AP US History Summer Assignment – 2013
Advanced Placement United States History is a survey course designed to cover mainstream American History from
the Colonial Era to 2001. Because the course encompasses so much material, assigning some of the earlier material
during the summer allows the class to move at a more reasonable pace during the regular school year. Your
summer work covers the early Colonial period (pre 1763) of American History.
1. READ: Carefully read chapters 2, 3, & 4 in the America’s History 7th edition textbook. As you read, take
notes on the main ideas and find a note-taking format that works well for you (check my website for notetaking suggestions). You will not turn in these notes, but I highly recommend that you take them. Avoid
fixating on statistical details, but instead focus on cause and effect and broad changes over time. There will
be a multiple-choice exam based on this reading during the first or second week of school. See the
attached term sheet for key vocabulary from each chapter; pay careful attention to the definition as well as
the historical relevance and significance of vocabulary so that you can understand these terms in context.
Also, you may find it helpful to take practices quizzes on the colonial era material using the websites listed
below:
http://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/
http://www.historyteacher.net/USQuizMainPage.htm
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/henretta
2. SHORT RESPONSE QUESTIONS: After finishing the reading, respond to the questions below, using
the key vocabulary terms on the following pages when appropriate. Underline all uses of vocabulary terms.
Please limit each response to 3-5 sentences. You may type or neatly handwrite your work.
3. COLONIAL DIVERSITY CHART: Complete the attached Colonial Diversity Chart to help you organize
the often-confusing colonial regions in the textbook. Don’t try to include every detail you find but instead
include big-picture ideas and general observations you can make about the regions for each category of
analysis. This handout is also available as a Word document on my website if you would prefer to type
directly into it.
Suggestions for Short Response Questions
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Read the whole chapter before writing. Skimming for the “answer” will likely result in a descriptive rather than
analytical response. Read with the “big picture” of the subject matter in mind.
Include a thesis statement/topic sentence that addresses the prompt specifically using the language of the
question and sets a clear direction for your response.
Provide specific factual information to support your thesis in a logical and focused way. Use information from
the text reading to support your ideas but avoid simply summarizing the text. Paraphrase concepts and blend in
personalized commentary explaining the relevance of facts.
Incorporate appropriate key vocabulary terms from the lists above. Underline all vocabulary words.
Avoid writing in the first person. No “I think…” or “In my opinion…”
Do not directly quote the body of the textbook – paraphrase concepts in your own words.
Keep each response to 3-5 sentences.
You may type or neatly handwrite your responses.
Write the chapter # and full question before you begin to write your responses.
After reading each chapter, respond to the related chapter questions below, using key chapter vocabulary
terms when appropriate. Limit each response to 3-5 sentences, and underline all uses of vocabulary terms.
You may type or neatly handwrite your work.
Chapter 2: The Invasion & Settlement of North America: 1550-1700
New Spain
Popés Rebellion
Five Nations of the Iroquois
Virginia Company
Anglo-Powhatan War
Maryland Toleration Act
Bacon’s Rebellion
Mayflower Compact
Predestination
Salem Witch Trials
Pequot War
Franciscan Missionaries
New France
Jesuit Missionaries
Jamestown & Tobacco
Royal Colonies
Indentured Servants
Separatists & Plymouth
Plymouth Colony
Roger Williams
Town Meetings
Praying Towns
Encomenderos
Fur Trade
New Netherlands
House of Burgesses
Lord Baltimore
Chattel Slavery
Puritans & Massachusetts Bay
John Winthrop
Ann Hutchinson
Yeomen Farmers
Metacom’s War
Chapter 2 Questions:
1. What were the colonial goals of the Spanish, French, and Dutch? How successful were they in achieving
those goals?
2. What happened to the Five Nations of the Iroquois between 1600 and 1700? Were the Iroquois better off at
the beginning of the period or at the end? Why?
3. What were the various systems of bound labor that took hold in the Chesapeake colonies? What accounts
for their appearance?
4. Compare the Indian uprising in Virginia in 1622 with Bacon’s Rebellion in 1675. What were the
consequences of each for Virginia’s development?
5. What was the social and political structure of the New England colonies? Why did they develop in that
fashion?
Chapter 3: Creating a British Empire in America: 1660-1750
Restoration Colonies
Navigation Acts
John Locke
Royal African Company
African-American Culture
Northern Merchant Society
War of Jenkin’s Ear
Quakers & William Penn
Dominion of New England
South Atlantic System
Middle Passage
Stono Rebellion
Salutary Neglect
Molasses Act
Mercantilism
Glorious Revolution
Barbados & Sugar Trade
Carolina Rice Trade
Southern Gentry Society
British Radical Whigs
Currency Act
Chapter 3 Questions:
1. What was the role of the colonies in the British mercantilist system?
2. Explain the causes and the results of the Glorious Revolution in England and America.
3. How did the South Atlantic system work, and what were its major elements? How did it shape the
development of the various colonies?
4. What role did Africans play in the expansion of the Atlantic slave trade? What was the role of the
Europeans?
5. How did the ideas and policies of the English Whigs affect British and colonial politics between 1700 and
1760?
6. What was the British policy of salutary neglect? Why did the British follow this policy and what were its
consequences?
Chapter 4: Growth & Crisis in Colonial Society: 1720-1765
Women in New England Society
Middle Colonies Economy
Middle Colonies Cultural Diversity
Benjamin Franklin
George Whitefield
Colonial Colleges
French & Indian War
Fort Duquesne
Pontiac’s Rebellion
Paxton Boys & NC Regulators
Freeholders Society
New England Household Production
Cradle Scythe
Outwork System
The Enlightenment
Pietism
Deism
Jonathan Edwards
1st Great Awakening
Old Lights vs. New Lights
Established Churches vs. Revival Churches
Ohio Company
Albany Congress
William Pitt
Great War for Empire
Proclamation Line of 1763
Colonial “Consumer Revolution”
Chapter 4 Questions:
1. In what ways were the lives of women and men in New England similar? In what ways were they different?
2. What was the threat to the freehold ideal in mid-century New England, and what strategies did farming
families use to preserve this ideal?
3. Who were the new migrants to the Middle Colonies? Why did they leave Europe? What were their goals in
British North America?
4. In what ways did the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening prompt Americans to challenge traditional
sources of authority?
5. What impact did the Industrial Revolution in England have on the American colonies?
6. What were the causes of unrest in the American backcountry in the mid-18th century?
7. Were the various regions in British North America—New England, Middle Atlantic, the South, the
backcountry—becoming more similar or more different between 1720 and 1750?
Short Answer Responses are due the first day of class: Wednesday, August 21st
Please bring your responses to turn in at the beginning of class on the first day of school. Failure to complete
the assignment will result in an “F” for the assignment and will significantly hamper your progress in the first
semester. NOTE: Plagiarism will not be tolerated and is grounds for removal from the course.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at lgarrett@tamdistrict.org.
GOOD LUCK, HAVE A GREAT SUMMER, & SEE YOU IN AUGUST!