Are you ready to take a trip back in time to when America was just starting out? Let’s explore the 13 colonies, the very first places in America where people from other countries decided to make their new homes. These colonies were like the first building blocks of the United States. So, let’s hop into our time machine and discover some cool facts about the 13 Colonies!
Did you know that the 13 colonies were like a patchwork quilt along the east coast of what is now the United States? They stretched from up north in a place called New Hampshire all the way down to Georgia in the south. Each colony was unique, with its own lifestyle and reasons for settling in that specific area.
In these colonies, people lived a lot differently than we do today. They didn’t have cars, phones, or supermarkets. Instead, they rode horses, wrote letters that took weeks to arrive, and grew their own food. Life was a big adventure, but it was also pretty tough. They had to make almost everything they needed by hand!
And here’s a fun fact about the 13 colonies: the people in these colonies eventually got together and decided they wanted to make their own country. That’s how the United States was born! They were brave and worked together to create something totally new.
Are you ready to dive into the stories and facts about the 13 colonies? From their early beginnings to how they helped shape the country we live in today, there’s so much to learn and explore. Let’s journey back to these fascinating times and uncover the secrets of America’s first colonies!
Don’t forget to grab your free 13 Colonies fact cards below!
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Best Facts about the 13 Colonies
- Delaware was not really a colony until 1776.
- The first winter was hard on the settlers; less than half survived.
- Because the middle colonies’ biggest crops were wheat, barley, and rye, they were called the breadbasket colonies.
- The town of Saint Michaels, Maryland, was able to fool the redcoats in the War of 1812 by putting lamps in trees and on ship masts, making their town look higher than it really was.
- There are a few places that were settled as colonies but never made it to statehood, like The Lost Colony of Roanoke.
- It took almost 80 years after the Americas were discovered before Britain tried to settle here, and their first settlement was lost.
- Tobacco became Virginia’s most lucrative crop despite the king and the Virginia Company opposing it.
- The American Iron industry was born in the state of Massachusetts.
- No one knows what the founding father of Delaware looks like because he had a severe case of face cancer and never had his portrait painted and wore a green cloth over his face in public.
- Many of the first people to come to settle the Americas were indentured servants.
- Several colonies were named after rulers in England like Carolina was named after King Charles.
- Other than peaches, peanuts, and pecans are well-known exports for the state of Georgia.
- New York’s fur hat exportation was the first thing to be restricted by the British trade restrictions.
- South Carolina has a law that you can sue someone that gets engaged and doesn’t go through with the marriage.
- Drinking coffee became a political statement after the Boston Tea Party.
- The first Constitution in America was enacted in Connecticut.
- In 1949, New Jersey passed a law saying you could not pump your own gas, but an attendant would do it for you.
- James Oglethorpe wanted a place in the Americas for impoverished people and debtors, so he founded Georgia.
- Stonewall Jackson is buried in Virginia.
- South Carolina was able to make a lot of money for their blue dye trades to the British.
- Jamestown was the first colony of the 13 founded in 1607 after the failure of Roanoke.
- Massachusetts is named after a local tribe of Native Americans.
- The Empire State Building in New York City was designed to have blimps docking at it.
- New York started out being New Amsterdam and was part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland.
- Maryland was founded as a place for religious freedom for Christians.
- Massachusetts had a lot of firsts that happened there, such as the First Public Park: Boston Commons, 1634, and the First Subway: Boston, 1898.
- Even though they were a northern state, Rhode Island played a big role in the slave trade.
- When the Revolutionary War started, the colonies only had 2.5 million people living there.
- Pennsylvania was created as a payback to William Penn for all his father did for the Royal Navy.
- Rhode Island was the first to renounce Britain as its ruler and the last one to ratify the Constitution.
- New Caesarea was another name for New Jersey.
- New Hampshire recruited more settlers by giving away land for one ear of corn a year.
- Several countries settled in the Americas, including Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands.
- North Carolina was sold back to the king of Britain.
- There is a giant shoe in Pennsylvania that two people can stay in.
Do you have even more interesting facts about the 13 Colonies? Share them with us in the comments! Also, don’t forget to grab your free 13 Colonies fact cards to add to your collection!
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Michele is a mom of 5 with her degree in marriage and family studies. She believes that one of the best ways you can spend time with your family is doing fun things together.