In the 1600s many people came to America from Europe. They heard stories from the Spanish conquistadors, and wanted a new place to live. Lots of people chose to live in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. They were the New England Colonies.
The weather in the New England colonies was cold and there was not a lot of fertile land. The land was hilly or too rocky and hard to grow agriculture. Before they could plant, farmers had to spend many days picking rocks our of the soil. They used these rocks to make stone fences around their land. Also, the growing season was short in the New England colonies. Farmers could only plant and harvest one crop before the ground froze and winter set in. Therefore, the people in the New England colonies could not rely on farming to support themselves.
Lots of people in the New England colonies became fisherman. The most important catch was codfish, which New Englanders dried or salted and then cooked into chowder, or used to make cod-liver oil. Fishing boats also brought back halibut, herring, and mackerel, which are all different kinds of fish. Fishermen also sent fish to other colonies, and packed large quantities of salted or dried fish in barrels to ship to Europe.
Some fisherman took up whaling, and they hunted whales for their valuable oil, which was used in oil lamps. Other parts of the whale—like bones—were also valuable.
When the people came from Europe to America, thick forests covered most of North America. Colonists cut down trees to clear land, supply firewood, and build houses and furniture. Wood from the forests also proved valuable for shipbuilding. Cedar, oak, and white pine were different kinds of wood that colonists used to build ships with. New England shipbuilders made oceangoing ships for the European trade.
Shipbuilders provided jobs for many artisans, or people who made crafts. Artisans made sails, rope, and nails for ships. Some colonists found jobs on ships while other worked loading and unloading the different goods that were being traded.
In Massachusetts, one of the New England colonies, laws required that all towns teach their children how to read. In 1647, the colony set up the first pulic school system because of the Massachusetts School law. The first college in the colonies was also founded in Massachusetts. It was called Harvard.
Other colonists, or people who came to America from Europe, lived in the Middle Colonies. The Middle Colonies were New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
The Middle Colonies had many advantages—the soil was rich and really good for farming. The weather was mild, which means that the summers were long and the winters were not very cold. Because of the good weather and good land, there was a long growing season. The farmers in the Middle Colonies could produce more food than the farmers in the New England Colonies. The farmers in the Middle Colonies grew cash crops—food meant to be sold for money.
The Middle Colonies produced so much grain that they became known as the “breadbasket colonies.” Millers would ground grain into flour. Millers would also ground corn into meal. From this colonists, baked wheat or rye bread and made cornmeal pudding.
Other businesses and small industries developed as well. Many families spun thread, wove linen, or knit wool at home. Artisans like ironmakers (people who made iron), tailors (people who made clothes), glassblowers (people who made glass) and silversmiths (people who made things out of silver) had workshops attached to their homes.
The Middle Colonies did not set up public schools like the New England Colonies. Instead, children were taught by private tutors or in church or private schools. Not all young people went to school. Some became an apprentice, or a trainer. The apprentice would work without pay for a few years while learning how to do the job. Everything from ironmaking to making wigs was taught this way. At the end of the training, the apprentice might become a paid assistant in the same shop or go to work for another artisan.
Life in the Sourthern Colonies of Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgiawas very different. Many people in the New England Colonies and Middle Colonies lived in cities. However, people in the Southern Colonies lived on farms.
There were two different groups of people in the Southern Colonies. The first group were the wealthy landowners, who owned thousands of acres of land. They made up the rich upper class. The rest of the people were farmers, or the lower class.
The land in the Southern Colonies had long, hot, humid summers, mild winters, and lots of rain. Farmers raised corn and cattle and also three main cash crops—tobacco, rice, and indigo (a plant used to produce a rich blue dye). A lot of farmers also grew cotton.
All of these three cash crops required the hard work of many people. As a result, planters needed the labor of enslaved Africans. About this time planters began treating Africans as slaves for life—as property—rather than servants who would be free after a few years.
Farmers in the Southern Colonies began to depend on workers brought by force from Africa. By the 1700s, slave traders kidnapped men, women, and children from Africa to satisfy the demand for workers in the United States.
The Africans were brought to America in small, overcrowded ships. They were treated like cargo and packed into ships as tightly as possible. People were chained together and sometimes there was not enough room to sit up. Many died from ill treatment and not enough food and fresh water.
Many colonists did not find anything wrong with their treatment of the Africans. In the early 1700s, they made their attitudes into law. The passed slave codes, laws that denied slaves most of their rights. Under the codes, slaves were treated as property. They could not carry places or hold meetings. In most places, it was against the law for them to learn to read and write.
Crime 1: The first crime involved an attack of a defenseless kitten. While kicking the kitten, the suspect did not realize that something fell out of his/her pocket…and ear of corn!!!
Crime 2: Our second crime was a break and enter. This criminal entered the home of a young married couple as they were sleeping and took all their towels. This criminal must have been hungry because in the trashcan at the home was found an empty can of fish that the criminal snacked on while finding all the towels.
Crime 3: Our third crime took place on Halloween. This criminal went around dressed like a ghost scaring young children. One of the children pulled the sheet off the criminal, and the criminal ran away. However, this criminal was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses.
Crime 4: The fourth crime involved the shattering of windows all over the neighborhood. This criminal went around in the early morning, breaking new windows. The weapon he used was an iron.
Crime 5: The fifth crime, like the third, involved children. This criminal used a trail of wheat bread to lure little children into the woods and tickled them mercilessly until they laughed so hard they cried. We collected all the crumbs from the wheat bread for evidence.
Crime 6: The sixth crime involved stealing from defenseless old women. This criminal stole the jewelry of three different little old ladies. He put all the jewelry that was stolen into a box stuffed with cotton balls. One of the cotton balls fell out of the box and was left behind at one of the crime scenes.
Crime 7: Our seventh crime is just unforgivable. This criminal went around to birthday parties, wearing a mask, and using a wooden stick to break the piñatas before the children had a chance to try! The criminal also stole all the candy in each piñata. However, at the last birthday party, he stole so much candy that he could not carry the wooden stick, and that’s how we have this piece of evidence.
Crime 8: Our eighth crime involved one hungry criminal. This robber stole food from several different food cellars. This criminal broke in at night, and because it was dark, he used a whale blubber candle to see. He left this candle behind in one of the food cellars, and it is our only piece of evidence.
Crime 9: Our ninth criminal was a mini fashionista. This criminal broke into a family’s house and was trying on all their clothes when the family came home. In a hurry to leave before being discovered, the suspect left the scene and left behind a jacket, scarf, and gloves.
Crime 10: The tenth crime took place in a young man’s farm. The intruder began picking all the man’s crops. The man that owned the farm found the robber, and chased him to his wagon. However, the robber distracted the farm owner by throwing a bag of rice at him. This allowed the robber to get away—but he left us with the evidence of that bag of rice!
Crime 11: The eleventh crime involved stealing a young boy’s toy horses. The criminal broke into the boy’s room, and stole his most precious toy horse. The robber replaced it with a cardboard ship, thinking the boy would not notice something else in the horse’s place. What the robber didn’t realize is that he was leaving behind a clue!
Crime 12: The twelfth crime is despicable. This criminal would break into the houses of families when they were sleeping and completely rearrange their furniture! However, all the families that were interviewed by the police after these crimes complained of the same thing. They all said that the robber must have been smoking a pipe while he was rearranging the furniture, because all the crime scenes smelled strongly of tobacco.
You, young historians, have been chosen to serve as the ladies and gentlemen of a jury in a very important trial! The year is 1721 and there have been a string of almost 12 CRIMES in the last two weeks!!! Thankfully, the police have captured 3 suspects:
SUSPECT #1 from the New England Colonies.
SUSPECT #2 from the Middle Colonies.
SUSPECT #3 from the Southern Colonies.
The police have also found many clues. For each crime, there is one piece of evidence that links one of the suspects to the crime. You must use your powers of observation and your knowledge of the different colonial regions to determine who is GUILTY and who is INNOCENT for each crime.
Good Luck. The colonists are counting on you.
Sincerely,
The Honorable Judge Harlan
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