Exploros | The Southern Colonies

The Southern Colonies

Students learn about four of the Southern Colonies: Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia. They focus on the physical and human geography and the variances within the colonies. They examine how the environment and economic development contributed to the spread of slavery throughout the South.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

Overview

In this experience, students learn about four of the Southern Colonies: Maryland, the Carolinas and Georgia. (They learned about Virginia when they studied the founding of Jamestown and the House of Burgesses.) They focus on the physical and human geography and the variances within the colonies. They examine how the environment and economic development contributed to the spread of slavery throughout the South.

Objectives:

Explain the reasons for the establishment of Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia.
Describe the relationship between the different environments, different settlement patterns, and different economic systems in the Southern Colonies.

You have already encountered the first Southern Colony, Virginia, home of the first English settlement, Jamestown. There are four additional Southern Colonies, which you will learn about in this experience.

Objectives:

Explain the reasons for the establishment of Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia.
Describe the relationship between the different environments, different settlement patterns, and different economic systems in the Southern Colonies.

Note the locations of the five Southern Colonies on the map.

Now study the stone in the image below.

a rock engraved with a shield and a crown

Can you make a guess what it was used for? Hint: It is related to the map and it is NOT a gravestone.

Post your answer

After everyone has posted a guess, unlock the next part.

The stone is called a crown stone. It was used as a boundary marker, and it shows the family coat of arms for the colony whose territory it faces on the border.

There was a long-running border dispute among the colonies of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, arising from contradictory measurements given in the Pennsylvania Charter. The conflict was resolved in 1767 when the colonies hired surveyors to draw the border, which became known as the Mason-Dixon Line, named after the two surveyors.

The crown stone shown above is one of many markers that were placed every five miles along the Mason-Dixon Line. The image shows the coat of arms of Maryland’s founding Calvert family. On the other side of the crown stone facing Pennsylvania territory are the arms of William Penn.

If you have time, discuss with students how the Mason-Dixon Line has come to symbolize a cultural divide between the Northern states and the Southern states.

When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.