Transcript Pre-Columbian civilizations – North America

Course Requirements
• You will need a 2-inch binder for this class. Everything will be filed in the
notebook by topic and by date. At the front of your binder, you will keep
this course outline. You should also have loose-leaf paper in your
notebook.
• At the beginning of each week, you will be provided a “reading list.” This
consists of pages to read each night. You are expected to take notes as you
read. At the end of each week, you will take a quiz based on these readings.
You may use your notes if you took notes. Reading lists can be found on my
webpage and on EDMODO.
• NOTE: We have a school-wide grading policy. Although homework only
counts 10% of the grade, if you do not complete these assignments, you may
not have the knowledge necessary to successfully write the required timed
essays and DBQs (document based essays) or to do well on tests and quizzes.
• Late work will be accepted but you can only earn a 60.
Textbook
America: Past and Present (New World Encounters
through Reconstruction; chapters 1-16)
NOTE: With a new AP test and a redesigned
curriculum, I encourage you to purchase an AP US
History test preparation book such as “Cracking the AP
U.S. History Exam, 2015 Edition: Created for the New
2015 Exam.” (or later edition!)
9 Historical Thinking Skills
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Causation
Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
Periodization
Comparison
Contextualization
Argumentation
Analyzing Evidence: Content & Sourcing
Interpretation
Synthesis
1. Causation
• Thinking about causation involved the ability to identify, analyze, and
evaluate the relationships among historical events, as both causes
and effects.
• Historians often try to distinguish between immediate, proximate,
and long-term causes and effects.
• Some events and conditions may have some correlation without
proof of a direct causal relationship, while others are only
coincidental or without a relationship.
Word to know:
1. Proximate – the next or nearest; close, imminent
Example:
• Immediate: the firing on Ft. Sumter sparked the armed conflict that
became the Civil War
• Proximate: the secession of the 7 Southern states from the Union
after the election of Lincoln
• Long-term: slavery, states’ rights, economic & cultural differences
between the North and the South
2. Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
• Tracing change over time – you must look at more than one historical
period.
• Example:
Attitudes about slavery. The institution of slavery was viewed as a
“necessary evil” after the American Revolution (1783) but as a “positive
good” in the South and as unnecessary and morally wrong in the North
by the time of the Civil War (1861).
3. Periodization
• Doesn’t just mean different events in history: ex. Age of Exploration,
Colonization, Civil war, etc.
• Periodization involves the ability to analyze and organize history in
terms of political, economic, social or cultural themes.
• Ex: Period 5 (1848-1877) – focus is on a political theme
Period 6 (1865-1898) – focus is on an economic theme
4. Comparison
• The ability to describe, compare, contrast and evaluate (judge) two or
more historical developments in the same era or from different
periods.
• The ability to study a given historical event from multiple
perspectives.
• Ex: Social Changes, along with the Red Scare of the 1920s and the
1950s
5. Contextualization
• The ability to see how a specific event or development fits into the
context of larger and broader historical developments, often on a
national or global level.
• Seeing the “big” picture.
• Ex: The anti-slavery movement in the US in the context of 19th century
efforts by nations in Europe and Latin America to end slavery as well
as how long it took to achieve equality after liberation.
• You discover commonalities and differences.
• The answer is implied. (contextual reading)
6. Argumentation
• The ability to analyze a question and to address that question with a
plausible and persuasive argument.
• Requires a focused thesis, supported by relevant historical evidence
and the ability to evaluate (judge) the arguments and supporting
evidence used by others.
• Ex: “Assess the extent to which slavery was the main cause of the
disunion and the Civil War.” This question/prompt demands a clear
and comprehensive thesis that not only support the position with
persuasive and relevant evidence but also takes into account
conflicting arguments.
7. Analyzing Evidence: Content and Sourcing
• Use of evidence involves the ability to evaluate evidence from diverse
sources, including written primary and secondary sources, art and
illustrations, artifacts, maps, and statistical data.
• You need to be able to analyze evidence in terms of content but also
(1) author’s point of views, (2) intended audience of document, (3)
purpose of document, and (4) historical context.
• You must also be able to make inferences and draw conclusions.
• Ex: The pro-slavery documents produced in the 1840s and 1850s are
offensive by today’s standards, but they provide insights into the
divisions and the thinking of the times, and cast light on issues such
as the condition of persons working for wages and early critiques of a
market-driven economy.
8. Interpretation
• Involves the ability to describe, analyze, and evaluate diverse
interpretations of historical sources and to construct your own
interpretation.
• This involves you being able to understand how particular
circumstances and perspectives shape historians’ interpretations.
• Do not just interpret the past in terms of the present; instead,
recognize the reasons for historians’ interpretations about the past.
• Ex: Essay Prompts: often there is not “one” answer. You must;
however, be able to support your ideas with evidence.
9. Synthesis
• Involves applying all of the other historical thinking skills as well as
drawing and fusing knowledge and methods from diverse sources and
disciplines to develop a persuasive understanding of the past.
• Ex: When writing essays, you are expected to combine diverse and
contradictory evidence with differing interpretations in essay form to
reveal a thoughtful and persuasive understanding of the past. (DBQ)
The 7 Historical Themes of APUSH
1. American and National Identity (NAT) – national identity: the “American
character” & group identities: based on gender, class, ethnicity, region,
religion
2. Politics and Power (POL) – government, voters
3. Work, Exchange, and Technology (WXT) – focuses on the development of
the American economy: the role of technology, labor systems, government
policies
4. Culture and Society (CUL) – ex: how artistic expression changed in response
to war or to the growth of cities & industry
5. Migration and Settlement (MIG) – focuses on how & why people moved to
and within the US
6. Geography and the Environment– Physical and Human (ENV) – the use of
natural resources, people’s impact on the environment
7. America in the World (WOR) – foreign policy
What is the best way to take notes on
pages you are required to read?
Turn to page 3.
1. Read the title of the section.
Page 3: “Native American Histories Before Conquest.”
2. Turn the “title” into a question.
“What was life like for Native Americans before their encounter with the
Europeans?”
3. With the question in mind, read and take notes!
4. Now you try! (Collaborate with your partner.)
My notes:
• The NA inhabited the Americas long before European
exploration began (before Columbus arrived in 1492).
• The NA migrated by way of the Bering Strait, a land
bridge connecting Asia & North America during the
Ice Age, a place called Beringia.
• This migration didn’t happen all at once; instead
these Natives moved in small bands or groups. They
were nomadic and settled where they could find food.
• Survival was their goal which meant they had to
adapt to their environment.
• These bands of Natives did not carry communicable
diseases and their isolation from each other
prevented them from building up an immunity to
disease which would be a major problem for them
when they encountered the Europeans.
• The encounter between the NA & the Europeans was
one of death and disease!
Period 1 Overview: 5% of the AP Test
(multiple-choice & short-answer questions)
• Today, the US is a synthesis, or combination, of people from around
the world. The first people arrived in the Americas at least 10,000
years ago.
• We begin our study by looking at how these people lived in 1491, the
year before the arrival of European Christopher Columbus in the
Americas. His arrival initiated lasting contact between people on
opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
• Period 1 ends in 1607, with the founding of the first permanent
English settlement at Jamestown, VA. The Jamestown settlement
marks the beginning of the framework of a new nation.
Why start at 1491? Why not at 1492?
• Until the mid 20th century, most historians viewed Columbus and
European explorers and settlers as great adventurers who founded
colonies that developed into modern democracies.
• However, in recent years, historians have highlighted the vibrant and
diverse native cultures that existed in the Americas before the arrival
of Columbus, and how European diseases and violence destroyed so
much of these cultures. The native population declined by 90% after
the arrival of Europeans. To demonstrate this greater emphasis on
native culture, historians often begin this period in 1491 rather than
1492.
Key Concept 1.1: “As native populations migrated and
settled across the vast expanse of North America over
time, they developed distinct and increasingly complex
societies by adapting to and transforming their diverse
environments..
• The original discovery, exploration, and settlement of North and South
America occurred at least 10,000 years before Christopher Columbus
was born!
• Waves of migrants from Asia may have crossed a land bridge that once
connected Siberia and Alaska (by way of the Bering Strait or Berengia).
• The first Americans adapted to the varied environments of the regions
that they found. They evolved into hundreds of tribes, spoke different
languages, and practiced different cultures. (evidence but needs
examples)
Review from yesterday’s “guided notes”
Write and answer the following questions:
1. In which region of North America did the horse impact the Native
Americans the most?
The Great Plains, the Great Basin
2. In which region of North America was maize mostly cultivated?
The Southwest
Pre-Columbian civilizations: Central & South America
– “the most advanced Native American
cultures”
3 highly developed civilizations:
The Mayas – built remarkable cities in the rain forests of the Yucatan
Peninsula (present-day Guatemala, Belize, southern Mexico).
The Aztecs – developed a powerful empire in Mexico
The Incas – based in Peru, developed a vast empire in South America.
All 3 developed highly organized societies, carried on an extensive trade,
and created calendars based on accurate scientific observations.
All 3 cultivated crops that provided a stable food supply, particularly maize
(corn) for the Mayas and Aztecs, and potatoes for the Incas.
Pre-Columbian civilizations – North America
Similarities:
• Civilizations were smaller and less sophisticated than those in Mexico
and South America. One reason for this was the slowness of the
northward spread of (maize) corn cultivation from Mexico.
• Some of the most populous and complex societies in North America
had disappeared by the 15th century, for reasons not well understood.
• By the time of Columbus, most people lived in semi-permanent
settlements in groups of 300 or less. The men made tools and
hunted, while the women gathered plants and nuts or grew crops
such as (maize) corn, beans, and tobacco.
Pre-Columbian civilizations – North America continued
Differences:
Language
- Over 300 different languages were spoken
- Location
- Environment
- Culture
- Traditions
- Not a unified people
Pre-Columbian civilizations – North America continued
Southwest Settlements
- Present-day New Mexico and Arizona
- A dry region - subdesert (less arid (lack of moisture) than a typical desert)
- Includes the Anasazi and the Pueblo
- Farmed by irrigating the land – cultivated maize (corn)
- Lived in caves, under cliffs and in multistoried buildings made of adobe brick
to protect themselves from neighboring tribes
- Suffered due to extreme drought and conflict with other hostile natives
Southwest Settlements: the Pueblo
A home made of
adobe brick
Northwest Settlements – Ex: the Chinook
- Located along the Pacific coast (California)
- Lived in permanent longhouses or plank houses, built canoes
- Had a rich diet based on hunting, fishing (Columbia River a rich source
of salmon), gathering nuts, berries and roots
- Carved large totem poles to save stories, legends, and myths
- Formed a complex social and political organization (potlatches
an individual's prestige and rank were determined by the quantities
of material possessions he could give away; societies tended to be
ruled by wealthy families
- The high mountain ranges in this region isolated these tribes from
one another, creating barriers to development.
- resisted the invasion by the whites but eventually were forced onto
reservations (1880s)
Plank Houses
Totem Pole
Chinook Canoe
Great Plains or the “Great American Desert”
- Were either nomadic hunters (buffalo which supplied their food as well as
decorations, tools, knives, and clothing.) or sedentary people who farmed and
traded and lived in permanent homes: earthen lodges often along rivers and
raised maize (corn), beans, squash
- Nomads lived in tepees which were easily disassembled and transported
- 1507 – the Spanish introduced the horse to Native Americans which they
acquired by trading or stealing them.
- With horses, tribes such as the Lakota Sioux moved away from farming to hunting
buffalo.
- The plains tribes would at times merge or split apart as conditions changed.
Migration also was common. Ex: the Apaches gradually migrated southward from
Canada to Texas.
Great Plains and Great Basin: Natives were more
mobile because of a lack of natural resources.
Located in the middle part of the US
Great Basin – Nevada, Colorado
Great Plains – Montana, North Dakota
down to Texas
The Great Plains Indians
Knife made
from a bone
of a buffalo
Geronimo
(1829-1909)
Patterns of
Continuity &
Change over
time
Midwest Settlements
- East of the Mississippi River, the Woodland Americans Indians prospered with a
rich food supply. They hunted, fished, and farmed. Many permanent settlements
developed in the Mississippi & Ohio River valleys.
- The Adena-Hopewell culture, centered in present-day Ohio, is famous for their
large earthen mounds.
The Adena were the first Native Americans to build
ceremonial mounds. We know little about how or
why the mounds were built. Historian Otis Rice
suggests these early Americans "built mounds over
the remains of chiefs, shamans, priests, and other
honored dead." For their "common folk," the Adenas
cremated the dead bodies, placing the remains in
small log tombs on the surface of the ground.
Virtually all of these graves have been destroyed by
nature and later settlement.
Northeast Settlements – Iroquois, Algonquins
• Present-day New York
• Hunted, farmed, cultivated maize (corn)
• Their farming techniques exhausted the soil quickly so people had to
move to new land frequently.
• Among the most famous tribes in this area were the Iroquois
Confederation, a political union of 5 independent tribes.
• lived in longhouses
• Their social structure was matrilineal: meaning kinship through the
female line; women “owned” the land and houses, maintained
customs, and participated in government
• The Iroquois was a powerful force through the American Revolution,
battling rival American Indians and Europeans (encountered the
Pilgrims). (Patterns of continuity & change over time)
Iroquois League
• Also called the Iroquois Confederacy or the Five
nations
• consisted of 5 Indian nations who were feared by all
other tribes in the NE
• Formed between 1570 and 1600 to put an end to
constant warfare among the tribes & to provide a
united force to withstand invasion.
• Was governed by a council made up of clan & village
chiefs
• Voting in the council was by tribe & a unanimous
vote was required to declare war
• The confederacy was officially recognized by the
British in 1722 and survived for more than 200 years.
Iroquois
Longhouse
The Algonquin Indians
• made up of numerous tribes located from the coast of NC to Maine
• lived in different regions and spoke different dialects, making
communication among tribes difficult and prevented any type of unity;
therefore they looked out for their own best interests which meant they
often allied w/the Europeans rather than other native groups, which the
Europeans exploited and purposefully created problems among native
groups
* The English had the most contact with the Algonquin Indians.
* The Iroquois traded with the Algonquin Indians but also fought against
them.
Atlantic Seaboard Settlements (Coastal Plains)
• Present-day New Jersey to Florida
• Many were descendants of the Woodland mound builders and built
timber and bark lodgings along rivers which provided a rich source of
food.
Reasons to Explore
• Adventure
• Wealth
• God, gold, glory (Spanish)
• A new start in life
• Find a Northwest passage to Asia (common among all
Europeans)
• To colonize
• To establish an empire
• To spread Christianity
• For religious freedom
Factors that “enabled” Europeans to explore (p. 16 TB)
1. Improvement in Technology – the printing press aided the spread of knowledge across
Europe, improved maps (cartography), knew the world was round as a result of a rebirth of
classical learning known as the Renaissance (1350-1550). Europeans began to use
gunpowder (invented by the Chinese), the compass (adopted from Arab merchants).
2. Religious conflict resulted in Spanish Christians (Catholics) setting up independent
kingdoms. Political authority was more centralized. New monarchs emerged: Isabella,
queen of Castile and Ferdinand, king of Aragon, married and united Spain, enabling them
to fund Columbus’s voyages.
3. Religious conflict in Northern Europe – the Protestant Reformation (a revolt against the
authority of the pope in Rome) which led the Catholics of Spain & Portugal and the
Protestants of England & Holland to want to spread their own versions of Christianity to
people in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
4. Economic motives: competition among Europeans kingdoms for increased trade with
Africa, India, & China. Europeans desired to find a water route to Asia & Africa. Portugal
sponsored exploration by Prince Henry the Navigator who succeeded in opening up a long
sea route around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. In 1498, the Portuguese sea captain,
Vasco da Gama, was the first European to reach India via this route.
Factors continued…
5. The Slave Trade: In the 15th century, the Portuguese began trading
for slaves from West Africa to work on sugar plantations. Enslaved
Africans resisted slavery in whatever ways they could: ran away,
sabotaged work, or revolted.
6. The development of nation-states: the uniting of Castile and
Aragon. Nation-states were countries in which the majority of
people shared both a common culture and common loyalty toward
a central government. These monarchs depended on trade to bring
in needed revenues and on the church to justify their right to rule.
They used their power to search for riches abroad and to spread the
influence of their version of Christianity overseas.
7. Growth in population – led to the rise in the price of land
8. The demand for luxury goods
9. Europe became more prosperous
The Renaissance (details about) 1350-1550
• New technology/innovations such as:
Cartography
Compass – now they knew which direction their ship was moving
Astrolabe – used the sun or a star to determine latitude
Lateen or triangular sails
Caravels – ships that were easy to maneuver & could carry cannon
Gunpowder (China) led to the development of cannon & muskets
so explorers no longer feared hostile natives in strange lands
Printing press (1440s) – led to the wide distribution of maps, sea
charts, travelers’ tales; increased geographic knowledge & aroused
curiosity about distant countries
Key Concept 1.2: European overseas expansion resulted in
the Columbian Exchange, a series of interactions and
adaptations among societies across the Atlantic.
• The arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere in the 15th and 16th
centuries triggered extensive demographic and social changes on both
sides of the Atlantic.
• European expansion into the Western Hemisphere caused intense
social/religious, political, and economic competition in Europe and
promotion of empire building.
Early Explorations: Christopher Columbus
• Goal: to sail west from Europe to the “Indies” (Far East, China, Cathay,
Asia) by water
• Outcome: landed on an island in the Bahamas; found little gold, few
spices, and no simple path to China and India
• Columbus’s legacy: died in 1506 still believing that he had found a
western route to Asia Map – Columbus’ voyages
• Many Spaniards viewed Columbus as a failure because instead of
finding a valuable trade route, he had found a “New World.”
Columbus is criticized for giving the people he encountered the name
“Indians.” Critics also point out the many problems and injustices
suffered by the natives of the Americas after Europeans arrived and
took over their land. Even the land that he had explored was named
for someone else, Amerigo Vespucci.
New AP Test Format
Section
Question Type
Part A: Multiplechoice questions
Number of
Questions
55 questions
Timing
Percentage of
Total Exam Score
55 minutes
40%
Part B: Short4 questions
answer questions
50 minutes
20%
Part A:
Document-based 1 question
question
55 minutes
25%
Part B: Long essay
1 question
question
35 minutes
15%
I
II
The New AP Test Format
• Part B – Short-answer questions will directly address one or more of
the thematic learning objectives for the course. At least two of the
four questions will have elements of internal choice, providing
opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know best.
• Each question consists of 3 tasks. Each “task” is worth ONE point.
Africa
• 1st explored by the Portuguese who were looking for gold and for
slaves
• The Portuguese were also the first to explore the Americas, searching
for a water route to Asia
Amerigo Vespucci
• An Italian explorer who explored the coast of South
America; like other explorers, Vespucci sought to
prove that Columbus had discovered a “New World”
• Sailed for the Portuguese on his 2nd voyage. He
described his travels and was the first to identify the
New World of North and South America as separate
from Asia.
• America was named after him.
Columbus continued…
• Most historians agree on Columbus’s importance. Columbus is recognized for
his great skills as a navigator and his daring commitment in going forth where
nobody else had ever dared to venture. His voyages brought about permanent
interaction between people from all over the globe. He changed the world
forever.
• The conflict between Europeans and the original inhabitants of the Americas
resulted in the Columbian Exchange, a transfer of plants, animals, and germs
(diseases) from one side of the Atlantic to the other for the first time.
Europeans learned about many new plants and foods, including beans, corn
(maize), sweet and white potatoes, tomatoes, and tobacco. They also
contracted a new disease – syphilis.
• Columbus acknowledged the fact that the natives he first encountered had
developed a variety of social structures; ex: some were warriors; some would
wound themselves as a way to elevate their status in society; ex: could defend
themselves from outsiders
Columbus first meets the Natives in Cuba.
How would you
describe this
encounter?
The Columbian Exchange
(biological & cultural exchanges)
New World
Maize/corn
Potatoes
Tobacco
tomatoes
vanilla
Cacao (kuh kah oh)
Europe
sugar
horses, 1547
pigs, cattle
diseases
the wheel
firearms
*diseases: smallpox, measles
*Native Americans had no immunity to these diseases)
Rivalry: Dividing the Americas
• Spain & Portugal were the first European countries to claim territories in the Americas.
Their claims overlapped, leading to disputes. The Catholic monarchs of the two countries
turned to the pope in Rome to resolve their differences.
• In 1493, the Pope drew a vertical, north-south line on a world map, called the Line of
Demarcation. The pope granted Spain all lands to the west of the line and Portugal all lands
to the east.
• In 1494, Spain & Portugal moved the pope’s line a few degrees to the west and signed an
agreement called the Treaty of Tordesillas. This line passed through what is today, Brazil,
establishing Portugal’s claim to Brazil while Spain claimed the rest of the Americas. Other
countries soon challenged these claims.
LINE OF DEMARCATION
Part of the people in
Brazil speak
Portuguese and part
speak Spanish.
• Spanish & Portuguese exploration & conquest of the
Americas led to widespread deadly epidemics, the
emergence of racially mixed populations, and a caste
system defined by an intermixture among Spanish
settlers, Africans, and Native Americans (Mestizo – a
person of combined European & NA descent)
Spanish Exploration
• Spain was the #1 world power by 1500. How did this happen? The uniting of
monarchs – Ferdinand & Isabella – created a centralized political authority.
(Nation Building) However, Spain owned its expanding power to its explorers
and conquistadors (conquerors).
• Spanish motives for exploring: God, gold, glory – the Spanish attempted to
maintain control over the natives and to gain wealth more so than other
Europeans did
Vasco de Balboa – discovered the Pacific Ocean
Ferdinand Magellan’s ships – the first to circumnavigate the world (Magellan
died before completing the trip.)
Cortes – conquistador who conquered to Aztecs in Mexico
Pizarro – conquistador who conquered the Incas in Peru which secured Spain’s
initial supremacy in the Americas.
Spanish Settlement continued…
• Revolt of 1680 or the Pueblo Revolt – the Pueblo forced the Spanish
from their land; the Spanish had built outposts (forts) along the Rio
Grande; was one of the most successful Native American wars of
resistance in North American history; an example of how the Natives
rejected the Spanish and their accommodationist (attempt to assist)
policies; also called the Pope’s Rebellion.
• In the 1700s they again accepted Spanish rule to gain protection from
neighboring tribes (Apache), became Catholics, acknowledged
Spanish authority, but governed their own local affairs.
• The Spanish established settlements in Texas and established missions
in California to spread Catholicism.
Spanish settlements in North America
• The Spanish established the first permanent settlement at St.
Augustine, Florida, 1565. This is the oldest city in North America
founded by Europeans. It was a defensive base from which ships
could travel from Cuba to Spain safely.
• Established Santa Fe as the capital of New Mexico in 1610. Harsh
efforts to Christianize the American Indians caused the Pueblo people
to revolt. At first these Native Americans converted to Catholicism
because the Franciscan friars (members of the Roman Catholic Church
associated with St. Francis) controlled valuable tools & equipment
and offered protection from other Native American tribes in the area
but due to widespread sickness and drought, the Pueblos began to
resist these efforts & to return to traditional religious practices which
was seen as witchcraft by the Spanish.
New Spain
The conquistadors…
• Sent ships loaded with gold & silver back to Spain
from Mexico & Peru. They increased the gold supply
by more than 500%, making Spain the richest & most
powerful nation in Europe by 1500.
• Conquistadors sought instant glory & wealth.
• Conquistadors did not want to establish permanent
settlements.
• To gain control over the conquistadors, Isabella &
Ferdinand granted Indian villages (land) to the
conquistadors and gave them the right to use the
Native Americans as laborers; basically exploiting the
Native Americans. (the encomienda system)
The encomienda system…
• Indians had to farm (sugarcane) or work in the mines (silver). The
fruits of their labors went to their Spanish masters, who in turn had to
“care” for them. As Europeans’ diseases and brutality reduced the
native population, the Spanish brought enslaved people from West
Africa.
• The encomienda system was gradually replaced by African slavery.
How did Spain end up a poor nation?
• The Spanish gained a lot of wealth which led to inflation. The money
(wealth) was used to fund wars and not invest or industrialize so
Spain became dependent on bullion (gold & silver) from the
Americas. This misuse of funds led to their downfall.
English Exploration
• John Cabot – the 1st to explore for England (Hudson
Bay area, coast of Newfoundland, 1497) was looking
for a NW passage
• Exploration began under Queen Elizabeth I but the monarch did not provide funding for
voyages, etc. Instead, private individuals provided their own funding or joint-stock
companies were formed in which individuals pooled their money together to finance a
voyage (an investment) with the expectation of earning a profit.
• England challenged Spanish shipping in both the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans, sending Sea
dogs/privateers/pirates such as Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins who seized Spanish
treasure ships full of gold & silver and attacked Spanish settlements on the coast of
Peru.
• Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to establish a settlement at Roanoke Island off the NC
coast in 1587 but the venture failed (The Lost Colony).
• The Lost Colony – 2 attempts were made to establish
a colony in Roanoke which was doomed for failure
from the start because it was difficult to reach &
England was dealing with Spain and the Armada and
Queen Elizabeth didn’t want to alienate Philip II
unnecessarily by sponsoring a colony on land long ago
claimed by Spain.
• Spanish Armada 1588 – English defeated it; set the
way for the English to explore.
• First took over Ireland which shaped their way of
colonizing and how they would treat the Native
Americans. Taught them how to take lands and
control the people.
• Jamestown – 1st permanent English colony, 1607
French Exploration
• First exploration: 1524, Giovanni da Verrazano searched for a NW passage
to Asia; explored parts of North America’s eastern coast, including the NY
harbor
• Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence River
• Samuel de Champlain (“Father of New France), 1608, established the first
permanent French settlement - Quebec
• Few colonists, rather mostly men who built forts rather than establish
colonies
• Explorers lacked support and adequate funding from the French crown.
• Motives: wealth, spread Christianity
• Established settlements in New Orleans/LA, Canada – New France (Old
Northwest territory)
New France
From
Louisiana
to Canada
Dutch Claims
• The Netherlands sponsored voyages of exploration.
• The Dutch government hired Henry Hudson, an English sailor, to find
a NW passage to Asia. Hudson sailed up a broad river that was later
named for him, the Hudson River. This expedition established Dutch
claims to the surrounding area that would become New Amsterdam
(later New York). The Dutch government granted a private company,
the Dutch West India Company, the right to control the region for
economic gain.
Key Concept 1.3: Contacts among American Indians,
Africans, and Europeans challenged the worldviews of
each group.
European Treatment of Native Americans:
1. Most Europeans looked down upon Native Americans.
2. Europeans generally viewed Native Americans as inferior people
who could be exploited for economic gain, converted to Christianity,
and used as military allies.
Spanish Policy
• The Spanish used the Native Americans as laborers – forced labor.
• Because few families came from Spain to settle in America, the
explorers and soldiers intermarried with natives as well as Africans.
• Africans were captured in Africa and forced to travel across the ocean
to America to provide slave labor for the Spanish colonists.
• A rigid class system developed in the Spanish colonies, dominated by
pure-blooded Spaniards.
Spanish Policy cont.
• Bartolome de Las Casas, a Spanish priest who sought to
convert Native Americans to Catholicism; reported that from
1494 to 1508 over 3 million (not an accurate count) had died
from war, slavery, and the mines, with most having died from
diseases (smallpox)
• Las Casas was one European who dissented from the views of
most Europeans toward Native Americans. Though he owned
land and slaves in the West Indies and had fought in wars
against the Indians, he became an advocate for better
treatment for Indians.
• He persuaded the king to institute the New Laws of 1542 which
ended Indian slavery, halted forced Indian labor, and began to
end the encomienda system which kept the Indians in serfdom.
Spanish policy cont.
• The debate over the role for Indians in the Spanish colonies led to a
formal debate in 1550-1551 – the Valladolid Debate.
• On one side, Las Casas argued that the Indians were completely
human and morally equal to Europeans, so enslaving them was not
justified.
• On the other side, another priest, Juan Gines de Sepulveda, argued
that Indians were less than human. This justified keeping the
encomienda system and force the natives to become slaves.
• Neither side clearly won the debate. Though Las Casas was unable to
gain equal treatment for Native Americans, he established the basic
arguments on behalf of justice for Indians.
English Policy
• Unlike the Spanish, the English settled in areas without a lot of Native Americans
who could be controlled as a workforce but their encounter w/Native Americans
was conquer & remake.
• Many English colonists came in families rather than single young men, so
marriage with natives was less common.
• In Massachusetts, the English and the American Indians coexisted, traded, and
shared ideas. The Indians taught the settlers how to grow new crops such as corn
(maize) and showed them how to hunt in the forests.
• Indians traded furs for English manufactured goods such as iron tools & weapons.
• Peaceful relations soon led to conflict and open warfare. The English had no
respect for Indian culture which they saw as primitive or savage. The Indians saw
their way of life threatened as the English began to take more land to support
their growing population, forcing the Indians to move away from the coast to
inland territories.
French Policy
• Became economic partners with the Native Americans (fur trade)
• Viewed Americans Indians as potential economic & military allies
• Maintained good relations with the tribes they encountered
• The French built trading posts throughout the St. Lawrence Valley, the
Great Lakes region, and along the Mississippi River.
• They exchanged French goods for beaver pelts and other furs.
• Because the French had few colonists, farms, or towns, they posed
less threat to the Indians than the Spanish and English.
• French soldiers assisted the Huron Indians in fighting their traditional
enemy, the Iroquois. The Huron allied with the French during the
French & Indian War, 1754-1763, while the Iroquois allied with the
British.
Native American Reaction
• Native American tribes saw themselves as groups distinct from each other.
They lacked unity. As a result, European settlers rarely had to be concerned with
a unified response from the Native Americans.
• Initially the European goods such as copper pots and guns had motivated the
natives to interact with the settlers but after the decimation of their peoples
from the violence and disease of the Europeans, the Native Americans had to
adopt new ways to survive.
• Upon observing the Europeans fighting each other, some tribes allied
themselves with one European power or another in hopes of gaining support in
order to survive.
• A number of tribes migrated to new land to get away from the slowly
encroaching settlers.
• Regardless of how they dealt with the European invasion, Native Americans
would never be able to return to the life they had known prior to 1492.
Why was it important for Europeans to forge
alliances with the Native Americans?
• At first the NA outnumbered the Europeans and forming alliances
made it possible for the Europeans to gain hold of the land more
easily.
Answering the M/C Questions – counts 40% of
the exam score!
• The AP exam asks 55 M/C questions, and you will have 55 minutes to
answer them.
• Each question is related to the analysis of a “stimulus,” such as a
primary or secondary source, or an image (photo, cartoon, painting,
graph, or map).
• Each MCQ assesses one or more historical thinking skills but also
requires historical knowledge (that you know your history!).
• From 2-6 questions will be asked about a stimulus.
• The AP exam places less emphasis on simple recall and more
emphasis on your ability to use historical thinking skills such as using
relevant evidence.
Writing a historical essay in 35 minutes!
15% of your exam grade.
• The APUSH exam gives you a choice between 2 long-essays questions that focus
on the same thinking skill but may apply to different time periods and themes.
• Each essay will be evaluated on the following criteria:
a. Argumentation – Develop a thesis or relevant argument that addresses all
parts of the question.
b. Use of evidence – Support the thesis using specific evidence, clearly linked to
the thesis.
c. Targeted Historical Thinking Skill – Each question will also assess an additional
thinking skill, such as causation, comparison, continuity, and change over time
or periodization.
d. Synthesis – your essay needs to show synthesis: how you combine the
argument, evidence, and context into a coherent and persuasive essay.
How to start writing your essay
1. Read and analyze the prompt. What is it asking you to write about?
2. Organize the evidence.
3. Develop/write the thesis statement.
4. Write the Introductory Paragraph.
5. Write the Supporting Paragraphs and Conclusion.
6. Evaluate your essay.