APUSH Time Periods #1-3

Pre-Columbian Civilizations and the Foundations of Latin America

• Highly Advanced Civilizations: Prior to European contact, the Americas were inhabited by complex societies with sophisticated political, social, and economic structures.     - Mayans: Prospered between $300$ and $800$. They were known for their advanced understanding of astronomy, mathematics, and the development of a calendar system.     - Aztecs: Located in Central America; they formed powerful and highly populated empires centuries after the decline of the Mayans. They were recognized for their military prowess and impressive architecture.     - Incans: Based in Peru; they established a massive empire in the Andes, characterized by an extensive road system and centralized administration.
• Extensive Trade: These civilizations engaged in vibrant trade networks with each other, exchanging goods and cultural ideas over vast distances.

Diversity of North American Native Societies

• Developmental Differences: Generally, North American societies were sparser and less developed compared to those in Latin America.     - Cause of Slower Development: This is largely attributed to the slow cultivation of corn (maize) as it moved northward.
• Cultural Diversity: Native Americans exhibited huge diversity, particularly in language, with over $20$ distinct language families.
• Regional Settlements and Lifestyles:     - Northwest: Inhabited by hunter-fishers.     - Great Plains: Occupied by nomadic tribes due to the dry climate.     - Northeast: Notable for the Iroquois Confederacy, a powerful political union.     - Adena-Hopewell: Known for their settlement activities.     - Southwest: Tribes like the Hohokam and Pueblos lived in cave and cliff houses.     - Mississippi: Home to the Cahokia culture, famous for building large earthen mounds.     - Atlantic Seaboard: Inhabited by tribes such as the Cherokee and Lumbee.
• Identity Formation: These tribes were originally diverse and independent; they only later formed a collective "Native American" identity in response to European encroachment.

Motivations and Technology of European Exploration ($13^{th}-15^{th}$ Centuries)

• Key Motivators: The drive for exploration was fueled by several intersecting factors:     - Technology and the Renaissance: Innovations such as gunpowder, sailing improvements, the compass, and the printing press revolutionized travel and the spread of information. Shipbuilding innovations specifically transformed seaworthiness.     - Religious Conflict:         - Spain: The reconquest of al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) fueled a desire to spread Catholicism.         - Protestant Reformation: Created a competitive motive to convert populations in the New World to either Catholicism or Protestantism.     - Economic Competition: There was fierce competition for trade routes to Asia (spices, silks). As a result, Europeans searched for faster ocean routes, leading to the use of slaves on sugar plantations.     - Politics: The rise of Nation-states replaced multiethnic empires and smaller kingdoms. European powers competed for land to colonize.     - Demographics: People desired land ownership; specifically, "$2^{nd}/3^{rd}$ sons" who inherited nothing under primogeniture sought fortunes in America.

Major European Powers and the Conquest

• Spain and Portugal:     - The first to colonize America. They split the New World via the Treaty of Tordesillas.     - Conquerors: Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs; Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incas.     - Economic Systems: Transitioned from Feudalism (control of land) to Capitalism (control of capital via investors and joint-stock companies).
• England: Challenged Spanish dominance early on and established the failed Roanoke Island settlement.
• France: Initially too invested in European affairs to commit fully to America, but later established the best relations with Native Americans for trade.

Spanish Colonial Labor and Social Hierarchy

• Encomienda System: A coerced labor system where Spanish settlers were granted land and Native laborers. In exchange, the Spaniard was supposed to provide "protection" and Christianize the workers.
• African Slavery: As Native populations declined due to disease, Spaniards turned to Africa.     - Middle Passage: Approximately $10-15\%$ of enslaved Africans died during the trans-Atlantic journey.     - Asiento System: A system requiring colonists to pay a tax to the Spanish King for each imported slave.
• Spanish Caste System: A strict racial hierarchy that dictated social status based on heritage.

Cultural Exchanges and Conflict Policies

• Worldview Differences:     - Religion: Natives were polytheistic; Europeans were monotheistic.     - Rights: Native societies often afforded more women's rights compared to Europeans.
• Spanish Policy: Overwhelmingly subjugated Natives.     - Bartolomé de Las Casas: An advocate for Native rights who prompted the New Laws of $1542$, which aimed to end Native slavery and the encomienda system (though some parts were later repealed due to conservative pressure).     - Valladolid Debate: A formal debate where Juan Sepúlveda argued Natives were less than human and benefited from servitude, while Las Casas argued for their humanity.
• English Policy: Unlike the Spanish, they did not settle in areas with large Native populations. They focused on expelling Natives rather than subjugating them for labor. They came as families, meaning intermarriage was rare.
• French Policy: Viewed Natives as essential trade partners (fur trade). They had fewer colonies and more intermarriage.
• Native Survival Strategies: Included allying with Europeans (e.g., tribes allying with Spain to gain independence from the Aztecs) or moving west (which often led to clashes with existing tribes).

Specific European Colonization Efforts

• Spain:     - Florida: Focused on spreading Christianity; St. Augustine ($1565$) is the oldest European-founded city. Development was slow due to lack of minerals and Native opposition.     - New Mexico & Arizona: Capital established at Santa Fe in $1610$.     - California: Missions were established along the coast.
• French:     - Quebec: Founded in $1608$ as the first colony.     - Exploration: Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette explored the upper Mississippi River in $1673$.     - New Orleans: Established in $1718$ as a prosperous trade center.
• Dutch:     - Henry Hudson: Found the Hudson River; the Dutch claimed the surrounding area.     - New Amsterdam: Controlled by the Dutch West India Company; focused on trade networks with Natives.
• British: Attracted by economic opportunity and escaping persecution. Higher diversity and more families/women led to more permanent farming settlements and less intermarriage.

The British Colonies: Regional Characteristics

• Types of Colonies:     - Corporate: Operated by joint-stock companies (for-profit).     - Royal: Under direct rule of the King.     - Proprietary: Ruled by individuals granted rights by the King.
• Early Settlements:     - Jamestown ($1607$): First permanent settlement in Virginia ($VA$). Initially struggled in a swampy area; survived through the leadership of John Smith and the introduction of a new tobacco strain by John Rolfe.     - Plymouth: Settled by Pilgrims (Radical Separators) seeking religious freedom in $1620$.     - Massachusetts Bay: Settled by Puritans (Moderate Dissenters) led by John Winthrop, who founded Boston. This led to the Great Migration.
• New England Expansion:     - Rhode Island: Founded by Roger Williams (banished for teaching that conscience is beyond church authority) and Anne Hutchinson (believed in antinomianism—salvation through faith alone). It became a refuge for many.     - Connecticut: Founded by Thomas Hooker; produced the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the first written constitution in America.     - New Hampshire: A royal colony split from Massachusetts Bay to increase King control.
• Middle Colonies: Known for fertile soil, diversity, and tolerance.     - New York: Taken from the Dutch; settlers were allowed to stay.     - Pennsylvania: Founded by William Penn (Quaker) as a "Holy Experiment." Offered the Frame of Government and Charter of Liberties (freedom of worship/unblocked immigration).
• Southern Colonies:     - Maryland: Founded by Lord Baltimore (Cecil Calvert) as a Catholic haven. Passed the Act of Toleration (religious freedom for all Christians), which was later repealed by Protestants.     - The Carolinas: South Carolina featured large rice-growing plantations with slave labor. North Carolina had fewer large plantations.     - Georgia: Founded by James Oglethorpe as a "debtor colony" and a buffer against Spanish Florida.

Colonial Developments and Conflict

• Self-Government: Early examples include the House of Burgesses ($1619$) and the Mayflower Compact. Participation was limited to white, land-owning men.
• Mercantilism: British policy of maximizing exports and minimizing imports.     - Navigation Acts: Required colonies to trade only with Britain, pass all imports through Britain, and export specific goods only to Britain.     - Salutary Neglect: Lax enforcement of these laws due to distance and internal British conflict.
• Bacon's Rebellion: Led by Nathaniel Bacon against the Virginia governor. It highlighted class differences and led to a shift from indentured servitude to African slavery (slaves were seen as a more "dependable" workforce).
• Metacom's War (King Philip's War): Chief Metacom united tribes against English encroachment; resulted in mass destruction and effectively ended Native resistance in New England.
• Pueblo Revolt: Successful Native revolt against Spanish rule in the Southwest; the Spanish eventually returned but were more cautious.

The Great Awakening ($1730s-1740s$)

• Nature: An intense religious movement that reacted against the logical, secular thought of the Enlightenment.
• Leaders:     - Jonathan Edwards: Preached with emotion (e.g., "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"); emphasized personal faith and repentance.     - George Whitefield: Spread the movement throughout the colonies, emphasizing that individuals did not need ministers to understand the Gospels.
• Impact: Led to a split between "Old Lights" (traditionalists) and "New Lights" (revivalists). It democratized religion and created the first shared national experience among colonists.

The Road to Revolution

• Seven Years' War ($1754-1763$): Fought in the Ohio River Valley. Britain won, but at a massive cost.     - Albany Plan of Union: Benjamin Franklin's failed proposal for an intercolonial government.     - Consequences: End of salutary neglect; Britain dominated North America; heavy taxation of colonies to pay war debts.
• Proclamation of $1763$: Banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachians; deeply angered colonists.
• Taxation without Representation:     - Sugar Act: Tax on sugar imports.     - Quartering Act: Required housing for British troops.     - Stamp Act: First direct tax on buyers (stamps on paper). Led to the Stamp Act Congress and the Sons and Daughters of Liberty.
• Townshend Acts: Taxes on tea, glass, and paper. Allowed for Writs of Assistance (search warrants for smuggled goods).
• Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts): Passed in response to the Boston Tea Party. Closed Boston Port and reduced power of the Massachusetts legislature.

The Revolutionary War ($1775-1783$)

• First Continental Congress ($1774$): Adopted the Suffolk Resolves (boycotts/militarization) and the Declaration and Resolves.
• Key Battles:     - Lexington and Concord ($April 1775$): First shots of the war.     - Bunker Hill ($June 1775$): High British casualties.     - Saratoga ($October 1777$): Turning point; led to a formal alliance with France.     - Yorktown ($September 1781$): General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington.
• Treaty of Paris ($1783$): Britain recognized $US$ independence; Mississippi River became the western border; Americans gained fishing rights off Canada.
• Social Impact:     - Republican Motherhood: The idea that women should be educated to teach their children the values of the new republic.     - Abolitionism: Grew in the North, though the invention of the Cotton Gin later caused slavery to surge in the South.

The Constitution and Early Republic

• Articles of Confederation ($1781-1789$): Intentionally weak central government.     - Accomplishments: Land Ordinance of $1785$ (selling western lands/funding schools); Northwest Ordinance of $1787$ (rules for new states/no slavery).     - Weakness: Shays' Rebellion (uprising against taxes/debt) showed the government could not maintain order.
• Constitutional Convention:     - Great Compromise: Bicameral legislature; Senate (equal representation) and House (proportional representation).     - $3/5^{th}$ Compromise: Enslaved people counted as $3/5$ of a person for taxes and representation.
• Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists: Federalists (Hamilton, Madison) supported the Constitution; Anti-Federalists (Jefferson, Henry) feared strong government and demanded a Bill of Rights.
• Washington's Presidency:     - Hamilton's Financial Plan: Pay off debts, high tariffs, create a National Bank.     - Foreign Policy: Proclamation of Neutrality ($1793$); Jay Treaty (British left forts); Pinckney Treaty (Spain opened the Mississippi River).     - Farewell Address: Warned against permanent alliances, political parties, and sectionalism.
• Adams' Presidency:     - XYZ Affair: French officials demanded bribes for negotiations; led to anti-French sentiment.     - Alien and Sedition Acts: Restricted immigrants and made it illegal to criticize the government; prompted the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (nullification theory).