AP US History Unit 1 Overview

Introduction

• Part of a review series called the AP US History Ultimate Review Pack
• This unit covers societal makeup of the Americas before and after European arrival
• Diversity among Native American societies

Native American Societies Before European Arrival

Pueblo People (Utah & Colorado)

• Settled farmers (beans, squash, maize)
• Advanced irrigation systems
• Built small urban centers from clay bricks
• Known for cliff dwellings

Great Basin & Great Plains Region (Colorado to Canada)

• Nomadic hunter-gatherers
• Organized into small egalitarian kinship bands
• Example: Ute people

Northwest & Pacific Coast

• Permanent settlements due to abundant resources
• Examples: Chumash (California) and Chinook (Pacific Northwest)
• Chumash: villages of ~1,000, regional trade networks
• Chinook: plank houses for large families

Iroquois People (Northeast)

• Farmers (maize, beans, squash)
• Lived in longhouses constructed from timber
• Communal living

Mississippian River Valley

• Fertile soil, rich farming
• Participated in trade via waterways
• Example: Cahokia civilization (10,000 - 30,000 people), centralized government, chieftains

European Arrival and Motivations

Political and Economic Changes in Europe (1300-1400s)

• Political unification, centralized states
• Wealthy upper class craving luxury goods
• Muslim control of trade routes led to sea-based exploration

Portugal's Maritime Empire

• Trading posts around Africa
• Innovations: astronomical charts, astrolabe, ship designs, lateen sail, stern-post rudder

Spain's Maritime Efforts

• Reconquest of Iberian Peninsula led to expansion desires
• Christopher Columbus (1492): Sailed west, landed in the Caribbean
• Competition among European nations for exploration

The Columbian Exchange

Transfer from Americas to Europe

• Food: potatoes, tomatoes, maize
• Animals: turkeys
• People: European settlers, enslaved Africans
• Diseases: syphilis (possibly)

Transfer from Europe to Americas

• Food: wheat, rice, soybeans
• Animals: cattle, pigs, horses
• Diseases: smallpox (devastating to Native populations)

Effects on Europe

• Shift from feudalism to capitalism
• Rise of joint-stock companies for funding exploration

Spanish Colonization

Encomienda System

• Forced Native labor on plantations and mining
• Problems: Native resistance, high mortality from smallpox
• Solution: Importation of African slaves

Casta System

• Racial hierarchy in Spanish colonies
• Peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain)
• Creoles (Spaniards born in Americas)
• Mestizos (Spanish & Native American ancestry)
• Mulattos (Spanish & African ancestry)
• Africans and Native Americans at the bottom

Cultural Exchanges and Conflicts

• Europeans and Natives adopted useful practices and customs from each other
• English learned hunting and maize cultivation from Natives
• Natives adopted iron tools and weapons
• Adverse relationships and brutal treatment of Natives

Justification of Exploitation

• Europeans: Natives as lesser humans for exploitation
• Juan de Sepulveda: Advocated for harsh treatment
• Bartolome de las Casas: Opposed Native slavery, temporary success in changing laws
• Biblical justifications used for African slavery (Mark of Ham)

Conclusion

• Summary of key concepts for Unit 1 of AP US History
• Importance of review materials and practice exams

For further study, consider using additional review resources from the AP US History Ultimate Review Pack.