APUSH 1 Review Guide

Three Sisters

Corn, beans, and squash grown together; supported stable farming and population growth in many Native societies.

Encomiendas

Spanish labor/tribute system granting colonists control over Indigenous labor; led to exploitation and population decline.

Early slavery

Early forced labor in the Americas using both Indigenous and African people; expanded into permanent, racial, hereditary slavery over time.

Diseases that impacted Natives and why???

Smallpox, measles, influenza, etc.; Indigenous people had no immunity, causing massive death and social disruption.

Factors that allowed the indigenous people to multiple and spread

Agriculture (maize), reliable food supply, trade networks, adaptation to environments, and organized communities.

Three major civilizations of the Americas.

Maya, Aztec (Mexica), Inca.

Main Conquistadors

Hernán Cortés (Aztec), Francisco Pizarro (Inca), and other explorers/conquerors like de Soto and Coronado.

Why the spanish were able to dominate the Americas

Steel weapons, guns, horses, disease, alliances with rival Native groups, and centralized empires that were easier to conquer.

Major impact of the Columbian exchange on Europe.

Population growth from new crops (potatoes/maize), more wealth and trade, diet changes, and increased European global power.

Major impact of the columbian exchange on Indigenous people.

Massive population loss from disease, ecological disruption, forced labor, and loss of land and power.

Jamestown and Plymouth

Jamestown (1607) profit/tobacco/labor shortage; Plymouth (1620) religious motives/family settlement/self-government.

Differences in the North and South

North—small farms, trade, towns, education; South—plantations, cash crops, rural society, slavery, elite landowners.

Pilgrims and Puritans 2-3 questions ie separatists versus puritan

Pilgrims were separatists (left the Church of England); Puritans wanted to reform/purify it from within.

Migration, motives, genders

Motives included religion, land, and profit; New England had more families, Chesapeake had more single men early on.

Indentured servitude versus slavery→where each was used.

Indentured servitude was common early in Chesapeake; slavery became dominant in the South/plantation colonies (and later Chesapeake too).

Sugar plantations and island influence

Caribbean sugar plantation model (very profitable, slave-based) influenced slavery and plantation development in colonies like South Carolina.

House of Burgesses, Town hall meeting, early government

House of Burgesses (Virginia) first elected assembly; town meetings (New England) local participatory government.

Mayflower compact, fundamental orders of connecticut

Mayflower Compact (1620) agreement for self-rule; Fundamental Orders (Connecticut) early written plan of government.

Navigation acts, Salutary neglect

Navigation Acts regulated colonial trade to benefit England; Salutary Neglect was loose enforcement that let colonies grow more independent.

Bacon’s rebellion

1676 uprising in Virginia over frontier policies and inequality; pushed elites toward more reliance on racial slavery.

French influence with natives-comparing French and English

French focused on fur trade and alliances; English focused on land settlement, causing more conflict/displacement.

Florida development–comparing NC and SC and development

Florida (Spanish) missions/forts/defense; NC smaller farms/slower growth; SC plantation economy with heavier slavery and Caribbean influence.

Three types of colonies, Royal, Charter and proprietary

Royal—king-controlled; Charter—self-governed by charter; Proprietary—owned/ruled by a proprietor.

New England, Middle and Southern Colonies–development.

New England towns/trade/religion; Middle diversity/grain/trade; Southern plantations/cash crops/slavery.

How do they compare?

New England = community/towns; Middle = diverse/“breadbasket”; Southern = plantations and enslaved labor; economies and societies differed by geography and labor.

Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Pennsylvania—Quaker, religious tolerance, diverse; Maryland—Catholic refuge, plantation economy, religious conflict over time.

Enlightenment thinkers

Philosophers promoting natural rights, social contract, reason; influenced revolutionary ideas.

Declaration of Independence

Document declaring separation from Britain; based on natural rights and lists grievances against the king.

Articles of Confederation

First U.S. government; weak central government with limited power to tax/enforce laws.

Bill of Rights

First 10 amendments protecting individual freedoms and limiting federal power.

Constitution

Created stronger federal government with separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism.

Washington and His cabinet

First executive departments/advisors (ex

Washington’s farewell address

Warned against political parties and permanent foreign alliances; advised national unity.

Whiskey rebellion

Protest against federal whiskey tax; Washington enforced the law, showing federal authority.

Alien and Sedition act

Laws increasing limits on immigrants and punishing criticism of government; deepened partisan conflict.

Kentucky and Virginia resolutions

Claimed states could judge/oppose unconstitutional federal laws; supported states’ rights.

Constitutional convention

1787 meeting to fix Articles; resulted in writing the U.S. Constitution.

Events that caused the revolutionary war

Taxes/enforcement, loss of “rights,” restrictions on expansion, and escalating confrontations between Britain and colonists.

French and indian war

Britain vs France in North America; Britain’s debt led to new colonial taxes and tensions.

Federalist papers

Essays supporting ratification of the Constitution; explained how the new government would work.

Shay’s rebellion

Farmer uprising in Massachusetts; showed weakness of Articles and pushed leaders toward a stronger government.

Revolutionary war itself

War for independence from Britain; created the United States and changed political ideals.

Northwest ordinance of 1787

Organized Northwest Territory and set process for statehood; limited slavery there.

Ordinance of 1785

Land survey/sale system; helped fund schools and organized western settlement.

Gains from revolutionary war

Independence, new territory, and growth of republican government ideals.

Battle of Fallen timbers

U.S. victory over Native confederation in Ohio region; helped open land for settlement.

Moving into the Northwest territory

Settlement expansion led to Native resistance and conflicts; increased U.S. control of western lands.

Dorthea Dix

Reformer who campaigned for better treatment of the mentally ill and improved institutions.

Causes of the war of 1812

Maritime conflicts/impressment, trade restrictions, frontier tensions, and nationalism/expansion pressure.

Winners and losers

U.S. nationalism grew; Britain kept Canada; many Native groups lost land/power; political/economic effects varied.

American colonization society

Group supporting relocation of free Black Americans to Africa (Liberia).

American plan

System for managing the economy (often linked to Henry Clay)

Erie canal

Canal linking Great Lakes to Hudson River; boosted trade, migration, and economic growth.

Industrial revolution

Shift to factories and machine production; changed labor, cities, and economy.

New inventions

New technologies increased productivity and changed work and daily life.

Cult of Domesticity

Idea that women should focus on home, morality, and family; “separate spheres.”

Transportation advancements

Roads, canals, steamboats, railroads; sped up travel and connected markets.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 land purchase from France; doubled U.S. territory and encouraged expansion.

Lewis and Clark

Expedition exploring Louisiana Territory; mapped region and gathered information.

Adams Onis treaty

Agreement with Spain giving Florida to the U.S. and setting boundaries.

Nat Turner

Led 1831 slave revolt; caused fear and harsher slave laws in the South.

Spoils system

Practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs.

Seneca Falls convention

1848 women’s rights meeting; demanded equality and suffrage.

Panic of 1837

Economic depression caused by banking/credit issues; unemployment and hardship.

American temperance society

Reform group promoting reduced alcohol use.

Gibbons V Ogden

Supreme Court case strengthening federal power over interstate commerce.

Monroe Doctrine

Declared the Americas closed to new European colonization/interference.

Missouri compromise

Balanced slave/free states and set a line limiting slavery in parts of Louisiana Territory.

Temperance

Movement to reduce/ban alcohol for moral and social reasons.

Jackson’s Bank war

Jackson fought the national bank, vetoed recharter; increased use of state banks and instability.

Species Circular

(Specie Circular) Required gold/silver for buying public land; tightened credit and worsened economic problems.

Marbury V Madison

Established judicial review—Supreme Court can strike down unconstitutional laws.

Indian removal act

1830 law forcing Native relocation west of Mississippi.

Trail of tears

Forced Cherokee removal; many died due to harsh conditions.

Tariff of Abominations

1828 high tariff opposed by South; sparked nullification crisis tensions.

American Anti Slavery Society

Abolitionist organization pushing to end slavery.

Dred Scott case

Supreme Court ruled Black people not citizens and Congress couldn’t ban slavery in territories; increased tensions.

Mexican American war

War that gained U.S. western territory; increased slavery debate.

Wilmot proviso

Proposal to ban slavery in territory gained from Mexico; failed but intensified sectional conflict.

Lincoln/Douglas Debates

Debates over slavery expansion; raised Lincoln’s national profile.

Election of 1860

Lincoln’s victory led to Southern secession and Civil War.

Free soil party

Political party opposing expansion of slavery into territories.

California gold rush

1849 gold discovery; rapid migration, economic growth, and statehood pressure.

Mormon migration

Mormons moved west (to Utah) seeking religious freedom and community.

Irish potato famine

Mass starvation in Ireland; increased Irish immigration to U.S.

Compromise of 1850

Temporary deal on slavery/territories; included stricter fugitive slave enforcement; delayed conflict.

Uncle Tom’s cabin

Antislavery novel that influenced Northern opinion and angered the South.

Gadsden Purchase

Land bought from Mexico for a southern railroad route.

Republican party founded

Party formed opposing expansion of slavery; became major political force.

Kansas Nebraska act, Bleeding Kansas

Opened territories to popular sovereignty; led to violent conflict over slavery.

What does the caning of Sumner show?

Extreme sectional hostility and political violence over slavery.

Panic of 1857

Economic downturn; worsened sectional tensions and party conflict.

Impending crisis of the south

Growing fear that slavery and Southern power were threatened by Northern politics/economy.

Advantages in the war

Union—population, industry, railroads; Confederacy—defensive war, home advantage, cotton diplomacy hopes.

King Cotton

Belief cotton exports would force Europe to support the Confederacy.

Homestead act

Gave free western land to settlers; encouraged migration and farming.

Civil war inventions ironclads

Armored steam warships that changed naval combat.

Confiscation acts

Laws allowing Union to seize Confederate property and treat enslaved people as contraband.

Emancipation proclamation

1863 order freeing slaves in rebelling states; shifted war goals toward ending slavery.

Crittenden compromise

Failed attempt to prevent Civil War by protecting slavery with constitutional amendments.