APUSH semester review
Topics a student will see on the APUSH semester final exam
(75 questions all prompt-based)
Describe how Native Americans would adapt to the environment as a means of survival and food gathering.
Coastal natives harvest food from the sea, Southwest Natives irrigation to grow crops, adobe houses, Eastern Woodlands Natives, some farming, some hunting, Plains Natives much hunting and gathering.
Issues related to the Columbian Exchange.
Exchange of diseases, plants and animals, much of the original Native population greatly reduced after the first 100-200 years, original population estimates hard to calculate, the New World gives corn and potatoes to the Old World and livestock, chickens, pigs etc. to the New World from the Old World.
Describe basic differences of posture of the Spanish, French, English and Dutch Colonizers to the Native Americans.
Spanish- harsh treatment – enslavement in the Encomienda System, and forced conversions This harshness softens a bit after the Pueblo Revolt in 1680 NM.
French –amicable spirit of cooperation for the purposes of fur trapping in Quebec (New France)
English mostly apart from the local natives unless they needed their help, their food with occasional stories of peace and intermarriage.
Dutch are almost always at war with the local Natives in New York State. For the brief existence of New Netherlands 1609-1664.
Retell how early issues (1676-1735) with colonial resistance to British imposed rule. Bacon’s Rebellion, New England Confederation and the Zenger Trial.
Bacon’s Rebellion led to the permanence of black (chattel) slavery replacing indentured servitude, Sir Edmund Andros trying to impose harsh rule on Puritan New England with no concern for their culture (1688) Zenger trial (1735)- precedent for freedom of the press against the autocratic Colonial NY Governor William Cosby.
Link how mercantilism and British restrictions tightening on this economic relationship after the French and Indian War. Describe the tension between colonial experience in self-government and British attempts to regain full control.
A disastrous re-imposition of the Navigation Acts and strict mercantilism after 75 years of Salutary Neglect causes many colonials to resent British rule. Think, all the events in the Countdown to Revolution project.
Differentiate characteristics of life, economics, ethnic diversity and intensity of religious devotion in the Southern, Middle and New England Colonies.
South –Anglican, large population of blacks due to much slavery and a rural society, economically sustained by agriculture.
Colonial and later American conflicts with various Native American groups from King Phillip’s War 1675-76 to the Indian Removal Act of the 1830s and President Jackson’s disregard for the ruling of the Supreme Court. 1675-1676 last native resistance to Puritan settlements in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Indian Removal Act- Jackson ignores the SCOTUS
Describe cultural Trans-Atlantic exchanges including British military support and the events known as the First Great Awakening of the colonial period. Whitefield comes from England and preaches to hundreds of thousands up and down colonial America. Culturally speaking, this is a unifying event for English colonials and a catalyst 35 years later for the American Independence movement.
Describe the link between the Native American abilities to play off European powers against one another and how the terms concluding the French and Indian war brought frustration and revolt after 1763 West of the Appalachian Mountains. What did Parliament then do? How did many colonists respond?
The Iroquois, Algonquin, Huron et. al could play off the Dutch, English and French traders off against one another. “If you don’t give me a good deal I will…” After 1763 the French and Dutch no longer had territorial possessions in North America, the Natives could only trade/deal with the English who were not very accommodating. This causes frustration and revolt west of the Appalachian Mountains led by Ottawa Chief Pontiac. Numerous British forts west of the mountains are assaulted and occupied, its defenders all killed. Finally, the British military tranquilizes the situation. Far away in London, Parliament pronounces the Proclamation of 1763 forbidding colonists from migrating west, greatly upsetting many. Many others simply ignore the Proclamation and more West anyway. This is more or less the start of the “Countdown to Revolution” events.
Explain how Parliament justified its imposition of taxation on the colonists after 1763.
What were the long-term consequences of this decision? Explain. Parliament has a seemingly insurmountable debt accumulated because of the French and Indian War. They see it as only reasonable the colonists should be able to pay for some of the costs of their own defense.
Describe the pivotal role colonial women played in the economic protests of the 1760s.
They largely agreed to personally work to enforce the boycott that helped to repeal the Stamp Act. They conducted knitting bees in public which was illegal and were the enforcers of the boycott.
Make the connection between Lockean ideas from the Enlightenment and Declaration of Independence. All of this was in response to what? Locke- A government is legitimate to the degree that it protects individuals’ life, liberty and property. Individuals have these rights because of the dignity bestowed on them by God over the notion of “divine right of kings”. These rights, inherent to people, characterize Locke’s description of the “state of nature”. In the Declaration, there was a statement that there is a “state of war” between Britain and her colonies for violating this “state of nature”. These are enlightenment ideals. The Declaration asserts this state of war exists because of the violation of English colonists’ rights due to the events in the Countdown to Revolution period.
Describe in detail the various challenges the new United States faced from 1783 until 1815 including, strengthening the federal power over the states, (Constitution) (How did responses to Shay’s Rebellion 1786 differ greatly to the Whiskey Rebellion 1794?), stabilizing the national economy (Hamilton), balancing the interests of two political parties (Federalists and Democratic Republicans) and choosing a foreign policy that would not be subservient to France or Britain. (XYZ Affair, the major cause of the War of 1812 etc.)
The Constitution established Federalism with some power shared between the states with a central (Federal) government and established checks and balances between the three branches of government. It could now regulate interstate commerce, enforce taxation, provide a national currency. The federal government was the supreme law of the land.
Now, an organized response to a popular uprising that was breaking the law was possible as evidenced by the overwhelming show of force in response to the Whiskey Rebellion. Before, there was no coherent, timely response to the events in Mass. in 1786 known as Shay’s Rebellion.
To stabilize the national economy, Alexander Hamilton wanted the Federal government to assume all of the states’ debts, thus binding the states more closely to the central government. By creating the B.U.S., the nation could run a line of credit and prove trustworthy to pay off subsequent, larger loans from Britain. The Federalist Party, mostly in power in the 1790s aligns with Hamilton’s ideas and want stronger diplomatic ties with Britain while the Democratic- Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison want a weaker central government with stronger diplomatic ties to France.
From around the time of the French Revolution (1789-1794) to about 1815 Britain and France were in an epic struggle for control of the European Continent. Both nations bully the U.S. and want their allegiance against the other. George Washington, wisely determines the U.S. must remain neutral while growing economically, militarily and in population. The 1797 XYZ Affair of the attempted bribing of American Diplomats there sets off an American furor when John Adams is President. The constant harassing by the British Navy from 1807-1812 and forcible impressment of U.S. sailors leads James Madison to ask Congress to declare war. While the outcome of this confusing war in termed a cease fire and proves somewhat inconclusive, Britain does not substantially harass the U.S. ever again.
Describe the role of Republican Motherhood and how culturally it was tied to the experiment of the American Democratic Republic working effectively.
There was a perception of a newly dignified role for women in the new Republic. A widely held belief is that the republic would only thrive if its people were virtuous. Women, as mothers and homemakers would be instrumental to inculcate virtue in their children to keep the nation and the republic strong.
Describe the basic demands women present at the Seneca Falls Convention made in 1848. Understand the allegiance this movement had with abolition (until the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870, allowing black males the right to vote but not women) and the sense of womens’ co-laboring with the temperance movement.
Basic demands included property rights within marriage, female suffrage and stronger rights of custody in the event of separation. One young attendee is able to cast a vote while in her seventies after the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
What is considered to be the major breakthrough in the Era understood as Jacksonian Democracy (1824-1840)? Why?
There is greatly increased voter participation because states have done away with property qualifications to vote and politicians must personally reach out and connect with the people by actively campaigning. The candidate nomination process and declaration of party platforms are also established at Presidential conventions.
Describe the connection between the Erie Canal and the fostering of regional interdependence:
South, North(east) and West. How did this change gender roles in the basic family unit?
Because of increased transportation connectivity the Northeast specializes in industry & trade, the West grows edible crops to feed much of the rest of the nation and the South overcompensates in cultivating its land for cotton. Gender roles for men and women, change due to the change in the nature of work particularly in the North(east).. Because of massive industrialization, work is simplified from one person performing a series of complex tasks from start to finish at home to repeatedly doing one simple task for the entire work day in a repetitive sequence of other coworkers performing similar monotonous simple tasks. It is perceived that women are suitable for these tasks since they may be paid less. This economic change often removes them from the home and starts to also change the societally assigned role of Republican Motherhood they have fulfilled in the early 1800s.
Eventually, what 1830-1850s innovation became ever more important than the canals?
The steamship is more important since now rivers could be navigated in two directions.
Geographically link the “burned over” district in New York with the epicenter of the Utopian reforms of the Second Great Awakening. Many circuit preachers such as Finney heavily travelled this region calling slavery our great national sin and denouncing alcohol while Mormonism got its start here. The Seneca Falls Women’s Convention originated the women’s rights movement and the abolition movement had an unusual degree of strength here. There was a sense that as a result of 2nd Great Awakening religious reform could in a way bring “heaven down to earth”.
Link the waves of immigration in the 1830s-1850s with Ireland and Germany and explain why they favored settling in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Describe a significant popular response to these immigrants. The Irish came to escape terrible famine and arrived with very little additional money and largely stayed in the large cities of the Eastern U.S. The German speakers came with savings and left Europe because they wanted to escape political turmoil. They often settled further West including places such as Wisconsin, New Braunfels and Fredericksburg, TX. Often because of Catholic tradition or the casual imbibing of beer and due to several other reasons Nativists reacted negatively to these immigrants.
Describe the growth of restrictions on slavery in the South in the wake of Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831) and the Nullification Crisis (1832) and the Southern led efforts to justify slavery as a benevolent way of life. Nat Turner’s Rebellion sent shockwaves of fear throughout the slave holding South. The various legislatures greatly limited slaves limited rights to carry firearms while hunting, travel freely between plantations on errands and learn to read and write. This all occurs in the context of propaganda forwarding the “happy slave v. wage slave” argument that southerners treat their slaves better than northern factory owners treat their workers.
Describe the link between Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin and the strengthening of the institution of slavery in the Southern United States (1790 to 1865). The cotton gin causes slavery to become entrenched in Southern life for several more generations because growing cotton becomes big business due to the efficiency by which the gin removes the prickly seeds from the cotton ball. The growing cotton harvest still demands massive amounts of human labor for the planting, tending and harvesting of the plant.
Describe how Bleeding Kansas (1856), the Dredd Scott decision (1857) and John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry (1859) accelerated the events that led to the Secession Crisis 1860-61.
Each of these events simply causes the level of trust to greatly decrease between lawmakers from both regions. Due to these various events, both sides increasingly see the other as operating in bad faith to the point where the Southern state legislatures see no other choice but to secede after the election of Abraham Lincoln.
Understand the basic concepts of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.
13th Abolition of involuntary servitude (slavery)
14th Equal protection under the law to all citizens regardless of color or previous condition of servitude.
15th full suffrage (voting) for black males