Heimlich's History: AP US History Unit 1 Overview

Course Resources

• Part of the AP US History Ultimate Review Pack
  • Includes note guides, practice exams, multiple-choice questions
  • Designed to help achieve high grades and exam scores

Big Picture of Unit 1

• Focus on societal makeup of Americas before European arrival and subsequent effects

Native Societies Before European Arrival

• Diverse Societies
  • Various cultures based on environments
  • Not monolithic groups

Examples of Native American Cultures

• Pueblo People (Utah and Colorado)

  • Farmers: planted beans, squash, maize
  • Advanced irrigation systems
  • Known for cliff dwellings

• Great Basin and Plains (Colorado to Canada)

  • Nomadic, hunter-gatherers
  • Small egalitarian kinship bands (e.g., Ute people)

• Northwest and Pacific Coast (e.g., Chumash and Chinook)

  • Permanent settlements due to fish, game, and plant life abundance
  • Built villages and participated in trade networks

• Iroquois People (Northeast)

  • Farmers, lived in longhouses
  • Utilized available timber

• Mississippi River Valley (e.g., Cahokia)

  • Farmers utilizing rich soil
  • Large civilization (10,000-30,000 people), centralized government

European Arrival and Motivations

• Political Changes in Europe (1300s-1400s)

  • Unification and centralized monarchies
  • Desire for Asian luxury goods
  • Sea-based trade routes sought due to Muslim-controlled land routes

• Portugal's Trading Post Empire

  • Around Africa, foothold in Indian Ocean
  • Maritime technologies: astronomical charts, astrolabe, ship designs

• Spain Enters Maritime Exploration

  • Post-Reconquest ambitions
  • Columbus’s voyage westward in 1492
  • Discovery of the Americas

Columbian Exchange

• Transfer of people, animals, plants, diseases between hemispheres

Specific Transfers

• Food

  • Americas to Europe: potatoes, tomatoes, maize
  • Europe to Americas: wheat, rice, soybeans

• Animals

  • Americas to Europe: turkeys
  • Europe to Americas: cattle, pigs, horses

• Disease

  • Europeans brought smallpox to Americas
  • Native American populations decimated

Economic and Societal Shifts in Europe

• Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism
  • Driven by wealth from Americas
  • Rise of joint stock companies for exploration funding

Spanish Colonization

• Encomienda System

  • Forced native labor for agriculture and mining
  • Problems with native servitude led to African enslaved labor

• Casta System

  • Social hierarchy based on racial ancestry
  • Peninsulares, Criollos, Mestizos, Mulattos, Africans, Native Americans

Cultural Interactions and Conflicts

• Adoption of Practices

  • Natives taught Europeans hunting and maize cultivation
  • Europeans introduced new tools and weapons

• Belief Systems Justifying Exploitation

  • Native Americans seen as less than human (e.g., Sepulveda)
  • Las Casas opposed harsh treatment, laws briefly passed
  • Biblical justification for African enslavement

---

Conclusion

• Unit 1 covers diverse native societies, European motivations, Columbian Exchange, and the implications of European colonization.
• Understanding this unit is crucial for navigating AP US History examinations.