AP US History: Review Guide

Why 1491 - 1607 was chosen as the dates for period 1?

1491 is one year prior to the arrival of Columbus and Europeans, and 1607 is the year England established a permanent settlement at Jamestown

maize cultivation

The spread of ____________ from present-day Mexico northward into the American Southwest and beyond supported economic development and social diversification among societies in these areas. EX: Anasazi, Pueblo

Pre-Columbian economy in Northwest and areas of California

a mix of foraging and hunting. EX: Chinook of Pacific Northwest

Pre-Columbian economy in Great Basin and the western Great Plains

Societies responded to the lack of natural resources in the _____ and ________ by developing largely mobile lifestyles.

Pre-Columbian economy in the Northeast and along the Atlantic Seaboard

a mixed agricultural and hunter-gatherer economy that favored the development of permanent villages. EX: Iroquois & Algonquian

Columbian Exchange

a series of interactions and adaptations among societies across the Atlantic, including plants, animals, disease, people, etc.

Colombian Exchange, from Americas to "Old World"

potatoes, corn, tomatoes, squash, beans, chocolate, syphilis, etc

Columbian Exchange, from "Old World" to Americas

smallpox, livestock (pigs, cows, sheep), bees, bananas, coffee, sugar

Spanish and Portuguese exploration and conquest of the Americas led to...

widespread deadly epidemics, the emergence of racially mixed populations, and a caste system defined by an intermixture among Spanish settlers, Africans, and Native Americans

caste system

a system of segregation of people who are born into a caste and stay for life regardless of ability

mestizo

is a term traditionally used in Spain and Spanish-speaking America to mean a person of combined European and Native American descent

encomienda system

In the economies of the Spanish colonies, Indian labor, used in the _______________ to support plantation-based agriculture and extract precious metals and other resources. EX: sugar, silver

Role of the Spanish and Portuguese traders

Settled heavily in South America, reached West Africa and contributed to the development of the African Slave Trade.

European goods that transformed Native life (Name three)

Horses - improved hunting and warfare for Natives (especially in the Great Plains and Basin), weapons and alcohol helped increase the destructiveness of warfare

American goods that transformed European life (Two or more)

Maize, potatoes, and other crops - helped increase European population and the shift from feudalism to capitalism

Technologies that allowed for increased trade and contact

Sextant - helped determine longitude and latitude, Caravel - more maneuverable sailing ship, Joint-Stock companies - finance exploration with reduced risk

How did Europeans justify the subjugation of Africans and Natives?

White racial superiority, Bible, view of groups as "savages"

Examples of Africans seeking to preserve autonomy

Africans ran away and formed maroon communities, and combined elements of Christianity and African religions

European exploration and conquest were fueled by...(Three G's

a desire for new sources of wealth, increased power and status, and converts to Christianity. (god, glory, gold)

New crops from the Americas stimulated...

European population growth (particularly from corn and potatoes)

New sources of mineral wealth from the Americas facilitated the European shift from...

feudalism to capitalism.

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer who "discovers America" in 1492 when searching for a sea route to the Far East .

capitalism

an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state or hereditary noble class

joint stock companies

Businesses owned by shareholders that invested in exploration and colonization, enabiling more investors to profit with less risk

Juan de Sepúlveda

Spaniard who supported the Spanish Empire's right of conquest and colonization in the New World. Sepúlveda also argued in favor of the Christianization of native Americans.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Spaniard who fought against the enslavement and colonial abuse of native Americans.

Maroon Communities

African refugees who had escaped slavery in the Americas and developed their own communities in Brazil and the Caribbean.

African American religion in the colonial period

African slaves mixed African beliefs and practices with Catholic rituals and theology, in Haiti (referred to as "voodoo"), Santeria in Cuba,

Why 1607 - 1754 was chosen as the dates for period 2

1607 = 1st English permanent settlement in Jamestown; 1754 = start of the 7 Years War (AKA "French and Indian War")

The Enlightenment

Philosophy focused on reason and promoting new forms of government (Locke, Montesquieu); influenced the American Revolution

Mercantilism

Economic policy that focuses on making $ for the mother country. It favors a positive balance of trade for the mother country and the accumulation of gold and silver

What led Europeans to develop diverse patterns of colonization?

Differences in imperial goals, cultures, and the North American environments that different empires confronted

What did European colonization efforts in North America stimulate?

intercultural contact and intensified conflict between the various groups of colonizers and native peoples.

What led to colonial resistance to Britain?

Britain's desire to maintain a viable North American empire in the face of growing internal challenges and external competition inspired efforts to strengthen its imperial control, stimulating increasing resistance from colonists who had grown accustomed to a large measure of autonomy.

What were general characteristics of Spanish colonization?

Spain sought to establish tight control over the process of colonization and to religiously convert and/or exploit the native population.

What was the general character of French and Dutch colonization?

French and Dutch colonial efforts involved relatively few Europeans and used trade alliances and intermarriage with American Indians to acquire furs and other products for export to Europe.

What was the general character of English colonization?

Unlike their European competitors, the English eventually sought to establish colonies based on agriculture, sending relatively large numbers of men and women to acquire land and populate their settlements, while having relatively hostile relationships with American Indians.

How did the European colonial powers differ regarding intermarriage with native populations?

Unlike Spanish, French, and Dutch colonies, which accepted intermarriage and cross-racial sexual unions with native peoples (and, in Spain's case, with enslaved Africans), English colonies attracted both males and females who rarely intermarried with either native peoples or Africans, leading to the development of a rigid racial hierarchy.

What factors led to the emergence of the Atlantic slave trade?

The abundance of land, a shortage of indentured servants, the lack of an effective means to enslave native peoples, and a growing European demand for colonial goods led to the emergence of the Atlantic slave trade.

indentured servitude

System of labor in which a company or individual paid a person's passage to America in return for a contract of repayment through servitude (usually seven years).

chattel slavery

A chattel slave is an enslaved person who is owned for ever and whose children and children's children are automatically enslaved. Chattel slaves are individuals treated as complete property, to be bought and sold.

middle passage

the brutal journey of slaves in bondage across the Atlantic to America.

Describe slavery in the British colonies

Reinforced by a strong belief in British racial and cultural superiority, the British system enslaved black people in perpetuity (forever), altered African gender and kinship relationships in the colonies, and was one factor that led the British colonists into violent confrontations with American Indians.

Jamestown, 1607

first permanent English colony in North America, founded in Virginia in 1607 - 13 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in Massachusetts - Initially, the settlers spent too much time trying to find gold and neglected to prepare for the winter. The "Starving Time" of 1609-10 saw 80% of the settlers die. Only after several more shipments of immigrants and the widespread adoption of TOBACCO cultivation did the colony begin to thrive.

First Africans brought to modern day United States

A Dutch ship brought 20 Africans to Virginia, the first Africans to arrive in the present-day United States. Until 1680, indentured servants from Europe were far more numerous in the English colonies than African slaves. After 1680, the number of indentured migrants from Europe diminished and African slavery increased.

How did Africans resist slavery?

Africans developed both overt and covert means to resist the dehumanizing aspects of slavery. Resistance to slavery included rebellion, sabotage, and escape. Rebellion was the least common, usually unsuccessful, and resulted in harsher conditions for other slaves

Stono Rebellion, 1739

South Carolina slave revolt that prompted the colonies to pass stricter laws regulating the movement of slaves and the capture of runaways.

New York Conspiracy, 1741

A plot by slaves and poor whites to burn New York. Over 170 people were arrested for participating in the plot. Most were hanged, burnt, or deported.

Describe the general characteristics of the New England colonies

The New England colonies, founded primarily by Puritans seeking to establish a community of likeminded religious believers, developed a close-knit, homogeneous society and — aided by favorable environmental conditions — a thriving mixed economy of agriculture and commerce.

What were the New England colonies?

Plymouth (later absorbed into Massachussetts), Massachussetts Bay Colony, New Hamphire, Connecticut, Rhode Island

Mayflower Compact, 1620

The Mayflower Compact, signed by 41 English colonists on the ship Mayflower on November 11, 1620, was an early step toward written frameworks of government in what is now the United States. The compact was drafted to prevent dissent among Puritans and non-separatist Pilgrims who had landed at Plymouth a few days earlier.

Puritans

English Protestants who wanted to create a "community of saints" or "city upon a hill" that would serve as a model of Christianity. Often seen as the beginning of "American Exceptionalism" - the idea that America has a unique story, or God-given destiny

Great Migration of Puritans to Massachusetts, 1630's and 1640's

Beginning with 700 people led by Governor John Winthrop, a great migration of Puritans from England brought over 20,000 people—mostly families— to New England over a ten-year period. No group has played a more pivotal role in shaping American values than the New England Puritans. The Puritans contributed to our country's sense of mission, its work ethic (emphasizing the idea that God rewards hard work), and its moral sensibility.

Roger Williams

Colonial leader who was banished from Salem, MA for holding unorthodox views. Founded colony of Rhode Island based on religious toleration, separation of church and state, and political democracy. Lead to immigration into Rhode Island of persecuted religious groups and built a foundation of values (like religious freedom) that the U.S. would later be founded upon.

Salem Witch Trials, 1692

The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the Devil's magic—and 20 were executed. Eventually, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake and compensated the families of those convicted. Since then, the story of the trials, and the term "witch hunt," has become synonymous with paranoia and injustice - for example, during the McCarthyism period of the Second Red Scare during the late 1940s and 1950s.

Describe the general characteristics of the Middle Colonies

The demographically, religiously, and ethnically diverse middle colonies supported a flourishing export economy based on cereal crops (wheat, corn, barley, etc)

William Penn

Penn established Pennsylvania as a haven for Quakers, guaranteeing liberty of conscience and granting freemen the right to alter the government. Founded by William Penn, 1681 who received a colonial charter from King Charles II in payment of a debt owed to Penn's father.

Quakers

Religious group that settled Pennsylvania. Often known as the "Society of Friends," Quakers believed in an "Inner Light" that would guide them toward religious truth and were pacifists (opposed violence) who had good relations with Native Americans

Describe the Chesapeake colonies (Virginia and Maryland) and North Carolina

they relied on the cultivation of tobacco, a labor-intensive product based on white indentured servants and African chattel.

Describe the general characterstics of the British West Indies and the Southern Colonies (South Carolina & Georgia)

The colonies along the southernmost Atlantic coast and the British islands in the West Indies took advantage of long growing seasons by using slave labor to develop economies based on staple crops; in some cases, enslaved Africans constituted the majority of the population.

Barbados

British West Indies colony whose plantation system and harsh slave codes became the model for Southern colonies in North America

Headright System

The grant of 50 acres of land for each settler brought to Virginia by a colonist. Established a pattern of small wealthy planter elite and a large, landless, powerless majority that would characterize politics/society in the South until the Civil War and beyond.

Georgia, established 1732

Founded by James Oglethorpe as a haven for debtors, and as a buffer colony to protect the profitable Carolinas from attacks by Spanish Florida, Georgia became the last of the original 13 British colonies in North America.

What did the European colonies in North America focus on?

gaining new sources of labor, producing and acquiring commodities such as furs and tobacco, that were valued in Europe.

What were the big issues that separated England and its colonists? (Prior to French and Indian War)

territorial settlements, frontier defense, trade and other issues.

Molasses Act, 1733

A British law that established a tax on imports of molasses, sugar, and rum from non-British colonies. The law was loosely enforced and New England imported great quantities of West Indian sugar for manufacturing rum. Example of mercantilism

smuggling

As a way of ignoring British restrictions on colonial trade, colonists engaged in widespread smuggling. Smugglers who got caught were often often freed by sympathetic American juries.

How did Europeans help increase the intensity and destructiveness of American Indian warfare?

By supplying American Indian allies with deadlier weapons and alcohol, and by rewarding Indian military actions

King Phillip's War

The last significant effort by the Indians of southern New England to drive away English settlers. The Indians were led by Metacom, the Pokunoket chief whom English setters called "King Philip."

Pueblo Revolt, 1680

An uprising of Indians in Santa Fe against Spanish colonization. The Pueblo killed 400 Spanish and drove the remaining 2,000 settlers out of the province. Twelve years later the Spanish returned and were able to reoccupy New Mexico with little opposition. However, the Spanish were more accommodating of Indian culture afterwards

How did the Spanish and English differ in their views of Native American culture?

Spanish colonizing efforts in North American, particularly after the Pueblo Revolt, saw an accommodation with some aspects of American Indian culture; by contrast, conflict with American Indians tended to reinforce English colonists' worldview on land and gender roles.

Casta system

A system in colonial Spain of determining a person's social importance according to different racial categories.

Mulatto

A person who had one parent who was white and another parent who was black. If mulattos were born into slavery in a Spanish colony (i.e., their mother was a slave), they would be slaves also, but if their mother was free, they were free.

mestizo (AKA Métis)

A person of mixed race who had one white parent and another parent who was American Indian.

triangular trade

A system of trade between Africa, Europe, and American colonies that involved slaves, cash crops, and manufactured goods.

What factors promoted Anglicization in the British colonies?

the growth of autonomous political communities based on English models, the development of commercial ties and legal structures, the emergence of a trans-Atlantic print culture, Protestant evangelism, religious toleration, and the spread of European Enlightenment ideas.

House of Burgesses, 1619

The first elected lawmaking body in North America, established by the Virginia Company to allow representative government in Virginia.

Navigation Acts

Attempt by England to assert its control over American trade by passing a series of laws that regulated colonial trade to England's benefit.

salutary neglect

Unofficial British policy of non-enforcement of trade laws. Salutary neglect lasted throughout most of the 1600s and 1700s. Considered good because the colonies grew economically and learned to govern themselves

Bacon's Rebellion, 1676

Armed rebellion in Virginia against Governor William Berkeley, who had the support of the British government. Forces from England came to Virginia to suppress the resistance and reform the colonial government to one that was more directly under royal control.

First Great Awakening, 1730s-1760s

Evangelical religious revival that swept through Britain's North American colonies. The Great Awakening strengthened beliefs in religious freedom and challenged the status of established churches.

George Whitefield

Christian preacher whose tour of the English colonies attracted big crowds and sparked the First Great Awakening.

Jonathan Edwards sparked the First Great Awakening, 1734

Known for his "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God "sermon. Leading theologian (religious thinker) of First Great Awakening, a massive religious movement that swept through the colonies, which emphasized the community of all Christians. He preached anew the traditional ideas of Puritanism related to sovereignty of God, predestination, and salvation by God's grace alone. He had vivid descriptions of Hell that terrified listeners.

Why 1754 - 1800 was chosen as the dates for period 3

This time period represents the end of the 7 Years' War through the first two presidential administrations (Washington and Adams)

French and Indian War, 1754-63

Part of the 7 Years' War, Great Britain & France fought for control of the Ohio Valley & Canada. The colonies fought under British commanders and won; resulted in France being pushed out of N. America and massive British war debt

Impact of 7 Years' War

France removed from North America; Great Britain in massive debt, began to consolidate control over colonies - taxes; many colonists resisted

Common Sense

Pamphlet written by T-Paine, and Enlightenment thinker. Urged that it was "Common Sense" that colonies should break away from Great Britain

Reasons for Patriot Victory in Revolutionary War

Colonists' familiarity with the land; political and military leadership (Washington); ideological commitment (Natural Rights); Support from European Allies (France after Saratoga)

Northwest Land Ordinance

Passed under Articles - banned slavery in NW territory (OH, MI, IN, etc.); created a process for admitting new states (60,000 inhabitants)

White-Indian Conflicts after 7 Years' War

Due to encroachment on Native lands; Pontiac's Rebellion led to the Proclamation Line of 1763

Proclamation of 1763

Created to alleviate relations with natives after the French and Indian War and stated that Americans were not permitted to pass the Appalachian Mountains. Angered struggling colonists who had no other option but to find fortune and life on the frontier.

Stamp Act, 1765-66

It imposed tax on newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, deeds, wills, licenses;.many colonial groups formed such as Sons of Liberty and tarred or feathered tax collectors, organized non-important movements (boycotts)

Boston Tea Party, 1773

American colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Native Americans, boarded three British ships and dumped British tea into the Boston harbor.

First Continental Congress, 1774

Convention of delegates from the colonies called in to discuss their response to the passage of the Intolerable Acts (

Lexington and Concord, 1775

First battle in the Revolutionary War, (AKA "shot heard round the world") fought in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775.

Second Continental Congress, 1775

a convention of delegates from the 13 Colonies, managed the colonial war effort, sent The Olive Branch Petition,moved incrementally towards independence, adopted the Declaration of Independence, acted as the de facto national government.

John Locke

English Enlightenment philosopher and political thinker who believed in government based upon natural rights of the people (life, liberty, and property) the will of the governed.

Declaration of Independence, 1776

The fundamental document establishing the US as an independent nation, adopted on July 4, 1776. It declared the 13 colonies independent from Britain, offered reasons for the separation laid out the principles for which the Revolution was fought

Treaty of Alliance, 1778

Alliance between France and the America in the American Revolution, formed after the Battle of Saratoga which showed France that the Americans had a chance to beat England.

Battle of Yorktown, 1781

last major battle of Revolution. French navy and ground troops were crucial to victory.