ULTIMATE APUSH NOTES HEHE >:)
Unit 1 - Colonial Era (1492-1607)
Economy
● Columbian Exchange: Transatlantic exchange of diseases, animals, plants, ideas, etc....
○ Benefited European society, hurt Natives --> reduced population by over 80%
● Triangle Trade: transatlantic via middle passage, Africa (slaves) → West Indies
(Sugarcane) → New England (Rum)
● Mercantilism: idea of “fixed wealth”; countries which sell more than buy = richer $$$
○ Navigation Acts: passed by British to enforce mercantilist policies
Settlement and Migration
● Colonization Approaches by Country
○ Spanish: caste system, forced labor
○ French: trade alliance
○ British: mix, economic opportunity
○ Jamestown (1607): first permanent settlement
■ Joint-stock company: funded by investors
○ Proprietary colony - funded by a joint-stock company
○ Faced problems: swampy environment, disease, lack of work ethic
■ John Smith counters this by enforcing discipline and cultivating tobacco
● Settlement
○ Headright System: incentivising transatlantic settlement with land
○ Chesapeake Life: difficult for families to survive
○ West Indies Life: sugar became a profitable cash crop, used slavery and forced
labor
🔝
○ “Atlantic prism” = settlement diversity via environment, economics and society
● Jamaican Model/De Facto Federalism: British ruling house → royal governor →
assembly → upper and lower houses
● Colonies
○ Jamestown (1607)
○ New England colonies
■ Plymouth (1620): Pilgrims, separatists (Protestants breaking from church)
■ Massachusetts Bay (1630): Puritans
■ Rhode Island: established by Roger Williams, invited everyone including
Quakers and Jews
■ Portsmouth (Rhode Island): established by Anne Hutchinson after being
banished by Massachusetts Bay Colony
○ Middle colonies
■ Pennsylvania: the “religious experiment”, tolerated all religions (rare at
the time)
■ Delaware: part of Pennsylvania
○ Restoration colonies: North and South Carolina, “prizes” from the king
,Religion and Culture
● Great Awakening (1740s): era of MASSIVE religious revival
○ Used emotion to convey faith, encouraged the idea of god holding His people at
mercy
■ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwarsds
○ Encouraged by George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards
● Anglicization: reforming to resemble British culture and society - ex: religion, gender
norms. Architecture, English
● Covenant Theology: “everything is centered around God” -Puritans
● Halfway Covenant: MA Puritan's attempts at re-engaging people in gov’t by offering a
“half conversion”
● Colleges (Ivy League!!!): higher education influenced by varying religious agendas
Conflict😱
● Metacom’s War (1675): Collective Native uprise against British settlers and expansionists
→ Unifies Native tribes temporarily, but ultimately wipes out majority of their
existence
● Bacon’s Rebellion (1676): White farmers upset at gov't for lack of protection against
Natives → General Berkeley pledges to protect them --> sense of collective white
superiority of Native Americans
● Pueblo Revolt (1680): Native uprise against Spain after Pueblo population was under
attack → Killed and wiped out by Spanish
Unit 2 - Revolutionary Era
● Seven Years War (1755-1763): Britain fights with other countries for resources and wealth,
○ Good outcomes: Britain wins!!! Established British naval superiority in the world,
kicked out the French, opened up land for expansion, colonial experience at
forming intercolonial government (Albany Plan of Union, although it failed)
○ Negative outcomes: strained British-colonial relationship (British saw colonies as
incompetent, colonies saw British as controlling), colonies in HUGE debt, British
decides to exert control over colonies
● Acts to anger the colonists!!!
○ Proclamation of 1763
○ Quartering Act
○ Stamp Act
○ Declaratory Act
○ Townshend Acts
○ Boston Massacre
○ Tea Act
○ Intolerable Acts
, ● Ideas, Ideologies & People
○ The Enlightenment = ideas about natural human rights
○ Republican Motherhood = empowering woman to take an educational role
within colonial households
○ Patriots vs Loyalists = different stances on the revolution
● Media and Press
○ Circular Letter = Media shared around the colonies arguing against taxation wo/
representation
○ Letters From a Pennsylvania Farmer =
○ Federalist Papers = papers written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay attempting to
gain public support for the Constitution
■ Federalist #10: republican gov’t > direct democracy; politicians can
represent people in a balanced way, better than shoving multiple
perspectives down congress’s throat
Unit 3 - Early Republic
🤢
Constitution
● ⅗ Compromise
● Fugitive Slave Clause = return runaway slaves
● “Necessary and proper” clause = congressional power
● Bill of Rights = first ten amendments
● Branches of government: legislative, executive, judicial
● Xth Amendment = unwritten amendments → states
● Strict vs loose interpretation = fed gov’t power debate
● First Congress priorities: establish rights (Bill of Rights), establish courts (Judicial
Branch), and pay off debts (National Bank + excise tax)
Neutrality to French & English Conflict
● Washington’s proclamation of neutrality (1793)
● Citizen Genêt: Genêt and French army encourages Americans to shift stance on
neutrality towards them → Angered Washington --> Ejected Genêt from US coasts
● Jay Treaty: somewhat of a success for US
● Pinckney Treaty: MAJOR success for US! (US-Spain relations: great)
● XYZ Affair: French bribes US → Quasi-war w/ France
$$$
● National Bank (1793): attempted to consolidate banking system to pay off debts
○ Pushed for by Alexander Hamilton, secretary of treasury
● Whiskey Rebellion: southerners PISSED at excise tax → violent protest
War of 1812
● Caused by repeated failures to mitigate British impressments + early manifest destiny
Unit 1 - Colonial Era (1492-1607)
Economy
● Columbian Exchange: Transatlantic exchange of diseases, animals, plants, ideas, etc....
○ Benefited European society, hurt Natives --> reduced population by over 80%
● Triangle Trade: transatlantic via middle passage, Africa (slaves) → West Indies
(Sugarcane) → New England (Rum)
● Mercantilism: idea of “fixed wealth”; countries which sell more than buy = richer $$$
○ Navigation Acts: passed by British to enforce mercantilist policies
Settlement and Migration
● Colonization Approaches by Country
○ Spanish: caste system, forced labor
○ French: trade alliance
○ British: mix, economic opportunity
○ Jamestown (1607): first permanent settlement
■ Joint-stock company: funded by investors
○ Proprietary colony - funded by a joint-stock company
○ Faced problems: swampy environment, disease, lack of work ethic
■ John Smith counters this by enforcing discipline and cultivating tobacco
● Settlement
○ Headright System: incentivising transatlantic settlement with land
○ Chesapeake Life: difficult for families to survive
○ West Indies Life: sugar became a profitable cash crop, used slavery and forced
labor
🔝
○ “Atlantic prism” = settlement diversity via environment, economics and society
● Jamaican Model/De Facto Federalism: British ruling house → royal governor →
assembly → upper and lower houses
● Colonies
○ Jamestown (1607)
○ New England colonies
■ Plymouth (1620): Pilgrims, separatists (Protestants breaking from church)
■ Massachusetts Bay (1630): Puritans
■ Rhode Island: established by Roger Williams, invited everyone including
Quakers and Jews
■ Portsmouth (Rhode Island): established by Anne Hutchinson after being
banished by Massachusetts Bay Colony
○ Middle colonies
■ Pennsylvania: the “religious experiment”, tolerated all religions (rare at
the time)
■ Delaware: part of Pennsylvania
○ Restoration colonies: North and South Carolina, “prizes” from the king
,Religion and Culture
● Great Awakening (1740s): era of MASSIVE religious revival
○ Used emotion to convey faith, encouraged the idea of god holding His people at
mercy
■ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwarsds
○ Encouraged by George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards
● Anglicization: reforming to resemble British culture and society - ex: religion, gender
norms. Architecture, English
● Covenant Theology: “everything is centered around God” -Puritans
● Halfway Covenant: MA Puritan's attempts at re-engaging people in gov’t by offering a
“half conversion”
● Colleges (Ivy League!!!): higher education influenced by varying religious agendas
Conflict😱
● Metacom’s War (1675): Collective Native uprise against British settlers and expansionists
→ Unifies Native tribes temporarily, but ultimately wipes out majority of their
existence
● Bacon’s Rebellion (1676): White farmers upset at gov't for lack of protection against
Natives → General Berkeley pledges to protect them --> sense of collective white
superiority of Native Americans
● Pueblo Revolt (1680): Native uprise against Spain after Pueblo population was under
attack → Killed and wiped out by Spanish
Unit 2 - Revolutionary Era
● Seven Years War (1755-1763): Britain fights with other countries for resources and wealth,
○ Good outcomes: Britain wins!!! Established British naval superiority in the world,
kicked out the French, opened up land for expansion, colonial experience at
forming intercolonial government (Albany Plan of Union, although it failed)
○ Negative outcomes: strained British-colonial relationship (British saw colonies as
incompetent, colonies saw British as controlling), colonies in HUGE debt, British
decides to exert control over colonies
● Acts to anger the colonists!!!
○ Proclamation of 1763
○ Quartering Act
○ Stamp Act
○ Declaratory Act
○ Townshend Acts
○ Boston Massacre
○ Tea Act
○ Intolerable Acts
, ● Ideas, Ideologies & People
○ The Enlightenment = ideas about natural human rights
○ Republican Motherhood = empowering woman to take an educational role
within colonial households
○ Patriots vs Loyalists = different stances on the revolution
● Media and Press
○ Circular Letter = Media shared around the colonies arguing against taxation wo/
representation
○ Letters From a Pennsylvania Farmer =
○ Federalist Papers = papers written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay attempting to
gain public support for the Constitution
■ Federalist #10: republican gov’t > direct democracy; politicians can
represent people in a balanced way, better than shoving multiple
perspectives down congress’s throat
Unit 3 - Early Republic
🤢
Constitution
● ⅗ Compromise
● Fugitive Slave Clause = return runaway slaves
● “Necessary and proper” clause = congressional power
● Bill of Rights = first ten amendments
● Branches of government: legislative, executive, judicial
● Xth Amendment = unwritten amendments → states
● Strict vs loose interpretation = fed gov’t power debate
● First Congress priorities: establish rights (Bill of Rights), establish courts (Judicial
Branch), and pay off debts (National Bank + excise tax)
Neutrality to French & English Conflict
● Washington’s proclamation of neutrality (1793)
● Citizen Genêt: Genêt and French army encourages Americans to shift stance on
neutrality towards them → Angered Washington --> Ejected Genêt from US coasts
● Jay Treaty: somewhat of a success for US
● Pinckney Treaty: MAJOR success for US! (US-Spain relations: great)
● XYZ Affair: French bribes US → Quasi-war w/ France
$$$
● National Bank (1793): attempted to consolidate banking system to pay off debts
○ Pushed for by Alexander Hamilton, secretary of treasury
● Whiskey Rebellion: southerners PISSED at excise tax → violent protest
War of 1812
● Caused by repeated failures to mitigate British impressments + early manifest destiny
