APUSH Units 1-3 SPICE Chart

Sources: College Board; The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

S

  • The casta (caste) system established a racial hierarchy topped by the Peninsulares (white people born in the Iberian Peninsula), then Criollos (white people born in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies), people of mixed race, and lastly indigenous and black people

  • The middle colonies were characterized for their diversity; they were home to many races, nationalities, and religious groups (British, Dutch, French, African slaves, indigenous peoples, Catholics, Quakers, Puritans, etc.)

    • For example, New York became one of the most diverse cities (even now in the modern-day U.S.A.!); it was originally founded by Dutch colonists as New Amsterdam before the English took control of it in 1664, renaming it to what the metropolis is now called

  • Coverture was the idea that women didn’t need to have rights or powers because their husbands covered them with theirs

  • Republican motherhood: called on women to teach republican values to their children & granted women a new importance in the political culture of the U.S.

  • “Cult of True Womanhood”:

    • 19th century ideology regarding the role of women in society

    • Advocated for women to be pious, chaste, domestic, and submissive

    • Domestic work was seen as a divine calling for women

    • Women lacked legal standing apart from their husbands

P

  • The New England colonies had town meetings where attendees selected representatives for the colonial legislature

  • The politics of the southern colonies were dominated by elite planters in elected assemblies

  • Bacon’s Rebellion was an armed rebellion in 1676 by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the governor, fueled by frontier land disputes and disagreements over Native American policy

  • The Seven Years’ war was a large-scale conflict between Britain and France, as well as their allies, fueled by a desire for control over the Ohio River Valley; it raged across North America, Europe, and India (the North American portion was known as the French and Indian War)

  • Issues the colonists faced after the British victory in the Seven Years’ War:

    • Proclamation of 1763

    • A decree by the King that banned colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains, allocating that land to the Native Americans to avoid conflict and maintain positive diplomatic relations with the tribes

    • Massive debt

    • Crackdown on smuggling

    • Troops on American soil

    • Sugar Act (direct tax)

      • The Sugar Act taxed sugar in order to make revenue to help pay off debt accumulated from the French and Indian War

    • End of salutary neglect

      • Salutary neglect was a British policy of loose enforcement of parliamentary laws and trade regulations on its American colonies that lasted until after the French and Indian War

  • The Loyalists were loyal to the Crown & wanted to maintain the status quo as colonists of Great Britain, while the Patriots were in favor of revolution against the British (and later in favor of establishing an independent country)

  • The Boston Massacre occurred because a group of colonists rioted against, taunted, and harassed a group of British soldiers due to an increased divide due to increased taxation, resulting in shots being fired and the deaths of 5 colonists (along with many others getting injured)

  • The Revolutionary War was triggered by the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775, where British troops marched into Lexington & Concord, Massachusetts, to seize military supplies from the Patriots; then, colonial militiamen gathered against the troops and shots were fired in the towns

  • Despite considerable loyalist opposition, as well as Great Britain’s apparently overwhelming military and financial advantages, the Patriots succeeded in the Revolutionary War because of the actions of colonial militias and the Continental Army, George Washington’s military leadership, the colonists’ ideological commitment and resilience, and assistance sent by European allies

  • France as well as Spain and the Netherlands supported the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War by providing troops, supplies, weapons, and financial assistance (mainly loans)

  • Thomas Paine’s Common Sense persuaded reluctant Americans to abandon the goal of reconciliation with Britain & accept that independence was the only option for preserving their liberty; he also emphasized the special position America had (“city on a hill” in political terms) & that the colonists needed to take advantage of that, forming the first democratic republic in the world

  • The Declaration of Independence was ratified by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 (but signed later on), establishing that the colonies were independent from Great Britain and their own country (despite lacking recognition by Britain or other countries) and listing grievances against the British government (the reasons why the colonies sought independence)

  • The Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War & recognized the United States as a sovereign country, was signed into effect in 1783 by American and British delegates, with Spain and France also involved in the peace process

  • After independence, the colonists disagreed on who should lead the government and how it should be structured (a weak central government lasted from 1783 to 1789 was created under the Articles of Confederation until the Constitution was created and George Washington was elected president in 1789)

  • The Articles of Confederation, the predecessor to the Constitution, was the U.S.’s first attempt at government (it failed)

    • Under this document, America had a weak central government & a loose confederation of independent states, with most powers retained by states (anti-federalist)

    • The national government had a single, unicameral Congress with no executive or judicial branches

    • Each state had one vote in Congress

    • Congress needed 9 states for approval to enact laws

    • Amendments to the Articles of Confederation required the consent of all 13 states

    • Congressional representatives were chosen by state legislatures

    • The Congress lacked the power to tax or regulate commerce

    • Congress could …

      • Declare war

      • Send and receive ambassadors

      • Make treaties

      • Borrow money

      • Build and equip an army & a navy

    • Difficulties over international trade, finances, commerce between states, foreign affairs, & internal unrest led to many calling for a reformation of the government, with a stronger central government

  • The Northwest Ordinance was enacted by the Congress under the Articles Confederation for creating new states; the ordinance promoted public education, the protection of private property, & an abolition of slavery in the Northwest Territory (modern-day Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota)

    • This was one of the few successes that the Articles of Confederation had (the Northwest Ordinance made it easier for the U.S. to expand)

  • Events that lead to the new federal constitution:

    • Border disputes between states

    • Disagreements between states

    • Treaty violations by Great Britain

    • Pirates interfering with maritime trade

    • Shays’s Rebellion

      • An armed uprising in Massachusetts from 1786-87 led by Daniel Shay

      • Triggered by an economic crisis following the Revolutionary War, where Revolutionary War veterans & farmers struggled with war debts and high taxes, facing foreclosures and imprisonment

      • Shay and his fellow rebels closed courthouses to prevent debt collection and attempted to seize a federal arsenal, but the militia suppressed the rebellion

      • Exposed the flaws in governance under the Articles of Confederation

    • Agreement to hold another constitutional convention

  • The Federalists were supporters of adopting a new constitution, forming a strong central government; the Anti-Federalists, on the other hand, were against the constitution & big government and wanted to maintain the Articles of Confederation, keeping power consolidated with the states (the Anti-Federalists later compromised on the Constitution in exchange for a Bill of Rights section)

  • Many Anti-Federalists later joined the Democratic-Republican party to oppose the Federalist party

  • George Washington’s presidency:

    • Washington was admired for his intellect, good judgment, and integrity

    • Strict separation of the three branches of the federal government (executive, legislative, & judicial)

    • Established executive departments headed by Cabinet secretaries

    • Strong federal government

    • Neutral foreign policy

  • In his farewell address orated after exiting from the presidency, George Washington advocated for national unity, warned against political factionalism, and cautioned against permanent foreign alliances; nevertheless, the country began to divide amongst themselves into factions due to geography and formed parties like the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties, and these parties were divided over whether to support Great Britain or France especially during heightened tensions between the U.S. and France following the XYZ Affair

  • The XYZ Affair was a political quarrel between the U.S. and France in 1797 when American diplomats arrived in France for negotiations and were met with French diplomats demanding bribes and a loan to the French government, leading to the Quasi-War & increased anti-French sentiment in the U.S.

    • This event caused greater disputes between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, as the Federalists wanted a stronger response (possibly a military one) against the French for their demands while the Democratic-Republicans sought to preserve peace & alliance with France

  • The Quasi-War was the first overseas conflict waged by the U.S. in its history (though the war wasn’t ever officially declared), where the Americans retaliated after the French seized American merchant ships trading with Great Britain because the U.S. didn’t pay the bribes from the XYZ Affair

    • This event heightened tensions between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, as the Federalists wanted to build a navy and enact restrictive laws like the Alien and Sedition Acts while the Democratic-Republicans supported diplomacy over continued warfare and viewed the conflict as an overreaction.

  • The Jay Treaty was an agreement made in 1794 between the United States and Britain to settle lingering issues from the Revolutionary War and prevent a potential war between the two nations; stablized trade & maintained peace for the U.S. but was immensely unpopular among ordinary Americans (who had low trust in the British and many still supported the French more despite the events of the XYZ Affair and Quasi-War)

  • The Whiskey Rebellion was a violent tax protest (1791-94) in Western Pennsylvania by farmers who opposed a federal tax on distilled spirits; caused George Washington to respond immediately and go himself to the region to suppress the rebellion with the support of a force of 13,000 militiamen

I

  • In the West, the climate & natural resources varied intensely, creating microenvironments home to unique tribes & cultures (Mono, Yana, Wintu, etc.)

  • Hunting, gathering, & fishing for sustenance by Native Americans in the West

  • Natives in the Southwest, Northeast, and Southeast were agriculturally productive societies that depended on grown crops for sustenance

  • Salmon dominated Native American trade networks that extended to the Plains to the Pacific Ocean

  • In the arid climate, the Ancestral Pueblos developed complex irrigation systems

  • Northeast Natives relied on “three sister” farming of squash, beans, and corn in the Ohio River Valley

  • Northeast Natives lived in permanent wooden housing called longhouses, similar to the sedentary Southwest Natives but different from the nomadic Plains Natives

C

  • The Spanish came to the New World to spread Catholicism, expand their empire, and amass gold

  • The Puritans settled in New England in hope of religious freedom and established societies that reflected their religious ideals, different from the Church of England’s followers in Britain

  • The Great Awakening was a period of religious revival in the American colonies during the 18th century, emphasizing individual spiritual experience and challenging established religious authority

E

  • The Spanish established the encomienda (indigenous peoples provided labor in exchange for protection from the Spaniards and conversion to Christianity) and hacienda (large landed estate for profit-producing activities like mining, cattle ranching, agriculture, etc.) systems in their New World colonies

  • The Columbian Exchange was a widespread exchange of ideas, goods, animals, plants, and diseases between the Old and New World (the two regions become economically linked for the first time) through the Atlantic Ocean

  • The French colonies (south to north from Louisiana to the Midwest to Quebec) were sparsely settled and mainly existed for participating in the profitable fur trade with the Native Americans (this trade caused most Native American tribes to side with the French in the French and Indian War)

  • The Chesapeake & North Carolina colonies grew prosperous from exporting tobacco

  • The New England colonies developed around small family farms, commerce, & agriculture

  • The Middle Colonies had an export economy based on cereal crops

  • The southern colonies were plantation-based (grew mainly sugar & indigo until the cotton gin was invented when these colonies became states of the U.S.) and relied heavily on slave labor

  • In order to pay off debts accumulated during the French and Indian War, the British charged heavy taxes on the colonists through acts like the Sugar Act (1764), Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767), and the Tea Act (1773)