There were differences and similarities between the New England colonies and the Middle colonies. 

In terms of similarities, we will see that in some of the Middle colonies, the jobs were similar to those in the New England colonies.  In New York and New Jersey, there was a lot of manufacturing and trade, just like there was in the New England colonies.  Business was an important job.  This is because the climate and soil in New York and New Jersey was similar to the climate and soil in New England.  While there was farming in both regions, there were some significant differences between the regions when it comes to farming.  Another similarity is that both regions were very active in the movement for independence.  Lots of significant events occurred in both the Middle and New England colonies.

These colonies were also different. There was more religious freedom in the Middle colonies than in the New England colonies. This was especially true in Pennsylvania. The Middle colonies had some slaves while the New England colonies had very few slaves.  This is true because there was more large scale farming in the southern part of the Middle colonies where the soil was more fertile and the climate more suited for farming.  Thus, another difference is the kind of farming done.  In the New England colonies, subsistence farming was practiced. These farmers grew enough for their family, but didn’t have too much left to sell to other people. In the Middle colonies, farmers grew crops for sale.  The main cash crop was wheat. 

The Middle colonies and New England colonies had both similarities and differences.

What were the similarities and differences between the Middle and New England Colonies?

Some historians say that the Middle Colonies were “middle” in more ways than just geography.  These colonies had some things in common with both the New England colonies and the Southern colonies.

One thing that all colonies had in common was an agrarian basis.  At this point in our economic history, every colony had a strong agricultural component to its economy.  New England and the Middle Colonies were similar in this sense.  A major difference, though, was that the Middle Colonies had much better growing conditions and so they grew crops for export, which was something that the New England colonies did not do. 

A second similarity/difference between the two regions had to do with how the people grouped themselves together (or didn’t) to live.  Like New England, the Middle Colonies did have some cities (where places like Virginia and Maryland really didn’t).  However, the rural farmers of the Middle Colonies did not live together in villages like the New Englanders did.  Instead, they each tended to live on their own land, somewhat apart from one another.

All of these colonies were, of course, controlled by the English. However, the Middle Colonies and New England differed in their ethnic makeup.  New England was almost all English.  By contrast, there were many Dutch, German, and Scandinavian people in the Middle Colonies.  This also brought much more religious diversity to the Middle Colonies. 

These two sets of colonies were similar in that they had similar forms of government.  They did both have some amount of democracy, but were ultimately controlled by governors and upper legislative houses appointed with the consent of the English government.  However, there were differences in that the New England colonies had stronger local governments (“town meetings”) and were dominated more by church members than by economic elites.

In these ways, New England and the Middle Colonies had some important things in common, but were also significantly different.