New England Colonies
What type of climate did the New England colonies have that made farming difficult?
Cold/rocky soil, short growing season.
The Middle Colonies were known for being "breadbasket" colonies. What does this mean?
They grew a lot of grain (wheat) to make bread.
What is a plantation?
A large farm that grows crops for sale, often using many workers.
What was the Triangular Trade?
A set of trade routes among Europe, Africa, and the Americas exchanging people, raw materials, and goods.
What is a "cash crop"? Give a short definition.
A crop grown to sell for money rather than for use by the farmer (e.g., tobacco).
Name one major industry (other than farming) that New England colonists used to make money.
Fishing, shipbuilding, lumber, whaling.
Name two major ethnic or religious groups that settled in the Middle Colonies (give examples)
Examples: Quakers, Dutch, English, Germans, Scots-Irish.
Name two cash crops commonly grown in the Southern Colonies.
Tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton
What was the main idea of the Navigation Acts (one-sentence answer)?
Laws requiring colonial goods to be shipped on English ships and often go through English ports.
Using simple terms, what does "supply and demand" mean?
When lots of people want something (high demand) but there is little of it (low supply), the price goes up; if supply is high and demand is low, price goes down.
Which body of water was most important for New England towns for fishing and trade?
Atlantic Ocean (or nearby bays like Massachusetts Bay).
Which river was especially important for trade and transporting goods in the Middle Colonies?
Hudson River, Delaware River, or other major rivers.
Why did plantations in the South often rely on enslaved labor?
Plantations grew labor-intensive crops and owners used enslaved Africans for forced labor; explain sensitively and age-appropriately.
Name one product that was commonly shipped from the American colonies to Europe.
Examples: Tobacco, sugar, timber, fur.
What is "opportunity cost"?
Opportunity cost is what you give up when you choose something. Example: If a farmer plants tobacco, the opportunity cost might be the wheat he could have grown instead.
Describe one way religion influenced how many New England towns were organized.
Many towns centered around a meetinghouse and church; religion shaped laws and schools.
How did the geography of the Middle Colonies help them support both farming and trade?
Fertile soil and milder climate allowed larger farms; rivers allowed trade.
How did climate and soil in the Southern Colonies affect the kinds of crops grown there?
Warm climate and fertile soil allowed long growing seasons; good for labor-intensive cash crops.
Explain one way the Navigation Acts affected colonial merchants.
Colonial merchants had to sell certain goods to England and follow shipping rules; some lost profit or had extra costs.
Explain how higher demand for a cash crop could affect its price and how many farmers grow it.
If demand for tobacco goes up, price rises; more farmers might plant tobacco to earn more money, increasing supply later.
Explain why small family farms were more common than large plantations in the New England colonies.
Soil and climate favored small farms and fishing; landholdings tended to be smaller.
Explain one reason why the Middle Colonies had more cultural diversity than many other colonies.
More tolerant governments and good land attracted many groups.
Describe one social or economic difference between plantation owners and small farmers in the Southern Colonies.
Plantation owners were wealthier and had more political power; small farmers had smaller plots and fewer workers.
Describe one route or leg of the Triangular Trade and what was carried on that leg (one simple example).
Example: Europe → Africa (manufactured goods), Africa → Americas (enslaved people), Americas → Europe (sugar, tobacco, cotton).
Give an example of an opportunity cost a colonial farmer might face when choosing which crop to plant and explain the trade-off.
Example: Choosing to plant rice instead of corn — opportunity cost is the corn harvest you gave up; trade-off might be that rice brings more money but takes more work.