Middle Colonies
The Middle Colonies were a part of the Thirteen Colonies. They included New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Today these areas are described as the Mid-Atlantic States. The middle colonies were the most ethnically and religously diverse of the thirteen original colonies because they were also the most tolerant. They had more agriculture than the New England colonies. The Middle Colonies were also known as the "bread basket" colonies because of their large grain export.
There were many brick buildings in the middle colonies due to the amount of clay along the riverbanks. The Dutch built houses that were usually two ½ to three stories high with steep roofs. The Germans were the first in the colonies to use stoves rather than fireplaces to heat their homes. Many streets were paved, and many people had their shops and homes in the same building. The wealthy would have their portraits painted. Homes in the country could be made of logs and chinked with moss or mud.
Pioneer families planted crops such as corn, wheat, rye, potatoes, peas, and flax. Flax was used to make cloth; corn was one of the main foods the eaten in the colonies. Meat could come from wild animals. Many poorer families ate a form of pudding called cornmeal mush every day of the year. Johnnycake, bread made with cornmeal, was also popular. Vegetables and meat were used to make soups and stews. Pies were made from gathered raspberries, strawberries, and cherries. Since water was sometimes impure, all members of the family drank milk and whiskey, which was made out of corn, rye, wheat, and barley. The whiskey was often mixed with spices, milk, and sugar which many people thought improved the taste.
Originally, clothing in the middle colonies for the most part resembled the Dutch form of dress. Quakers wore neat and simple clothing as their religion taught them. Many clothes were homemade on the frontier. Flax produced linen and deerskin was used to make breeches, shirts, jackets, and moccasins. Forest products were used to make a dye. Yellow came from butternut tree bark; red came from the roots of the madder herb; brown came from the hulls of black walnuts.
Referenced By
13 colonies | 13 original colonies | American colonies | American culture | American popular culture | Culture of America | Culture of the United States | History of immigration to the United States | Immigration to the United States | Immigration to the United States of America | Thirteen Colonies | Thirteen original colonies | US culture | United States culture | United States popular culture
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