Society in the middle colonies was far more varied, cosmopolitan and tolerant than in New England. In many ways, Pennsylvania and Delaware owed their initial success to William Penn.

Read about the geographic position of the Middle Colonies and the diversity that made those colonies a crossroads of ideas.

Essay looks at the phenomenon of religious pluralism in the middle colonies. Author discusses religious sects in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, as well as African Americans and Native Americans.

An excerpt of a primary source, American Husbandry, a book from 1775, describing the crops of the Middle Colonies.

Article on the Middle Colonies provides facts on religion, history, economy, and government of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and New Jersey.

The Quakers were persecuted in England and in many English colonies. Read about William Penn's establishment of the colony of Pennsylvania where Quakers and others could live with religious liberty.

A good look at the philosophy of the Quakers who colonized William Penn's religious refuge in the colony of Pennsylvania. Read about Penn's liberal views about government, religious freedom, and relations with Native Americans.

Compares life in the three regions of the thirteen British colonies - the New England colonies (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut), the Middle Colonies (New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey), and the...

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the thirteen original colonies. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

Take this 15-question, multiple-choice quiz to test your knowledge of the Thirteen Colonies.

Article with photographs on the expansion of the new England Colonies to include the Middle and Southern Colonies. Links to primary source documents.

In contrast to New England and the middle colonies were the predominantly rural southern settlements: Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.

Despite the title of this article, it discusses the settlement of New Netherland by the Dutch and explains the reasons for the settlement, and why settlers were not attracted to the area.

Philadelphia was the colony of Pennsylvania forsome time. Read about what William Penn's vision was for the city and why the city became so important.

Provides six historical illustrations of the colony of New York.

Information about each of the thirteen colonies with links to additional good quality resources.

Lesson plan focuses on comparing and contrasting the unique characteristics of the original thirteen American colonies.

A large collection of high-quality resources for learning and teaching about the Thirteen English Colonies. The main page outlines examples of student project possibilities. There are individual pages for primary resources, people from...

A chapter from a history text that looks at the plantation economy of the Southern colonies, which relied on slave labor. It discusses the role of women as second class citizens, the cash crops that were grown, indentured servitude, the...

A chapter from a history text that looks at the development of the Southern Colonies. It discusses the Southern agricultural economy that relied on slave labor, tobacco as a cash crop, Southern society, indentured servitude, Bacon's...

A map of the Middle Colonies of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, with portions of New York, Maryland and Delaware, showing the early European settlements in the area from 1609 to 1702. The map shows the boundary between West New...

middle colonies

middle colonies

Ironically, Henry Hudson, English explorer, was in the employ of the Dutch West India Company when he explored what is now the New York area. Read about the colony the Dutch established at the mouth of the Hudson River and see how the...