones, where a few people enjoyed great wealth and many lived in a condition of chronic want and misery. This was less true in some southern colonies than others - slavery was far less common in North Carolina than in most southern colonies, and NC had a middle class of artisans, tradesmen, and farmers. And Louisiana had a prosperous middle class that included whites, blacks, and biracial people. It seemed that the vigorous local economy there allowed many people to earn enough money to purchase their freedom and establish themselves in commerce.

Answer 3

Here's some of what I remember. The Southern colonies were farmers, too, but they're farms were huge. They couldn't have existed without slaves and continue there wealthy lifestyle. As the other colonies came to believe it was the states' responsibility to school all of the children, the South believed it was an individual's responsibility. That meant that the rich often were schooled and the lower classes were not, which over time, resulted in a wider gap between the rich and the poor. That's all I remember.

Answer 4

The southern conlonys were mainly made up of weathly plantation owners and there slave socially usally the only people they would be able to talk to/interact was whoever lived on the plantaions ethicly in beging most people in southern colonies came NOT to seek freedom or relgious freedom but because they were crimnals not wanting to die/stay in prison

Answer 5

Prior to the War Between the States, Mississippi had the highest per capita for millionaires. Then the war came and the Yankees raped the Southern States of all of their resources.

Answer 6

The southern colonies were more agricultural while the northern colonies were more industrial.

Answer 7

If you mean from the original 13, the southern ones were mainly for prisoners and outlaws.

Answer 8

Is this a test? Sounds like you should be reading your US history textbook rather than look for (probably incorrect) answers on Yahoo!.

Seriously, any answer someone give here will at best be wildly incomplete.

Answer 9

Slavery?

Answer 10

They were French and not English