Lecture Notes: APUSH Units 1-5 Review Session

Introduction

• Review of APUSH units 1 through 5.
• The session is approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes long.
• Old Himler's history channel reached 1 million subscribers.
• Encouragement to study and participate actively in the upcoming exam.

Unit 1: 1491-1607

Big Ideas

1. Diversity of Native American Populations

   • Diverse societies shaped by their environments.
   • Examples: Chumash (coastal), Ute (Great Basin), Cahokia (Mississippi River Valley), Iroquois (Northeast).

2. European Exploration Motivations

   • Political unification, desire for luxury goods, Ottoman control of trade routes.
   • Portugal's trading post empire, Spain's westward exploration.
   • Christopher Columbus’ voyages leading to European competition.

3. Columbian Exchange

   • Transfer of crops, animals, diseases between Old and New Worlds.
   • Effects on diet, population growth in Europe; disease devastation in Americas.

4. Spanish Impact on Americas

   • Encomienda system, decline of Native populations, rise of African slavery.
   • Casta system: racial and ancestral hierarchy.

5. Changes in European-Native American Relations

   • Differing views on land use, religion, and society.
   • Debates between Sepulveda (against) and de las Casas (for indigenous rights).

Unit 2: 1607-1754

Big Ideas

1. Colonial Goals by European Powers

   • Spanish focus on wealth and Christianity, French/Dutch on trade, British on social mobility and religious freedom.

2. Regional Differences in British Colonies

   • Chesapeake (wealth, tobacco), New England (religious freedom, family), Middle Colonies (trade), Southern Colonies (cash crops, slavery).

3. Transatlantic Trade and Mercantilism

   • Triangular Trade, mercantilism’s focus on accumulating wealth and controlling trade.

4. Native American Conflicts

   • Metacom’s War, Pueblo Revolt illustrating colonial tensions.

5. Dependence on Enslaved Labor

   • Variations by region, resistance and rebellion (e.g., Stono Rebellion).

6. Cultural Influence and Enlightenment

   • Enlightenment ideas, First Great Awakening's role in shaping American identity.

7. Rising Colonial Dissent

   • Impressment and its role in shaping colonial awareness and resistance.

Unit 3: 1754-1800

Big Ideas

1. French and Indian War Consequences

   • British land gains and increased taxation on colonies.

2. Taxation Without Representation

   • Colonial resistance due to lack of representation in Parliament.

3. Influence of Enlightenment on Independence

   • Natural rights, social contracts, influence in Common Sense and Declaration of Independence.

4. American Revolution

   • Loyalists vs Patriots, strategic importance of Saratoga, France’s alliance.

5. Articles of Confederation

   • Weak federal government, lack of military/power to tax.

6. Constitutional Convention

   • Federalists vs Anti-Federalists, Great Compromise, Three-Fifths Compromise.

7. Constitution and Federalism

   • Federalism and separation of powers.

8. Revolutionary Ideals’ Influence

   • Slavery debates, Republican motherhood, influence on France and Haiti.

9. Early Presidential Precedents

   • Political party formation, Whiskey Rebellion, economic policy debates.

10. National and Regional American Identity

• Art, literature, and architecture reflecting national identity.

Unit 4: 1800-1848

Big Ideas

1. Era of Jefferson and Territorial Expansion

   • Louisiana Purchase, Supreme Court’s power increase (Marbury v. Madison).

2. Conflicts Between Federal and Regional Interests

   • War of 1812 opposition, American System, Missouri Compromise.

3. American Expansionism

   • Monroe Doctrine establishing U.S. influence in Western Hemisphere.

4. Market Revolution

   • Technological advances leading to economic interdependence and cultural changes.

5. Democratic Expansion

   • Universal male suffrage, political party development.

6. Andrew Jackson’s Use of Federal Power

   • Tariffs, Bank War, Indian Removal Act.

7. Cultural Movements

   • Transcendentalism, Hudson River School, Second Great Awakening.

8. Reform Movements

   • Temperance, abolitionism, women's movement.

9. Southern Society and Slavery

   • Societal entrenchment of slavery despite majority non-slave owning populace.

Unit 5: 1844-1877

Big Ideas

1. Manifest Destiny

   • Belief in westward expansion as a divine right.

2. Mexican-American War

   • Causes and effects, including territorial gains.

3. Slavery Debate Intensifies

   • Compromise of 1850 as a temporary solution.

4. Immigration and Nativism

   • Cultural persistence and opposition.

5. Slavery and Regional Conflict

   • Free soil movement, abolitionist action.

6. Failure of Compromises

   • Political divisions over slavery.

7. Election of 1860 and Secession

   • Lincoln's election prompting southern secession.

8. Civil War

   • Northern advantages, key events like Emancipation Proclamation.

9. Reconstruction Era

   • Constitutional amendments, reunification efforts.

10. Reconstruction’s Failure

• Persistence of southern societal norms and eventual end of federal enforcement.