Dedicated to Chef Curry with the shot boy.

Preview audio:

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Believe it or not, the United States wasn't always called the "United States!" In fact, it didn't even start with 50 states! The beginning of our country began in the 17th and 18th centuries with something called the 13 colonies. These colonies were originally controlled by England and Britain, but eventually gained their independence to start the USA.

The original 13 colonies are shown to the right. Although they were all located on the east coast, they were divided into 3 different colonial regions: the New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. Each of these regions had unique aspects that set it apart from the other two regions.

The New England Colonies consisted of Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts (which Maine was a part of at the time). These colonies were usually focused around farming or fishing and lumber was the main resource of the land.

The Middle Colonies included Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. This area of land was very fertile and allowed for a big production of wheat and grain. They also produced an abundance of lumber due to their dense forests.

These colonies were accepting of diverse religions and allowed many different types of people to live there.

The Southern Colonies included Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. They were known for their cash crops of tobacco, indigo, and rice.

Due to the farming nature of their economy, slaves were very important in these colonies and were required to do a lot of labor.

In 1776, the 13 colonies gained independence from England and Britain and formed the United States. The flag on the right only has 13 stars to represent the original 13 colonies.