APUSH Important Events

Columbian Exchange

a trading system created after Columbian contact

first came goods, then disease, slavery, + death

between Americas and Europe

evolved into Triangular Trade + Mercantilism

Encomienda System

the Spanish’s caste system for New Spain based on racial backgrounds

1\. White/Spanish

2\. Mestizos

3\. Native/African Slaves

Sepulveda

Spanish priest who considered Natives to be barbarians (supported their abuse)

Bartolome de Las Casas

Spanish priest who considered Natives advanced and intelligent (denounced abuse of the Natives)

french colonies

these colonies were controlled by the crown as a national endeavor and were based on native alliances and the fur trade

spanish colonies

these colonies were controlled by the crown as a national endeavor and were based on missionary work and the motive to find gold

english colonies

these colonies were controlled by corporations or the crown and were based on making profit through cash crops, later they were based on religious settlers needing a new homes

salutary neglect

a period from 1607-1763 in which England did not strictly enforce Parliamentary laws, which allowed the colonies to flourish as independent-ish for many years

was due to a period of uncertainty for England and the fact that the population was England citizens not Natives or slaves

Jamestown

first English colony founded in 1607 by a corporation (London Company) and cash crop tobacco allows for the success of the colony

Plymouth

second English colony started by puritans

Navigation Act

1660 - only allowed British ships to trade with the colonies

Triangular Trade

trading network between Americas, Europe, and Africa

included the trade of goods and slaves

First Great Awakening

c. 1730s-70s - a series of Christian revivals after religion had gone stale after puritan culture died out by 1700

introduces enlightenment ideals (that the founding fathers will take inspo from) and new Christian denominations

Northern Slavery

slaves were more integrated into society urbanly but lost their cultural identity

Southern Slavery

slaves were very isolated from society on plantations but were kept together and kept some of their culture

Bacon’s Rebellion

1675 - Jamestown VA


1. poor colonists and farmers begin to blame natives for their struggles and conduct raids on native tribes


2. William Berkeley gov of VA refuses to drive the natives out/tries to shut Bacon down
3. Nathaniel Bacon leads movement against Berkeley and 500 armed men gather at the VA government - this shocks and scares the wealthy class

Stono Rebellion

1739 - South Carolina

slave revolt in SC that leads SC to tightening their slave control/codes

French and Indian War

1754-1763 - British & French colonies/territory


1. colonists claim French are bothering them at their western border, French claim colonists are bothering them at their eastern border = war starts
2. Britain wins with colonies help, guerilla warfare, and outspends the French

leads to British colonists having to pay off war debts which makes them mad

Proclamation of 1763

1763 - line is drawn at the Appalachian Mountains that colonists cannot settle past because Britain doesn’t want to have to manage more land and keep up with/defend against Native attacks - makes colonists mad cause Britain owns land (from the French and Indian War) until the MS River

Stamp Act (and Paper Tax)

1765 - taxes on stamps and paper which alienates wealthy colonists (the ones leading revolutionary ideas)

Stamp Act Congress

1765 - colonies send delegates to meet in protest of the Stamp Act, delegates claim colonists cannot be taxed without representation in Parliament and this actually leads to Stamp Act getting repealed

Boston Massacre

colonists and British soldiers face off in Boston, 5 colonists die - generates animosity in Boston

Boston Tea Party

1773 - Tea Tax inspired this event, Bostonians throw English tea into the Boston Harbour

Intolerable Acts

1774 - acts Parliament passed aimed directly at Boston

included the closing of Boston’s ports and put Boston under martial law

Lexington and Concord

earliest battles of the Revolutionary War marked by Paul Revere’s ride to warn that the British were coming

Bunker Hill

1775 - battle in the Revolutionary War where colonists defeated Brits as they ran uphill into colonists lines

Declaration of Independence

1776 - 2nd Continental Congress decides Thomas Jefferson should write this document, colonies announce their independence from Britain

Trenton

1776 - colonies need a victory after being pushed out of NY throughout 75+76, GW crosses the Delaware and launches a surprise attack on troops at Christmastime and flips momentum in the North/NY

Saratoga

1777 - in order to stop Britain from cutting off NY/New England colonies, Continental Army launches this campaign/battle and uses guerilla/native american/backwoods fighting tactics to win this major battle

European attention shifts to colonists at this point and convinces France to ally w America

Siege of Charleston

1780 - after losing at Saratoga, wanting Loyalist support, and not being able to get a foothold in the North, Britain shifts attention to the south and attacks __________,__ but since many soldiers were still tied up in New England, _____________ falls after siege to the British

Camden

1780 - another major victory for the British in the south, again trying to establish a foothold in the south

King’s Mountain

1780 - From Charleston and Camden British work their way in the mountains but are stopped by mountainmen, guerilla warfare, and native tactics - overall provides morale boost for colonies and stops Britains southern campaign

Yorktown

1781 - last major conflict in Revolutionary War

American + French troops attack what is left of Cornwallis’s troops, Britain concedes defeat

Paris Peace Treaty

1783 - peace treaty of Revolutionary War, Britain makes land concessions to America

Articles of Confederation

1781-1787 - first government of America

* unicameral legislature
* no judicial branch
* no executive branch
* no power levying taxes
* no military
* did allow for the settling of the northwest territories

Shay’s Rebellion

1786/7 - MA farmers can’t pay their taxes, launch rebellion against wealthy MA government

* America realizes it needs an actual government

Constitutional Convention

1787 - Delegates meet in Philadelphia to make a new government

New Jersey Plan

plan of government favored by small states, legislature would be 1 delegate/vote = 1 state

lacked centralized power

Virginia Plan

plan of government favored by large states, legislature would include two legislatures, the lower house based off of population and the upper house based off reps elected by the lower house/each state

included judicial and executive branches

highly centralized

by James Madison

The Great Compromise

a compromise introduced in the Constitutional Convention

included:

* bi-cameral legislature w 2 houses
* House = population reps
* Senate = 2 reps per state
* executive + judicial branch
* echoes of Virginia Plan

3/5 Compromise

a compromise introduced in the Constitutional Convention that states that for every 5 slaves, 3 people would be added to the population represented in Congress

Federalist Papers

anonymous essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay to get the Constitution ratified

Bill of Rights

document promised to be added (and was added) after the ratification of the Constitution after many feared the Constitution wouldn’t protect their individual rights

James Madison

anti fed

political party

* known as jeffersonians
* for states rights/small government
* rule by informed masses (more voter rights)
* wanted agricultural/artisanal economy
* STRICT interpretation of constitution
* pro france
* majority of support from the south and west

fed

political party

* wanted centralized government
* rule by the elite (restrict voting rights)
* wanted industrial/financial economy
* pro brit
* support from northeast

sectionalism

term referring to the different lifestyles, social structures, customs, and political views of the North and South

Whiskey Rebellion

1794 - Hamilton’s tax plans place a tax on whiskey, backwoods countrymen start riots and attack tax collectors

GW himself goes out w a local militia to put down riots and ends the affair, but goes back and pardons all involved

Proclamation of Neutrality

1793 - Proclamation issued by Washington to remain neutral in the war raging in Europe

Citizen Genet Affairs

1793-1794 - French nationalist comes to America and causes international problems off the coast with European shipping during GW’s presidency, one of the early international issues US dealt with

Farewell Address

in this speech, Washington says not to form political parties and to stay out of foreign conflicts

XYZ Affair

1797-98 - a quasi-naval war w France that started after French diplomats humiliated American diplomats at a diplomatic event

Alien and Sedition Acts

1798 - created by Adams to reduce US’s anxiety over XYZ affair, but 1. reduced civil liberties, 2. allowed for deportation/investigation at any time of any suspicious persons, and 3. limited free speech/speaking out against the gov

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

1798 - created in protest of alien and sedition acts and stated that a state had the right to nullify the acts because they were unconstitutional, thus the federal government had no authority to implement them

Jefferson Presidency

* elected in 1800 against a tight race between Burr
* amendment 12 (running 2 candidates instead of runner up being vice)
* repeals alien and sedition acts
* reduces size/cost of federal military
* vies for international peace
* Lousiana Purchase
* undeclared war w North African Barbary pirates
* ending of international slave trade
* Embargo Act

Lousiana Purchase

1803 - Napoleon loses interest in Americas + has to fight wars at home, sells Louisiana Territory at 15 million to Jefferson

* Jefferson bypasses Congress and ignores his strict constitution beliefs to make this purchase

Embargo Act

1807 - Jefferson places embargo on Britain after they/Europe interfere with U.S. shipping during Napoleonic wars - HURTS U.S. economy

Marbury v Madison

1805 - supreme court case that established the power of judicial review, the ability of the courts to rule actions unconstitutional

War of 1812

* Madison declares war after Britain (and France) practices impressment on Americans to help with their Napoleonic wars
* battles are focused in Great Lakes region (where Britain still has territory in Canada) and eventually Britain invades Washington DC
* eventually resolves in a tie in 1814

Battle of New Orleans

1815 - Andrew Jackson w some ragtags destroy British forces in “last” battle of 1812, but war is actually already over

Monroe Presidency

* elected in 1816
* established the Monroe Doctrine - USA dominates western hemisphere’s foreign policy

Adams Onis Treaty

1819 - with this treaty U.S. gains FL - territory goes all the way to the New Spain boundary line now

Erie Canal

because of this canal construction and completion in 1825, midwest markets could get there goods to northeast markets, economy began to improve and methods of new transportation were developing and being implemented

Missouri Compromise

1820 - compromise that MO becomes a slave state but __no more slave states__ is established above MO’s southern border the 36th parallel

added MO as a slave state, but ME as a free state

Andrew Jackson

* Very Controversially did not win election of 1824
* won election of 1828
* populist, appealed to the common man, democrat

Nullification Crisis

SC tries to nullify tariffs that made Europe tax cotton and tobacco more and even threatens to secede over it, Jackson uses his executive power/populism to appeal to the people of SC to not go through w nullification + secession

Indian Removal Act

Jackson uses his executive authority and overrules the Supreme Court to force the Cherokee nation off their land and the Trail of Tears begins

Worcester vs Georgia

case in which the Supreme Court sides with the Cherokees, that forcing them off their land is unconstitutional and not within GA’s power, ends up getting overruled by Jackson

National Bank Crisis

Jackson wants to get rid of the national bank because it hurts the common man, wants banks at a state/local level, and doesn’t want the elite, unelected people controlling it

he denies the bank’s charter in 1832, ultimately hurts the common man even more with a recession/financial crisis and this leads to the rise of the Whig Party

manifest destiny

americans deserve all the land from the east to the pacific it is their god given right

Mexican American War

U.S. goes to war w Mexico after illegally annexing Texas from them, U.S wins

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

peace treaty of Mexican American War, included the Mexican Cession

Mexican Cession

land gained in the Mexican-American War, increased America’s land by 20%

Wilmot Proviso

stated that no slavery states would be established in the land gained from Mexico - unsuccessful in the legislature

effectively reversed the MO compromise because now there was no more slavery below that 36th parallel besides the already existing slavery

Compromise of 1850

1850 - tries to reverse the Wilmot Proviso, allows popular sovereignty in Utah/New Mexico territory, makes California a free state, allows for stricter fugitive slave laws

Kansas Nebraska Act

1854 - allows for popular sovereignty on slavery in NE + KS, effectively reverses comp. of 1850

Anaconda Plan

Winifield Scott’s plan to blockade and cut the south off by water so they couldn’t get support from Europe or get European imports or exports

Fort Sumter

1861 - first battle of the Civil War in SC

relief ships come in to aid federal naval base, Confederacy fires upon Fort Sumter, southern victory

Manassas (Bull Run)

1861 - first __major__ battle of the Civil War, close confederate victory, ended thoughts on both sides of a short war

Sharpsburg

1862 - battle breaks out when Lee tries to take over slavery border states, ends in a draw

gives Lincoln grounds to shift from a states rights war to a war of liberation w the EP

emancipation proclamation

Jan 1st 1863 - this document that Lincoln announced after battle of Sharpsburg was a politically motivated and changed the morality in the war, fighting for freedom now vs states rights

this document freed all southern slaves, not border state slaves

Gettysburg

1863 - Lee tries to continue the success he found at Fredericksburg + Chancellorsville and marches (accidentally) into federal territory, battle begins and Confederates end up losing

prompts Lincoln to give the __________ Address

Gettysburg Address

Lincoln gives this speech to unite the Union, pay respect to those who died at ___________, and to announce the war as one for freedom/equality

Atlanta Campaign

1864 - Led by Sherman in attempt to break the South’s will - the siege/burning of Atlanta all the way to Savannah using bloody/attrition tactics

Overland Campaign

1864 - Led by Grant to face Lee/CSA capital of Richmond using bloody tactics out of necessity to end the war

Siege of Petersburg

1864-1865 - Grant attacks Petersburg because if Petersburg falls, Richmond falls (CSA capital) again using bloody tactics

leads to Lees surrender later in 1865