APUSH Exam Review Lecture Notes

Period 1: Pre-1492 to 1607

• Native American Cultures:
  • Developed unique cultures based on climate and geography.
  • Central/South America: Aztecs and Mayas relied on maize cultivation, had complex societies with trade networks.
  • North America: Tribes were smaller; Great Plains tribes hunted buffalo, while Great Lakes tribes developed agriculture.
• Columbian Exchange (Post-1492):
  • Exchange of plants, animals, ideas, peoples, and diseases between Old and New Worlds.
  • Europeans gained new resources, leading to population boom; natives devastated by diseases.
• Spanish Colonization:
  • Conquistadors like Hernán Cortés conquered native civilizations, established encomienda system.
  • Debates over treatment of natives (e.g., Valladolid debates) led to decline of encomienda, rise of African slavery.

Period 2: 1607 to 1754

• Colonization:
  • French: Focused on fur trade, friendly with natives, Catholic conversion by Jesuits.
  • Dutch: Established New Amsterdam for trade.
  • English: Mass migration; established Jamestown (1607) for profit (tobacco).
  • Chesapeake Region: Cash crops like tobacco, Virginia and Maryland had plantations.
  • New England: Religious motives, Puritan societies, economies based on trade and fishing.
  • Middle Colonies: Ethnically diverse, grain farming, friendly to natives.
• Conflicts and Growth:
  • Tensions over land led to conflicts like King Philip's War.
  • Developments in self-governance and salutary neglect.
  • First Great Awakening challenged church authority.
• Bacon's Rebellion (1676): Showed tensions between settlers and colonial leaders, led to increased African slavery.

Period 3: 1754 to 1800

• French and Indian War:
  • British vs. French over Ohio River Valley; ended with Treaty of Paris (1763).
  • Proclamation of 1763 restricted colonial expansion.
• Colonial Tensions:
  • End of salutary neglect; new taxes like Stamp Act angered colonists.
  • Boston Massacre and Tea Party escalated tensions.
  • Declaration of Independence (1776), inspired by Enlightenment ideals.
• American Revolution:
  • Continental Army won due to leadership, tactics, and French support.
  • Post-war, Articles of Confederation were weak, leading to Constitutional Convention.
• Constitution (1787):
  • Compromises (Great Compromise, Three-Fifths Compromise), checks and balances.
  • Ratification debates led to addition of Bill of Rights.
• Early Presidency:
  • George Washington set precedents, warned against foreign entanglements and political parties.
  • Emergence of first political parties: Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans.

Period 4: 1800 to 1848

• Jeffersonian Presidency:
  • Louisiana Purchase (1803), Embargo Act (1807).
• War of 1812:
  • Caused by British impressment; ended with Treaty of Ghent (1814).
  • Era of Good Feelings under Monroe.
• Jacksonian Democracy:
  • Supported common man, opposed National Bank, controversial Indian Removal Act.
• Market Revolution:
  • Technological innovations (e.g., cotton gin, steam engine) transformed economy.
  • Industrialization led to urbanization, social reforms (e.g., Second Great Awakening).
• Antibellum Reforms:
  • Abolitionism, women's suffrage movement, temperance, education reforms.

Period 5: 1844 to 1877

• Manifest Destiny:
  • Expansion under Polk; Mexican-American War (1846-1848).
• Slavery Debates:
  • Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), Dred Scott decision (1857).
• Civil War (1861-1865):
  • Tensions over slavery and states' rights led to secession and conflict.
  • North's advantages led to victory; Emancipation Proclamation (1863).
• Reconstruction (Post-war):
  • Radical Republicans vs. Andrew Johnson; Reconstruction amendments (13th, 14th, 15th).
  • Rise of sharecropping, Jim Crow laws, end of Reconstruction with Compromise of 1877.

Period 6: 1865 to 1898

• Gilded Age:
  • Rise of corporations and industrial magnates; labor struggles.
  • Social Darwinism and philanthropy (e.g., Gospel of Wealth).
• Urbanization and Immigration:
  • Ethnic neighborhoods, political machines, nativism (e.g., Chinese Exclusion Act).
• Westward Expansion:
  • Railroads, extractive industries, conflicts with Native Americans.
  • Assimilation policies (e.g., Dawes Act).
• Populism:
  • Farmers' struggles led to political movement; focused on silver and income tax.

Period 7: 1890 to 1945

• Imperialism:
  • Annexation of territories, Spanish-American War, debates over imperialism.
• Progressive Movement:
  • Social and political reforms; muckrakers exposed corruption.
• World War I:
  • America joined in 1917; post-war isolationism.
• Roaring Twenties:
  • Economic prosperity, cultural shifts (Harlem Renaissance, prohibition).
• Great Depression and New Deal:
  • Economic crisis led to FDR's New Deal programs for relief, recovery, reform.
• World War II:
  • US entry after Pearl Harbor (1941); major role in defeat of Axis powers.

Period 8: 1945 to 1980

• Post-War America:
  • Economic prosperity, suburbanization, culture of conformity.
• Cold War:
  • Tensions with Soviet Union, containment policy, major conflicts (Korea, Vietnam).
• Civil Rights Movement:
  • Legal victories and social activism; Civil Rights Act (1964), Voting Rights Act (1965).
• Great Society:
  • Johnson's social programs, resistance to government spending.
• Social Movements:
  • Women's rights, environmentalism, LGBTQ+ advocacy.

Period 9: 1980 to Present

• Conservative Resurgence:
  • Reaganomics, increased defense spending, end of Cold War.
• Middle East Conflicts:
  • Gulf War, War on Terror post-9/11.
• Domestic Policy:
  • Political polarization, debates over immigration, economic policy.
• Globalization:
  • Increased global interconnectedness through technology and trade.