The Middle Colonies: Farms and
Cities
Ø The people who settled in the Middle
Colonies made a society of great diversity.
Ø States in this region still boast
some of the most diverse communities in the world.
Elizabeth Ashbridge was only 19
years old when she arrived in
After several years,
A Voice from the Past
“I was permitted to see that all I had gone through was to prepare me
for this day; and that the time was near, when it would be required of me, to
go and declare to others what the God of mercy had done for my soul.”
Elizabeth Ashbridge, Some Account . . . of the
Life of Elizabeth Ashbridge
The Quakers believed that people of different beliefs
could live together in harmony. They helped to create a climate of tolerance
and acceptance in the Middle Colonies of
A Wealth of
Resources
The Middle Colonies
had much to offer in addition to a climate of tolerance. They were described
"fair cities, substantial villages, extensive fields . . . decent houses,
good roads, orchards, meadows, and bridges, where an hundred years ago all was
wild, woody, and uncultivated." The prosperity described was typical of
the Middle Colonies. Immigrants from all over
Their settlements soon crowded out Native Americans, who had
lived in the region for thousands of years.
Among the immigrants who came to the Middle Colonies were Dutch and
German farmers. They brought the advanced agricultural methods of their
countries with them. Their skills, knowledge, and hard work would soon
result in an abundance of foods. The Middle Colonies boasted a longer
growing season than
Cash Crops are simply raised to be sold for money. Common
cash crops included fruits, vegetables, and, above all, grain. The Middle
Colonies produced so much grain that people began calling them the "breadbasket"
colonies.
The
Importance of Mills
After harvesting their crops of corn, wheat, rye, or other
grains, farmers took them to a gristmill. There, millers crushed the grain
between heavy stones to produce flour or meal. Human or animal power fueled
some of these mills.
But water wheels
built along the region's plentiful rivers powered most of the mills. The
bread that colonists baked with these products was crucial to their diet.
Colonists ate about a pound of grain in some form each day, nearly three times
more than Americans eat today. Even though colonists ate a great deal of grain,
they had plenty left over to send to the region's coastal markets for sale.
The Cities
Prosper
The excellent harbors
along the coasts of the Middle Colonies were ideal sites for cities.
The city owed its expansion to a thriving trade in wheat and
other cash crops. By 1720, it was home to a dozen large shipyards. The city's
wealth also brought many public improvements. Large and graceful buildings,
such as
A Voice from the Past
“And yet its natural advantages, trade, riches and power, are by no
means inferior to any, even of the most ancient towns in
Peter Kalm,
quoted in
A Diverse
Region
Many different immigrant groups arrived in the port
cities of the Middle Colonies. Soon, the region's population showed a
remarkable diversity, or variety, in its people. One of the largest immigrant
groups in the region, after the English, was the Germans.
Many of the Germans arrived between 1710 and 1740. Most came
as indentured servants fleeing religious intolerance. Known for their skillful
farming, these immigrants soon made a mark on the Middle Colonies. “German
communities,” wrote one historian,”could be identified by the huge barns, the
sleek cattle, and the stout workhorses.”
Germans also brought a strong tradition of craftsmanship to the Middle Colonies. For
example, German gunsmiths first developed the long rifle. Other German
artisans, or craftspeople, became ironworkers and makers of glass, furniture,
and kitchenware.
Germans built Conestoga wagons to carry their produce to
town. These wagons used wide wheels suitable for dirt roads, and the wagons’
curved beds prevented spilling when climbing up and down hills. The wagons’
canvas covers offered protection from rain. Conestoga wagons would later be
important in settling the West.
The Middle Colonies
became home to many people besides the Germans. There were also the English,
Dutch, Scots-Irish, African, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Swedish, and French.
Because of the diversity in the Middle Colonies, different groups had to learn
to accept, or at least tolerate, one another.
A Climate of
Tolerance
While the English Puritans shaped life in the New England
Colonies, many different groups contributed to the culture of the Middle
Colonies. Because of the greater number of different groups, it was difficult
for any single group to dominate the others. Thus, the region’s diversity
helped to create a climate of tolerance. Some of the region’s religious groups
also helped to promote tolerance. The Middle Colonies’ earliest settlers, the
Dutch in 
tolerance.
That is, they honored the right of religious groups to
follow their own beliefs without interference. Quakers also insisted on the
equality of men and women. As a result, Quaker women served as preachers,
and female missionaries traveled the world spreading the Quaker message.
Quakers were also the first to raise their voices against
slavery. Quaker
ideals influenced immigrants in the Middle Colonies-and eventually the whole
nation.
African
Americans in the Middle Colonies
The tolerant attitude
of many settlers in the Middle Colonies did not prevent slavery in the region.
In 1750, about 7 percent of the Middle Colonies' population was enslaved.
As in
Tensions existed between the races in