Northern and Southern British Colonies of North America Essay Example for Free

Northern and Southern British Colonies of North America Essay The views of Northern and Southern British Colonies of North America developed different culturally factors including economically and political views, education, and religious instruction. Colonies in the north and south developed their own characteristics making them significant for the main land, and later becomes the new nation itself. Economic wise, the colonies had more differences than similarities. The North had small farms while the south had larger plantations. The northern colonies developed important trades on furs, timber, and other natural resources. The northern colonies developed into shipping center at New York, which originally belonging to the Dutch until 1664, where goods were stored. The English develop the harbors around New York and it became a major shipping center of the colonies. Meanwhile, the south developed important trades on agriculture, cotton, rice, and tea. At the time, the south had fewer raw materials than the North and mostly traded cotton. The cotton crop was the most important trade to the Southern colonies, it was nicknamed King Cotton. The reason of the South’s plantation out-sizing the North’s plantation was because the social aspect of each side. The Northern colony life mainly revolved the church members, when the south had more focus on the wealthy land owner. However, The North and south economics were similar to each other as well; for example, Tobacco and slavery. The North and South both also supported the use of indentured servants, people who came to America and was placed under contract to work for land owners for over a period of time, usually about seven year. Politically, the North and South had differences on who had the bigger voice in the society. In the North, Church membership was the only way to be accepted in to the colony. The church in the north controlled the laws and were the most accepted in the colony. Meanwhile, in the South, instead of the church members being superior, the land owners who wealthiest had control over the law. The Southerners tended not to be very religious due to the number of churches and religious institution in the south. Almost all the population of the South live on plantation and the plantation were very important to them more than the religious beliefs. Since The North was large on plantation, thousands of slaves were forced to work on the plantations. Politics in the colonies were empowered by charter called The General Court. The General Court made laws and governed the company. The colonists adapted the general court concept and used it to rule their colonies. The General Court ruled that freeman could only be male and a church member in order to make sure only religious men could decide government issues. The southern colonies were ruled by the oldest legislative called the House of Burgesses. The House of Burgesses established for judicial and administration which will runs by the representatives from each region in the colonies. Mercantilism played an important role in the lives of New Englanders because it was an economic theory and system that supported the establishment of the colonies. New England adopted the policy of mercantilism in order to control over the trade of the colonies. The colonies were influenced by the mercantilism policy due to the numerous trading prohibitions and taxes that applied on goods. The first mercantile regulation was the Acts of Trade and Navigation which established three main rules for colonial trade. Firstly, trade between the colonies could only be transported on English or colonial-built ships and operated by English or colonial crews; secondly, all goods could only pass through English port; and thirdly, certain numbered goods from the colonies could only be exported to England, including tobacco and sugar. But in the Southern Colonies, the Navigation Act had lowered tobacco prices which made the economies suffered. The slave population in the South vastly increased in order to maintain their wealth that dominated trade and politics throughout the colonies. Later on, there will be more similar acts to those of trade and navigation, such as the Staple Act of 1663, The Duty Act of 1673, and the Wool Act of 1699 which limited trade of good. Over time, the concept of mercantilism would rehabilitate due to the changing ideas and theories of various economic scholar such as Adam Smith, Abraham Lincoln, and Alexander Hamilton. Educations also played such an important role in the lives of New Englanders because people were really religious in the American colonies. In the New England colonies, the Puritans built their society based on the principles of Bible. The Puritans valued education because they believed that Satan was keeping those who couldn’t read from the scriptures. Education in this time period enabled people to read the Bible; therefore, parents able to teach their children to read the Bible, which was often the only book they had. Wealthy families usually sent their older children to study at colleges and universities. Girls usually learned their education in household skills at home. The education in the southern colonies, children normally began their education at home. Because farms and plantations created difficulty, plantation owners usually hired tutors to teach their children math, science, geography, history, and plantation management. Girls in the South usually taught to learn enough reading, writing, and math to run a house household and to attract a husband. As we speak of Education, The King James Bible had influence the culture of these two diverse regions because it was the only English translated book from the bible. The King James Bible established at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607; for the next few hundred years, just every English-speaking American grew up knowing the King James Bible better than any other book. It was the only book that has over one billion copies in print. Because of the well-known bible at its era, both colonies were persuaded the children to learn from King James Bible either from homeschooled or universities. The impact of the King James Bible on English language and western culture is beyond estimation; therefore, Education of the North and the South were always involved with the King James Bible. Works Cited. Channing, Edward. The Navigation Acts. Thenagain.info. Thenagain.info, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. Grischy, Janet. The Economic and Social Differences between the North and the South as a Cause of the Civil War. Helium. Helium, 23 Apr. 2009. Web. 30 Jan. 2013. Hockett, Homer C. Political and Social Growth of the American People 1492-1865. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1940). KIRSCH, ADAM. Heirs to the Throne. The New Republic. Www.newrepublic.com, 11 May 2010. Web. 25 Jan. 2013. The King James Version: Its Influence on English and American History. The King James Version: Its Influence on English and American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.