The period from 1690 to 1760 saw massive changes in the social,
             political and economic landscape of early America. Because of the
             importance of travel and agriculture, the first colonies grew along the
             coasts. The colonies were self-sufficient and had distinct cultures.
             However, they were also linked by commerce and navigation.
             By the early 18th century, New England colonies like Boston and Salem
             were established shipbuilding communities as well as important ports for
             ships from around the world. Colonies in Virginia and Maryland, on the
             other hand, would grow agricultural economies and export tobacco
             These economic changes would spur several social changes as well. The
             prosperous economies attracted impoverished immigrants from Old World
             countries like Italy, Germany and Ireland. This gave rise to several
             ethnic-based conflicts, as Irish and Italian groups fought for scarce jobs
             In the Southern plantations, however, the need for farm labor spurred
             the importation of slaves. Thus, rather than mere ethnicity, conflict in
             these areas were polarized according to skin color as well.
             In the 1770s, these religious conflicts spawned by the Great Awakening
             further polarized the colonies. Presbyterians in the middle colonies
             responded to the encroaching Age of Enlightenment with a revival of
             religion. This soon spread among the Puritans in New England as well as
             other colonies and later, among the Baptists in the South.
             This religious revival had important effects on social and political
             life in the colonies. Citing religious grounds, historians like many
             "common" folk felt empowered to challenge the materialism of their
             wealthier counterparts. Also, historian Harry Stout argues that the
             phenomenon of mass preaching and fervent crowds paved the way for new,
             "democratized" forms of communication and even laid the foundations f
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