AP US History Midterm

U.S. History Study Guide

This guide simplifies key topics in U.S. History with essential details on causes, events, and significance.

Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange was the transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Old World (Europe, Africa, Asia) and the New World (Americas) post-1492 after Columbus's voyage.Effects:

• Europe gained potatoes, corn, tomatoes, tobacco, and cocoa, leading to population growth.

• Americas received horses, cattle, wheat, and sugarcane, transforming farming and transportation.

• Diseases like smallpox devastated Native Americans due to lack of immunity.

• Expansion of the slave trade led to forced African slavery on plantations.

Encomienda System

A Spanish labor system granting colonists land and Native Americans for labor in exchange for protection and Christianization; effectively slavery.Effects:

• Resulted in brutal treatment and high mortality among Native Americans.

• Led to the replacement with African slavery as Native populations dwindled.

European Relationships with Native Americans

• Spain: Enslaved and forced conversion; violent conflicts.

• France: Established fur trade partnerships, friendly relations, and intermarriage.

• England: Seized land from Natives, causing wars (e.g., King Philip’s War).

Reasons for European Exploration

The 3 Gs:

• Gold: Wealth from trade and resources.

• Glory: Fame and power for explorers/nations.

• God: Spread of Christianity.Key Explorers:

• Columbus (Spain) “discovered” the Americas in 1492.

• Magellan (Spain): First to circumnavigate the globe.

Virginia House of Burgesses (1619)

The first representative government in the American colonies, allowing colonists to enact laws rather than being ruled by the English king.

Economy, Geography, and Society of the Colonies

Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)

A rebellion led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor William Berkeley in Virginia over land and Native American attacks.Impact:

• Shift from indentured servitude to African slavery for a controllable workforce.

Middle Passage

The brutal journey of enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas in the Atlantic Slave Trade.Conditions:

• Overcrowded ships, spread of disease, and high mortality rates.Effect:

• Millions enslaved, primarily in the South.

Religion in the Colonies

• New England: Puritans (strict, intolerant).

• Middle Colonies: Quakers, Catholics, Jews (religious freedom).

• Southern Colonies: Anglicans, Baptists, tied to plantations.

• 1st Great Awakening (1730s-40s): Religious revival emphasizing personal faith.

French and Indian War (1754-1763)

War between British Colonists and France/Natives over North American land.Result:

• British victory led to debt and subsequent taxation (Stamp Act, Tea Act), setting the stage for the American Revolution.

Reconstruction Act of 1867

Post-Civil War laws to rebuild the South, dividing it into 5 military districts and enforcing the 14th Amendment, granting citizenship to African Americans. Former Confederates lost voting rights.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

Issued by Abraham Lincoln, it freed enslaved people in Confederate states and shifted the war's focus to ending slavery, encouraging African Americans to join the Union Army.

Dred Scott Decision (1857)

Supreme Court case ruling that Dred Scott, a slave, was not a citizen and Congress could not ban slavery, infuriating the North and contributing to the Civil War.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Allowed popular sovereignty for slavery, triggering violence in Kansas (Bleeding Kansas) and repealing the Missouri Compromise.

Compromise of 1850

• California became a free state.

• Fugitive Slave Act required Northerners to return runaway slaves.

• Popular sovereignty for new territories.

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

First women's rights convention led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, which produced the Declaration of Sentiments based on the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence (1776)

Authored by Thomas Jefferson, it declared independence from Britain, inspired by John Locke’s natural rights (life, liberty, property).

Great Compromise & Constitutional Convention (1787)

Merged the Virginia Plan (big states) and New Jersey Plan (small states).Established a bicameral Congress:

• Senate (2 representatives per state).

• House of Representatives (population-based).

Federalist Papers

Written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay to advocate for the Constitution and a strong federal government.

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

Acquired from France for $15 million, it doubled U.S. size and secured control of the Mississippi River.

War of 1812

Conflict between the U.S. and Britain over trade and impressment.Effects:

• Rise of nationalism and diminished British influence in the U.S.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Missouri entered as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and slavery was banned in territories north of 36°30’.

Manifest Destiny

The belief in the U.S.'s destined westward expansion to the Pacific, causing conflicts with Mexico and Native Americans, leading to the Mexican-American War.

This guide summarizes key historical events and concepts. Let me know if you need further details!