In Pennsylvania there prevailed a similar attitude of opposition to England; the Quakers were, however, conservative, and slow in action, and their dislike to bear arms made the colony a drag upon all attempts at continental union for common defence. As in New York, local politics ran in extremely narrow channels, and election riots were not uncommon.
Summary.
Taking a general view of the middle colonies, we find that the fur-traffic, the fertile soil, a mixed system of agriculture, and an enterprising commercial spirit, were the chief sources of their material prosperity. There was prevalent a broader spirit of religious toleration; there was, perhaps, on the whole, a more democratic spirit among all classes of the people, than in New England or the South; except in the case of the Dutch patroons, aristocracy did not flourish among them; the state of popular education was pitiable; the population was more mixed than anywhere else in America. The continental nationalities gave a more cheerful tone to society than existed in New England and the South; the several communities varied greatly in speech, customs, and thought, according to their origin, although we find, as the eighteenth century opens, that the English Puritans from New England were coming more and more to exercise a considerable influence in political, social, and religious affairs.
CHAPTER XI.
OTHER ENGLISH NORTH AMERICAN COLONIES (1605-1750).
98. References.
Bibliographies.—Larned, Literature of American History, 430-438, 458-462; Winsor, VIII. 65-80, 175-177, 188-190, 270-291.
Historical Maps.—Nos. 2, 3, and 4, this volume (Epoch Maps, Nos. [2], [3], [4]); Winsor, MacCoun, and school histories already cited.
General Accounts.—H. Fox-Bourne, Story of our Colonies, chs. i.-xi.; Egerton, British Colonial Policy; Morris, History of Colonization; E. Payne, European Colonies; Cotton and Payne, Colonies and Dependencies.