APUSH Period 3, Part 1: "Changing Relationships"

Bolded words = What APUSH concept, person(s), or event the prompt focuses on

Identify at least three specific, overarching political developments from this Period (1754-1800):

- Imperial rivalry and colonial conflict

- The American Revolution

- Growth of republicanism

- The Articles of Confederation

- Debates over federal power

- Expansion of democracy and liberty ideals

State and refute the Master Narrative of the Enlightenment with a historical example:

- The Master Narrative of the Enlightenment states that it was initiated mainly by the ideas of European philosophers such as John Locke and Thomas Hobbes (overlooking any non-European philosophers).

- However, this oversimplification is factually incorrect in that Zera Yacob—an Ethiopian Philosopher who articulated ideas about the moral and intellectual equality of all human beings, the immorality of slavery, and an open yet skeptical view of religion—was the one to actually popularize key moral concepts which we now widely credit to European “Enlightenment thinkers.”

Analyze the historical implications of the Enlightenment in colonial America:

- The Enlightenment held imperative historical significance in colonial America by inspiring colonists to challenge the British Parliament’s unfair assertions of control, as well as demand greater political rights from it.

- Its ideas also influenced the very political principles of sovereign America by serving as a vital framework for documents like the Declaration of Independence.

The two main European Enlightenment thinkers were Thomas Hobbes and John Locke.

Compare/contrast their life experiences, and explain how their upbringings might have impacted their outlook on society, government, and human nature.

- Both men experienced hardships in England early in that century in the English Civil War. But, as a result, they developed very different ideas about government and human nature:

• Thomas Hobbes’s most famous work was Leviathan, which reflected on the horrors of the English Civil war, and how such conflict convinced him that all humans were selfish and wicked.

• John Locke’s most famous work was The Two Treatises on Government, where he took on a more positive view of human nature by introducing his belief that all people are born with three natural rights: Life, liberty, and property.

State and describe the (main) long-term social cause of the Great Awakening:

- The main long-term social cause of the Great Awakening was the Enlightenment, which directly influenced colonial America through new public perspectives.

- The Enlightenment, which had gradually developed around the world from the 16th to 18th centuries, was an intellectual movement that initiated a global shift toward reason, scientific proof, and natural rights. It encouraged people to question traditional “divine” authority, and believe that governments are imposed to protect freedom rather than restrict it (since power comes from the people).

State and describe the (main) short-term social cause of the Great Awakening:

- The main short-term social cause for the Great Awakening in colonial America originated from church officials claiming that, because of traditional preaching essentially being “boring,” a drop in spiritual passion and full church membership had taken place.

- “The Generality of Preachers talk of an unknown, unfelt Christ. And the Reason why Congregations have been so dead, is because dead Men preach to them.” - George Whitfield.

Describe Salutary Neglect and its impact on the American colonies throughout the late-17th and early to mid-18th centuries:

- Salutary neglect was an unofficial British policy during the 17th and early 18th centuries in which the Crown avoided strict enforcement of parliamentary laws, particularly trade regulations like the Navigation Acts, as long as the American colonies remained loyal and economically profitable.

- This hands-off approach allowed the colonies to develop strong traditions of self-government and economic independence, which led to widespread resentment and resistance when Britain abruptly ended the policy to pay off its Seven Years' War debt.

Analyze the historical significance of the Zenger case, as well as its implications on American colonial society:

- In 1735, John Zenger, a newspaper printer, was arrested for publishing criticism of New York’s corrupt royal governor, for which all accusations were factually true.

- After being found not guilty by a local jury, his case established the idea that truthful criticism of government officials should not be punished, which emboldened colonial newspapers to openly criticize British authorities, laying an essential foundation for freedom of the press in America.

Describe three ways that showcase the press’ influence on the development of the American identity:

- Encouraged freedom of expression → Newspapers gave colonists a way to openly discuss political issues and criticize government officials, as well as establish these “natural rights” as protected pillars of liberty.

- Created a shared political culture → The press spread news and political ideas across different colonies, helping settlers become aware of common issues and thereby form a growing, united identity that was separate from Britain.

- Increased resistance to government abuse → Colonial newsletters exposed actions that many colonies viewed as unfair or tyrannical. By informing the public about these issues, the press encourage citizens to value self-government.

While all had derived from Protestant ideas, some Christian denominations in colonial America adopted more rigid (traditional) standards when leading.

Name the specific Christian denominations to rise (“New Lights”) and fall (“Old Lights”) in popularity amidst the Great Awakening:

New Lights = Gained more disciples due to believing that traditional church status no longer determined salvation.

• Methodist

• Presbyterian

• Baptist

Old lights = Had their religious authorities challenged as hierarchical structures declined.

• Anglicanism (Church of England)

• Congregationalism

Identify and explain George Whitefield’s historical significance in colonial America’s religious landscape:

- George Whitfield was a prominent Great Awakening preacher who repeatedly claimed that “congregations [had] been so dead” because “dead men” were preaching in them.

- His beliefs about “boring” and monotonous preachers failing to engage the church led to the rapid popularization of Evangelicism—which included Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist denominations—as well as a decline in traditional religions like Anglicanism and congregationalism.

Delineate Samuel Adams' historical significance in colonial America’s social and political landscape:

- Samuel Adams was a prominent Boston patriot and political organizer who mobilized colonial resistance against British taxation policies, founding the Sons of Liberty to protest the Stamp Act and leading the Boston Tea Party against the Tea Act.

- He established the Committees of Correspondence in Massachusetts, creating an inter-colonial communication network that politically united colonists around shared grievances while simultaneously laying the groundwork for the First Continental Congress.

Outline Phillis Wheatley's religious, social, and political impact in colonial America as an enslaved pagan who became independently educated:

- Phillis Wheatley significantly impacted colonial America by becoming the first African American to publish a book of poetry in 1773, directly challenging prevailing racial prejudices and proving the intellectual equality of enslaved people.

- Her writings merged the egalitarian ideals of the Great Awakening with the political rhetoric of the American Revolution to advocate for abolition and spiritual equality—where she stood against Christian hierarchy by asserting that racism went directly against holy scriptures.

Fully describe at least two overarching effects of the Great Awakening on colonial America:

- Dividing existing churches: The Great Awakening split established Protestant congregations into "Old Lights," who favored traditional formal worship and "New Lights," who embraced emotional, revivalist preaching.

- Increasing religious tolerance & causing the rise of new denominations: Because no single religious group held an absolute majority anymore, colonial governments gradually became more tolerant of differing Protestant beliefs. Thus, many colonists decided to leave state-supported churches like the Congregationalists and Anglicans, and follow non-traditional branches of Christianity.

- Questioning established leadership & localizing power: Revivalist preachers like George Whitefield taught that individuals could achieve salvation directly through personal faith without relying on ordained ministers or elites. This laid the groundwork for independence by encouraging colonists to challenge religious authorities and making them more willing to question royal governors later into the 18th century.

- Cultivating a shared American identity: Traveling preachers drew massive crowds across all thirteen colonies, creating a shared cultural experience that helped unite previously isolated regions under a religious reformation across America.

Analyze & exemplify the role of Indigenous peoples in helping unite the 13 colonies:

- The Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee) demonstrated how separate nations could successfully unite under a single, representative federal government while preserving their local autonomy.

- Benjamin Franklin famously remarked on their political strength in a letter by arguing that it would be a "very strange thing" if several nations of Indigenous peoples could form an indissoluble union, yet the thirteen English colonies could not do the same for their own common defense.

- Inspired directly by this model, Franklin drafted the Albany Plan of Union in 1754, laying the foundational blueprint for inter-colonial cooperation and the eventual federal structure of the United States.

Explain the Albany Plan of Union’s historical significance for colonial America:

- Drafted by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 (as a management plan amidst the French and Indian War), the Albany Plan of Union proposed a centralized colonial government—featuring a representative Grand Council, and a Parliament-appointed President to coordinate defense and manage Indigenous relations.

- Both the individual colonies and the British government rejected the proposal, as each feared losing their respective political autonomy and imperial control under this seemingly-cooperative proposal.

- Despite its failure, the plan established the first major blueprint for inter-colonial federal unity and inspired Franklin's famous "Join, or Die" political cartoon, which later became a rallying symbol during the American Revolution.

Thoroughly define the timeline, location, nations involved, and key figures in the Seven Years’ War:

- The “French and Indian War” lasted from 1754 to 1763, and was fought mainly in the Ohio River valley, the Great Lakes region, and along the Canadian frontier.

- The war was fought between Great Britain and its colonists against France and many of Indigenous allies. Britain ultimately “won” the war and gained control of most of North America, including the Ohio River Valley (previously disputed area due to its fertile land).

- Key leaders in this conflict include:

• George Washington (who gained military experience fighting for the British early in the war)

• British prime minister William Pitt (who directed Britain’s war effort)

• French military commanders (defending French settlements alongside Native Americans).

Define the Treaty of Paris’ historical significance in the Seven Years’ War as a catalyst for a change within internal British dynamics:

- The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763, officially ended the French and Indian War by compelling France to give away Canada and all of its colonial territory east of the Mississippi River (excluding New Orleans) to Britain.

- This eliminated France as a regional rival, which drove many colonists to feel less dependent on Britain for military defense and economic oversight and thereby expect greater freedom as reward for their efforts.

After Britain and its colonists won the Seven Years’ War, multitudes of colonists and military troops began to rapidly occupy the Ohio River Valley and Great Lakes region—two major regions for Indigenous North Americans at the time.

Thoroughly explain the causes and historical significance of Pontiac’s Rebellion as direct uprising against colonial annexation:

- Following Britain's victory, Indigenous nations in the Great Lakes and Ohio River Valley—led by Ottawa Chief Pontiac—organized a unified armed resistance in 1763 against the rapid influx of British troops, unfair trade practices (such as ending traditional gift-giving), and the aggressive encroachment of colonial settlers onto Native lands.

- Although British forces eventually suppressed the uprising, the costly frontier conflict proved that Britain could not afford to protect western settlements, prompting King George III to issue the Proclamation of 1763—which barred colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains and ignited early colonial resentment against British imperial control.

One economic effect that the “French and Indian War” had on Britain was that it amassed enormous amounts of national debt when defending the 13 colonies.

Analyze the effects of Britain’s post-war (Seven Years’ War) economic state on colonial America, with several historical examples:

- As a result of this enormous debt, Britain began to strictly enforce mercantilist trade laws by ending salutary neglect, strictly enforcing existing trade monopolies, and passing new customs duties. So, the Parliament passed new revenue-raising measures—such as the Sugar Act (1764), Stamp Act (1765), and Townshend Acts (1767)—to pay down war debt and fund colonial defense. Additionally, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763, banning colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid costly new wars with Native American tribes.

Delineate & exemplify the historical contrast between American colonists’ expectations from the French and Indian War, and official British actions following the conflict:

- Most colonial settlers were proud of their contributions to the victory, and consequently expected to be granted (greater) Independence. Instead, they faced new taxes and regulations, which intensified resentment toward British rule across all 13 colonies.

- Conversely, British leaders (and citizens) fiercely demanded that American colonies assisted in paying for the war, as the nation had accumulated significant national debt from defending them. This belief led the Parliament to tighten control over the American colonies by imposing several mandates—such as the Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act of 1764, and the Quartering Act of 1765.

Describe at least two examples of Britain's mercantilist assertions of power following the Seven Years’ War (not counting the Proclamation of 1763, as that was issued for non-economic reasons):

- Strict Enforcement of the Navigation Acts: Britain deployed Royal Navy patrols and stationed new customs officials in colonial ports to stop colonists from smuggling goods to and from French, Dutch, and Spanish territories. Smugglers were tried in British courts without local juries, and officials used writs of assistance (general search warrants) to inspect ships and warehouses at will.

- Sugar Act of 1764: Parliament cut the existing tax on foreign molasses in half to discourage smuggling, while placing new duties on foreign imports like wine, coffee, and textiles. Additionally, the law also banned colonists from shipping raw materials like lumber directly to foreign European ports.

- Townshend Acts of 1767: Parliament imposed external import duties on essential British manufactured goods sent to the colonies, including glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. Britain used this revenue to pay the salaries of royal governors and judges, making them financially independent of colonial assemblies and enabling British control to continue

- Tea Act of 1773: Britain granted the struggling British East India Company a monopoly on direct tea sales in the American colonies, undercutting local colonial merchants and smuggling Dutch tea. This reinforced the mercantilist principle that colonial markets existed to enrich British corporations and the mother country.

Explain why the Sons and Daughters of Liberty were formed, along with their major actions against British rule (separate the two by gender, since they were technically two distinct factions):

- Purpose & Formation: Founded in 1765 in response to the Stamp Act and its subsequent taxation, the Sons and Daughters of Liberty were colonial resistance groups formed to protect colonists' rights and oppose unchecked British taxation.

- Sons of Liberty Actions: Led by figures like Samuel Adams, this male-led secret organization staged public demonstrations, intimidated royal tax collectors (including tarring and feathering and burning effigies), enforced boycotts of British goods, and orchestrated the Boston Tea Party in 1773.

- Daughters of Liberty Actions: Women organized boycotts of British imports and hosted "spinning bees" to produce homespun cloth and herbal tea substitutes, enabling the colonies to remain economically self-sufficient during non-importation agreements.

Delineate the Boston Tea Party as an effect of British mercantilism:

- The Boston Tea Party (1773) was a political protest in which members of the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and dumped 342 chests of British East India Company tea into Boston Harbor.

- This act of defiance was directly triggered by British mercantilist regulations—specifically the Tea Act of 1773 and the remaining Townshend tea tax—because colonists viewed the British East India Company's tea monopoly as an economic threat to local merchants and a coercive attempt to make them accept parliamentary taxation without representation.

Describe virtual representation vs. direct representation, and explain why the British argued that they actually were representing the 13 colonies through this method:

- Virtual Representation: The British constitutional theory that every member of Parliament represented the entire British Empire as a whole—including the American colonies—rather than just the specific district that elected them.

- Direct (Actual) Representation: The American colonial view that citizens could only be lawfully taxed or governed by elected officials who lived in and were directly chosen by their own specific communities or colonial legislatures.

- The British Argument: British leaders (such as Prime Minister George Grenville) argued that colonists were virtually represented in the exact same way as the majority of British subjects living in England—including women, children, and men in large industrial cities like Manchester—who could not vote for members of Parliament yet still had their interests protected by the empire's lawmakers.

wh massachusetts was the biggest enemy to Britain

Why Britain Viewed Massachusetts as the Main Threat

• Economic Friction and Smuggling. Boston was the third-busiest port in the British Empire, making its merchants heavily dependent on Atlantic trade. When Britain began cracking down on smuggling and enforcing taxes like the Sugar and Tea Acts, wealthy Bostonians like John Hancock directly felt the financial hit. One point of agreement among users on Reddit is that this direct economic impact on Boston's import-export trade fueled intense, practical resistance. [1, 2, 3, 4]

• Organized Political Networks. Leaders like Samuel Adams used the Boston Town Meeting and created the Committees of Correspondence in 1772 to spread Massachusetts' anti-British perspective to other towns and colonies. The colony also pioneered grassroots resistance groups like the Sons of Liberty. [1, 2]

• Major Flashpoints of Violence and Defiance. Nearly all of the most famous pre-war escalations happened in Massachusetts, including the Stamp Act riots, the Boston Massacre (1770), and the Boston Tea Party (1773). [1, 2]

• Targeted British Punishment. Following the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts (known to colonists as the Intolerable Acts) in 1774. Unlike earlier taxes that affected all colonies, these laws specifically targeted Massachusetts by closing Boston Harbor, stripping the colony of its self-government, and placing it under military rule. [1, 2, 3]