AP US History Chapter 1-6 Key Concepts and Events

Maize

Main agricultural crop that led to larger populations and permanent settlements in the Americas.

Pueblo culture

Characterized by irrigation and maize farming in the Southwest.

Iroquois Confederacy

A political alliance of Northeast tribes.

Columbian Exchange (Americas)

Introduced horses, cattle, sugar, and diseases like smallpox.

Columbian Exchange (Europe)

Introduced maize, potatoes, tobacco, and syphilis.

Encomienda system

Forced Native labor under the Spanish Empire.

St. Augustine

First Spanish settlement in North America, established in 1565.

Jamestown

First permanent English colony, established in 1607.

Act of Toleration (1649)

Law in Maryland granting religious freedom to Christians.

Cash crops of Southern colonies

Tobacco, rice, and indigo.

Quebec

French settlement founded in 1608.

New Amsterdam

Dutch settlement founded in 1625.

New Sweden

Settlement founded in 1638.

Mayflower Compact

Early self-government agreement by Pilgrims in 1620.

John Winthrop

Leader of Massachusetts Bay Colony; promoted the idea of a 'City upon a Hill.'

New England society

Characterized by family-centered villages, town meetings, and an emphasis on education (Harvard, 1636).

Headright System

Land grant system that encouraged bringing indentured servants to the colonies.

Bacon's Rebellion

1676 revolt of poor settlers against the elite in Virginia, leading to a shift toward African slavery.

Middle Passage

Brutal transport of African slaves to the Americas.

Salem Witch Trials

Caused by social tensions in Puritan New England.

Colonial population growth (1700-1775)

Increased from 300,000 to 2.5 million.

Triangular Trade

Trade system connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Colonial assemblies and royal governors

They created a tradition of self-government.

Samuel de Champlain

"Father of New France," founded Quebec in 1608.

Ohio River Valley

Region of rivalry between Britain and France.

Albany Plan of Union

Benjamin Franklin's proposal for colonial unity; rejected by colonies & Britain.

French & Indian War

A North American war (1754-1763) where Britain and its colonies fought France and allied Native Americans for control of land and trade."

Treaty of Paris (1763)

France lost North American territory; Britain became dominant; Spain gained Louisiana.

Proclamation of 1763

British law closing lands west of the Appalachians to colonial settlement; largely ignored.

First peoples arrival in the Americas

Around 33,000 years ago, crossing the Bering Land Bridge.

Maize Revolution

The widespread cultivation of corn that supported larger populations, permanent settlements, and complex societies.

Pueblo people adaptation

Built irrigation systems and farmed maize in the Southwest.

Mississippian (Cahokia)

Constructing large mounds and serving as trade centers.

Inuit survival in the Arctic

Built igloos and hunted seals.

Plains tribes adaptation

Hunted buffalo and lived in portable tipis.

Mestizo culture

The blending of Spanish and Native peoples.

Early Spanish settlement in North America

St. Augustine (1565) or Santa Fe.