AP U.S HISTORY Unit 1 Study Guide.pdf Page 1 of 8 Page 1 of 8
AP U.S. History Unit One
Kuhn Aug-September 2023
UNIT 1 OVERVIEW & STUDY GUIDE
EXPLORATION OF THE AMERICAS – COLONIAL HISTORY TO 1750
Required reading: 1. Brinkley: Chapters 1 (from class notes), 2, 3, and 4
2. AMSCO Chapter 1
2. Greene: “Two Models of English Colonization, 1600-1660”
3. Degler: “Were the Puritans Puritanical?” and “Rights of
Englishmen”
Important terms, concepts, and names:
- Common practices and spiritual values of the native tribes
- When english came they were experiencing an agricultural revolution
- polytheistic
- totems
- jobs between genders varied from each tribe
- Southwest tribes reserved farming for men only
- The Northeast area had women farming and men hunting: children alone,
women controlled social and economic organization of settlements,
matriarchal.
- Location of the following Indian nations:
- Iroquois: Upstate New York, New England
- Wampanoag: MA
- Pequot: CT
- Powhatan: VA
- Cherokee: Southern Area
- Aztec: Norther Mex.
- The Renaissance: Scientific and artistic resurgence allowed for people to travel to
new places and establish colonies
- Reformation;
- Protestant: Martin Luther in Germany challenged the pope by saying
ministers were not needed and that the bible was the actual work of gold,
calvinist and predestination led people to lead good lives in order to find
out if they were destined for salvation.
- English: dispute between king and pope, king turned England from
catholic faith to his own faith, daughter mary ascended throne and went
back to catholicism founding an alliance w/ rome (home of pope) and
spain, half sister elizabeth ascended throne and severed connection with
pope. The Church of England, now a religion, did not satisfy desires of
radical followers, large groups of catholics remained, others wanted
reforms to purify the church w/ calvinist ideals becoming known as
puritans.
1
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-
Separatists wanted to observe their own faith, very radical,
Quakers especially disagreed w/ the fact that women could not be
priests.
- Discontent w/ corrupt bishops and uneducated clergy
- Led to separatist puritans who established a new church after Elizabeth's
reforms as the English one was too corrupt
- The other one non separatist or puritans believed that her reforms were not
enough and wanted to purify the church.
- end of the plague: end of plague led to population surge leading to people wanting
to emigrate and find new places
- maritime technology: advanced ships and cartography led to the ability to traverse
oceans as well as advanced weapons such as guns and muskets.
- the early slave trade: in VA a dutch ship first brought african slaves, whites
believed they were like indentured servants but black labor was limited, african
slaves trickled in and were only preferred over indentured servants in 1670.
- Columbus: discovered america when looking for asia, funded by ferdinand and
isabella of Spain after being turned down by portugal
- conquistadores: Spanish explorers, Settled on caribbean at first but didn't enslave
or find gold. Cortes and the Aztecs unleashed smallpox. Pizarro conquered peru
and incas, de soto in florida for gold and silver, coronado in Mexico, Happened in
mid 1500s
- St. Augustine: First european settlement in NA by Spanish, military outpos for
unsuccessful campaigns against natives,
- encomiendas: licenses to take tribute and labor from native americans,
- mestizos: people of mixed race in SA
- Pueblo revolt/Pope’s rebellion: The uprising aimed to reclaim Pueblo religious
practices, culture, and land, which had been stripped away by Spanish
conquistadors.
- Columbian exchange: exchange of goods from NA to Europe but also diseases
like smallpox.
- early French and Dutch settlements:
- French: French established settlement in Quebec in 1608 small in population,
French forged direct and close ties w/ natives, french established fur trade w/
algonquins and hurons, lived among natives and intermarried, trade agriculture
and military settlements. fought with iroquois (part of english fur trade) as they
were enemies of algonquins.
- Dutch: Holland gained independence from spain in 16th century, large naval fleet
and merchants, active in trade and merchants all over world, Dutch Henry Hudson
sailed up hudson river in NY, created dutch colony, maintained fur trade around
NY, Dutch West India Company established trading posts in NY DE and CT,
encouraged immigrants from northern Europe, transported families in to feudal
estates, colony of new netherland amsterdam in NY, diverse, loosely united,
small.
- First English settlements: England scared to establish colonies bc of spanish,
spanish armada tried to take over england but Sir Gilbert stopped them and
therefore received a charter, expedition to newfoundland.
2
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AP U.S HISTORY Unit 1 Study Guide.pdf 2 of 8 AP U.S HISTORY Unit 1 Study Guide
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AP U.S. History Unit One
Kuhn Aug-September 2023
UNIT 1 OVERVIEW & STUDY GUIDE
EXPLORATION OF THE AMERICAS – COLONIAL HISTORY TO 1750
Required reading: 1. Brinkley: Chapters 1 (from class notes), 2, 3, and 4
2. AMSCO Chapter 1
2. Greene: “Two Models of English Colonization, 1600-1660”
3. Degler: “Were the Puritans Puritanical?” and “Rights of
Englishmen”
Important terms, concepts, and names:
- Common practices and spiritual values of the native tribes
- When english came they were experiencing an agricultural revolution
- polytheistic
- totems
- jobs between genders varied from each tribe
- Southwest tribes reserved farming for men only
- The Northeast area had women farming and men hunting: children alone,
women controlled social and economic organization of settlements,
matriarchal.
- Location of the following Indian nations:
- Iroquois: Upstate New York, New England
- Wampanoag: MA
- Pequot: CT
- Powhatan: VA
- Cherokee: Southern Area
- Aztec: Norther Mex.
- The Renaissance: Scientific and artistic resurgence allowed for people to travel to
new places and establish colonies
- Reformation;
- Protestant: Martin Luther in Germany challenged the pope by saying
ministers were not needed and that the bible was the actual work of gold,
calvinist and predestination led people to lead good lives in order to find
out if they were destined for salvation.
- English: dispute between king and pope, king turned England from
catholic faith to his own faith, daughter mary ascended throne and went
back to catholicism founding an alliance w/ rome (home of pope) and
spain, half sister elizabeth ascended throne and severed connection with
pope. The Church of England, now a religion, did not satisfy desires of
radical followers, large groups of catholics remained, others wanted
reforms to purify the church w/ calvinist ideals becoming known as
puritans.
1
This study source was downloaded by 1827175 from cliffsnotes.com on 01-08-2026 18:02:20 GMT -06:00
AP U.S HISTORY Unit 1 Study Guide.pdf 1 of 8 AP U.S HISTORY Unit 1 Study Guide
https://www.cliffsnotes.com//study-notes/24012207
, AP U.S HISTORY Unit 1 Study Guide.pdf Page 2 of 8 Page 2 of 8
-
Separatists wanted to observe their own faith, very radical,
Quakers especially disagreed w/ the fact that women could not be
priests.
- Discontent w/ corrupt bishops and uneducated clergy
- Led to separatist puritans who established a new church after Elizabeth's
reforms as the English one was too corrupt
- The other one non separatist or puritans believed that her reforms were not
enough and wanted to purify the church.
- end of the plague: end of plague led to population surge leading to people wanting
to emigrate and find new places
- maritime technology: advanced ships and cartography led to the ability to traverse
oceans as well as advanced weapons such as guns and muskets.
- the early slave trade: in VA a dutch ship first brought african slaves, whites
believed they were like indentured servants but black labor was limited, african
slaves trickled in and were only preferred over indentured servants in 1670.
- Columbus: discovered america when looking for asia, funded by ferdinand and
isabella of Spain after being turned down by portugal
- conquistadores: Spanish explorers, Settled on caribbean at first but didn't enslave
or find gold. Cortes and the Aztecs unleashed smallpox. Pizarro conquered peru
and incas, de soto in florida for gold and silver, coronado in Mexico, Happened in
mid 1500s
- St. Augustine: First european settlement in NA by Spanish, military outpos for
unsuccessful campaigns against natives,
- encomiendas: licenses to take tribute and labor from native americans,
- mestizos: people of mixed race in SA
- Pueblo revolt/Pope’s rebellion: The uprising aimed to reclaim Pueblo religious
practices, culture, and land, which had been stripped away by Spanish
conquistadors.
- Columbian exchange: exchange of goods from NA to Europe but also diseases
like smallpox.
- early French and Dutch settlements:
- French: French established settlement in Quebec in 1608 small in population,
French forged direct and close ties w/ natives, french established fur trade w/
algonquins and hurons, lived among natives and intermarried, trade agriculture
and military settlements. fought with iroquois (part of english fur trade) as they
were enemies of algonquins.
- Dutch: Holland gained independence from spain in 16th century, large naval fleet
and merchants, active in trade and merchants all over world, Dutch Henry Hudson
sailed up hudson river in NY, created dutch colony, maintained fur trade around
NY, Dutch West India Company established trading posts in NY DE and CT,
encouraged immigrants from northern Europe, transported families in to feudal
estates, colony of new netherland amsterdam in NY, diverse, loosely united,
small.
- First English settlements: England scared to establish colonies bc of spanish,
spanish armada tried to take over england but Sir Gilbert stopped them and
therefore received a charter, expedition to newfoundland.
2
This study source was downloaded by 1827175 from cliffsnotes.com on 01-08-2026 18:02:20 GMT -06:00
AP U.S HISTORY Unit 1 Study Guide.pdf 2 of 8 AP U.S HISTORY Unit 1 Study Guide
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