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The '''thirteen colonies''' were the [[British]] colonies that formed the [[United States]]. They were: [[Massachusetts]], [[New Hampshire]], [[Rhode Island]], [[Connecticut]], [[New York]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[New Jersey]], [[Delaware]], [[Maryland]], [[Virginia]], [[North Carolina]], [[South Carolina]], and [[Georgia]]. On July 4, 1776, they became states and formed a new nation, the '''United States of America.'''

The '''thirteen colonies''' were the [[British]] colonies that formed the [[United States]]. They were: [[Massachusetts]], [[New Hampshire]], [[Rhode Island]], [[Connecticut]], [[New York]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[New Jersey]], [[Delaware]], [[Maryland]], [[Virginia]], [[North Carolina]], [[South Carolina]], and [[Georgia]]. On July 4, 1776, they became states and formed a new nation, the '''United States of America.'''

[[Image:1742map.jpg|thumb|400px]]

[[Image:1742map.jpg|thumb|400px]]

===Puritans===

===Puritans===

{{main|Puritans}}

{{main|Puritans}}

The Puritans, a much larger group than the Pilgrims, established the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in 1629 with 400 settlers. This group was the Puritans who sought to reform the [[Church of England]] by creating a new, pure church in the New World. Within two years, an additional 2,000 arrived. The Puritans created a deeply religious, socially tight-knit and politically innovative culture that still lingers on in the modern United States. They hoped this new land would serve as a "redeemer nation." Seeking the true religion, they fled England and in America created a "nation of saints" or the "[[City upon a hill]]," an intensely religious, thoroughly righteous community designed to be an example for all of Europe. [[Roger Williams (theologian)|Roger Williams]], who preached religious toleration, [[separation of Church and State]], and a complete break with the Church of England, was banished and founded [[Rhode Island|Rhode Island Colony]], which became a haven for other religious refugees from the Puritan community, including [[Anne Hutchinson]], a preacher of [[Antinomianism]].

The Puritans, a much larger group than the Pilgrims, established the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in 1629 with 400 settlers. This group was the Puritans who sought to reform the [[Church of England]] by creating a new, pure church in the New World. Within two years, an additional 2,000 arrived. The Puritans created a deeply religious, socially tight-knit and politically innovative culture that still lingers on in the modern United States. They hoped this new land would serve as a "redeemer nation." Seeking the true religion, they fled England and in America created a "nation of saints" or the "[[City upon a hill]]," an intensely religious, thoroughly righteous community designed to be an example for all of Europe. [[Roger Williams (theologian)|Roger Williams]], who preached religious toleration, [[separation of church and state]], and a complete break with the Church of England, was banished and founded [[Rhode Island|Rhode Island Colony]], which became a haven for other religious refugees from the Puritan community, including [[Anne Hutchinson]], a preacher of [[Antinomianism]].

Economically, Puritan New England fulfilled the expectations of its founders. Unlike the cash-crop oriented plantations of the Chesapeake region, the Puritan economy was based on the efforts of individual farmers, who harvested enough crops to feed themselves and their families and a surplus to trade for goods they could not produce themselves. There was a generally higher standard of living in New England than in the Chesapeake. Along with farming growth, New England became an important mercantile and shipbuilding center, often serving as the hub for trading between the South and Europe.

Economically, Puritan New England fulfilled the expectations of its founders. Unlike the cash-crop oriented plantations of the Chesapeake region, the Puritan economy was based on the efforts of individual farmers, who harvested enough crops to feed themselves and their families and a surplus to trade for goods they could not produce themselves. There was a generally higher standard of living in New England than in the Chesapeake. Along with farming growth, New England became an important mercantile and shipbuilding center, often serving as the hub for trading between the South and Europe.

[[File:Ec$1800.jpg|thumb|400px|Estimated income in constant 1840 dollars. Source: Alice Jones, ''Wealth of a Nation to Be'' (1980); Susan B. Carter et al. ''The Historical Statistics of the United States'' (2006) vol 3.]]

[[File:Ec$1800.jpg|thumb|400px|Estimated income in constant 1840 dollars. Source: Alice Jones, ''Wealth of a Nation to Be'' (1980); Susan B. Carter et al. ''The Historical Statistics of the United States'' (2006) vol 3.]]

The great majority of people throughout the colonial era were farmers and their income was not cash but the value of the crops and animals produced on farms, and mostly consumed by the family. The estimates are based on inventories of estates when people died. Most people lived in poverty—with very few possessions such as a small stock of clothes, a shack to live in, a few household goods—and land and animals. In terms of wealth the per capita wealth of Americans in 1774 was £37.4 ($6700 in 2009 dollars); per adult male £172 ($30,700); and per white adult male £218 ($39,000).<ref>Alice Hanson Jones, ''Wealth of a Nation to Be'' (1980)</ref>

The great majority of people throughout the colonial era were farmers and their income was not cash but the value of the crops and animals produced on farms, and mostly consumed by the family. The estimates are based on inventories of estates when people died. Most people lived in poverty—with very few possessions such as a small stock of clothes, a shack to live in, a few household goods—and land and animals. In terms of wealth the per capita wealth of Americans in 1774 was £37.4 ($6700 in 2009 dollars); per adult male £172 ($30,700); and per white adult male £218 ($39,000).<ref>Alice Hanson Jones, ''Wealth of a Nation to Be'' (1980)</ref>

==Literature==

==Literature==