Middle Colonies

   The middle atlantic colonies made many crops used in making bread that people called them "breadbasket" colonies. That made people come there more. Most people in the middle atlantic colonies made their living by farming.

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/13coloniesfarm.htm

They had market towns  a general store that sold goods,(tools,cloth,shoes,stocking,and buttons.) Settlers from the middle colonies either lived in New York, New Jersey ,Pennsylvania, or Delaware. Penn became the owner of Delaware. Penn wanted to name his new colony Sylvania which means "woods." but King Charles said that the land has to be named Pennsylvania.

New York

 The Dutch began settlements in their own colony called New Netherland.

They settled in New York. New York was named after the Duke of New York. New York had a harbor that was in a good location so if the colony needed goods they could easily sail over the sea and bring it back to the colony.  Over the years, the harbor grew bigger and better! It soon became one of the largest English seaports in America.

                                             Pennsylvania

   Pennsylvania was founded by Willam Penn in 1682 he sailed to America on the ship called Welcome. He hoped that the colony could live in harmony. Penn made many laws, such as all man who owned land could vote and all children must learn to read and write.

If you were a Christian you could worship in your own way. Willam Penn wanted to be more fair than the laws in other colonies.

The Library of the Thirteen Colonies and The Lost Colony: The Colony of Pennsylvania. Susan Whitehurst, 2000: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.        

 New Jersey

  New Jersey was given to John Berkeley and George Carteret from the Duke of York. They were offering the land for low prices to anyone who lived in England. After that many settlers came to New Jersey. In 1674  a bunch of Quakers led by Edward Byllinge decided to buy Berkeley's share of New Jersey. After they bought it they started the first colony in America bought by Quakers. King Charles the second named the land New Jersey in 1664.

Resources: Harcourt Horizons U.S. History, Canada, Mexico, and Central America.  www.socialstudiesforkids.com