APUSH FINAL REVIEW

Bartolome de Las Casas: Spanish priest who criticized mistreatment of Native Americans under Spanish rule; advocated for their rights.

Encomienda System: Labor system where Spanish landowners forced Native Americans to work in exchange for “protection” and conversion to Christianity.

France, English, and Spanish Empires:

• Spanish-Focused on conquest, conversion, and resource extraction.

• French-Built trade alliances (fur trade) and cooperated with Natives.

• English-Settled for agriculture and religious freedom.

Native Americans: Diverse societies pre-contact; devastated by disease and cultural disruption post-Columbian Exchange.

Columbian Exchange: Exchange of goods, ideas, diseases, and people between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Changes to Native American Societies: European colonization led to land loss, cultural disruption, and new trade opportunities for Natives.

Enlightenment: Intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights; key figure: John Locke.

Mercantilism: Economic theory where colonies existed to benefit the mother country through trade and resources.

Navigation Acts: British laws requiring colonies to trade only with Britain to enforce mercantilism.

Atlantic Slave Trade: Forced transportation of Africans to the Americas as labor for plantations.

Colonial Regional Specialization:

• New England-Trade, fishing, small farms.

• Middle Colonies-Agriculture (wheat) and trade.

• Southern Colonies- Plantation economy (tobacco, rice, indigo).

British Policies in the Colonies: Taxes like the Stamp Act and Tea Act led to colonial resistance and cries of “No taxation without representation.”

The Great Awakening: Religious revival encouraging personal spirituality and challenging established churches.

Articles of Confederation: First U.S. government; weak federal power (no power to tax or enforce laws).

Constitutional Convention: Meeting to replace Articles of Confederation; resulted in the U.S. Constitution.

Bill of Rights: First 10 amendments to the Constitution protecting individual freedoms like speech and religion.

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists:

• Federalists-Supported a strong central government (Hamilton).

• Anti-Federalists-Advocated for states’ rights and demanded a Bill of Rights (Jefferson).

Shays’ Rebellion: Farmers’ revolt against high taxes; exposed weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation.

Northwest Ordinance: Law establishing rules for settling the Northwest Territory; banned slavery there.

Louisiana Purchase: 1803 land deal where Jefferson bought territory from France, doubling the size of the U.S.

Expansion of Slavery: Spread of slavery westward as new lands were acquired.

Jacksonian Democracy: Political movement expanding suffrage to all white men and promoting the “common man.”

Nullification Crisis: South Carolina nullified federal tariffs; President Jackson opposed strongly, showing federal power over states.

Manifest Destiny: Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand westward across North America.

Missouri Compromise: 1820 agreement where Missouri entered as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and slavery was banned north of the 36°30’ line.

Gold Rush: 1849 mass migration to California in search of gold, leading to population growth.

Causes of the Civil War: Sectional tensions over slavery, tariffs, and states’ rights.

Mexican Cession: Land acquired after the Mexican-American War under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848).

Civil War Strategies:

• Union-Anaconda Plan (blockade South and control Mississippi River).

• Confederacy-Defensive war; hoped for European support.

Emancipation Proclamation: 1863 decree by Lincoln freeing slaves in Confederate states.

Reconstruction:

• Presidential-Lenient policies under Lincoln and Johnson.

• Congressional-Stricter policies emphasizing civil rights and Southern punishment.

Jim Crow Laws: Laws enforcing racial segregation in the South post-Reconstruction.

Compromise of 1877: Ended Reconstruction by withdrawing federal troops from the South; Hayes became president.

Homestead Act: 1862 law granting settlers 160 acres of free land if they farmed it for 5 years.

Native American Policy: U.S. government forced Native removal, assimilation (e.g., Dawes Act), and conflict (e.g., Wounded Knee).

Transcontinental Railroad: Connected East and West; promoted economic growth but displaced Native Americans.

Robber Barons vs. Captains of Industry: Debate over whether industrial leaders (e.g., Rockefeller, Carnegie) were ruthless or innovative.

Labor Reform & Unions: Workers sought better wages, hours, and conditions; key groups included the Knights of Labor and AFL.

Social Darwinism: Theory applying “survival of the fittest” to society, justifying wealth inequality.

Immigration (Second Wave): Immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe formed ethnic communities; faced nativism.

Populism: Farmers’ political movement demanding reforms like silver-backed currency and government regulation of railroads.