AP U.S. History Unit 2

Goals: Extract wealth (gold, silver), spread Catholicism, expand empire

Strategy: Conquest and control of indigenous populations through military force

Key Features: Mission system combining religious conversion with forced labor; encomienda grants; racial casta system; concentrated in Southwest, Florida, and California

Legacy: Established lasting Spanish influence in borderlands; mission complexes; mestizo populations

Goals: Fur trade, fishing, Catholic missionary work

Strategy: Trade alliances with Native Americans rather than large-scale settlement

Key Features: Small settler populations; coureurs de bois (fur trappers) integrated into Native communities; intermarriage with Native peoples (creating métis population); Jesuit missionaries; located along St. Lawrence River, Great Lakes, Mississippi River valley

Colonies: New France (Quebec), Louisiana

Native Relations: Generally more cooperative than English; allied with Huron, Algonquian tribes against Iroquois

Goals: Commercial profit through trade

Strategy: Establish trading posts and commercial enterprises

Key Features: Dutch West India Company controlled New Netherland; patroon system (large land grants to wealthy investors); ethnically and religiously diverse population; fur trade with Native Americans

Colony: New Netherland (centered on New Amsterdam, modern New York City)

Legacy: English seized New Netherland in 1664, renaming it New York; Dutch cultural influence persisted (place names, architecture, religious tolerance)

Goals: Varied by colony—economic profit, religious freedom, social mobility, population relief

Strategy: Large-scale permanent settlement with families

Key Features: Most extensive colonization; diverse motivations created distinct regional colonies; displaced Native populations; developed self-governing institutions under salutary neglect

Phases: Joint-stock companies (Virginia Company), proprietary colonies (Pennsylvania, Maryland), royal colonies (later conversions)

Colonies

Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth (merged 1691), Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine

Geography & Climate

Terrain: Rocky soil, dense forests, natural harbors

Climate: Cold winters, short growing season (limited agriculture)

Settlement Pattern

Founders: Puritans seeking religious freedom from Church of England

Migration: Families migrated together (unlike male-dominated Chesapeake)

Towns: Compact settlements built around central commons with meetinghouse and church

Key Event: Mayflower Compact (1620)—Pilgrims' agreement for self-government; Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay merged in 1691

Economy

Mixed Economy: Subsistence farming, commerce, maritime industries

Industries: Shipbuilding, fishing, whaling, lumber, rum production, iron-making

Trade: Active maritime trade with England, Caribbean, other colonies

Labor: Primarily free family labor; relatively few enslaved people (~3% of population, higher in port cities)

Society & Culture

Family: Stable nuclear families with longer lifespans than other regions

Education: High literacy rates (to read Bible); established schools and Harvard College (1636)

Religion: Puritan dominance in Massachusetts; strict religious conformity (only male church members could vote)

Dissenters: Roger Williams founded Rhode Island (1636) for religious tolerance; Anne Hutchinson banished for challenging clergy

Governance: Town meetings—participatory democracy where property-owning men voted on local issues

Colonies

New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware

Geography & Climate

Terrain: Fertile soil, flat land ideal for farming

Climate: Moderate seasons with longer growing season than New England

Settlement Pattern

Origins: Initially Dutch (New Netherland/New Amsterdam); English seized in 1664, renamed New York

Pennsylvania: Founded by William Penn (1681) as "Holy Experiment" for Quakers

Diversity: Attracted immigrants from many European countries (English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Scots-Irish)

Population: Most ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse region

Economy

Nickname: "Breadbasket Colonies"

Agriculture: Cereal crops (wheat, barley, oats, rye) for export

Trade Centers: Philadelphia and New York City—major ports for commerce

Industries: Shipbuilding, lumber, fur trading, ironworks

Social Structure: Growing middle class of artisans, merchants, and farmers

Society & Culture

Religion: Religious pluralism—Quakers, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Catholics, Jews coexisted

Quakers: Pacifist religious group believing in equality, Inner Light, refused military service

Tolerance: Greater acceptance of diverse beliefs and practices than other regions

Gender Balance: More balanced male-female ratio than Chesapeake, supporting family formation

Colonies

Virginia, Maryland

Geography & Climate

Terrain: Coastal plains, rivers ideal for transportation

Climate: Warm, humid; long growing season but higher disease rates (malaria, dysentery)

Settlement Pattern

Virginia: Jamestown (1607)—first permanent English settlement; founded by Virginia Company for profit

Early Struggles: "Starving Time" (1609–1610), disease, conflict with Powhatan Confederacy

Maryland: Founded by Lord Baltimore (1634) as haven for Catholics

Settlement: Dispersed plantations along rivers (not concentrated towns)

Demographics: Initially male-dominated (3:1 ratio); shorter life expectancy than New England

Economy

Cash Crop: Tobacco—labor-intensive export crop (Virginia's "brown gold")

Key Figure: John Rolfe developed marketable tobacco strain (1612)

Labor Evolution: White indentured servants → African chattel slavery

Headright System: 50 acres granted per person transported to encourage settlement

Land: Tobacco exhausted soil quickly, driving demand for more land and labor

Society & Culture

Social Hierarchy: Wealthy plantation owners (planter elite) at top, then small farmers, indentured servants, enslaved Africans at bottom

Religion: Anglican (Church of England) in Virginia; Maryland had Catholic leadership with Protestant majority

Act of Toleration (1649): Maryland protected Christian worship (but not other faiths)

Government: House of Burgesses (1619)—first representative assembly in colonies; political power held by large landowners

Bacon's Rebellion (1676)

Cause: Frustrated former indentured servants and small farmers resented wealthy elites and wanted protection from Native attacks

Leader: Nathaniel Bacon led frontier settlers against Governor Berkeley's policies

Events: Bacon's forces attacked Native villages, marched on Jamestown, burned capital

Significance: Revealed class tensions; planters feared poor whites and turned increasingly to enslaved Africans as more controllable labor force

Colonies

North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia

Geography & Climate

Terrain: Coastal plains, swamps, fertile lowlands

Climate: Subtropical; very long growing season ideal for plantation agriculture

Settlement Pattern

Carolinas: Initially one colony (1663); formally split into North and South Carolina (1712)

South Carolina: Settlers from Barbados brought Caribbean plantation model

North Carolina: Small farmers, religious dissenters from Virginia

Georgia: Last of 13 colonies (1732); founded by James Oglethorpe as buffer against Spanish Florida and refuge for debtors; initially banned slavery

Economy

Plantation System: Large-scale agriculture producing staple export crops

South Carolina: Rice and indigo cultivation (extremely labor-intensive)

North Carolina: Smaller tobacco farms, naval stores (tar, pitch, turpentine from pine trees)

Labor: Heavily dependent on enslaved African labor—South Carolina had enslaved majority by mid-1700s

Connections: Strong economic ties to British West Indies (Barbados, Jamaica)

Society & Culture

Social Structure: Rigid hierarchy with planter elite controlling wealth and politics

Demographics: In South Carolina, enslaved Africans often outnumbered whites (up to 70% in some areas)

Culture: Gullah/Geechee culture emerged in coastal lowcountry—distinct Creole language and African-influenced traditions

Work Systems: Task system (enslaved people completed assigned tasks, then had free time) vs. gang labor (supervised work in groups)

Religion: Anglican establishment; less religious conformity than New England

Triangular Trade refers to the three-legged transatlantic trade routes that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Goods, enslaved people, and raw materials moved between these continents in a profitable cycle.

Route 1: Europe to Africa

Goods Traded: Manufactured goods (guns, cloth, rum, iron products, jewelry, furniture)

Purpose: Exchange European goods for enslaved Africans

Route 2: Africa to Americas (Middle Passage)

Cargo: Enslaved Africans forcibly transported to colonies and Caribbean

Conditions: Inhumane—people chained in ship holds; disease, starvation, death rates 10-20%

Destination: Primarily British West Indies (Caribbean sugar plantations); smaller numbers to mainland colonies

Purpose: Provide labor for plantation economies

Route 3: Americas to Europe

Goods Traded: Raw materials and agricultural products (sugar, molasses, tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton, timber, naval stores)

Purpose: Supply European markets and generate profit for merchants and colonial producers

Mercantilism was the prevailing economic theory that nations became wealthy by accumulating gold and silver through a favorable balance of trade (exporting more than importing). Colonies existed to benefit the mother country.

Key Principles

• Colonies provide cheap raw materials to mother country
• Colonies buy expensive manufactured goods from mother country
• Trade only with mother country (no foreign competitors)
• Accumulate precious metals (gold, silver)

Navigation Acts (1651–1696)

A series of British laws designed to enforce mercantilism and control colonial trade:

• Navigation Act of 1651: Colonial goods must be shipped on English/colonial vessels
• Enumerated Goods: Certain products (tobacco, sugar, cotton, indigo) could only be shipped to England
• Staple Act (1663): European goods to colonies had to pass through England first (increasing costs)
• Plantation Duty Act (1673): Taxes on inter-colonial trade

Impact: Restricted colonial economic freedom but often weakly enforced (salutary neglect); colonists engaged in smuggling; resentment grew, contributing to revolutionary sentiment

New England Trade

Exports: Fish, whale oil, lumber, ships, rum

Partners: Caribbean (traded food for molasses), England, Southern colonies

Role: Maritime economy; shipbuilding hub; merchants dominated commerce

Middle Colonies Trade

Exports: Wheat, flour, bread (breadbasket)

Partners: Caribbean, Southern Europe, other colonies

Role: Food suppliers; commercial centers (Philadelphia, New York)

Chesapeake & Southern Trade

Exports: Tobacco (Chesapeake), rice and indigo (South Carolina), naval stores (North Carolina)

Partners: Primarily England (enumerated goods)

Role: Staple crop producers; plantation economies

Colonial Development

• Atlantic trade stimulated colonial economies and population growth
• Created merchant class in port cities (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston)
• Fostered economic interdependence between regions and with Britain
• Expanded slavery to meet labor demands of export economies

British Benefits

• Colonies provided cheap raw materials (tobacco, sugar, timber)
• Captive market for British manufactured goods
• Naval stores (tar, pitch) supported British navy
• Strengthened British Empire economically and militarily

Seeds of Conflict

• Navigation Acts restricted colonial economic freedom
• Colonists resented being subordinate to British interests
• Smuggling became common (especially molasses from French Caribbean)
• Economic restrictions contributed to revolutionary sentiment

Cooperation & Trade

• Early Jamestown: Powhatan Confederacy provided food; Pocahontas facilitated peace
• Fur Trade: French and Dutch maintained trade partnerships with Native groups
• Wampanoag Alliance: Massasoit helped Plymouth Pilgrims survive
• Cultural Exchange: Europeans learned Native agricultural techniques, survival skills

Conflict & Violence

• Land Disputes: European concept of private property clashed with Native communal land use
• Resource Competition: Colonists' expansion threatened Native hunting grounds and settlements
• Cultural Misunderstandings: Different worldviews about land, religion, justice led to violence
• Forced Conversion: Spanish missions coercively converted Natives to Christianity

Pequot War (1636–1638)

Location: New England (Connecticut)

Cause: Competition over trade and land between English colonists and Pequot tribe

Key Event: Mystic Massacre (1637)—English and allied Narragansett attacked Pequot fort, killing 400–700 people (mostly women, children, elderly)

Result: Near-destruction of Pequot people; survivors enslaved or scattered; demonstrated English willingness to use extreme violence

King Philip's War (1675–1676)

Location: New England

Leader: Metacom (King Philip), Wampanoag chief

Cause: English expansion onto Native lands, forced conversions to Christianity, execution of three Wampanoag men

Alliance: Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuck tribes united against colonists

Impact: Bloodiest per-capita war in American history; ~5% of New England population killed; dozens of towns destroyed

Result: English victory; Metacom killed and beheaded; Native power in New England permanently broken; survivors sold into slavery

Pueblo Revolt (1680)

Location: New Mexico (Spanish territory)

Leader: Popé, Pueblo religious leader

Cause: Spanish forced conversions, destruction of kivas (religious sites), brutal labor in mission system, drought, Apache raids

Alliance: Multiple Pueblo groups united—rare pan-tribal cooperation

Revolt: Killed ~400 Spanish colonists and missionaries; drove remaining Spanish out of New Mexico

Result: Only successful Native revolt; Pueblos remained independent for 12 years until Spanish reconquest (1692); forced Spanish to adopt more accommodating policies

Anglo-Powhatan Wars (1610s–1640s)

Location: Virginia (Chesapeake)

Cause: English expansion into Powhatan territory; tobacco cultivation demanded more land

Key Events: 1622 uprising killed ~350 colonists; English retaliated with brutal campaigns

Result: Powhatan Confederacy weakened; English domination of Chesapeake region

Demographic Collapse

• Disease: Continued epidemics (smallpox, measles, typhus) devastated populations lacking immunity
• Warfare: Conflicts with Europeans and inter-tribal wars caused casualties
• Population Decline: Native populations continued catastrophic decline from Period 1

Land Loss & Displacement

• English settlement pushed tribes westward or into marginal lands
• Loss of hunting grounds and agricultural lands disrupted economies
• Forced onto reservations or mission communities

Cultural Destruction

• Spanish mission system destroyed traditional religions and social structures
• English "Praying Towns" isolated converted Natives from traditional cultures
• Alcohol trade disrupted societies
• Dependence on European goods undermined traditional economies

Adaptation & Resistance

• Some tribes adapted European technologies (horses, guns) to strengthen positions
• Formed new alliances to resist colonization
• Maintained cultural traditions despite pressure
• Strategic diplomacy and trade partnerships (especially French-Native alliances)

Early Labor: Indentured Servitude

Who: Primarily poor Europeans seeking passage to America

Terms: Worked 4–7 years in exchange for passage, food, shelter

Rights: Temporary servitude; could sue in court; freedom after term ended

Headright System: Planters received 50 acres per person transported, incentivizing importation

Problems: After freedom, former servants demanded land; created class of landless poor whites (contributing to Bacon's Rebellion)

Transition to Chattel Slavery

Chattel Slavery: System treating people as personal property that could be bought, sold, inherited, and owned for life

Causes of the Shift

• Labor Shortage: Fewer Europeans willing to indenture; conditions in England improved
• Economic Demand: Plantation crops (tobacco, rice, indigo) required intensive, year-round labor
• Profitability: Enslaved people were permanent investment; children inherited status
• Class Tensions: Bacon's Rebellion showed danger of poor whites; planters sought more controllable workforce
• Atlantic Slave Trade: Made African labor readily available

Timeline

• 1619: First Africans arrive in Virginia (initially treated more like indentured servants)
• 1640s–1660s: Gradual shift to lifelong slavery; legal distinctions emerge
• 1662 (Virginia): Law making slavery hereditary through mother (partus sequitur ventrem)
• 1676: Bacon's Rebellion accelerates shift
• By 1700: Chattel slavery firmly established in Chesapeake and Southern colonies

Slave Codes were laws passed by colonial legislatures that defined enslaved people as property, restricted their rights, and created a strict racial hierarchy.

Key Provisions

• Legal Status: Enslaved people defined as chattel (property), not persons
• Hereditary Slavery: Children born to enslaved mothers were automatically enslaved (partus sequitur ventrem—"that which is born follows the womb")
• Prohibited Marriage: Banned interracial marriage, especially white women-Black men
• Restricted Movement: Enslaved people couldn't leave plantations without written passes
• Banned Assembly: Couldn't gather in groups without white supervision
• No Weapons: Prohibited from carrying guns or other weapons
• No Legal Rights: Couldn't testify against whites, own property, or make contracts
• Literacy Bans: Prohibited teaching enslaved people to read/write
• Harsh Punishments: Masters could punish enslaved people without legal consequences

Purpose

• Legally entrench racial slavery
• Prevent rebellion and resistance
• Maintain white supremacy and social control
• Justify enslavement based on race

Chesapeake (Virginia, Maryland)

Scale: Large enslaved populations on tobacco plantations

Work: Gang labor system—enslaved people worked in supervised groups in fields

Conditions: Harsh; high mortality; family separations common

Significance: Transformed from indentured-servant society to slave society

Lower South (Carolinas, Georgia)

Scale: Largest enslaved populations; Black majority in South Carolina by mid-1700s (up to 70%)

Crops: Rice and indigo (extremely labor-intensive)

Work Systems: Task system—enslaved people completed assigned daily tasks, then had free time

Conditions: Brutal; rice cultivation in swamps caused high disease and death rates

Culture: Task system allowed some autonomy; Gullah/Geechee culture developed—African-influenced language, traditions, family structures

Middle Colonies

Scale: Moderate enslaved populations; concentrated in port cities

Work: Diverse—domestic service, skilled trades, dockwork, farm labor

Conditions: Varied; urban enslaved people had more mobility but still no freedom

New England

Scale: Smallest enslaved populations (~3% of total, higher in cities)

Work: Domestic servants, artisans, maritime workers, dockworkers

Economy: Mixed farming didn't require large labor force

Participation: New England merchants profited from slave trade even with few enslaved people locally

British West Indies

Scale: Received majority of enslaved Africans from slave trade

Crop: Sugar plantations

Conditions: Horrific; highest mortality rates; constant importation needed to maintain workforce

Influence: Slave codes and plantation practices developed in Caribbean influenced mainland colonies

Overt Resistance

• Stono Rebellion (1739): South Carolina; ~80 enslaved Africans killed whites, marched toward Spanish Florida (which offered freedom); crushed violently; led to harsher slave codes
• Running Away: Escape to Spanish Florida, French territories, or maroon communities
• Maroon Communities: Fugitive settlements in swamps, mountains, or forests
• Violence: Occasional attacks on masters or overseers (rare due to severe consequences)

Covert Resistance

• Work Slowdowns: "Working at their own pace"—subtle sabotage
• Breaking Tools: Pretending accidents to disrupt production
• Feigning Illness: Avoiding work without overt refusal
• Theft: Taking food, supplies as form of justice

Cultural Preservation

• Religion: Blended Christianity with African spiritual traditions; secret religious meetings
• Music & Dance: Preserved African rhythms, instruments (drums, banjos), storytelling
• Language: Developed Creole languages (Gullah, Geechee) mixing African and English
• Family Bonds: Maintained family structures despite lack of legal recognition; extended kinship networks
• Naming Practices: Preserved African naming traditions to maintain family connections
• Food Traditions: African cooking techniques and crops (okra, yams)

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