AP AAS Unit 2 Study Guide

First Africans in America

Enslaved and free Africans who arrived in Spanish, then English colonies beginning in the 1500s.

Atlantic Creoles

Multilingual Africans familiar with European culture who navigated Atlantic trade, labor, and diplomacy.

African Conquistadores

Africans who joined Spanish expeditions and military campaigns in the Americas.

Juan Garrido

Free African conquistador who fought with Cortés and introduced wheat to Mexico.

Estevanico

African explorer and translator who guided Spanish expeditions in North America.

Free Skilled Workers

Free Africans who earned wages through skilled trades like carpentry or blacksmithing.

Enslaved Laborers

Africans forced into unpaid labor under chattel slavery.

Middle Passage

Brutal transatlantic voyage that transported enslaved Africans to the Americas.

Three-Part Journey (Triangular Trade)

Trade system linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Charleston, South Carolina

Major port of entry for enslaved Africans in British North America.

Enslaving Nations

European empires that profited from the capture and sale of Africans.

Nine African Regions

Key areas in West and Central Africa where enslaved Africans were taken.

Coastal States

African kingdoms that controlled access to Atlantic trade.

Monetary Incentives

Profit motives driving African and European participation in the slave trade.

Long-Term Instability

Political and social disruption in Africa caused by slave trading.

Ethnic Groups

African communities sharing language, culture, and traditions.

Cultural Contributions

African influences on food, language, music, religion, and labor systems.

Faith Traditions

Blending of African spiritual practices with Christianity.

Spirituals

Religious songs expressing hope, resistance, and coded messages.

Gullah

Creole language and culture formed by enslaved Africans in coastal South Carolina and Georgia.

Pottery and Quilt Making

Artistic traditions preserving African cultural knowledge.

African Instruments

Instruments that shaped American music traditions.

Rhythmic and Performative Elements

Emphasis on rhythm, movement, and call-and-response.

American Blues

Musical genre rooted in African American spirituals and work songs.

Rice Cultivation

Plantation agriculture based on African expertise in wet-rice farming.

Gang System

Labor system grouping enslaved workers under supervision.

Specialized Trades

Skilled labor performed by enslaved artisans.

Work Songs

Rhythmic songs coordinating labor and expressing resistance.

Gender Roles

Different labor and social expectations for enslaved men and women.

Enslaved Women

Faced forced labor, family separation, and sexual exploitation.

Hereditary Racial Slavery

Permanent slavery passed through the mother based on race.

Concept of Race

Social construct used to justify enslavement.

One-Drop Rule

Defined anyone with African ancestry as Black.

Slave Codes

Laws controlling enslaved people’s behavior and movement.

SC 1740 Slave Code

Laws passed after the Stono Rebellion to restrict Black autonomy.

U.S. Constitution

Protected slavery through compromises like the Three-Fifths Clause.

Free States

States where slavery was legally banned.

Black Suffrage

Right of African Americans to vote.

Dred Scott Case

Supreme Court ruling denying Black citizenship and congressional power over slavery.

Resistance

Actions taken to oppose or survive slavery.

Daily Resistance

Subtle acts like slowing work or preserving culture.

Uprisings

Organized revolts against slavery.

Stono Rebellion (1739)

Largest colonial-era slave uprising in South Carolina.

La Amistad

Slave ship rebellion leading to a Supreme Court victory for Africans.

Second Middle Passage

Forced internal migration of enslaved people in the U.S.

Maroons

Escaped enslaved people who formed independent communities.

Maroon Communities

Settlements resisting colonial control.

Great Dismal Swamp

Major maroon refuge in the eastern U.S.

Palenques and Quilombos

Maroon settlements in Latin America and Brazil.

Maroon Wars

Conflicts between maroons and colonial governments.

Brazil

Received the largest number of enslaved Africans.

Capoeira

Afro-Brazilian martial art developed under slavery.

Haitian Revolution

Successful slave revolt that ended slavery in Haiti.

Santo Domingo

French colony that became Haiti.

Abolition of Slavery

Legal ending of enslavement.

Latin American Abolitionism

Movements ending slavery across Latin America.

Louisiana Purchase

U.S. land expansion that extended slavery westward.

Trail of Tears

Forced removal of Indigenous nations.

Five Indigenous Nations

Major Southeastern tribes displaced by U.S. policy.

Seminoles

Indigenous group allied with Black communities.

Black-Indigenous People

Individuals of African and Indigenous descent.

Black Nationalism

Emphasis on racial pride and self-determination.

Integrationists

Advocated equality within American society.

Anti-Emigrationists

Opposed relocating Black Americans outside the U.S.

American Colonization Society

Promoted resettlement of free Blacks to Africa.

Abolitionist Movement

Organized effort to end slavery.

Abolitionist Activists

Individuals working to abolish slavery.

Moral Suasion

Appealing to conscience to oppose slavery.

Radical Resistance

Support for direct action against slavery.

Pamphlets

Printed abolitionist materials spreading ideas.

Underground Railroad

Secret network aiding escape from slavery.

Harriet Tubman

Led enslaved people to freedom.

Fugitive Slave Acts

Laws requiring return of escaped enslaved people.

Slave Narratives

Firsthand accounts of enslavement.

Slave Narratives by Women

Exposed sexual violence and gendered oppression.

African American Literary Genres

Spirituals, narratives, protest literature.

Photography

Tool used by Black leaders to shape public image.

Poetry and Photographs

Documented Black resistance and identity.

Frederick Douglass

Formerly enslaved abolitionist who used writing and photography to demand equality.

Sojourner Truth

Abolitionist and women’s rights activist.

Black Contributions to the Union

Military service and labor supporting Union victory.

Enslaved Southerners

Undermined the Confederacy by fleeing and aiding Union forces.

Anti-Black Violence

Racial violence during and after the Civil War.

Emancipation Proclamation

Freed enslaved people in Confederate states.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery nationwide.

Juneteenth

Celebration of emancipation in Texas.

Freedom Days

Local celebrations marking the end of slavery.