APUSH Comprehensive Exam Notes

Diversity of Cultures: Native American groups were diverse, with differing lifestyles and societies.
- Nomadic Groups: Some tribes were nomadic, moving regularly in search of food.
- Agricultural Societies: Civilizations such as the Aztecs and Cahokia depended on maize/corn cultivation.
- Three Sisters Farming: A method involving the simultaneous cultivation of beans, corn, and squash to enhance soil quality.
- Plains Indians: Hunter-gatherer societies living in the Great Plains.
Gender Roles: Women had significant roles within tribes, although men were generally the leaders.
Animism: Belief in spiritual essence in all living and nonliving things.
Land Use: Belief that land could be used but not owned.

Key Figures and Events:
- Hernan Cortez: Spanish explorer who conquered the Aztec Empire.
- Societal Structure: Spaniards created a caste system with natives at the bottom and implemented the Encomienda system, which demanded forced labor.
- Bartolome de Las Casas: Criticized the mistreatment of natives.
- Pueblo Revolt (1680): Successful native revolt resisting Spanish oppression, temporarily expelling them from New Mexico.
Shift to African Slavery: As native populations dwindled due to disease and escape, the Spanish shifted to African slave labor.

Impact of Columbus' Discovery:
- Transfer of Goods and People: Exchange of plants, animals, and diseases.
- European Gains: Received crucial crops like potatoes and tomatoes.
- American Gains: Acquired wheat, rice, horses, and smallpox which devastated Native populations.
- Economic Changes: Increased wealth in Europe leading to capitalist growth.

New Netherland: Settled in present-day New York/New Jersey by the Dutch.
Economic Goals: Established by the Dutch West India Company, focused on trade rather than conversion of natives.

Quebec Settlement: Focused on fur trade, fostering positive relations with natives for mutual benefit.

Puritan Settlers: Relocated for religious reasons; established a self-governing structure through the Mayflower Compact.
- Tight-knit Communities: Centered around family and religious institutions.
- Notable Figures: Anne Hutchinson was exiled for dissenting ideas.

Diverse Society: Known as "bread colonies" for grain production and marked by ethnic and religious diversity.
- William Penn & Quakers: Promoted religious tolerance and settled in Pennsylvania.

Economic Focus: Tobacco cultivation and plantation economy, leading to increased reliance on slave labor.
- Jamestown: First successful English settlement influenced by the Virginia Company.
- Demographic Strategy: House of Burgesses as the first elected assembly.
- Headright System: Land grants incentivizing settlement.

Expansion of Cash Crops: Conflict with Native lands resulted in violent retaliations.
Bacon’s Rebellion: Farmers revolted against wealthy planters and troubles with Native Americans, leading to a shift towards African chattel slavery and stricter slave codes.
Resistance: Examples included the Stono Rebellion, where enslaved individuals violently resisted.

Triangular Trade: A system involving rum, slaves, and sugar between the Americas, Africa, and Europe.
Mercantilism: Aimed to keep trade within the empire; the Navigation Acts enforced British monopoly on colonial trade.

Conflicts with Natives: As settlers expanded, tensions rose, exemplified by conflicts with Powhatan and King Philip's War.

Dominion of New England: Established by King James, limiting colonial self-governance.
Tulip’s Influence: Great Awakening emphasized personal faith, democracy, and questioned authority, pushing toward independence.
Salutary Neglect: Policy allowing self-rule that benefitted Britain economically.

Introduction: Sparked by conflicts over land in the Ohio Valley; Washington's early engagement led to broad conflict between British colonists and Native Americans/French.
- Albany Plan of Union: Attempt to coordinate colonial defense; ultimately rejected but paved way for future cooperation.
Outcomes: Treaty of Paris of 1763 which ceded vast territories to Britain and incited new conflicts with Native Americans due to land encroachment.

Colonial Grievances: Taxation without representation through legislation such as the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act.
Key Events: Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party were pivotal in rallying colonial opposition.
Intellectual Inspirators: Enlightenment ideas from Locke and Paine’s pamphlet "Common Sense" motivated revolutionary sentiments.

Colonial Strategies: Utilizing alliances (notably with France) and unconventional tactics to withstand British power.

Social Changes: Enforced gradual abolition in northern areas, but institutional slavery persisted in the south; Native American rights remained infringed.

Weaker Government Structure: Could not tax or regulate commerce and faced significant challenges post-Revolution - leading to Shay’s Rebellion.

Great Compromise: Established bi-cameral legislature balancing large and small state interests.
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists: Debate over central vs. state power led to the Bill of Rights to appease concerns.

Formation of Parties: Differentiated views under Federalists (strong central governance) and Democratic-Republicans (individual rights).
Key Events: Jay’s and Pinckney’s treaties addressed foreign conflicts and established US policies during early governance.