APUSH Review Notes

Period 1 (1491 - 1607)

• Significance of Dates:
  • 1491: Year before Columbus's arrival.
  • 1607: Founding of Jamestown, Virginia.
• Focus: Native American life before Europeans.
• Columbian Exchange: Impact on Africans, Native Americans, and Europeans.
• Key Terms:
  • Autonomy: Independence sought by Native Americans and Africans.
  • Subjugation: Control by force, often in slavery form.
  • Maize: Core crop that increased European population.
  • Encomienda System: Spanish land grants exploiting Native labor.

Period 2 (1607 - 1754)

• Spanish Colonization: Tight control, conversion of Natives, wealth focus.
• French and Dutch Colonization: Trade alliances, fewer inhabitants.
• English Colonization: Agriculture-based, hostile Native relations.
• Pueblo Revolt: Native revolt in New Mexico against Spanish.
• Enlightenment: Ideas on government, influencing American Revolution.
• Mercantilism: Economic policy favoring mother country.
• Anglicization: Colonies adopting British culture.
• Colonial Characteristics:
  • New England: Puritans, close-knit, mixed economy.
  • Middle Colonies: Diverse, grain-based economy.
  • Southern Colonies: Indentured servants, staple crops.

Period 3 (1754 - 1800)

• 7 Years War Impact: France removed, British debt, colonial resistance.
• Common Sense: Advocated independence from Britain.
• Declaration of Independence: Inspired by Enlightenment, global influence.
• Patriot Victory Reasons: Familiarity, leadership, ideological commitment.
• Northwest Land Ordinance: Banned slavery in NW territory.
• Articles of Confederation: Weak central government issues.
• Constitution: Replaced Articles; federal compromises.
• Washington’s Farewell Address: Warned against alliances, parties.
• Republican Motherhood: Women instilling values; education increase.
• Bill of Rights: Guaranteed individual rights, anti-Federalist support.

Period 4 (1800 - 1848)

• Supreme Court Decisions Impact: Judicial review, federal power.
• Whigs vs. Democrats: Government role, National Bank disagreements.
• Second Great Awakening: Reforms like abolition and women's rights.
• Seneca Falls Convention: Women's Rights equality.
• Market Revolution Innovations: Textile, steam engines, telegraph.
• American System: Economic unification plan by Henry Clay.
• Monroe Doctrine: Anti-European colonization message.
• Missouri Compromise: Slavery regulation in new territories.

Period 5 (1844 - 1877)

• Manifest Destiny: Westward migration incentives.
• Mexican Cession Impact: Slavery debates.
• Nativist Movement: Anti-immigrant sentiment.
• Abolitionist Campaigns: Moral arguments, assistance to escapes.
• South’s Slavery Defense: "Positive good" argument.
• Compromise of 1850: Addressed Mexican Cession issues.
• Kansas-Nebraska Act: Popular sovereignty, Republican Party creation.
• Dred Scott Decision: Slaves as property, limited Congress power.
• Lincoln’s Campaign and War Views: From Union preservation to abolition.
• Civil War Union Victory: Leadership, resources, infrastructure impact.
• 13th - 15th Amendments: Abolished slavery, citizenship rights.
• Reconstruction End: North's reduced resolve.

Period 6 (1865 - 1877)

• Gilded Age: Rapid business growth, underlying problems.
• Social Darwinism: Justification of wealth disparity.
• Labor Unions: Worker condition improvements.
• New South: Industrialization efforts, sharecropping persistence.
• Mechanized Agriculture: Displacement of farmers.
• Populist Party: Response to corporate power.
• Political Machines: Urban support services exchange.
• Buffalo Decimation: Impact on Native Americans.
• Assimilation of Native Americans: Dawes Act and cultural changes.

Period 7 (1890 - 1945)

• Frontier Closing: Overseas expansion call.
• Progressive Era: Government solving societal issues.
• Urban Society Transition: City population increase.
• Harlem Renaissance: African American cultural celebration.
• WWI Role: Minor in war, major in negotiations.
• Great Migration: African Americans moving North.
• Red Scare: Anti-communism, rights suppression.
• Great Depression: Financial crisis and regulatory calls.
• New Deal: Depression response, reforms.
• WWII: US entry post-Pearl Harbor, Allied victory.
• Japanese Internment: Korematsu v. US.
• Atomic Bomb Decision: War end and ethical debate.