AP US History Ultimate Study Guide

Period 1: 1491-1607

  • Context:
    • Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492, marking the beginning of sustained European contact with the Americas.
    • The Bering Land Bridge connected Eurasia and North America, allowing the first people to inhabit the Americas.

Native Americans in Pre-Columbian North America

  • North America was populated by complex Native American societies.
  • European settlers and Native Americans had different cultures and religions.
  • Conflicts arose as Native Americans resisted European colonization and expansion.

Native American Societies Before European Contact

  • North America was home to hundreds of tribes, cities, and complex societies.
  • Maize cultivation supported economic development.
  • Tribes developed communities along the ocean to hunt whales and salmon.
  • Natives in the Great Plains retained nomadic lifestyles.

European Exploration in the Americas

  • New ships allowed for longer exploratory voyages.
  • Columbus set sail toward India in 1492, funded by the Spanish crown.
  • European explorers searched for gold, glory, and to spread Christianity.

Columbian Exchange, Spanish Exploration, and Conquest

  • The Columbian Exchange: rapid exchange of plants, animals, foods, and diseases between the Old World and the New World.
  • Old World to New World: horses, pigs, rice, wheat, grapes
  • New World to Old World: corn, potatoes, chocolate, tomatoes, avocado, sweet potatoes
  • Spain was the dominant colonial power and conquistadors collected the area's wealth.
  • Native Americans viewed land as a source of life, while Europeans believed in private ownership.

Labor, Slavery, and Caste in the Spanish Colonial System

  • Enslaved Africans were introduced in 1501.
  • Challenges with enslaving Native Americans included knowledge of the land and gender roles.
  • Enslaved Africans were easier to control due to unfamiliarity with the land.
  • The majority of the slave trade was directed toward the Caribbean and South America.
  • The Middle Passage was the shipping route that brought enslaved people to the Americas.
  • Congress ended American participation in the Atlantic slave trade on January 1, 1808.
  • Slavery flourished in the South due to labor-intensive crops.
  • Northern states took steps to phase out slavery after the Revolution.

Cultural Interactions Between Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans

  • The Encomienda System granted colonists authority over natives in exchange for protection and conversion to Catholicism.
  • European nations were motivated by wealth, religion, and geopolitics.
  • Improvements in navigation made sailing safer and more efficient.
  • Intercontinental trade became more organized with joint-stock companies.
  • Increased trade led to conflict and prejudice.
  • Some Native Americans resisted European influence, while others accepted it.
  • Africans adapted to their new environment by blending languages and religions.
  • English colonization involved large numbers of men and women.
  • English intermarriage was rare, and social classes remained rigid.

English Attempts to Settle North America

  • Roanoke Island colony disappeared by 1590.
  • Jamestown was funded by the Virginia Company in 1607.
  • John Smith decreed that “he who will not work shall not eat.”
  • John Rolfe pioneered tobacco cultivation as a cash crop.
  • Tobacco led to rapid expansion and plantation slavery.
  • The headright system attracted new settlers.
  • The House of Burgesses was established in 1619.
  • 1619 also marks the introduction of slavery to the English colonies

French Colonization of North America

  • French colonized Quebec City in 1608.
  • French settlers intermarried with native women.
  • French colonists were fewer in number compared to Spanish and English.
  • French played a significant role in the French and Indian War (1754-1763)

The Pilgrims and the Massachusetts Bay Company

  • Puritans sought to purify the Anglican Church.
  • The Pilgrims set sail for Virginia on the Mayflower but landed in Massachusetts and established Plymouth in 1620.
  • The Mayflower Compact created a legal system for the colony.
  • The Great Puritan Migration occurred from 1629-1642.
  • Puritans believed in a covenant with God.
  • Both Separatists and Congregationalists did not tolerate religious freedom.
  • Settlers of Massachusetts Bay Colony were strict Calvinists.

Religious Intolerance

  • Roger Williams advocated for separation of church and state and was banished to Rhode Island.
  • Anne Hutchinson was banished for challenging Puritan beliefs.
  • Plantation economy dependent on slave labor developed in Chesapeake and southern colonies.
  • New England became a commercial center.
  • Puritan immigration halted during Oliver Cromwell's rule.
  • Entire families immigrated to New England.
  • Slavery was rare in New England.

Period 2: 1607-1754

  • England interfered in colonial affairs as little as possible which helped fuel revolutionary sentiments when monarchy later attempted to gain greater control of the New World.
  • British government encouraged manufacturing in England and placed protective tariffs on imports. Required colonists to buy goods only from England
  • Wool Act of 1699, forbade both the export of wool from the American colonies and the importation of wool from other British colonies
  • Molasses Act of 1733, Imposed an exorbitant tax upon the importation of sugar from the French West Indies. New Englanders frequently refused to pay the tax, an early example of rebellion against the Crown.
  • Each colony had a governor appointed by the king or proprietor that relied on cooperation of colonists
  • All colonies had bicameral legislatures modeled after British Parliament. Small efforts made by colonists towards centralized government when disputes arose

Development of the Colonies

  • Colonies