🇺🇸 APUSH CRAM SHEET
PERIOD 1: 1491–1607 — Native America & Exploration
Native American Societies
* Iroquois Confederacy → political alliance of Native nations
* Pueblo peoples → Southwest; agriculture, irrigation
* Mississippian societies → Cahokia; agriculture and complex societies
Columbian Exchange
Americas → Europe
* Corn
* Potatoes
* Tomatoes
* Tobacco
* Cacao
Europe/Africa → Americas
* Horses
* Cattle
* Sugar
* Wheat
* Diseases
⚠️ Major consequence: Native populations dramatically declined because of European diseases.
Exploration
* Christopher Columbus (1492) → opened sustained European contact
* Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) → Spain/Portugal divided claims in the Americas
* Encomienda System → Spanish forced Native labor
⸻
PERIOD 2: 1607–1754 — Colonies
Jamestown — 1607
* First permanent English settlement
* Virginia Company
* John Smith → helped colony survive
* Tobacco → major cash crop
* John Rolfe → tobacco cultivation
Important Virginia Developments
* House of Burgesses (1619) → representative government
* Headright System → encouraged immigration by giving land
* Growth of slavery
Plymouth & Massachusetts
* Pilgrims → Plymouth, 1620
* Mayflower Compact → self-government
* Puritans → Massachusetts Bay
* John Winthrop → “city upon a hill”
Religion
Puritans: wanted to reform the Church of England
Quakers:
* Religious tolerance
* Equality
* Pennsylvania
* William Penn
Bacon’s Rebellion — 1676
* Nathaniel Bacon led frontier farmers against Virginia government
* Showed conflict between wealthy elites and poorer colonists
* Contributed to increased reliance on enslaved labor
Colonial Economies
New England
* Fishing
* Shipbuilding
* Trade
* Small farms
Middle Colonies
* Grain
* Trade
* Diverse population
Southern Colonies
* Tobacco
* Rice
* Indigo
* Plantation agriculture
* Slavery
⸻
PERIOD 3: 1754–1800 — Revolution & Constitution
French & Indian War — 1754–1763
Britain vs. France + Native allies
Consequences
* Britain wins
* Britain gains territory
* Britain has massive debt
* Britain begins taxing colonies
Proclamation of 1763
* Colonists prohibited from settling west of Appalachian Mountains
* Angered colonists
⸻
Road to Revolution
Tax Acts
Stamp Act (1765)
* Tax on printed materials
* “No taxation without representation”
Townshend Acts (1767)
* Taxes on imports
* Led to colonial resistance
Boston Massacre (1770)
* British soldiers killed colonists
* Patriot propaganda
Boston Tea Party (1773)
* Colonists protested Tea Act
Intolerable Acts (1774)
* Punished Massachusetts
* Helped unite colonies
⸻
Declaration of Independence — 1776
Thomas Jefferson
Main ideas:
* Natural rights
* Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness
* Government gets power from the people
* People can overthrow an abusive government
⸻
Revolutionary War
Turning Points
Saratoga (1777)
→ Major American victory
→ France joins American side
Yorktown (1781)
→ Cornwallis surrendered
→ Major fighting effectively ended
Treaty of Paris (1783)
→ Britain recognized U.S. independence
⸻
Articles of Confederation
Strengths
* Won Revolutionary War
* Land Ordinance of 1785
* Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Weaknesses
* No power to tax
* No executive branch
* No national court system
* Weak central government
⸻
Constitution
Great Compromise
* House of Representatives → population
* Senate → equal representation
3/5 Compromise
* Enslaved people counted as 3/5 for representation and taxation
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
Federalists
* Strong national government
* Hamilton
* Madison
* Jay
Anti-Federalists
* Feared centralized power
* Wanted Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights — 1791
First 10 amendments
⸻
PERIOD 4: 1800–1848 — Expansion & Democracy
Jefferson
Election of 1800
* Peaceful transfer of power
* Jefferson becomes president
Louisiana Purchase — 1803
* Bought from France
* Doubled U.S. territory
Lewis & Clark
* Explored western territory
⸻
War of 1812
Causes:
* British impressment
* British interference with trade
* British support for Native resistance
Effects
* Increased nationalism
* Weakened Federalist Party
* Encouraged American manufacturing
⸻
Market Revolution
Transportation
* Canals
* Roads
* Railroads
* Steamboats
Industrialization
* Factories grew
* Wage labor expanded
* Cities grew
Erie Canal → connected Great Lakes to Hudson River
⸻
Jacksonian Democracy
Andrew Jackson
* Expanded voting for white men
* Spoils system
* Popular democracy
Indian Removal Act — 1830
* Forced Native Americans west
* Trail of Tears
* Major example of U.S. expansion and Native displacement
Bank War
Jackson opposed the national bank.
⸻
Manifest Destiny
Belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across North America.
Texas
* Texas declared independence from Mexico
* Alamo
* Texas becomes U.S. state in 1845
Mexican-American War — 1846–1848
U.S. victory → Mexican Cession
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
* U.S. gained California, New Mexico and huge western territory
⸻
PERIOD 5: 1844–1877 — Civil War & Reconstruction
Sectionalism
North
* Industry
* Free labor
* Railroads
* Growing cities
South
* Plantation economy
* Cotton
* Slavery
West
* Competition over whether slavery would expand
⸻
Slavery
Cotton Gin
* Eli Whitney
* Made cotton processing faster
* Increased demand for enslaved labor
Missouri Compromise — 1820
* Missouri → slave
* Maine → free
* 36°30′ line
Compromise of 1850
* California → free
* Popular sovereignty in Utah/New Mexico
* Fugitive Slave Act strengthened
Kansas-Nebraska Act — 1854
* Popular sovereignty
* Repealed Missouri Compromise
* Led to Bleeding Kansas
Dred Scott v. Sandford — 1857
Supreme Court ruled:
* African Americans were not citizens
* Congress couldn’t prohibit slavery in territories
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Major issue → slavery’s expansion
⸻
Civil War
Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln wins
Southern states secede.
Emancipation Proclamation — 1863
* Freed enslaved people in rebelling states
* Changed war aims toward ending slavery
Gettysburg — 1863
Major Union victory
Gettysburg Address
* Equality
* Democracy
* “new birth of freedom”
Appomattox — 1865
Lee surrendered to Grant.
⸻
Reconstruction — 1865–1877
13th Amendment
Abolished slavery
14th Amendment
Citizenship + equal protection
15th Amendment
Voting rights for Black men
Freedmen’s Bureau
* Helped formerly enslaved people
* Education
* Employment
* Food/housing assistance
Black Codes
Southern laws restricting African Americans after the Civil War.
Ku Klux Klan
Used violence and intimidation to suppress Black political participation.
Compromise of 1877
* Ended disputed 1876 election
* Federal troops withdrawn from South
* Reconstruction effectively ended
⚠️ APUSH connection: Reconstruction achieved major constitutional changes but failed to permanently protect many of those gains.
⸻
PERIOD 6: 1865–1898 — Gilded Age
Industrialization
Important Industrialists
* Andrew Carnegie → steel
* John D. Rockefeller → oil
* J.P. Morgan → banking/finance
Robber Barons vs. Captains of Industry
Robber Baron
→ exploited workers, monopolies
Captain of Industry
→ created jobs/industry and sometimes philanthropy
Social Darwinism
Applied survival-of-the-fittest ideas to society/economics.
⸻
Labor
Knights of Labor
* Broad membership
* Wanted better working conditions
AFL
* Samuel Gompers
* Skilled workers
* Higher wages
* Shorter hours
Major Strikes
Haymarket Affair
→ labor unrest + anarchism
Homestead Strike
→ Carnegie Steel
Pullman Strike
→ railroad workers
→ federal government intervened
⸻
Immigration
Old Immigration
Mostly:
* Northern/Western Europe
New Immigration
Mostly:
* Southern/Eastern Europe
* Italians
* Poles
* Russians
Chinese Exclusion Act — 1882
Restricted Chinese immigration.
⸻
Urbanization
Problems:
* Tenements
* Disease
* Crime
* Poor sanitation
Political machines
* Ex: Tammany Hall
* Provided services in exchange for votes
⸻
PERIOD 7: 1890–1945 — Progressive Era & World Wars
Progressivism
Goals:
* Reduce corruption
* Regulate corporations
* Improve working conditions
* Consumer protection
* Women’s suffrage
Muckrakers
Investigative journalists exposing problems.
Upton Sinclair
→ The Jungle
→ exposed meatpacking conditions
→ helped inspire Meat Inspection Act & Pure Food and Drug Act
Theodore Roosevelt
Square Deal
* Trust busting
* Conservation
* Consumer protection
16th Amendment
→ Federal income tax
17th Amendment
→ Direct election of senators
18th Amendment
→ Prohibition
19th Amendment
→ Women’s suffrage
⸻
Imperialism
Spanish-American War — 1898
U.S. victory
U.S. gains influence over:
* Puerto Rico
* Guam
* Philippines
Open Door Policy
U.S. wanted equal trade access in China.
Roosevelt Corollary
U.S. claimed right to intervene in Latin America.
⸻
World War I
Causes
Think MAIN
* Militarism
* Alliance system
* Imperialism
* Nationalism
U.S. enters in 1917.
Wilson’s Fourteen Points
* Self-determination
* League of Nations
* International cooperation
Treaty of Versailles
Senate rejected it.
⸻
1920s
Consumer Culture
* Cars
* Radios
* Movies
* Advertising
Harlem Renaissance
African American cultural movement.
Important figures:
* Langston Hughes
* Zora Neale Hurston
* Duke Ellington
Great Migration
African Americans moved from South → Northern/Western cities.
⸻
Great Depression
Causes
* Stock market speculation
* Bank failures
* Unequal wealth
* Overproduction
* Consumer debt
FDR’s New Deal
Relief → help people now
Recovery → rebuild economy
Reform → prevent future depression
Important Programs
CCC → jobs for young men
WPA → public works/jobs
Social Security Act → retirement assistance
FDIC → protects bank deposits
SEC → regulates stock market
⸻
World War II
Pearl Harbor — 1941
Japan attacks U.S.
U.S. enters WWII.
Japanese American Internment
Executive Order 9066
→ forced relocation/internment
D-Day — 1944
Allied invasion of Europe.
Manhattan Project
Developed atomic bomb.
Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Atomic bombs used against Japan.
Japan surrenders → 1945
⸻
PERIOD 8: 1945–1980 — Cold War & Civil Rights
Cold War
U.S. vs. USSR
Capitalism vs. Communism
Truman Doctrine
Contain communism.
Marshall Plan
Economic aid to rebuild Europe.
NATO
Western military alliance.
Korean War
U.S. supports South Korea against communist North Korea.
⸻
Civil Rights Movement
Brown v. Board — 1954
School segregation unconstitutional.
Rosa Parks
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Martin Luther King Jr.
* Nonviolent protest
* Civil rights
Civil Rights Act — 1964
Banned segregation/discrimination in many public settings.
Voting Rights Act — 1965
Protected voting rights.
Malcolm X
Initially promoted Black nationalism/self-defense; later shifted views toward broader cooperation.
⸻
Vietnam War
Domino Theory
If one country becomes communist, nearby countries may follow.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Expanded presidential power in Vietnam.
Vietnamization
Nixon’s policy of reducing U.S. troops while South Vietnam took more responsibility.
Effects
* Antiwar movement
* Distrust of government
* War Powers Act
⸻
PERIOD 9: 1980–Present
Reagan
Reaganomics
Tax cuts + deregulation + reduced government spending
Conservative Movement
* Lower taxes
* Smaller government
* Anti-communism
* Traditional social values
Cold War Ends
1989 → Berlin Wall falls
1991 → USSR collapses
⸻
⭐ MUST-KNOW APUSH THEMES
1. Federal Power
Articles → weak government
↓
Constitution → stronger government
↓
Civil War → massive federal expansion
↓
New Deal → federal government expands economically
↓
Great Society → federal government expands social programs
⸻
2. Race
Colonial slavery
↓
Expansion of slavery
↓
Civil War
↓
13th/14th/15th Amendments
↓
Jim Crow
↓
Civil Rights Movement
↓
Civil Rights Act + Voting Rights Act
⸻
3. Expansion
Louisiana Purchase
↓
Manifest Destiny
↓
Mexican-American War
↓
Westward expansion
↓
Imperialism
↓
Overseas influence
⸻
4. Economy
Agricultural colonies
↓
Market Revolution
↓
Industrial Revolution
↓
Gilded Age corporations
↓
Great Depression
↓
New Deal
↓
Modern consumer economy
⸻
🔥 20 EVENTS YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO KNOW
Date Event
1492 Columbus
1607 Jamestown
1620 Plymouth
1754–63 French & Indian War
1776 Declaration of Independence
1781 Articles/ Yorktown
1787 Constitution
1803 Louisiana Purchase
1812 War of 1812
1820 Missouri Compromise
1830 Indian Removal Act
1846–48 Mexican-American War
1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act
1861–65 Civil War
1863 Emancipation Proclamation
1865 13th Amendment
1898 Spanish-American War
1929 Great Depression begins
1941 Pearl Harbor
1954 Brown v. Board
1964 Civil Rights Act
1965 Voting Rights Act
🧠 APUSH Essay Formula
For LEQs/DBQs, remember:
Claim → Evidence → Explain → Connect
Don’t just say what happened.
Instead:
Evidence: The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise.
Analysis: This increased sectional tensions because it allowed slavery to potentially expand into territories previously closed to it, contributing to the breakdown of political compromise before the Civil War.
APUSH loves CAUSATION, CHANGE/CONTINUITY, and COMPARISON.
Ask yourself:
* Why did this happen?
* What did it cause?
* What changed?
* What stayed the same?
* Who benefited?
* Who was harmed?
* How does this connect to another period
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