The Middle Colonies was generally run by Royal or Proprietary Governors and elected Colonial Assemblies . Many Middle Colony constitutions guaranteed freedom of religion and forbade taxation without representation . Royal governors was arrested or overthrown on more than one occasion , most notably when New Jersey arrested its governor and during Leisler 's Rebellion in New York . Growing unrest in the Middle Colonies eventually led the region to become the meeting place for the Continental Congress , and a center for revolution . However , there was numerous pockets of neutrals and Loyalists .