APUSH Period 1-2 Study Guide

Created by Angeline B. Nato for Simple Studies

• Source: Adapted from "Cracking the AP U.S. History Exam: 2016 Edition" by The Princeton Review 2015; Advanced Placement YouTube Channel: AP U.S. History Playlist 2020

Key Ideas (Period 1: 1491-1607; Period 2: 1607-1754)

• Specialized Colonies: Region-specific characteristics
• Natives/Slave Relations: Increased contact, direct impact on economic characteristics, severe cultural effects

Important Ideas to Understand

Discovery of New World

• Exploration Era: Mainly Spain, France, and Great Britain
  • Spain: Latin America, South America; gold and silver mining
    • Solo male travelers
  • France: West of future U.S.; fur trade, Native alliances
    • Solo male travelers
  • Great Britain: East side of future U.S.; agricultural colonies
    • Whole families migrated

Social/Cultural Effects

• Social Structure

  • Spain and France: Fluid due to intermarriage (creoles, mulattoes)
  • Great Britain: Rigid; rare intermarriage with indigenous people
  • Native Americans and African Americans placed at bottom

• Cultural Blending

  • Natives: Voodoo religion (mix of their religion and Christianity), mixed languages

Conflicts with Natives

• Result of land encroachment
• Separate Colonies with different economies and life norms
  • North (New England, Bread-Basket Colonies): Grain crops, smaller farms, close-knit towns
  • South (Chesapeake, Southern Colonies): Tobacco, indigo, rice; labor-intensive, use of slaves, isolated farms

Notable Events

New World Discovery

• Columbian Exchange: Transfer of animals, plants, slaves across the Atlantic
• Jamestown: First English settlement in America; gold mining, starvation, saved by Native relations
• Plymouth: Settlement by Puritans; Calvinist predestination beliefs
  • Massachusetts Bay Colony: Religion intertwined with state

Rebellions

• Bacon's Rebellion (1676): Led by Nathaniel Bacon; dissatisfaction of freed indentured servants; led to distrust of indentured labor
• Stono Rebellion (1739): Escaped slaves killed masters, caught while fleeing; led to stricter slave codes

First Great Awakening

• Inspired by Europe's Enlightenment
• Burst of Protestant denominations
• Emphasized potential salvation for all, contrasting with Puritan predestination

Native American Conflicts

• Due to land encroachment, broken treaties

Expansion of Slavery

• Influenced by Bacon's Rebellion and Stono Rebellion
• Transition to chattel slavery; cheaper and more popular
• Growth of cash crop economy increased slave demand

Important Terms

• New England Colonies: Northern, e.g., Massachusetts Bay Colony
• Bread-Basket Colonies: Middle Colonies, e.g., Pennsylvania
• Chesapeake Region: Maryland, Virginia
• Southern Colonies: Georgia, Carolinas
• Encomienda System: Form of slavery using Native American labor
• Headright System: Landowners received land for paying for someone's trip to America
• Indentured Servitude: Work to pay off cost of passage, then gain freedom
• Chattel Slavery: Hereditary slavery system
• Kinship Ties: Family connections among slaves

Economic Concepts

• Mercantilism: Colonies supply raw materials to mother country
• Salutary Neglect: Period of colonial autonomy; ended leading to Revolution
• Navigation Acts: Regulated colonial trade, largely ignored

Note: Understand the interplay of political, economic, and societal characteristics within these periods as they influence the events and ideas.