The Colonies, 1492-1750

by Reuben Gold Thwaites

The judicial system was very similar to that which obtained elsewhere in America. In each province was an upper court, consisting of a chief justice and associates, appointed by the governor; from this an appeal might go in important cases to the governor and council, and in causes involving £200 or over, to the king in council. Below the upper court was a regular series of courts, ranging down to the local justices of the peace. Justice was cheap, and court practice simple. In New York, the quality of both bench and bar was inferior, and remained so down to the Revolution; the judges had often no legal training, and the law was not recognized as a profession. In Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania men of ability and character were engaged on the bench and at the bar, and their calling won universal respect. Penn brought out two physicians with him, and in the Quaker colonies the art of medicine had from the first an honorable standing; but in New York physicians were not licensed until 1760. In all four colonies the clergymen for the most part were zealous, upright men, of learning and ability, and took high social rank.

Agriculture and manufacturing.

Except in New York, where trade was equally important, agriculture was the chief industry; but as the soil was fertile and the average farmer consequently careless, farming was, except among the painstaking Quakers of Pennsylvania, in a low condition. The principal crop was wheat, although there was much variety in farm products, and New Jersey raised large herds of cattle on her broad lowland meadows. There were many small manufactures for domestic use, the most important being among the Germans of Germantown, who made, in a small way, paper and glass, and also some varieties of knit goods and coarse cloths; the spinning-wheel was a familiar household machine, for homespun was much worn by all except the rich. But the bulk of manufactured goods was imported from England and the continent of Europe. Little picturesque windmills, with broad canvas sails, after the Dutch fashion, were numerous. Many of the Maryland and Virginia colonists came long distances to patronize the Pennsylvania mills. It was not until 1720 than an iron furnace was erected in the latter province,—the first in the middle group of colonies.

Trade and commerce.

The middle-colony people had a keen sense for trade. The fur-traffic was widespread and of the first importance, particularly in New York and Pennsylvania; while the personal danger to the adventurous forest trader was very great, the profits on packs of peltries successfully landed in New York and Philadelphia were such as to warrant the hazard. The principal exports were grain, flour, and furs, and vessels with these American products sailed to England, Lisbon, Madeira, and the West Indies; the exports of goods were never equal to the imports, however, and ships bringing over wines, sugar, and miscellaneous manufactured articles often found it difficult to obtain return cargoes. There was a profitable 'longshore commerce in farm products and small manufactures, boats penetrating up the rivers far inland. New England bottoms were largely employed, although a shipbuilding industry soon sprang up at Philadelphia. New York was the chief port of the middle colonies for foreign trade; her merchants were highly active and prosperous.

95. Social Life.

Life and manners in New York.

In 1700 the Dutch were still the largest landowners in New York. The English and other nationalities, jealously excluded from the landed class as far as possible, were to be mainly found in the large towns in the southern portion of the province, engaged in trade. The Dutch adhered to old dress and customs with remarkable tenacity. Their farm-houses were usually of wood, with the second story overhanging; the great rafters showed in the ceilings; the fireplaces were ornamented with pictured tiles, and above were rows of great wooden and pewter dishes, and racks of long tobacco-pipes; the floors were daily scrubbed and sanded, and evidences of neatness and thrift were distinguishing features. In the little hamlets, as well as on the farms, there was plenty of good plain living; but the people, while thrifty, sober, contented, and industrious, were superstitious, ignorant, grasping, and slow. Life with them was narrow and monotonous. The wealthy landed proprietors lived on their estates up the Hudson in summer, and moved to New York city in winter; their manor-houses were large and richly furnished, they had trains of servants, black and white, and maintained a degree of splendor scarcely equalled elsewhere in the colonies. The Dutch women, rich and poor, were noted for their excellence as housekeepers, their unaffected piety, and their love of flowers.

Elsewhere in the middle colonies.

In Pennsylvania and Delaware there was a wide difference between the condition of the dwellers in the long-settled portions, where there was intelligent progress, sobriety, and neatness, and that of the western borderers, who were a rude, turbulent people, living amid wretched economic and sanitary conditions. The better class of farmers in the eastern section were prosperous but simple; men and women alike worked in the fields, and a patriarchal system of family life prevailed. The soberly attired Quakers still exercised a large influence on society, which was pervaded by a healthy moral tone; tradesmen had a particularly keen sense of business honesty. New Jersey was also a well-to-do colony; but her farms and villages long had the reputation of presenting an untidy appearance.