APUSH Sources 1-8

(1R) and (2R) of context and significance.

Context:

(1R) This is an image of a mortar and a corncob-shaped pestle from the Inca Empire. The mortar and pestle was likely used for grinding corn and other foodstuffs.

(2R) This pestle is corncob-shaped due to corn being a major food source for Native American civilizations, which aided in their growth and survival.

Significance:

(1R) The cultivation of corn allowed the Native American people to feed themselves and shift from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an agricultural one.

(2R) Corn was a key factor that allowed for the development of large cities in the Americas in the pre-Columbian era. The representation of corn in everyday tools represents how corn permeated every aspect of society.

Context:

(1R) This engraving shows a Native American burial service following the efforts of Europeans to colonize the Americas.

(2R) The Native Americans being buried have died from the diseases Europeans brought as part of the Columbian exchange. Native Americans had little immunity to diseases such as smallpox and measles.

Significance:

(1R) Diseases brought by the Europeans killed upwards of 90% of the Native American population.

(2R) The death of so many Native Americans weakened their societies and allowed Europeans to successfully establish colonies. The depopulation of Native Americans also pushed Europeans to turn to enslaved West Africans as a source of labor.

Context:

(1R) This image depicts Hernán Cortés travelling with Malinche (later converted to Christianity and renamed Marina).

(2R) Malinche spoke the language of the Aztecs and served as a guide and translator for Hernán Cortés.

Significance:

(1R) Malinche’s translations helped Hernán Cortés communicate with the Aztec which later allowed him to conquer the empire with little difficulty.

(2R) Malinche represents the methods and strategies that Spanish conquistadores used to conquer great Native American civilizations.

(3R) Malinche’s Christian name (Mariana) and the cross on her neck represents the beginning of Spanish and Indian intermixing. Native American women were often converted to Christianity and married to the Spanish explorers, which represents syncretism and the transfers that took place between the two groups.

Context:

(1R) This is an image of an advertisement that seeks new recruits for the Virginia colony.

(2R) This advertisement was used when Jamestown was struggling and many years after the failure at Roanoke. The colonies needed more people to sustain a community, so the Virginia Company created this advertisement.

Significance:

(1R) Advertisements like these brought more people to settle in the Americas, which populated the colonies and started the birth of a new nation.

(2R) The advertisement illustrates the significance of land and wealth as a motivation for new colonists. Opportunities like these gave poor people hope for social mobility and prosperity.

(3R) This advertisement was a page in a pamphlet for a sermon, which represents the importance of the Church and its indirect influence on European exploration.

Context:

(1R) This is a statue of Anne Hutchinson, a woman that was kicked out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony for her radical beliefs.

(2R) Anne Hutchinson believed in antinomianism, which was the belief that there were no moral laws that God expected Christians to follow. This went against the views of the church (along with her being a woman), causing her to be banished.

Significance:

(1R) Her banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony highlights their strict religious intolerance for any beliefs that went against their ideals.

(2R) The banishment over religious reasons illustrates the importance and prevalence of religion in the early colonies, especially in the New England region. Additionally, the fact that she was a woman contributed to her banishment, which illustrates women did not have a large role in churches at the time.

(3R) The views on her beliefs have changed over time; she has become a heroine for her unorthodox views. This goes to show how society’s views change constantly and how something frowned upon in the past can become the new norm.

Context:

(1R) This engraving shows an attack on Pequot fort during the Pequot War, including the burning and massacre of the Pequot by the colonists.

(2R) The colonists allied with the nearby Narragansett tribe to attack the Pequots as revenge for the death of a Massachusetts colonist.

Significance:

(1R) Wars between the Native Americans and the colonists, such as the Pequot war, highlight the poor and deteriorating relations between the two groups.

(2R) The alliance between the Narragansett tribe and the colonists illustrates how Native American tribes constantly fought with each other for land and resources.

(3R) The massacre, along with feeble efforts and attempting to convert the survivors, led to 40 years of uneasy tension, which culminated in King Philip’s War, the Native Americans’ united last stand.

Context:

(1R) The illustration depicts a Friends meeting of Quakers, who were known for their simplicity of dress, manner, and speech.

(2R) The illustration depicts Quakers who were seen as different from most other Protestant denominations, as a result of their beliefs and customs, such as keeping their broad-brimmed hats on in front of authority.

Significance:

(1R) This illustration signifies how Quakers gathered in Friends meetings in England, with women being able to make decisions for the church and the family.

(2R) This illustration further signifies how Quakers were tolerant, in terms of how women were given rights and Pennsylvania’s Indian-tolerance policy.

Context:

(1R) This is a drawing of William Penn signing a treaty with local Native Americans in Pennsylvania.

(2R) The Quakers, who did not approve of warfare, in Pennsylvania hoped to live in peace and harmony with local Native American tribes.

Significance:

(1R) This painting illustrates how the Quakers treated the natives fairly and was a contingency as the other English colonies did not have such amicable relations with the natives.

(2R) The painting also highlights how the Quaker tolerance was limited to the Quakers, as future Pennsylvanian settlers undermined the Quaker tolerance policy, and nearby colonies did not have such amicable relations with natives.

Context:

(1R) This is an early tobacco advertisement about tobacco from Virginia describing the benefits and qualities of Virginian tobacco.

(2R) Virginia’s economy was focused on tobacco as its cash crop, and there was an extreme desire for profit and success, so much so that food was often grown after tobacco.

Significance:

(1R) The use of individual branding for advertising, such as in this advertisement for tobacco, signifies the highlighting the importance of tobacco as a cash crop in Virginia..

(2R) Growing tobacco in Virginia led to the development of the headright system and a rise in indentured servitude, but also a depletion in the nutrients of the soil on which tobacco was grown.

Context:

(1R) The drawing depicts the interior of a ship’s interior, full of African slaves who are tightly packed.

(2R) The drawing depicts the stage of the transatlantic slave trade called the “Middle Passage,” the most gruesome and brutal journey from Africa to the Americas where slaves are tightly packed.

(3R) The drawing signifies the larger transatlantic slave trade, involving the trade of rum and weapons for slaves in West Africa, the transport of slaves to the New World in exchange for raw materials, and the raw materials go to England to be made into finished products, where slaves harvest raw materials.

Significance:

(1R) The drawing illustrates the tight packing of slaves in the ships that brought them to the New World, demonstrating the horrible conditions slaves experienced.

(2R) The drawing signifies the high demand for slave labor in the colonies as a result of the intensive cash crop growth, such as tobacco and sugar.

Context:

(1R) This is a drawing of Matthew Hopkins who is a witch-hunter in England, describing his methods on how to catch a witch.

(2R) People believed in witches and witchcraft as a result of religious beliefs, with witches being a representation of the devil for Puritans and other Christians.

Significance:

(1R) The drawing highlights how witch-hunting was extremely common and hundreds of people were killed as a result of these suspicions and superstitions.

(2R) The drawing highlights how witch-hunting in England eventually led to the Salem Witch Trials in the New England colony of Massachusetts, where several “witches” were executed based on allegations.

(3R) The drawing is an example of rising tensions between classes and accusations against rich families (social stratification), especially seen in the New England colony.

Context:

(1R) This map depicts the distribution of immigrant groups in 1775, before the American Revolution.

(2R) The map shows the great diversity of immigrant groups in Pennsylvania and New York, as well as locations of different groups.

Significance:

(1R) The map highlights the growing diversity of immigrant groups in the English colonies as people immigrated in search of better opportunities or to escape persecution from their home country.

(2R) The map demonstrates the tendency of groups in their location, as it highlights the Scots-Irish’s tendency to settle in the backcountry, igniting conflict with local native tribes in the frontier.

Context:

(1R) This is the sign of the Pine Tree Inn in Connecticut from 1768, owned by Joseph Read III.

(2R) The date of 1768 also coincided with the new Townshend Acts, which led to heavy colonial resistance and resentment, as well as the growth of inns and taverns as a social center.

Significance:

(1R) The logo of the Pine Tree Inn, with its circular orb over a pine tree is similar to the Sons of Liberty’s symbol, suggesting Patriot sympathy.

(2R) The Pine Tree Inn, as with other taverns and inns across the colonies served as a place for public discussion and possibly, resentment toward the British.

Context:

(1R) This is a painting of George Whitefield preaching to a group of churchgoers during the Great Awakening.

(2R) The Great Awakening was started by Johnathan Edwards and spread by George Whitefield, who appealed to emotions and revitalized religion across colonial America.

Significance:

(1R) The painting depicts how the Great Awakening revitalized Christianity across the colonies, but more importantly, emphasizing personal faith and emotion over Church doctrines.

(2R) The painting also depicts how the Great Awakening brought people from different backgrounds together, ultimately providing the foundation for colonial unity.

Context:

(1R) The painting depicts the initial meeting of French explorer La Salle and a chieftain of the Taensa tribe.

(2R) The document fits within the larger context that French explorers including voyageurs and missionaries helped to expand New France in the late seventeenth century as they explored regions of Canada and the Gulf Coast.

Significance:

(1R) The document reflects the type of interactions between Europeans and Native Americans in the seventeenth century. In particular, this meeting might have been held to discuss trade, likely the fur trade, which became important to the French.

(2R) The document represents the larger scope of relationships between the French and Indians. Because this peaceful meeting was being held, they likely had friendly relations at first. This friendly relationship can also be examined in a larger context because French relations with Native Indians were at first far more peaceful than those of other European countries. The English, for example, quickly fell into conflict with them after around fifteen years of stability.

Context:

(1R) The cartoon was largely a call to action from Benjamin Franklin for all of the colonies to unite in the Albany Congress.

(2R) The Albany Congress was held due to the French and Indian War, the clash between English and French colonists that later sparked the Seven Years’ War. The previous lack of unity among colonists in such conflicts motivated Franklin to take measures to convince them all in providing common defense against French forces.

Significance:

(1R) The cartoon depicts one of the first attempts to unite the colonies in response to a conflict. Because the powerful French were already encroaching on disputed territory, immediate action was needed, and Franklin sought to supply it through the cartoon.

(2R) The cartoon also illustrates the larger process of the unity of the colonies during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Because the colonies experienced different cultures and societies, they often failed to unite in a common goal. However, the cartoon depicts one of the steps on the journey to a complete unity of the thirteen colonies, which would shape the founding of the new nation.

Context:

(1R) This image is a royal stamp that was required to be stamped on most official documents that certified that a tax had been paid.

(2R) This stamp was created due to the Stamp Act of 1765, which was imposed by the British due to a growing need for money due to expenses from conflicts such as the Seven Years’ War.

Significance:

(1R) The stamp represents the growing resentment of the colonists toward the British government as a result of increased taxation without proper representation in Parliament.

(2R) This stamp also reflects the larger process of dissatisfaction in the thirteen colonies. As Britain imposed more taxes on them and forced them to submit fully to the mother country, their rights diminished, which set them on the road toward declaring independence.

Context:

(1R) The image depicts the Boston Massacre of 1770 which occurred as a result of the colonists taunting British redcoats.

(2R) The image also depicts the result of the larger process of resistance to the mother country in the eighteenth century. As the British took greater measures to control their colonial subjects, their dissatisfaction increased.

Significance:

(1R) The document represents the anger of the colonists because Paul Revere, the creator, framed the British as ruthless and violent while the colonists were innocent.

(2R) The document also represents the larger process of uniting the colonies in resistance to the British government. Because the redcoats were depicted in this manner, Revere hoped that the audience would feel inspired to resist them.

Context:

(1R) The image depicts the events of the Boston Tea Party in which Sons of Liberty disguised as Indians dumped chests of tea into the harbor to protest taxes.

(2R) The document also reflects the larger process of colonial resistance. This event is based on the resistance to tea taxes, but many other taxes imposed on the colonists would incite acts of protest.

Significance:

(1R) The document represents the growing pattern of resistance against the British. It helps clarify the process in which colonists — especially more radical ones like the Sons of Liberty — took more and more measures against taxation.

(2R) The document represents the importance of Indians in the shaping of early America because it was under their guise that the colonists dumped the tea. This was especially effective because the British officials were scared of Indians, which would help to advance the colonists’ goals.

Context:

(1R) The document portrays an African American fifer who served in the Revolutionary War.

(2R) The document represents the role of African Americans in the War of Independence because many had joined the cause later in the war and provided a wide variety of services.

Significance:

(1R) The document represents the specific jobs African Americans might take up in the war effort. They would take up roles such as the fifer which is depicted in the picture, and they would fight for either the British or American side, often based on their prospects of earning freedom.

(2R) The document depicts the importance of recognizing African Americans in the shaping of America. Because they were so often associated with slavery, their role in the American Revolution is often disregarded, but this document shows their relevance.

Context:

(1R) This famous painting depicts George Washington crossing the Delaware joined by a large crew, preparing for an attack on the British.

(2R) The painting depicts the larger picture of war tactics used by the colonists. In particular, Washington was crossing the river to lead a sneak attack on their enemy (including Hessian troops hired by the British) in the ensuing Battle of Trenton.

Significance:

(1R) The document represents an important turning point in the Revolutionary War. The Battle of Trenton which would follow the events of the painting would slow the advancement of British forces and increase the morale of the American fighters.

(2R) The document represents the role of ordinary people serving a minor role in the war as they rowed across the Delaware. Their presence here raises the question of selectivity in that some value can be gained by analyzing those who were not important.

(3R) The document represents the process of the colonists’ victory because the battle which was about to occur would greatly weaken the British and inspire the colonists, allowing them to forge on and soon claim victory. This struggle captures an important predecessor of these events.

Context:

(1R) This is an illustration of Joseph Brant, a Mohawk chief who allied with the British in the Revolutionary War.

(2R) The Mohawks were part of the Iroquois Confederacy and, along with many other tribes, saw the English as the least dangerous option from them and their territory.

Significance:

(1R) While Joseph Brant and his Mohawks sided with the British, other tribes did not— they either remained neutral or fought for the Americans, demonstrating Native American disunity.

(2R) The powerful Iroquois Confederacy was split by the Revolution, because some tribes supported the Americans. After the war, the fractiousness of the Confederacy had proven fatal, and it collapsed, removing an obstacle from the Americans and allowing them to take advantage of the territory.