Learn on PengiIMPACT California Social Studies, Grade 8Chapter 2: Colonial America

Lesson 5: An American Identity Grows

In this Grade 8 lesson from IMPACT California Social Studies, students examine how regional geography shaped the economic development of the original thirteen colonies, exploring key differences between New England's subsistence farming and commercial industries, the Middle Colonies' cash crop agriculture, and the role of triangular trade routes in connecting colonial America to the wider world. Students analyze primary sources and visual evidence to understand how colonists adapted to local climates, terrain, and resources to build distinct regional economies. The lesson also introduces the concept of exploited enslaved labor in the Southern economy as part of the broader development of an American colonial identity.

Section 1

Geography Shapes Colonial Economies

Key Idea

In the 1700s, geography created three distinct economic regions in the American colonies. The land and climate determined how colonists could make a living.

New England’s rocky soil and harsh winters led to subsistence farming, shipbuilding, and trade. The fertile Middle Colonies grew cash crops like wheat. In the South, a warm climate supported large plantations that grew valuable crops like tobacco and rice, which required a large labor force.

Section 2

The Institution of Chattel Slavery

Key Idea

The Southern colonies' plantation economy depended on a large, cheap labor force. In the beginning, some enslaved Africans were treated like indentured servants, who had a chance at freedom after working for a set number of years.

Soon, colonial laws changed this. They established chattel slavery, a system where enslaved people were legally considered property. This became a permanent, inherited condition, meaning children born to enslaved mothers were automatically enslaved for life.

Section 3

Merchants Build a Transatlantic Trade Network

Key Idea

Colonial merchants developed a complex trade network connecting the Americas, Europe, and Africa. This system became known as the triangular trade. Ships carried raw materials like sugar and tobacco from the Americas to Europe, where they were exchanged for manufactured goods like cloth and guns.

European traders then sailed to West Africa to trade these goods for captured African people. The horrific, forced journey across the Atlantic Ocean was called the Middle Passage. Millions of Africans endured unimaginable suffering on this voyage before being sold into slavery in the colonies.

Section 4

Colonists Build Self-Government

Key Idea

Colonists in America believed they had the same rights as people in England. An important English document, the Magna Carta, established the principle of protected rights and limited the power of a ruler. This idea that government power was not absolute traveled with settlers across the Atlantic.

Following the English model, colonists created their own local assemblies. This was a form of representative government, where elected officials made local laws and set taxes. This experience strengthened the colonists' belief in self-government, the idea that they had the right to rule themselves.

Lesson overview

Expand to review the lesson summary and core properties.

Expand

Section 1

Geography Shapes Colonial Economies

Key Idea

In the 1700s, geography created three distinct economic regions in the American colonies. The land and climate determined how colonists could make a living.

New England’s rocky soil and harsh winters led to subsistence farming, shipbuilding, and trade. The fertile Middle Colonies grew cash crops like wheat. In the South, a warm climate supported large plantations that grew valuable crops like tobacco and rice, which required a large labor force.

Section 2

The Institution of Chattel Slavery

Key Idea

The Southern colonies' plantation economy depended on a large, cheap labor force. In the beginning, some enslaved Africans were treated like indentured servants, who had a chance at freedom after working for a set number of years.

Soon, colonial laws changed this. They established chattel slavery, a system where enslaved people were legally considered property. This became a permanent, inherited condition, meaning children born to enslaved mothers were automatically enslaved for life.

Section 3

Merchants Build a Transatlantic Trade Network

Key Idea

Colonial merchants developed a complex trade network connecting the Americas, Europe, and Africa. This system became known as the triangular trade. Ships carried raw materials like sugar and tobacco from the Americas to Europe, where they were exchanged for manufactured goods like cloth and guns.

European traders then sailed to West Africa to trade these goods for captured African people. The horrific, forced journey across the Atlantic Ocean was called the Middle Passage. Millions of Africans endured unimaginable suffering on this voyage before being sold into slavery in the colonies.

Section 4

Colonists Build Self-Government

Key Idea

Colonists in America believed they had the same rights as people in England. An important English document, the Magna Carta, established the principle of protected rights and limited the power of a ruler. This idea that government power was not absolute traveled with settlers across the Atlantic.

Following the English model, colonists created their own local assemblies. This was a form of representative government, where elected officials made local laws and set taxes. This experience strengthened the colonists' belief in self-government, the idea that they had the right to rule themselves.