Unit 1: American Beginnings
Chapter 1
Three Worlds Meet
Section 1: American Cultures
Olmecs—1st Empire in the Americas (southern Mexico)
Maya—Yucatan Peninsula. Developed a written language and a
calendar.
Aztec—Central Mexico. Built great cities, pyramids, and irrigation
systems.
Inca—Western coast of South America. Created a highway system.
Hohokam & Anasazi—introduced crops into the deserts of the
southwest US.
Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian—Great lakes to gulf of Mexico.
Excelled in trade and architecture. Built huge burial mounds as big as
pyramids.
1. Olmec
2. Aztec
5 6
2 13
4
3. Mayan
4. Inca
5. Hohokam &
Anasazi
6. Adena,
Hopewell,
Mississippian
Section 3: African Cultures
1. African cultures were used as slave labor in the New World.
2. African cultures were at war with one another and sold their
prisoners to Europeans for guns.
3. Indentured servitude became too expensive and Native Americans
were not a good source of slave labor. Africans were physically
superior workers and easy targets.
Section 4: European Cultures
•
In Europe many factors contributed to the exploration of areas west.
1. Crusades—Cultural diffusion increased the education of many.
2. Commerce—After the Crusades many new towns emerged and
trade led to capitalism.
3. Population—Europe went through a warming period as the
population grew.
4. Rise of Nations—As European countries grew, they competed
against each other for land & power.
5. Renaissance—A rebirth of education caused many new ideas to
develop about life outside the church.
6. Sailing improvements—Astrolabe, triangular sail, rudder, Prince
Williams navigation school all led to the desire to explore new
lands.
Section 5: Impact
1. Columbus—His discovery sparked the Age of Exploration and caused
these three worlds to come together.
2. Native Americans—Many cultures were destroyed by war, disease, and
genocide.
3. Africans—Their lives were changed forever as they began hundreds of
years of slavery.
4. Treaty of Tordesillas—Provided early settlement of the New World to
Spain.
Chapter 2: American Colonies Emerge
Section 1: Spain
1. Conquistadors—Spanish word for conqueror. Included
Cortes, Pizarro, Columbus (?).
2. Cortes—Conquered the Aztecs.
3. Mestizo—Person of Spanish & Mexican blood.
4. Encomienda—Spanish farm system of labor.
5. St. Augustine—Oldest city in the US.
6. Ponce de Leon—Founded St. Augustine.
7. New Spain—Spanish settlement in modern day Mexico City.
8. Pope’—Led a rebellion against Spanish rule.
•
Spain had early control of the New World until its Armada
was destroyed in 1588.
Section 2 & 3: England
A) Jamestown
1. Settled in 1607, VA
2. Led by Captain John Smith and gentlemen
3. Neighboring the Powhatan tribe
4. It was a joint stock colony
5. Later became a royal colony
6. No one worked the land…everyone just wanted to find gold
7. John Rolfe saved the colony by introducing a new type of
tobacco
8. Tobacco began the concept of slavery by the English
Pocahantas
B) New England
1. Plymouth—William
Bradford, Mayflower
Compact, Communalism &
trade, small scale farming
2. Massachusetts Bay—John
Winthrop, Congregation,
Communalism & trade,
small scale farming
3. Rhode Island—Roger
Williams, direct democracy,
shipping & trade, small scale
farming
Section 4: Middle Colonies
A) New York & New Jersey
•
Settled by the Dutch as New Netherland
•
Formed by the Dutch West India Company and it was a trading
colony
•
Germans, French, Scandinavians, and Africans settled there
•
Relations with Natives was fairly non-confrontational
•
Colony was eventually taken over by the English and King
James
•
King James sold the colony to the Duke of York and he gave a
portion of it to his friends
•
The New Netherland colony was split into New York & New
Jersey
B) Pennsylvania
•Founder was William Penn
•Colony was founded for the Quakers in order that they may escape
persecution in England
•The Quaker religion focused on peace, equality, and the goodness
in all people
•Penn established peaceful treaties with the Natives in order to
avoid conflict
•He established a representative assembly to protect rights and
provide freedom of religion.
Other Colonies
1. Connecticut—Fundamental Orders—1st written Constitution that
established a representative government
2. Georgia—Penal colony—James Olgethorpe
3. Maryland—Catholic colony
4. Delaware—originally owned by Penn…manufactued oil form
whales
5. North Carolina
6. South Carolina
Chapter 3: Colonies come of Age
Section 1: English Colonies
New England—Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut,
Rhode Island. Shipping, fishing, small scale farming, & lumber and
rum.
Middle—New York, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Traders & shipbuilders, and small scale farming.
Southern—Virginia, Maryland, NC, SC, Georgia. Cash
croppers…mainly tobacco & cotton.
Section 4: The French & Indian War
•France fought a war with Britain over control of the Northern territories.
France for fur trade and England to continue their policy of mercantilism.
•The colonies fought in this war mainly because they were forced to as
British citizens.
•Native Americans fought with the French (Algonquian)because they
were less of a threat. Some groups (Iroquois)fought with England as part
of treaties.
British Gains—Control of Northern territories.
Losses—Control of the colonies.
Colonists gains—Sense of Independence.
Losses—farms, families, money
French gains—kept control of lands in Canada.
Losses—lands west of the Mississippi.
Chapter 4: The War for
Independence
Section 1: The Stirrings of Rebellion
Causes & Effects…
Britain passed the Stamp Act to collect more tax money from colonists in order to
pay for war with France. The colonists formed the Sons of Liberty (Samuel
Adams) and harassed & threatened stamp agents. Also, colonists issued a
declaration of Rights & Grievances to King George protesting the tax. Britain in
turn repealed the Act.
Britain then passed the Townshend Acts (a direct tax) on the colonies. The
colonists in response organized a boycott and a protest rally in Boston. The
British responded by sending 2000 redcoats to Boston . This resulted in the
Boston Massacre (labeled by Samuel Adams).
The British passes the tea tax in order to make colonists buy tea from the British
East India Company. The colonists respond by throwing several shipments of
British tea into the Boston Harbor (Boston Tea Party). The British responded by
placing Boston under Martial law.
The British passed the Intolerable Acts aimed at bringing rebellious
colonists under control. The colonists, under the guidance of the
Committee of Correspondence assembled the First Continental
Congress in which a declaration of rights was written up and sent to
King George. Also, many colonies established units of minutemen
(militia armies). Britain looked to send its armies into Boston to
prevent any possible rebellion.
The British marched on Lexington and Concord searching for possible
colonial arsenal bases and looking to arrest John Hancock and
Samuel Adams. The colonists responded when Dr. Joseph Warren sent
Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott to warn the people
of Lexington that the British were coming. The British marched into
Lexington and defeated a small band of minutemen and continued their
marched towards Concord. At Concord they found empty arsenals and
encountered 3-4 thousand minutemen. The British retreated defeated
and humiliated.
Section 2: Revolution Approaching
•
Each of the following helped bring about the Revolution…
1. 1st Continental Congress—56 delegates met from the colonies and
raised colonial fighting units. They also issued a declaration of rights to
King George.
2. 2nd Continental Congress—issued the Declaration of Independence and
created a colonial army.
3. Bunker Hill—Colonists gained tremendous amount of confidence.
4. Olive Branch Petition—one last peace effort that was ignored by King
George.
5. Common Sense—pamphlets written by Thomas Paine supporting the
war for independence.
6. Declaration of Independence—issued July 4, 1776(Thomas Jefferson)
uniting the colonies in a war against the British.
Section 3 & 4: The American Revolution
Key Battles…
New York—The British defeated Washington because his troops were ill-equipped
and outnumbered. As a result, the American army was facing permanent defeat.
Trenton—Washington surprised the British with an attack on Christmas night
propelling the colonists to victory and another in Trenton 8 days later.
Philly—General Howe and the British captured Philly and took the American capital.
The American army was too weak from the fighting in NY & NJ.
Saratoga—The British looked to isolate the New England colonies, but was not able to
move through the rough terrain. The American defeated the British and as a result
secured the aid of the French. The British focused their remaining war efforts on the
south. This was the turning point of the war.
Yorktown—General Charles Cornwallis was defeated by the American & French
forces. Cornwallis was cut off from the North by Washington and blocked from the
seas by the French. Cornwallis surrendered the British army and the war was over.