Review Activity for the P1-P3 APUSH Need-to-Know Proper Nouns

With a focus on the twenty most important proper nouns mentioned in the CED

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The APUSH Course and Exam Description (CED) mentions many proper nouns. To excel on the May exam, it is crucial for students to become familiar with these proper nouns. They show up time and again.

To help my students learn what they need to learn as it relates to these proper nouns, I have created this blog post in collaboration with CHatGPT.

The post lists each proper noun mentioned in the CED (for Periods 1–3) and provides the relevant language that “houses” these nouns. Additionally, for each proper noun, I have included one or more short answer questions to help students better understand the nouns’ significance and relevance to the APUSH exam.

In the weeks leading up to the exam, I will have my students work in small groups to answer each of the SAQs found within this post. By doing this, I am confident that my students will be able to better focus their studies and thereby increase their chances of success on the APUSH exam.

The Columbian Exchange

Contact among Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans resulted in the Columbian Exchange and significant social, cultural, and political changes on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Columbian Exchange brought new crops to Europe from the Americas, stimulating European population growth, and new sources of mineral wealth, which facilitated the European shift from feudalism to capitalism.

The Columbian Exchange and development of the Spanish Empire in the Western Hemisphere resulted in extensive demographic, economic, and social changes.

1. Name ONE crop and ONE animal brought from the Americas to Europe as a result of the Columbian Exchange.
2. Name ONE crop and ONE animal brought from Europe to the Americas as a result of the Columbian Exchange.
3. Briefly describe ONE significant way in which the Columbian Exchange impacted the Native Americans.
4. Briefly describe ONE significant way in which the Columbian Exchange impacted the Europeans.
5. Briefly describe ONE way that the Columbian Exchange facilitated the shift from feudalism to capitalism
6. What was ONE extensive demographic change that resulted from the Columbian Exchange?
7. What was ONE extensive economic change that resulted from the Columbian Exchange?
8. What was ONE extensive social change that resulted from the Columbian Exchange?

The Spanish Caste System

The Spanish developed a caste system that incorporated, and carefully defined the status of, the diverse population of Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans in their empire.

1. Briefly describe ONEway in which the Spanish Caste System impacted Native Americans.
2. Briefly describe ONE way in which the Spanish Caste System impacted Africans.

The Spanish Encomienda System

In the Spanish encomienda system, Spanish colonial economies marshaled Native American labor to support plantation- based agriculture and extract precious metals and other resources.

1. Briefly describe ONE downside of the Spanish Encomienda System.
2. Briefly describe ONE response to the Spanish Encomienda System.

The British Colonies

In the 17th century, early British colonies developed along the Atlantic coast.

The Spanish, French, Dutch, and British colonizers had different economic and imperial goals involving land and labor that shaped the social and political development of their colonies as well as their relationships with native populations.

(The) colonization efforts (of the British) attracted a comparatively large number of male and female British migrants, as well as other European migrants, all of whom sought social mobility, economic prosperity, religious freedom, and improved living conditions. They focused on agriculture and settled on land taken from Native Americans, from whom they lived separately.

— The New England Colonies, initially settled by Puritans, developed around small towns with family farms and achieved a thriving mixed economy of agriculture and commerce.

— The Middle Colonies supported a ourishing export economy based on cereal crops and attracted a broad range of European migrants, leading to societies with greater cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity and tolerance.

— The Chesapeake and North Carolina Colonies grew prosperous exporting tobacco — a labor-intensive product initially cultivated by white, mostly male indentured servants and later by enslaved Africans.

— The Colonies of the Southern Atlantic Coast and the British West Indies used long growing seasons to develop plantation economies based on exporting staple crops. They depended on the labor of enslaved Africans, who often constituted the majority of the population in these areas and developed their own forms of cultural and religious autonomy.

Transatlantic commercial, religious, philosophical, and political exchanges led residents of the British colonies to evolve in their political and cultural attitudes as they became increasingly tied to Britain and one another.

The British colonies experienced a gradual Anglicization over time, developing autonomous political communities based on English models with influence from intercolonial commercial ties, the emergence of a transAtlantic print culture, and the spread of Protestant evangelicalism.

The British government increasingly attempted to incorporate its North American colonies into a coherent, hierarchical, and imperial structure in order to pursue mercantilist economic aims, but conflicts with colonists and American Indians led to erratic enforcement of imperial policies.

All the British colonies participated to varying degrees in the Atlantic slave trade due to the abundance of land and a growing European demand for colonial goods, as well as a shortage of indentured servants. Small New England farms used relatively few enslaved laborers, all port cities held significant minorities of enslaved people, and the emerging plantation systems of the Chesapeake and the southernmost Atlantic coast had large

1. Briefly describe ONE goal of the British colonization attempt in North America.
2. Briefly describe ONE significant difference between the British colonization effort and the Spanish colonization effort.
3. Briefly describe ONE similarity between the New England Colonies and the Southern Colonies.
4. Briefly describe ONE difference between the New England Colonies and the Southern Colonies.
5. Briefly describe ONE difference between the Middle Colonies and the Chesapeake Colonies.

The British Colonies

Salutary Neglect

Distance and Britain’s initially lax attention (Salutary Neglect) led to the colonies creating self- governing institutions that were unusually democratic for the era.

The New England colonies based power in participatory town meetings, which in turn elected members to their colonial legislatures; in the southern colonies, elite planters exercised local authority and also dominated the elected assemblies.

1. Briefly describe ONE reason why the British government adopted a policy of salutary neglect in terms of the British Colonies in North America
2. Briefly describe ONE major way in which the New England Colonies and the Southern Colonies differed politically during the period of salutary neglect.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade

All the British colonies participated to varying degrees in the Atlantic Slave rade due to the abundance of land and a growing European demand for colonial goods, as well as a shortage of indentured servants.

Small New England farms used relatively few enslaved laborers, all port cities held significant minorities of enslaved people, and the emerging plantation systems of the Chesapeake and the southern Atlantic coast had large numbers of enslaved workers, while the great majority of enslaved Africans were sent to the West Indies.

As chattel slavery became the dominant labor system in many southern colonies, new laws created a strict racial system that prohibited interracial relationships and denied the descendants of African American mothers as black and enslaved in perpetuity.

(In the British colonies) Africans developed both overt and covert means to resist the dehumanizing aspects of slavery and maintain their family and gender systems, culture, and religion.

1. Briefly describe ONE factor that led to the growth of the slave trade in the British colonies.
2. Briefly describe ONE overt way in which Africans resisted the dehumanizing aspects of slavery.
3. Briefly describe ONE covert way in which Africans resisted the dehumanizing aspects of slavery.
4. Briefly describe ONE law passed in the British Colonies relating to the issue of slavery.
5. Briefly describe ONE difference between the New England Colonies and the Southern Colonies when it comes to the topic of slavery
6. Briefly describe ONE significant impact of the Stono Rebellion in South Carolina in 1739.
7. Briefly describe ONE significant result of Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia in 1676.

The First Great Awakening

The presence of different European religious and ethnic groups contributed to a significant degree of pluralism and intellectual exchange, which were later enhanced by the First Great Awakening and the spread of European Enlightenment ideas.

1. Briefly describe ONE significant impact of the First Great Awakening.
2. Briefly describe ONE significant difference between the First Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening.
3. Briefly describe ONE significant development in the British colonies at the time of the First Great Awakening.

Metacom’s War (King Philip’s War)

British conflicts with American Indians over land, resources, and political boundaries led to military confrontations, such as Metacom’s War (King Philip’s War) in New England.

1. Briefly describe ONE cause of Metacom’s War in New England.
2. Briefly describe ONE significant outcome of Metacom’s War in New England.
3. Briefly describe ONE way in which Metacoms War differed from the Pueblo Revolt.

The Pueblo Revolt

American Indian resistance to Spanish colonizing efforts in North America, particularly after the Pueblo Revolt, led to Spanish accommodation of some aspects of American Indian culture in the Southwest.

1. Briefly describe ONE cause of the Pueblo Revolt.
2. Briefly describe ONE significant outcome of the Pueblo Revolt.
3. Briefly describe ONE way in which the Pueblo Revolt differed from the Stono Rebellion.

The French and Indian War

The competition among the British, French, and American Indians for economic and political advantage in North America culminated in the Seven Years’ War (the French and Indian War), in which Britain defeated France and allied American Indians.

Colonial rivalry intensi ed between Britain and France in the mid-18th century, as the growing population of the British colonies expanded into the interior of North America, threatening French–Indian trade networks and American Indian autonomy.

Britain achieved a major expansion of its territorial holdings by defeating the French, but at tremendous expense, setting the stage for imperial e orts to raise revenue and consolidate control over the colonies.

After the British victory, imperial officials’ attempts to prevent colonists from moving westward generated colonial opposition, while native groups sought to both continue trading with Europeans and resist the encroachments of colonists on tribal lands.

1. Briefly describe ONE political consequence of the French and Indian War.
2. Briefly describe ONE economic consequence of the French and Indian War.
3. Briefly describe ONE social consequence of the French and Indian War.

The European Enlightenment

Colonists’ resistance to imperial control drew on local experiences of self- government, evolving ideas of liberty, the political thought of the Enlightenment, greater religious independence and diversity, and an ideology critical of perceived corruption in the imperial system

Colonial leaders based their calls for resistance to Britain on arguments about the rights of British subjects, the rights of the individual, local traditions of self-rule, and the ideas of the Enlightenment.

Enlightenment ideas and philosophy inspired many American political thinkers to emphasize individual talent over hereditary privilege, while religion strengthened Americans’ view of themselves as a people blessed with liberty.

1. Briefly describe ONE principle found at the core of the European Enlightenment.
2. Briefly describe ONE American historical event, development, or process that occurred at the time of the European Enlightenment.

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense

The colonists’ belief in the superiority of republican forms of government based on the natural rights of the people found expression in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence. The ideas in these documents resonated throughout American history, shaping Americans’ understanding of the ideals on which the nation was based.

1. Briefly describe ONE historical event, development, or process that occurred before the publication of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.
2. Briefly explain ONE principle presented in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.
3. Briefly describe ONE major similarity and one major difference between Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
4. Briefly describe ONE major way in which the ideas expressed in Thomas Paine’s Common Sence resonated throughout American history, shaping Americans’ understanding of the ideals on which the nation was based.

Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence

The colonists’ belief in the superiority of republican forms of government based on the natural rights of the people found expression in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence. The ideas in these documents resonated throughout American history, shaping Americans’ understanding of the ideals on which the nation was based.

The American Revolution and the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence reverberated in France, Haiti, and Latin America, inspiring future independence movements.

1. Briefly describe ONE historical event, development, or process that occurred before the publication of Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
2. Briefly describe ONE historical event, development, or process that occurred after the publication of Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
3. Briefly explain ONE principle presented in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.
4. Briefly describe ONE major similarity between Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.
5. Briefly describe ONE major difference between Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.
6. Identify and briefly explain ONE piece of evidence that reveals the influence of Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence on the foundation of the United States government.
7. Briefly describe ONE major similarity between Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and the Seneca Falls Convention’s Declaration of Sentiments.

The American Revolution

The American Revolution’s democratic and republican ideals inspired new experiments with different forms of government.

The ideals that inspired the revolutionary cause reflected new beliefs about politics, religion, and society that had been developing over the course of the 18th century.

Enlightenment ideas and philosophy inspired many American political thinkers to emphasize individual talent over hereditary privilege, while religion strengthened Americans’ view of themselves as a people blessed with liberty,

The colonists’ belief in the superiority of republican forms of government based on the natural rights of the people found expression in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence. The ideas in these documents resonated throughout American history, shaping Americans’ understanding of the ideals on which the nation was based.

During and after the American Revolution, an increased awareness of inequalities in society motivated some individuals and groups to call for the abolition of slavery and greater political democracy in the new state and national governments.

In response to women’s participation in the American Revolution, Enlightenment ideas, and women’s appeals for expanded roles, an ideal of “republican motherhood” gained popularity. It called on women to teach republican values within the family and granted women a new importance in American political culture.

The American Revolution and the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence reverberated in France, Haiti, and Latin America, inspiring future independence movements.

In the face of economic shortages and the British military occupation of some regions, men and women mobilized in large numbers to provide financial and material support to the Patriot movement.British attempts to assert tighter control over its North American colonies and the colonial resolve to pursue self-government led to a colonial independence movement and the Revolutionary War.

Despite considerable loyalist opposition, as well as Great Britain’s apparently overwhelming military and nancial advantages, the Patriot cause succeeded because of the actions of colonial militias and the Continental Army, George Washington’s military leadership, the colonists’ ideological commitment and resilience, and assistance sent by European allies.

Republican motherhood

In response to women’s participation in the American Revolution, Enlightenment ideas, and women’s appeals for expanded roles, an ideal of “republican motherhood” gained popularity. It called on women to teach republican values within the family and granted women a new importance in American political culture.

1. Briefly describe ONE major similarity between the term Republican Motherhood and the term Cult of Domesticity.
2. Briefly describe ONE major difference between the term Republican Motherhood and the term Cult of Domesticity.
3. Briefly describe ONE way in which the ideal of Republican Motherhood reinforced the idea of a domestic women’s sphere separate from the public world of men.
4. Briefly describe ONE way in which the teaching of Republican values granted women a new importance in American political culture.

The Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation unified the newly independent states, creating a central government with limited power. After the Revolution, difficulties over international trade, finances, interstate commerce, foreign relations, and internal unrest led to calls for a stronger central government.

1. Briefly describe ONE significant way in which the government established by the Articles of Confederation differed from the government established by the US Constitution.
2. Briefly describe ONE significant way in which a Confederate form of government differs from a federal form of government
3. Briefly describe ONE significant post-Revolution act of internal unrest that led to calls for the amending of the Articles of Confederation.

The Northwest Ordinance

As settlers moved westward during the 1780s, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance for admitting new states; the ordinance promoted public education, the protection of private property, and a ban on slavery in the Northwest Territory

1. Briefly describe ONE significant difference between the territory acquired as a result of the Northwest Ordinance and the territory acquired as a result of the Mexican Cession.
2. Briefly describe ONE significant difference between the Northwest Ordinance and the Compromise of 1850
3. Briefly describe ONE significant way in which the Northwest Ordinance addressed the issue of slavery in the territories.

The Constitutional Convention

Delegates from the states participated in a Constitutional Convention and through negotiation, collaboration, and compromise proposed a constitution that created a limited but dynamic central government embodying federalism and providing for a separation of powers between its three branches.

The Constitutional Convention (delegtes) compromised over the representation of slave states in Congress and the role of the federal government in regulating both slavery and the slave trade, allowing the prohibition of the international slave trade after 1808

In the debate over ratifying the Constitution, Anti-Federalists opposing ratification battled with Federalists, whose principles were articulated in the Federalist Papers (primarily written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison). Federalists ensured the ratification of the Constitution by promising the addition of a Bill of Rights that enumerated individual rights and explicitly restricted the powers of the federal government.

1. Briefly describe ONE way in which the judicial branch can check the legislative branch.
2. Briefly describe ONE way in which the delegates at the Constitutional Convention compromised on the issue of representation.
3. Briefly describe ONE difference between the 3/5ths clause and the Great Compromise.
4. Briefly describe ONE similarity between the 3/5ths clause and the Great Compromise.
5. Briefly describe ONE way in which the executive branch differs from the legislative branch
6. Briefly explain ONE specific way in which the Constitution represents a compromise between those who prefer a unitary form of government and those who prefer a confederate form of government.
7. Briefly describe ONE way in which the Federalist's vision of America differed from the Anti-Federalist's vision of America differed

The Federalist Papers

In the debate over ratifying the Constitution, Anti Federalists opposing ratification battled with Federalists, whose principals were articulated in the Federalist Papers (primarily written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison). Federalists ensured the ratification of the Constitution by promising the addition of a Bill of Rights that enumerated individual rights and explicitly restricted the powers of the federal government.

1. Briefly describe ONE goal of the Federalist Papers.
2. Briefly describe ONE outcome of the Federalist Papers.

George Washington’s Farewell Address

George Washington’s Farewell Address encouraged national unity, as he cautioned against political factions and warned about the danger of permanent foreign alliances.

1. Briefly describe ONE warning contained in George Washington’s Farewell Adress.
2. Briefly describe ONE way in which the political leaders of the late 1700s rejected any of the warnings contained in George Washington’s Farewell Address.

The First Political Party System

Political leaders in the 1790s took a variety of positions on issues such as the relationship between the national government and the states, economic policy, foreign policy, and the balance between liberty and order. This led to the formation of (the first) political parties — most significantly the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, and the Democratic Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

1. Briefly describe ONE significant way in which the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, differed from the Democratic Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
2. Briefly describe ONE significant way in which the political leaders of the 1790s differed on the issue of the relationship between the national government and the states.
3. Briefly describe ONE significant way in which the political leaders of the 1790s differed on economic policy.
4. Briefly describe ONE significant way in which the political leaders of the 1790s differed on foreign policy.
5. Briefly describe ONE significant way in which the political leaders of the 1790s differed on the balance between liberty and order.