APUSH UNIT 2 OVERVIEW

APUSH Period 2 (1607–1754): Colonial AmericaComplete Period 2 Timeline1607: Jamestown Founded – The first permanent English settlement in North America (Virginia).1612: Tobacco Cultivation – John Rolfe introduces a sweeter strain of tobacco, saving Virginia economically.1619: First Enslaved Africans Arrive – Brought to Jamestown by a Dutch ship. Also, the House of Burgesses (first representative assembly) convenes.1620: Mayflower Compact – Pilgrims land at Plymouth; sign first document of self-government in America.1630: Massachusetts Bay Colony Founded – John Winthrop leads Puritans ("City upon a Hill").1632: Maryland Founded – Established by Lord Baltimore as a haven for Catholics.1649: Maryland Toleration Act – Granted religious freedom to all Christians (aimed at protecting the Catholic minority).1662: Half-Way Covenant – Allowed partial church membership for children of Puritans, showing a decline in strict religious piety.1675–1676: King Philip’s War (Metacom's War) – Devastating war between New England colonists and an alliance of Native Americans. Ended major Native resistance in New England.1676: Bacon’s Rebellion – Uprising of landless frontiersmen (former indentured servants) in Virginia against Governor Berkeley. Sparked the shift from indentured servitude to African slavery.1680: Pueblo Revolt (Popé’s Rebellion) – Successful Native uprising against the Spanish in New Mexico, leading to temporary expulsion of the Spanish and later cultural accommodations.1681: Pennsylvania Founded – William Penn establishes a Quaker haven characterized by religious tolerance and better Native relations.1692: Salem Witch Trials – Hysteria in Massachusetts reflecting social, economic, and religious tensions.1730s–1740s: The First Great Awakening – A massive religious revival sweeps the colonies (key figures: Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield).1733: Molasses Act – British attempt to control colonial trade, leading to widespread colonial smuggling.1739: Stono Rebellion – Largest slave uprising in the British colonies (South Carolina), leading to much stricter slave codes.1754: Albany Plan of Union – Benjamin Franklin’s failed attempt to unite the colonies ("Join, or Die"); marks the end of Period 2 and the start of the French and Indian War.##Comprehensive Notes by Topic1. European Colonization ModelsSpanish: Focused on extracting wealth (gold/silver) and cash crops. Relied on the Encomienda System and forced labor. High intermarriage resulted in a rigid Casta System. Deeply focused on Catholic conversion (mission system).French & Dutch: Relied heavily on the fur trade. Sent very few settlers (mostly young men). Relied on trade alliances and intermarriage (métis) with Native Americans (e.g., Huron alliance) rather than outright conquest.British: Sought social mobility, economic prosperity, and religious freedom. Sent large numbers of men and women (encouraging family units). Focused on agriculture. British colonists rarely intermarried with Native Americans, leading to a policy of exclusion and frequent warfare over land.2. The British Colonial RegionsChesapeake (VA, MD) & North Carolina:Economy: Exported labor-intensive cash crops (tobacco).Labor: Initially relied on white indentured servants, but shifted heavily to chattel slavery after Bacon's Rebellion (1676).Society: Dominated by wealthy planter elites; lower life expectancy due to disease; highly male-dominated initially.New England (MA, CT, RI, NH):Economy: Mixed economy of agriculture and commerce (fishing, lumber, shipbuilding).Society: Founded by Puritans seeking to build a homogeneous, strict religious community. Settled in family groups. High life expectancy, close-knit towns, and highly valued education (to read the Bible).Middle Colonies (NY, PA, NJ, DE):Economy: The "Breadbasket" (exported cereal crops like wheat). Hubs of trade (New York, Philadelphia).Society: The most demographically, ethnically, and religiously diverse region. (e.g., William Penn’s Quaker Pennsylvania offered religious freedom and peaceful Native relations).Deep South (SC, GA) & West Indies:Economy: Plantation economies based on rice, indigo, and sugar.Society: Relied almost exclusively on enslaved African labor. In places like South Carolina and Barbados, enslaved Black people made up the majority of the population, leading to the creation of brutal Slave Codes.3. Transatlantic Trade & MercantilismMercantilism: Economic theory that colonies exist to enrich the mother country. Britain sought a favorable balance of trade.Navigation Acts: British laws requiring colonies to trade strictly with Britain. Colonists frequently ignored these through smuggling.Salutary Neglect: The unwritten British policy of loosely enforcing trade laws, which allowed colonies to develop independent economic and political practices.Triangular Trade: The complex trade network across the Atlantic (Rum/Manufactured Goods from New England to Africa -> Enslaved people from Africa to Americas [Middle Passage] -> Raw materials from Americas to Europe).4. Native American InteractionsBoth accommodation and conflict characterized relations.Pueblo Revolt (1680): Spanish missionaries aggressively suppressed Native religion. Popé led a revolt that killed hundreds of Spanish and drove them out of New Mexico for 12 years. Result: When the Spanish returned, they were forced to accommodate Native culture.King Philip’s War (1675): Metacom (King Philip) led a Native alliance against New England colonists pushing into their land. Result: Metacom was killed, Native resistance in New England was crushed, and colonists gained vast tracts of land.5. Slavery in the British ColoniesThe Shift: By 1700, enslaved Africans replaced indentured servants as the primary labor force in the South. Why? A drop in English birth rates (fewer servants), Bacon's Rebellion made elites fear poor whites, and a rising demand for cash crops.Chattel Slavery: A system where human beings are treated as personal property, inherited generationally (status determined by the mother).Resistance:Covert: Working slowly, breaking tools, maintaining African cultural traditions (syncretic religions, music, Gullah dialect).Overt: Running away, outright rebellion (Stono Rebellion, 1739).6. Colonial Society and CultureAnglicization: The process of colonies becoming more English in their culture, politics, and legal systems.The Enlightenment: Intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and natural rights. John Locke’s ideas of "life, liberty, and property" heavily influenced colonial leaders.The First Great Awakening (1730s–40s): A massive evangelical Protestant revival. Preachers like George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards ("Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God") emphasized emotional, personal relationships with God.Impact: Decreased the power of traditional clergy ("Old Lights" vs. "New Lights"), spurred the creation of new Protestant sects (Baptists/Methodists), and generated a shared sense of American identity.Historical Reasoning (The 4 C’s)1. ComparisonColonization Models: Compare the French focus on the fur trade and Native alliances with the British focus on agriculture, settler-colonialism, and Native exclusion.British Regions: Compare New England’s family-based, religiously motivated, mixed-economy society with the Chesapeake’s male-dominated, profit-driven, plantation-and-slavery society.2. CausationCause of the Shift to Slavery: Bacon's Rebellion (1676) caused wealthy planters to fear the growing class of landless, frustrated white former servants, causing a massive shift to race-based African slavery.Effects of the Great Awakening: Caused a split in colonial religious establishments, led to the founding of new colleges (Princeton, Brown), and planted the seeds of anti-authoritarianism (if people can make their own religious choices, they can make their own political choices).3. Continuity Over TimeEconomic Goals: The European desire for wealth and raw materials remained constant. The British application of Mercantilism (Navigation Acts) continued throughout the period.Native Conflict: The continuous encroachment of English settlers onto Native lands sparked a consistent pattern of bloody frontier wars (Anglo-Powhatan Wars, Pequot War, King Philip's War).4. Change Over TimeLabor Systems: The dramatic change from Indentured Servitude (early 1600s) to fully entrenched Chattel Slavery (early 1700s).Religious Fervor: In New England, the strict, utopian Puritan zeal of the 1630s changed/declined over time into a more commercial, secular society by the late 1600s (evidenced by the Half-Way Covenant).Key Documents (HIPP Analysis)Document 1: John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity” (1630)"For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us."Historical Context: The Puritans were fleeing religious persecution in England to establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They believed they were entering a covenant with God.Intended Audience: Fellow Puritans aboard the ship Arbella, just before landing in the New World.Purpose: To establish a unifying moral and social vision for the colony; to warn them that if they failed to be a perfectly unified Christian community, God would punish them.Point of View: A wealthy, devout Puritan leader and governor who values strict community cohesion, religious purity, and collective responsibility over individual wealth.Document 2: Nathaniel Bacon, “Declaration in the Name of the People” (1676)"For having protected, favored, and emboldened the Indians against his Majesty’s loyal subjects, never contriving, requiring, or appointing any due or proper means of satisfaction for their many invasions, robberies, and murders committed upon us."Historical Context: Former indentured servants had been pushed to the western frontier of Virginia, where they frequently clashed with Native Americans over land. Governor William Berkeley refused to send troops to protect them, wanting to maintain his lucrative fur trade with the Natives.Intended Audience: Governor Berkeley, the wealthy Tidewater planters, and the frustrated commoners of Virginia.Purpose: To legally and morally justify his armed rebellion against the Virginia government, rally supporters, and list the grievances against Berkeley's corrupt administration.Point of View: Though Bacon was wealthy, he represents the perspective of the marginalized, anti-Native frontier settlers who felt abandoned and exploited by the distant, wealthy coastal elite.Document 3: Jonathan Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (1741)"The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked..."Historical Context: The First Great Awakening, a time of massive religious revival in the colonies, reacting against the perceived secularization and loss of religious passion of the Enlightenment era.Intended Audience: New England congregants who Edwards believed had grown complacent in their faith.Purpose: To frighten listeners into realizing their inherent sinfulness and provoke them into an immediate, emotional repentance and "new birth" in Christ. Point of View: A "New Light" Calvinist minister who believed in the absolute sovereignty of God and the necessity of highly emotional, experiential preaching to save souls.