Geography Determined Some of the Essay

In fact, almost all of the economic and industrial variations among colonial regions can be traced to geographic matters of chance. The New England colonists found their forests rich with fur-bearing animals, and their seas teaming with fish. Wildlife was abundant throughout the colonies, but the fur trade was especially lucrative to settlers in the northern colonies who established regular trades with the French and Indian populations outside their political borders. Middle and Southern colonies enjoyed warmer climates and different micro-terrains. The South became the agricultural hub of the colonies, built because of slavery, because of the rich soils and climate conducive to cash crops like cotton and tobacco. Cotton and tobacco became key commodities that offered the Southern colonies and many of the middle ones political leverage with the Old World, and geography would also play a major role in determining which states remained friendly toward the institution of slavery and which did not.

Cultural differences characterized the three distinct colonial regions: north, middle, and south. English and puritanical settlers in New England created a distinct enclave of Christian moral ideals that coupled well with British Enlightenment political theory. Economic prowess and mercantilism characterized the Dutch-settled middle colonies, whereas wealthy landowners with worldly outlooks bought up the large plantations that still dot the southern landscape.

Colonial America was more diverse than it would seem, given that most of the colonists came from Western Europe. A number of different reasons led to the population migrations and settlement patterns that formed the basis of American culture. The economic, political, and cultural differences that still exist in the nation today can in large part be traced to the colonies.