AP U.S. History - Unit 1 Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Focus on societal makeup of the Americas pre-European arrival and the effects post-arrival.
• Part of the AP US History Ultimate Review Pack.

Native American Societies Before European Arrival

• Diversity: Native American societies were diverse, not monolithic.
  • Different lifestyles based on environments.
  • Coastal regions: Fishing villages.
  • Great Plains: Nomadic, hunter-gatherer groups.
  • Urban centers in certain regions.

Specific Native Groups

• Pueblo People (Utah and Colorado)
  • Farmers: beans, squash, maize.
  • Advanced irrigation systems.
  • Cliff dwellings.
• Great Basin & Great Plains
  • Nomadic, hunter-gatherers (e.g., Ute people).
  • Organized in small egalitarian kinship bands.
• Northwest & Pacific Coast
  • Permanent settlements due to abundant resources.
  • Example: Chumash (California) and Chinook (Pacific Northwest).
• Iroquois People (Northeast)
  • Farmers, lived in longhouses.
  • Used timber from the area for construction.
• Mississippi River Valley
  • Large population centers like Cahokia.
  • Centralized government and trade networks.

European Arrival and Motivations

• European kingdoms unified politically in the 1300s-1400s.
• Desire for luxury goods from Asia.
• Need for sea-based trade routes due to Muslim control of land routes.

Portugal's Role

• Established trading posts around Africa, entering Indian Ocean Trade Network.
• Used new and old maritime technologies.

Spain's Role

• Completed the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula.
• Columbus's voyage sponsored by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492.
  • Discovery of the Americas led to European competition to explore.

Columbian Exchange

• Exchange of people, animals, plants, and diseases between hemispheres.

Exchange Details

• Food: Potatoes, tomatoes, maize to Europe; wheat, rice to Americas.
• Animals: Turkeys to Europe; cattle, pigs, horses to Americas.
• People: European settlement and African enslavement.
• Diseases: Smallpox to Americas; syphilis to Europe.

Economic and Social Shifts

• Wealth from Americas led to shift from feudalism to capitalism.
• Joint stock companies funded exploration.

Spain in the Americas

• Encomienda system for agriculture and mining.
• Decline due to native resistance and disease.
• Importation of African enslaved laborers.
• Introduction of Casta system based on racial ancestry.

European and Native American Interactions

• Mixed adoption of each other's cultures.
• Brutal relationships justified by belief systems.

Justifications for Exploitation

• Europeans viewed Native Americans as less than human.
• Debate among Spaniards: Juan Guines de Sepulveda vs. Bartolome de las Casas.

African Enslavement Rationale

• Misinterpretation of biblical texts to justify slavery.

Conclusion

• Summary of Unit 1 key points.
• Encouragement to use Ultimate Review Packet for further study.