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APUSH Units 1&2
APUSH Unit 1
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What were Native American societies like before European contact? | They were very diverse. |
| What were the three main types of Native American societies before European contact? | Hunter-gatherer bands, massive cities, and semi-permanent settlements. |
| What was the main factor that determined population size in Native American societies? | The cultivation of maize. |
| Where was maize first cultivated? | Mexico. |
| When was maize first cultivated? | Around 5000 BCE. |
| How did maize cultivation change Native American societies? | It led to more complex societies and sedentary agriculture. |
| How did maize cultivation affect economic development? | It encouraged trade networks because many societies wanted corn. |
| How did maize cultivation affect settlements? | It led to permanent settlements. |
| How did maize cultivation affect farming methods? | It led to the development of advanced irrigation techniques. |
| How did maize cultivation affect society? | It led to greater social diversification. |
| What was the climate like in the Great Basin and Plains? | Hot and dry. |
| Were Great Basin and Plains societies nomadic or sedentary? | They were nomadic. |
| Why did Great Basin and Plains societies move frequently? | They moved with the seasons. |
| How large were most Great Basin and Plains groups? | About 20–100 people. |
| Which Native American group lived in the Great Basin and Plains region? | The Ute. |
| What kind of shelters did Great Basin and Plains peoples use? | Mobile shelters. |
| What was the role of men in Great Basin and Plains societies? | They hunted. |
| What was the role of women in Great Basin and Plains societies? | They gathered food. |
| What characterized Native American societies along the Northeast, Mississippi, and Atlantic Coast? | They had larger populations and more permanent settlements. |
| What civilization was located in the Mississippi River region? | The Hopewell. |
| What type of soil did the Mississippi River region have? | Rich soil. |
| What was the population of the Mississippi River societies? | About 4,000–6,000 people. |
| What was a major food source for Atlantic Coast societies? | The ocean. |
| How did Mississippi River societies trade? | They traded using rivers. |
| What did abundant food supplies help create in the Mississippi and Atlantic Coast regions? | Complex civilizations. |
| What was a feature of social organization in the Mississippi and Atlantic Coast regions? | Social hierarchy. |
| What were the Hopewell known for building? | Mounds. |
| What was the largest mound-building city? | Cahokia. |
| Which Native American confederacy was located in the Northeast? | The Iroquois Confederacy. |
| Were the Iroquois fully sedentary? | No, they were semi-sedentary. |
| What type of homes did the Iroquois build? | Longhouses made from timber. |
| What was the Iroquois Confederacy? | An alliance of several Native American nations. |
| Which Native American group lived along the Atlantic Coast in the Southeast? | The Cherokee. |
| What were Cherokee men responsible for? | Hunting. |
| What were Cherokee women responsible for? | Growing crops. |
| What does "matrilineal" mean in Cherokee society? | Family lineage and inheritance were traced through the mother's side. |
| Where was the Iroquois Tribe located? | Northeast region |
| Where was the Cherokee tribe located? | Atlantic Coast region |
| Where were the Chinook and Chumash tribes were located? | Pacific Coast region |
| What were the key factors that helped Europe stabilize? | A warmer climate, improved agricultural productivity, more food leading to population growth, increased desire for Asian luxury goods, the Renaissance, and growing political unification. |
| How did climate affect Europe’s stabilization? | The warming climate improved growing conditions, which supported better harvests and population growth. |
| How did improved agricultural productivity contribute to European change? | Better farming methods and yields meant more food, which allowed populations to grow and supported economic and social development. |
| What was the connection between more food and population growth in Europe? | More reliable food supplies meant fewer famines and higher survival rates, which led to more babies and a growing population. |
| How did the desire for Asian luxury goods influence European actions? | European elites wanted spices, silks, and other luxury goods from Asia, pushing states to find new trade routes and engage in exploration. |
| What cultural movement helped reshape Europe during this period? | The Renaissance, which revived classical learning, encouraged innovation, and supported new ways of thinking about art, science, and exploration. |
| How did political unification affect European states? | As kingdoms unified under stronger central governments, they gained the power and resources needed to fund exploration and expansion. |
| What were the three main motives for European exploration often summarized as “3 Gs”? | Gold, God, and Glory. |
| What did “Gold” represent as a motive for exploration? | It represented economic motives: seeking wealth, trade opportunities, and access to valuable goods and resources. |
| How did demand for luxury goods contribute to exploration? | High demand for luxury goods encouraged Europeans to search for direct trade routes to Asia and other regions to gain profits and control trade. |
| How did improved banking systems support exploration and trade? | Better banking systems made it easier to fund voyages, manage credit, and facilitate long-distance trade. |
| Which country was an early leader in exploration, and who is associated with that role? | Portugal, associated with Prince Henry the Navigator, who supported exploration and established trading posts along Africa’s coast. |
| What did Portuguese trading posts around Africa help create? | They helped establish trading empires based on controlling coastal routes and exchanging goods. |
| What did “God” represent as a motive for exploration? | Religious motives, especially spreading Christianity and reinforcing the influence of Christian institutions. |
| What was the dominant belief system in Europe during this period? | Christianity, particularly Roman Catholic Christianity, shaped culture and politics. |
| What was simony in the context of the Catholic Church? | Simony was the buying and selling of important church positions. |
| What were indulgences in the Catholic Church? | Indulgences were payments or actions people made in exchange for reducing punishment for sins, which sparked controversy and criticism. |
| How did the division between Catholic and Protestant Christianity affect Europe? | It led to political feuds, power struggles, and conflicts between states and within societies. |
| Which royal marriage helped combine major Spanish kingdoms? | The marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. |
| What was the Inquisition in Spain used for? | It was used to enforce religious conformity, eliminate religious dissent, and expel or punish groups such as many Jews. |
| What did “Glory” represent as a motive for exploration? | Political motives, including competition for power, prestige, and territorial expansion. |
| How did competition for colonial possessions affect European politics? | States sought colonies to shift the balance of power in their favor, leading to rivalry and conflict. |
| What is a nation-state in this context? | A political entity that governs a single, unified people and promotes strong national identity and competition with other states. |
| How did the rise of the nation-state change European competition? | It intensified competition, as unified states sought to become the most powerful through colonies, trade, and military strength. |
| What role did Spain and Portugal play in early exploration rivalry? | They were leading rivals whose competition led to agreements about dividing newly discovered lands. |
| What was the Line of Demarcation, and who drew it? | It was a boundary dividing new lands between Spain and Portugal, drawn by the pope to manage their competing claims. |
| What maritime technologies helped increase sea-based trade? | Improvements such as the lateen sail, highly navigable ships like caravels, the magnetic compass, and the astrolabe made long-distance ocean travel safer and more accurate. |
| How did joint-stock companies encourage exploration and trade? | Joint-stock companies were limited-liability businesses chartered by states and funded by many investors, which spread risk and provided capital for costly voyages. |
| Why did states rely on joint-stock companies? | States had limited funds, so they depended on these investor-backed companies for money while providing protection and monopolies in return. |
| What is the Columbian Exchange? | It was the massive transfer of diseases, plants, animals, minerals, and people between the Old World (Europe, Africa, Asia) and the New World (the Americas) after 1492. |
| Why is the Columbian Exchange considered so significant? | It reshaped global populations, diets, economies, and environments by linking previously separate regions into one interacting system. |
| How did the Columbian Exchange spread disease to the Americas? | Europeans brought diseases like smallpox and measles, which spread rapidly among Indigenous populations who had no immunity. |
| What was the “Great Dying”? | Historians use this term for the catastrophic population collapse—often 50–95 percent or more—of Indigenous peoples in the Americas caused largely by introduced diseases. |
| What important Old World crops moved to the Americas? | Wheat, rice, bananas, sugarcane, grapes, and olives were introduced to the Americas from Eurasia and Africa. |
| How did these Old World crops affect the Americas? | They changed diets, supported plantation agriculture, and helped shape colonial economies around cash crops like sugar. |
| What key New World crops moved to Europe, Africa, and Asia? | Maize (corn), potatoes, and manioc (cassava) were major American crops that spread to the Old World. |
| How did New World foods influence Old World populations? | High-calorie crops like potatoes and maize contributed to major population growth in places like Europe during the 1700s. |
| What crop is linked with enslaved Africans in this exchange? | Okra became associated with African food traditions brought across the Atlantic by enslaved Africans. |
| What animals were brought from Eurasia to the Americas? | Horses, pigs, sheep, and cattle. |
| How did Eurasian animals affect Native American societies? | They multiplied quickly, and groups that adopted horses gained an advantage over those who did not. |
| What key minerals moved in the Columbian Exchange? | Silver and gold were major minerals transferred. |
| What was the “Price Revolution” in Europe? | It was a long period (about 150 years) during which prices in Europe rose steadily, largely due to the influx of silver and gold and expanding trade. |
| How did the Price Revolution affect Europe’s economic systems? | Europe shifted from feudalism (an economy based on land ownership and obligations) toward capitalism (an economy focused on manufacturing, trade, and private ownership). |
| What was one long-term economic impact of the Columbian Exchange on Europe? | It helped open trade and support the growth of capitalist systems centered on commerce and production. |
| What was the requerimiento issued by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella? | It was a declaration claiming that the pope had given Spain biblical authority to rule the Americas and threatening violence against Indigenous groups that refused Spanish rule. |
| In what language was the requerimiento read, and why was that a problem? | It was read in Spanish, which most Indigenous people did not understand, turning it into a one-sided justification for conquest rather than real consent. |
| What were two key advantages Hernán Cortés had in conquering the Aztec Empire? | European diseases like smallpox weakened the Aztecs, and Cortés allied with Indigenous groups who were under Aztec rule and resented them. |
| What was the encomienda system in Spanish America? | It was a Spanish labor system in which the crown granted Spaniards control over the labor and tribute of specific Indigenous communities in exchange for “protecting” and converting them to Christianity. |
| In practice, how did the encomienda system function for Indigenous people? | Although framed as protection and religious instruction, it often meant harsh forced labor and conditions that closely resembled slavery. |
| What were the two main economic sources of wealth for the Spanish Empire in the Americas? | Mining for gold and silver and the export of cash crops such as sugarcane, tobacco, and cotton. |
| Why did Indigenous labor in Spanish colonies begin to break down? | Many Indigenous people knew the land well and could escape, and disease had already killed large numbers, making this labor source unstable. |
| Why were enslaved Africans increasingly imported into Spanish America? | They were forced to work in mines and on plantations, were less able to escape to familiar communities, and many had some prior exposure to Old World diseases. |
| How did Spanish merchants obtain enslaved Africans? | They partnered with West African groups and participated in the transatlantic slave trade. |
| Why was there no traditional Spanish nobility in the New World? | Noble titles were tied to land and status in Spain, so in the Americas a different, colonial social structure had to develop. |
| What was the purpose of the Spanish casta system in New Spain? | It organized society into a ranked social hierarchy based on race and heredity, giving more “white blood” greater social power. |
| Who was at the top and bottom of the Spanish colonial social hierarchy? | Spaniards (especially peninsulares and criollos) were at the top, while Indigenous Americans and Africans were at the bottom. |
| How did the casta system shape daily life in New Spain? | It erased cultural complexity but also strictly ordered society, influencing education, occupations, taxes, and even how towns and villages were laid out |
| What was the Bering land bridge? | A land bridge located between North America and Asia where people gradually spread into the Americas. |
| When did the Clovis people come to North America? | Around 13,000 years ago. |
| What does the term "Anasazi" translate to? | "The ancient ones." |
| Where were the Anasazi located? | New Mexico and Arizona. |
| How long before Columbus did the Anasazi construct impressive cliff dwellings? | 700 years prior to Columbus. |
| What is notable about Chaco Canyon? | It features 600 interconnected rooms. |
| How did ancient societies adapt to farming in dry climates? | They used an intricate maze of canals, dams, and terracing, which allowed agriculture to flourish despite the dry climate. |
| Which Tribe of Native Southwest Americans had the largest cities? | The Pueblo people |
| What is Historical Causation? | Analyzing immediate and long-term causes and effects. |
| What are the 3 main parts of a Historical Argument? | Analytical thesis, claim backed by evidence, and persuasive argument. |
| What 4 things should you analyze when evaluating Historical Evidence? | Author's POV (bias), intended audience, purpose, and historical context. |
| What is Continuity and Change Over Time? | Tracking how something stays the same or transforms across history. |
| What is Periodization? | Categorizing history into meaningful time periods with clear start/end points. |
| What is Comparison? | Comparing and contrasting documents to view history from different perspectives. |
| What is Contextualization? | Fitting an event into the bigger picture of its time. |
| Continuity and Change: Slavery Example: How did historical views on slavery change over time? | From "necessary evil" after the Revolution, to evil in the North/necessary in the South, to Calhoun's "positive good." |
| Continuity and Change: Marijuana Example: How did marijuana policy change over time? | Open view in 1970s $\rightarrow$ War on Drugs in 1980s $\rightarrow$ state legalization in early 2010s. |
| What was the extent of Native American trade networks in North America? | They stretched from Aztlán to all over North America. |
| How did Native American understanding of warfare differ from Europeans? | Native Americans tended to understand warfare differently than Europeans, who practiced total warfare. |
| What was Ponce de León looking for in Florida in 1513? | The Fountain of Youth. |
| What key events involved Cortés and Pizarro? | Cortés conquered the Aztecs in Mexico (1519) and Pizarro conquered the Incas in Peru (1532) in search of gold. |
| How did Cabeza de Vaca, Coronado, and De Soto impact European exploration? | They inspired others to seek riches across Texas, Mexico City, the US Southern Border, and the South. |
| What was the Treaty of Tordesillas? | An agreement that divided the New World between Spain and Portugal. |
| How were European conquests achieved? | Through horses, swords, armor, smallpox, and coalitions of enemies with Native Americans. |
| The Gutenberg printing press (1455), Martin Luther's split in the Catholic Church (1517), and Henry VIII's split with the Church (1534). | |
| Why did Puritans emerge? | They wanted to purify the Church, which they felt remained more Catholic than Protestant. |
| What happened during Queen Elizabeth I's reign in 1558? | Protestants held power, leading Spain to attack with its Armada in 1588. |
| What happened to the Roanoke colony? | Established in 1585 in North Carolina, it became lost/not found after receiving no supplies for a few years due to the Spanish Armada and a massive drought (1587–1589). |
| What was Jamestown? | Founded in 1607, it became the first permanent English settlement in North America. |
| What were the initial conditions at Jamestown? | It was built on a swamp with mosquitoes, malaria, and tidal movements, controlled largely by Chief Powhatan and surrounding Indigenous peoples. |
| How did Captain John Smith impact Jamestown? | He rallied the settlers, was captured by Powhatan and threatened with execution, was saved by Pocahontas, and returned to England in 1609. |
| What was the "Starving Time"? | The winter of 1609–1610 when 80% of the Jamestown population starved to death after depending on trade with local tribes for food. |
| What became Jamestown's "gold"? | Tobacco imported in 1613, which developed a pleasant smoking strain. |
| What happened in 1613 in Jamestown? | tobacco was imported to Jamestown |
| Why was England more able to colonize parts of America? | Defeat of Spanish Armada (1588) Population increases Joint-stock companies develop Religious conflicts divide the nation Weak monarchs, civil wars, and revolutions |
| Corporate Colony | Granted a charter to stockholders Ex. Virginia |
| Proprietary Colony | Granted a charter to individual or group Ex. Maryland, Pennsylvania |
| Royal Colony | Under direct control of the monarch Ex. New Hampshire |
| How many of the 13 colonies became royal colonies,? | 8 (including New Hampshire and Massachusetts) |
| Who were the pilgrims? | Separatists(from Catholicism) journeys to Holland then Virginia |
| Who took the Pilgrims to Virginia, what happened? | Mayflower takes Separatists and others to Jamestown but weather complicates matters |
| When do the settlers establish Plymouth? | 1620 |
| Who settled in the New England Massachusetts area? | The Puritans and big families |
| Who were the Puritans? | Calvinist-based reformers; believed in predestination |
| What is Covenant of Grace and congregations in context of the Puritans? | The idea that local churches were independent. |
| What was the “Great Migration” | Lots of families flocking into the New England Massachusetts area |
| What did John Winthrop call these colonies ? | A city on a hill |
| Why did he call them this? | They were examples of what a good christian colony should look like. |
| How could people be expelled from this colony? | Through non-conformity or having faith over doing good deeds. |
| What colonies were in the Middle Colonies | New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware |
| When was New York established? | 1664 |
| Who was the founder of New York? | Duke of York |
| When was New Jersey founded? | 1702 |
| Who founded Pennsylvania? | The Quakers |
| What were the economics of the Middle Colonies? | Developing wheat and corn farms |
| What were the Middle Colonies know as | the "Bread basket” of the colonies |
| Who was the founder of Pennsylvania? | William Penn |
| How was Pennsylvania a Holy Experiment? | It was a religious refuge for all and had liberal political ideals |
| Other features of the Pennsylvania colony? | - Economic success - Good relations with Natives - Frame of Government and Charter of Liberties |
| What were the Southern Colonies? | Maryland, Virginia, Carolinas, and Georgia |
| When was Maryland founded and by who? | 1634, Lord Baltimore |
| Act of Toleration | Freedom of worship for Catholics |
| When was Virginia founded? | 1607 |
| When was North and South Carolina founded? | 1629 |
| What was the staple crop in North Carolina? | Tobacco |
| What was the staple crop in South Carolina ? | Rice and indigo |
| When was Georgia founded? | 1732 |
| What type of people lived in Georgia? | England's impoverished citizens and those trapped in debtors' prisons |
| Who was the founder of Georgia? | James Oglethorpe |
| What was Jamestown (1607)? | The first permanent English settlement in North America. |
| What was the religious structure of colonial Virginia? | Anglican dominated, rejecting the pope and allowing clergy to marry. |
| What drove the massive demand for labor in early Virginia? | The rapid growth of tobacco plantations as a cash crop. |
| Who were the Tidewater Gentry? | The wealthy elite who controlled Virginia's land and politics. |
| What was the Headright System? | A grant of 50 acres of land given to anyone who paid for an immigrant's passage. |
| What was the House of Burgesses (1619)? | The first elected legislative assembly in the American colonies. |
| What caused a sudden increase in land-seekers in colonial Virginia? | Former indentured servants finishing their terms and searching for land of their own |
| Who held political control over colonial Virginia's legislature? | The wealthy Tidewater gentry. |
| What major struggles did frontier farmers face? | Low tobacco prices, high taxes, and conflicts with Native Americans. |
| How did frontier farmers and the governor differ on Native American policy? | Farmers wanted all-out war; the governor proposed building expensive forts instead. |
| Who led the frontier farmers in rebellion against the colonial government? | Nathaniel Bacon. |
| What was the climax of Bacon's Rebellion in 1676? | Rebels attacked government authority and burned Jamestown to the ground. |
| How did labor in Virginia change after Bacon's Rebellion? | Planters moved away from indentured servitude and shifted to enslaved African labor. |
| How did Virginia's foreign policy toward Native Americans shift after the rebellion? | The colony adopted much more aggressive policies to seize frontier land. |
| Syncretism | The blending of different religious, cultural, or philosophical beliefs into a new, unique system. |
| What was the shared motive across Spanish, French, Dutch, and British colonization? | An economic motive. |
| How did Spanish colonization differ from French and Dutch colonization? | Spain sent many colonizers to remake the New World in its own image, while the French and Dutch sent few colonizers and were strategic and accommodating with Indigenous groups. |
| What was the defining goal of British colonization? | To create a new society that was separate from Indigenous people. |
| How did trade with Europeans impact Indigenous populations? | It introduced goods like metal tools, firearms, and cloth, which fundamentally altered traditional Indigenous economies and power dynamics. |
| What is mercantilism? | An economic system that emphasized maintaining a favorable balance of trade. |
| What is the goal of a mercantilist economy? | To maximize exports while minimizing imports. |
| What was the purpose of the Navigation Acts? | They forced colonial economies to serve Great Britain and stripped colonists of their economic autonomy. |
| How did the Spanish practice cultural accommodation after the Pueblo Revolt? | They offered land grants to the Pueblo, appointed representatives to uphold their interests, and allowed space for Pueblo belief systems. |
| What was Metacom’s War (King Philip’s War)? | A conflict where the Wampanoag people retaliated against decades of encroachment by New England settlers. |
| What was the outcome of Metacom’s War? | It temporarily slowed colonial expansion, but Native Americans eventually could no longer resist the settlers. |
| What was the primary labor system early in colonial life? | Indentured servitude, which was gradually replaced by African slavery. |
| What is chattel slavery? | A system where enslaved people are legally defined as property and owned like farm equipment. |
| Where did the new colonial laws protecting chattel slavery draw inspiration from? | Slave codes from other colonies, such as Barbados. |
| What were three methods of covert resistance used by enslaved people? | Working slowly or breaking tools, maintaining secret family structures, and retaining cultural elements. |
| What was the Stono Rebellion? | An instance of overt resistance that drove fear into planters and caused South Carolina to pass harsher slave codes. |
| What was the First Great Awakening? | The first mass religious revival across the colonies that created a shared national identity and belief system. |
| What core ideas did the European Enlightenment spread to the colonies? | Ideas based on rationality, natural rights, and the social contract. |
| Why were the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment significant politically? | Both movements promoted more democratic thinking in the colonies. |
| How did social class in the colonies differ from Great Britain? | The colonies lacked a titled nobility, had fewer landless paupers, and offered greater social mobility. |
| What was "Anglicization" in the British colonies? | The process of colonies adopting British structures, such as merchant elites, slave-holding planters, and two-house legislatures. |
| What caused land to become scarce within original colonial boundaries? | Population growth driven by natural reproduction and high immigration. |
| Why did tension rise between colonists and Great Britain over western land? | The British government prevented colonists from claiming land in the Ohio River Valley. |
| What was impressment? | The act of forcing American men against their will to serve in the Royal Navy. |
| How did impressment affect the relationship between colonists and Great Britain? | It fueled colonial resentment and strengthened the colonists' desire for self-rule. |
| What was the Pueblo Rebellion? | An uprising where Indigenous peoples successfully drove Spanish colonizers out of New Mexico, leading to cultural syncretism when the Spanish returned. |
| What was the Taino Rebellion? | An early armed resistance by the Taino people against Spanish colonial rule in the Caribbean. |
| What regional security threat intensified stress in Massachusetts before the Salem witch trials? | Winter attacks by Native Americans allied with France during the colonial wars. |
| What event triggered the outbreak of the Salem witch trials? | Two young girls in the home of Reverend Samuel Parris began suffering unexplained fits. |
| What medical explanation did the town doctor give for the girls' fits? | He suggested their condition might be the result of witchcraft. |
| What role did distrust of outsiders play in starting the trials? | An Indian woman confessed to practicing witchcraft, feeding into local prejudices and fear. |
| What was the historical impact of the Salem outbreak? | It resulted in the Salem witch trials, one of the most famous episodes of mass hysteria in the English colonies. |
| How is the social dynamic of the accusing girls often described informally? | As an early historical example of a "mean girls club." |