APUSH Need to Know

Contextualizing Period 1

Native populations created intricate societies in a wide variety of environmental circumstances.

Agriculture, resource use, social hierarchy

Native American societies before European contact

Maize supported economy, settlement, irrigation practices, and social interactions.

Hunter-gatherer, permanent villages, mobile lifestyles

European exploration of the Americas

The three G’s: Gold (weath/economy), God (spread Christianity) and Glory (competition)

Columbian exchange, Spanish exploration, and conquest

Columbian exchange = spread of animals, foods, people, crops, and diseases from Europe to Americas.

European shift from feudalism to capitalism + joint-stock companies that supported international trade

Labor, slavery, and the Caste in the Spanish colonial system

Encomienda system = coerced Native American labor for plantations and precious metals.

Triangular trade led to development of social hierarchies ex. Caste system

Cultural interactions between Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans

New world view of ways of life, adoption of useful aspects of regional cultures.

Native Americans wanted to resist encroachment through diplomacy and military.

Causation in Period 1

Social, cultural, and political changes resulted on either end of the Atlantic due to Columbian Exchange

Contextualizing Period 2

Europeans aimed to use resources of environment to support settlements.

Increased competition between Native populations and Europeans.

17th century: beginning to form regional differences in diff colonies; both resistance AND appeal to Britain

European colonization

Spaniards = aimed to assimilate the Native populations and Africans in Spanish society in the colonies.

French and Dutch = mainly diplomatic with Native tribes plus fur trade

British = sought social and economic wealth

The regions of the British colonies

**Beginning of self-governance

Chesapeake/NC = tobacco via labor from enslaved people and indentured servants

New England = small towns plus family farms

Middle = most diverse and tolerant region w/ export economy

Souther Atlantic Coast/British West Indies = plantations for staple crops; slavery = majority of population

Transatlantic trade

Extensive trade networks w/ Europeans focusing on exports

More goods exchanged w/ Native populations

Britain’s attempt at imperial policies would have aided with mercantilism

Interactions between American Indians and Europeans

Colonists often allied with armed Native groups

Example of GB conflict = Metacom’s War over political potential

Example of SP conflict = Pueblo Revolt which the Spanish lost, conserving Pueblo culture

Slavery in the British colonies

Colonies increasingly relied on slavery bc indentured servitude was declining

Most enslaved Africans were in the West Indies

Chattel slavery = led people to be born in to slavery, led to dehumanization

Colonial society and structure

Enlightenment + First Great Awakening = intellectual exchange

Spread of protestant evangelicalism

Comparison in period 2

Colonists were increasingly less interested in being ruled by Britain and people became critical of the corrupt British systems

Contextualizing period 3

Tighter British pull led to more resistance from colonies

American Revolution → new forms of govt

Migration + competition → conflict

The Seven Year’s War (French and Indian War)

**Britain won

More British population threatened French colonization and the Native populations

Again, colonial opposition

Taxation without representation

Colonists wanted DIRECT representation for econ and politics

Enlightenment ideals now spread among colonies→now there were political leaders

Large numbers towards the patriot mvmt

Philosophical foundations of the American Revolution

Enlightenment emphasized liberty

American identity was formed through Payne’s Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence

The American Revolution

Patriots formed Continental Army w/ GW

Assistance was provided by Euro allies

The influence of revolutionary ideals

More people wanted to reduce social inequality

Growing support for abolition

Republican motherhood=moms teaching families American political culture

The Articles of Confederation

Created central gov + very limited power

Issues with regulating money, finances, and foreign relations

Northwest Ordinance = no slavery in NW US, protection for public education and for property

The Constitutional Convention and debates over ratification

Compromise and collaboration

Federalist papers = James Madison and Hamilton

Bill of Rights created to honor anti-federalists

The Constitution

Central gov and separation of powers

Shaping a new republic

Increase in diplomacy and negotiation

French revolution + foreign policy

Spanish went to California → more cultures

Treaties with Native populations not very successful

First two presidents set precedents

Federalists = AH

Democratic Republicans = TJ and JM

GW farewell address = national unity + isolationism

Developing an American identity

Culture now expressed through art, literature, and architecture

Movement in the early republic

British + Native American alliances → tensions with US Americans and Britain

Bigger population → Ethnic tensions

More antislavery sentiment

Continuity and change in pd 3

Britains increasing harsh control led to more desire for autonomy in the colonies

Causes of Revolutionary War

Contextualizing pd 4

US now had a modern democracy and a national culture

US economy was stimulated by advances in tech and agriculture/commerce

Expansion of country borders and foreign policy

The rise of political parties and the era of Jefferson

Marbury v Madison = SC Judicial review

McCulloch v MD = federal law is greater than state law

LA purchase = more exploration and diplomacy

Political and regional interests

Slavery was a major debate → Missouri Compromise

American system → Agriculture or industry?

America on the world stage

US wanted more of a global presence

Ex: Monroe Doctrine (diplomacy)

Ex: Indian Removal (forceful)

Market revolution: industrialization

Manufacturing → organization

Ex: textile machinery, steam engines, telegraph, interchangeable parts

Ex: roads, canals and railroads now govt sponsored → linked the N and Midwest more than S

South was good at farming and North would manufacture from that

Market revolution: society and culture

Industrialization → more migrants

More wealth to middle class, but poor became poorer

People could support themselves more bc more jobs

More “domestic ideals” as for gender roles

Expanding democracy

Now there was universal white manhood suffrage (not only if you owned property)

Growth of political parties due to more participation

Jackson and federal power

Democrats = Andrew Jackson

Whigs = Henry Clay

They disagreed on finances of country and a national bank

More regional wars that forcefully removed Native populations (Trail of Tears) (Spoils system)

The development of an American culture

Romanticism beliefs were now part of culture

Regional, national, and European influences all played a role

The Second Great Awakening

Directly related to Protestants

More social and geographical mobility

An age of reform

New utopian and religious mvmts throughout

Ex: Organizations for temperance, abolition, emancipation

Increased antislavery in the North

African Americans in the early republic

Southern rebellions = largely unsuccessful

More political activism from oppressed populations

The society of the South in the early republic

Slavery was a big part of it

New “regional identity”

Land became overexploited so they had to keep expanding for plantations

Causation in pd 4

Americans wanted to define democratic ideals now that they were independent

US society → national identity → regional identity

Contextualizing pd 5

Increased connectedness → expansionist foreign policy

Regional divisions → civil war

The South threatened secession

Citizenship rights were quesitioned

Manifest Destiny

More migration into the West with hope of more wealth

More transportation networks were eventually promoted

More trade w/ Asia

The Mexican-American War

More land led to questions over the continuation of slavery

The Compromise of 1850

Debates over slavery in new territories

Admitted CA as a free state

Popular sovereignty

Fugitive slave act

Sectional conflict: regional differences

Ethnic communities emerged as a result of increased migration

Anti-Catholic mvmt aimed at limiting power of immigrants

Failure of compromise

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Dred Scott decision

Ex: sectionalism in Republican party

election of 1860 and secession

Abraham Lincoln won on the basis of free-soil ideology (yet no Southern electoral votes)

11 slave states ceded from the Union → leading to the Civil War

Military conflict in the Civil War

Economies + societies became more geared towards offense (North) and defense (South)

Union won due to leadership, strategy, more resources and taking advantage of the South’s falling infrastructure

Government policies during the Civil War

→ Emancipation Proclamation, which also prevented the South from gaining allies

→ Gettysburg Address, meant to unite the country once again toward to framers’ ideals

Reconstruction

citizenship was redefined

13th amd → abolished slavery

14th amd → equal protection under the law

15th amd → universal male suffrage regardless of race

partially worked (temporarily) but ultimately things like Plessy v Ferguson still set it back

Failure of Reconstruction

People were still exploited for labor via sharecropping

Segregation, violence, and political tactics through laws and the Supreme Court were still very relevant

Comparison in pd 5

US adapted from being isolationist → expansionist

Citizenship debates → questioned status quo

Slavery → morality was questioned

Federal government vs nullification → questioned

Contextualizing pd 6

Technology, manufacturing and new markets led to capitalism in the US

Migration + industrialization → social +cultural change in urban and rural areas

Gilded age = cultural + intellectual + social reform + political shifts

Westward expansion: economic development

Mechanization → increased agricultural production and decreased food prices

Railroads → more connectedness for local and regional cooperative organizations

Government subsidies of transportation and communication

Transcontinental railroad → more economic growth and new commercial locales

Westward expansion: social and cultural development

Increased migration → self-sufficiency and overall independence ideals

Increase in population → more competition for land and resources → armed conflict

Unsuccessful treaties between US and Native Americans

Native Americans developed their own self-sustaining economies separate of US ones

The “New South”

Mainly economically stable due to continued reliance on sharecropping + tenant cropping

Plessy v Ferguson → racial segregation and the era of Jim Crow would still be around after Reconstruction

Technological innovation

More tech innovations → access to natural resources, more efficient production of goods

The rise of industrial capitalism

Technology + worldwide communication networks = rapid econ development and business consolidation

Larger worforce meant more efficient lines of production

Trusts + holding corporations concentrated wealth into the hands of the few; people with monopolies looked to gain larger stakes in natural resources via the Pacific Rim, Asia, and Latin America

Labor in the Gilded Age

Price of goods decreased → Pay wages increased

American standards of living improved; income gap still grew massively

Strikes to have better wages and working conditions by confronting business leaders

Immigration and migration in the Gilded Age

Industrial workforce diversified via major continuations to migration and immigration

Cities attracted migrants from Asia, S/E Europe, and African Americans coming up from the South

Urban neighborhoods continued to be centers for cultural fusion/diffusion

Responses to immigration in the Gilded Age

More migration → more debates over assimilation/americanization; settlement houses (Jane Addams)

Theories like social darwinism came up to “justify” the oppressive actions still being taken during the time period

Development of the middle class

Middle class + more stable wages → increase in leisure time and beginning of consumer culture

Gospel of Wealth idea with philanthropy at the forefront

Reform in the Gilded Age

People became more open about their opinions on society and their ideas for advocacy → organizations for gender equality, social, educational and political reform

Controversies over the role of govt in the Gilded Age

Laissez-faire policies → promoting economic growth or too little regulation? major debate for this time period

US still continued to want to expand its global influence over global markets

Politics in the Gilded Age

Farmers → Populist Party → More government involvement in the economy

Major topics for debate post-Civil war → tariffs, currency, corruption

Growth of cities → power dynamic, political machines (ethical or not), insufficient social services as well as overcrowding

Continuity and change in pd 6

Small-scale tech inventions → Large-scale tech innovations during this period

More interconnectedness → Greater advocacy for smaller groups, as seen in the Populist party

Contextualizing Period 7

Continuation of economic instability due to monopolies in business and political machines in public service/elections

Mass culture grew during this period (= communications + technology)

United States sustained its economic power by being on the winning side of global conflicts

Imperialism: debates

The western frontier closed so the US was truly focused on global (not domestic) expansion now

Imperialist vs Ant-imperialist views leading up to/ following world wars

The Spanish-American War

The US won →allowed for more influence in Caribbean, Pacific, Asia, and general power in the Philippines

The progressives

Called out political corruption + social injustice + economic inequality

Had lots of internal disagreement (over issues like segregation, civic engagement, and immigration)

World War I: military and diplomacy

US shifted from neutrality → defense of peace and democracy abroad

American Expeditionary Forces sent abroad to assist Allied powers

Senate never ratified Treaty of Versailles nor became part of the League of Nations

World War I: home front

More restrictions on freedom of speech → Red Scare and anti-communist sentiment/anti-immigration sentiment

More demand for supplies → migration to US cities to fill job opportunities

Great migration post-war → discrimination still persisted across the US

1920s: Innovations in communication and technology

Greater standards of living = personal mobility + increase in communication + more availability of consumer goods

Mass media = radio and cinema → spread of national and regional culture

1920s: Culture and political controversies

Major migration - majority lived in urban centers that had opportunities for a plethora of people groups (women, international immigrants, and internal migrants)

Ex: SCOPES MONKEY TRIAL, school teachers

Political controversies → nativist campaigns → trying to restrict immigration from S and E Europe, as well as Asia

Culture → gender roles, modernist, science, religion, race/immigration

The Great Depression

Rural and agriculture → shifted to industrial/urban/large company market

Credit instability + market instability →GD→people wanted a more government regulation of the economy

1930s: US became a “liberal welfare state,” redefined American modern liberalism

The New Deal

FDR → relief to the poor after the Great Depression

Populists, Unionists, Radicalists → advocated for reform of the economic system

Conservatives in Congress and the Supreme Court aimed to limit these welfare programs

Interwar foreign policy

After WWI, the US focused on international peace by investment and treaties WHILE STILL MAINTAINING ISOLATIONISM

Opposition to Germany and Japan’s aggression led the US to involvement in WWII

World War II: mobilization

Mass mobilization

US grew in capacity for manufacturing equipment

Supplying millions of troops

Women and minorities → social mobility

Internment of Japanese Americans

Migration from Mexico → US

World War II: military

Americans saw the was as an expansion of freedom and liberty abroad

Heightened debate around racial segregation

US and Allies won due to: cooperation, tech and science advances, and strategies such as island hopping

Atomic bomb sparked morality debates

Postwar diplomacy

US remained dominant in peace settlements

US now the most powerful nation on Earth

Comparison in period 7

More economic opportunities → economic stability was reformed by the government

Rural/agricultural economy → Urban/industrialized economy

Innovations in communication and technology → mass communication/mass culture

Participating in many global conflicts led to