APUSH Period 1-2 Study Guide

Key Ideas

• Period 1: 1491 - 1607; Period 2: 1607 - 1754
  • Specialized Colonies: Region-specific characteristics
  • Natives/Slave Relations: Increased contact impacting economy and culture severely

Important Ideas to Understand

• Discovery of the New World

  • Exploration by Spain, France, and Great Britain
  • Spain: Focus on Latin America, South America; Gold and silver mining; Solo male travelers
  • France: West of future U.S.; Fur trade, alliances with Natives; Solo male travelers
  • Great Britain: East side of future U.S.; Agricultural colonies; Whole families migrated

• Social and Cultural Effects

  • Social Structure
    • Fluid in Spain/France due to intermarriage (Creoles, mulattoes)
    • Rigid in Great Britain: Families migrated, less intermarriage
    • Native Americans and African Americans placed at bottom
  • Cultural Blending
    • Religion: Voodoo (Natives' religion mixed with Christianity)
    • Mixed languages

• Conflicts and Colonies

  • Land encroachment led to conflicts with Natives
  • Separate colonies had different economies and life norms
    • North (New England, Bread-Basket Colonies): Grain crops, less labor-intensive, no slavery, close-knit towns
    • South (Chesapeake, Southern Colonies): Tobacco, indigo, rice; labor-intensive; slavery; aristocratic societies; isolated farms

Notable Events

• Discovery of the New World

  • Columbian Exchange: Transfer of animals, plants, slaves across Atlantic
  • Jamestown: First English settlement, focused on gold, starvation issues
    • Captain John Smith's relations with Natives saved colonists
  • Plymouth: Settled by Puritans, who believed in Calvinist predestination
  • Massachusetts Bay Colony: Religion and state linked; religion-based laws

• Rebellions and Changes

  • Bacon's Rebellion (1676): Led by Nathaniel Bacon; unsatisfied indentured servants; resulted in distrust of indentured labor
  • Stono Rebellion (1739): Led by escaped slaves; resulted in stricter slave codes
  • First Great Awakening: Protestant denominations rise; challenge to clergy; contrasting Puritan ideology

Expansion of Slavery

• Cause and Effect
  • Bacon's Rebellion: Need for trustworthy labor led to increased slave use
  • Stono Rebellion: Strengthened restrictions on African Americans
  • Birth of Chattel Slavery: Cheaper than trade/purchase; popularized
  • Growing Cash Crop Economy: Southern dependence on cash crops increased slave demand

Important Terms

• New England Colonies: Massachusetts Bay, etc.
• Bread-Basket Colonies: Pennsylvania, NJ
• Chesapeake Region: Maryland, Virginia
• Southern Colonies: Georgia, Carolinas
• Encomienda System: Slavery-like system for Native labor
• Headright System: Land given to those who paid for passage
• Indentured Servitude: Work to pay off passage, then free to start anew
• Chattel Slavery: Born into slavery; cheaper labor
• Kinship Ties: Family connections among slaves; resistance against oppression
• Mercantilism: Colonies supply raw materials to the mother country
• Salutary Neglect: Colonial autonomy prior to Period 3
• Navigation Acts: Regulated trade, largely ignored, example of continuity/change

Note:

• Understand the complex intertwining of political, economic, and societal characteristics during these periods.