AP U.S. History: Colonial Period, 1607-1763
Colonization, regional development, imperial conflict, and early American society
AP U.S. History: Colonial Period, 1607-1763
Colonization, regional development, imperial conflict, and early American society
Social Studies - Grade 9-12
- 1
Explain one major reason the English founded Jamestown in 1607 and one major challenge the settlers faced in the colony's early years.
Think about the goals of a joint-stock company and the conditions of the Chesapeake environment.
The English founded Jamestown mainly to seek profit through trade and resources for the Virginia Company. Early settlers faced severe challenges such as disease, food shortages, poor relations with some Indigenous groups, and a lack of farming experience. - 2
Why was the Virginia House of Burgesses significant in the development of colonial government?
The Virginia House of Burgesses was significant because it was an early representative assembly in English North America. It helped establish the idea that colonists could participate in making local laws, although voting and officeholding were limited to certain property-owning men. - 3
Compare one major difference between the Chesapeake colonies and New England colonies in the 1600s.
Consider settlement patterns, religion, family structure, and economic activity.
The Chesapeake colonies developed around cash-crop agriculture, especially tobacco, and often had scattered settlements and a labor force of indentured servants and enslaved Africans. New England colonies were more likely to be founded by religious communities, developed town-centered settlements, and practiced mixed farming, trade, and small-scale manufacturing. - 4
Explain one cause of the shift from indentured servitude toward African slavery in the Chesapeake during the late 1600s.
Connect labor needs, tobacco production, and changes in colonial law.
One cause of the shift was that fewer English workers were willing to become indentured servants as economic conditions improved in England. At the same time, colonial planters wanted a permanent and controllable labor force for tobacco plantations, and colonial laws increasingly defined slavery as hereditary and race-based. - 5
Describe the purpose of the Navigation Acts and explain how they reflected mercantilist ideas.
The Navigation Acts were designed to control colonial trade by requiring certain goods to be shipped on English or colonial ships and to pass through English ports. They reflected mercantilism because England wanted colonies to provide raw materials, buy English manufactured goods, and increase the wealth and power of the empire. - 6
Explain how the First Great Awakening affected colonial society in the 1730s and 1740s.
Think about revival preaching, individual choice, and challenges to traditional authority.
The First Great Awakening encouraged emotional religious revival and challenged some established church authorities. It helped spread the idea that ordinary people could make personal religious choices, and it contributed to a shared colonial experience across different regions. - 7
What did Bacon's Rebellion reveal about tensions in colonial Virginia?
Focus on class conflict, western settlement, and colonial leadership.
Bacon's Rebellion revealed tensions between frontier settlers and the colonial elite over land, political power, and protection from conflicts with Indigenous peoples. It also showed the instability of a labor system that depended heavily on poor freedmen and indentured servants. - 8
Explain the significance of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 in the history of Spanish colonization.
The Pueblo Revolt was significant because Pueblo peoples successfully drove Spanish colonizers out of New Mexico for more than a decade. It showed Indigenous resistance to forced labor, religious suppression, and Spanish attempts to control Native communities. - 9
Define salutary neglect and explain one effect it had on the British North American colonies before 1763.
Consider how weak enforcement could encourage colonial autonomy.
Salutary neglect was Britain's loose enforcement of trade regulations and imperial policies during much of the colonial period. One effect was that colonists developed stronger traditions of local self-government and became used to managing many of their own political and economic affairs. - 10
Explain one major way the French and Indian War changed the relationship between Britain and its North American colonies.
Focus on debt, taxation, and increased imperial enforcement after 1763.
The French and Indian War increased Britain's debt and led the British government to seek more revenue and greater control over the colonies. This marked a shift away from salutary neglect and created new tensions that contributed to later colonial resistance. - 11
Identify the three main colonial regions of British North America and describe one economic activity associated with each region.
The three main colonial regions were New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. New England was associated with shipping, fishing, and small farms; the Middle Colonies produced grain and supported trade; and the Southern Colonies relied heavily on plantation crops such as tobacco, rice, and indigo. - 12
Compare British, French, and Spanish approaches to colonization in North America before 1763.
Think about settlement size, economic goals, and relationships with Indigenous peoples.
British colonization often involved large settler populations, farming, trade, and local representative institutions. French colonization focused more on fur trade alliances and a smaller settler population, while Spanish colonization emphasized missions, military posts, resource extraction, and the conversion of Indigenous peoples to Christianity. - 13
Use the idea of the Atlantic World to explain how trade connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas in the colonial period.
Include both economic exchange and forced migration.
The Atlantic World connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas through the movement of goods, people, and ideas. European manufactured goods, African captives forced into slavery, and American raw materials and crops moved across the Atlantic, creating wealth for some while causing extreme suffering and exploitation for many others. - 14
Explain one way Enlightenment ideas influenced British North American colonists before the American Revolution.
Enlightenment ideas encouraged colonists to think about natural rights, consent of the governed, and the purpose of government. These ideas influenced educated colonists and helped shape later arguments that government should protect liberty and be accountable to the people. - 15
The Mayflower Compact stated that the settlers would create laws for the general good of the colony. Explain why this document is often used as evidence of early self-government in colonial America.
Focus on agreement, lawmaking, and the idea of consent.
The Mayflower Compact is used as evidence of early self-government because the settlers agreed to form a political community and follow laws they helped create. Although it applied only to a small group and did not create democracy for everyone, it reflected the principle of consent among members of the community.