Periods 1-5

Click on the desired period below for summaries, "must know" events & people, topics covered, and review videos.

Period 1 (1491-1607)

Summary

Columbus’ voyage in 1492 brought together the continents of Europe and the Americas for the first time. This age of exploration brought Europeans in contact with Native Americans and other existing civilizations, like the Incas and the Aztecs. These American civilizations already had political, social, and economic structures in place when the Europeans arrived. This set the stage for conquest and trade. Despite the continual battles for survival, these different cultures ultimately shared ideas, resources and disease through the Columbian Exchange. Once the Europeans established colonies in the New World, competition between the Spanish, English and French grew.

Must Know Events & People

Native American societies in North America prior to 1492
Spanish exploration and patterns of colonization
Columbian Exchange
The Spanish Empire in the Western Hemisphere
Capitalism
Plantation-based agriculture
Encomienda system
Pueblo Revolt
French colonization efforts
English colonization efforts

Topics Covered

Native American Societies Before European Contact

European Exploration in the Americas

Columbian Exchange, Spanish Exploration, & Conquest

European Colonization and Interactions with Natives & Africans

Interactions with Natives

Period 1 Review: Heimler’s History

Period 2 (1607-1754)

Summary

Europeans and American Indians maneuvered and fought for dominance, control, and security in North America as distinctive colonial and native societies emerged. Europeans developed a variety of colonization and migration patterns, influenced by different imperial goals, cultures, and the varied North American environments where they settled, and they competed with each other and American Indians for resources. The British colonies participated in political, social, cultural, and economic exchanges with Great Britain that encouraged both stronger bonds with Britain and resistance to Britain’s control. European colonization efforts in North America stimulated intercultural contact and intensified conflict between the various groups of colonizers and native peoples.

Must Know Events & People

Joint-stock companies
Chesapeake colonies (Virginia and Maryland)
Dutch colonization efforts
English colonization efforts
Chesapeake colonies (Virginia and Maryland)
British colonies of the southernmost Atlantic coast (Carolinas and Georgia)
Colonies in British West Indies
New England colonies
Puritans
Protestant evangelicalism
King Philip’s War (Metacom’s War)
British imperial structure
Mercantilism
English colonization efforts
Atlantic slave trade
Indentured servants
Participatory town meetings
“Salutary neglect”
The middle colonies
English colonization efforts
British imperial system
Atlantic economy
Anglicization
Protestant evangelicalism
The Great Awakening
Benjamin Franklin

Topics Covered

Early English Settlements

Development of New England & the Restoration Colonies

Mercantilism & Slavery

Colonial Society, the Economy, & Religion

Cultural Life, the Enlightenment, & Politics

Period 2 Review: Heimler’s History

Period 3 (1754-1800)

Summary

The English established control over most of the eastern seaboard, developed regional differences and got a taste of self-government over time. Tension between the colonies and the crown continued to mount following the French and Indian War. The situation was made worse by events such as the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, and the seemingly endless taxes imposed by England. Bloodshed at Lexington and Concord and the Declaration of Independence paved the way for the Revolution. Ultimately George Washington was able to lead the Patriots to independence and the stage was set for the young nation to form a new government. In time, the Articles of Confederation gave way to a Constitution as the struggle for power between the states (Jeffersonians) and the central government (Hamiltonians) raged on.

Must Know Events & People

Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War)
Mercantilism
Rights of British subjects
Liberty
Colonial independence or Patriot movement
Benjamin Franklin
George Washington
American Revolution
Enlightenment ideas and philosophy
Loyalists
Patriots
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson
The Continental Army
George Washington’s military leadership
State constitutions
Articles of Confederation
Northwest Territory
Northwest Ordinance
The Constitutional Convention
The Constitution
Federalism
Separation of powers
The Federalists
The Anti-Federalists
The Federalist Papers
James Madison
Alexander Hamilton
“Republican Motherhood”
Bill of Rights
Enlightenment ideas
French Revolution
Presidential administrations of George Washington and John Adams
George Washington’s Farewell Address
Formation of political parties
Federalist party
Democratic-Republican party

Topics Covered

Clash of Empires

The Seven Years' War

Restless Colonists

Taxation Without Representation

Bloodshed

The American Revolution Through Saratoga

The American Revolution Through Yorktown

The Articles of Confederation

A Bundle of Constitutional Compromises

A Clash of Federalists & Antifederalists

Washington's Presidency and Early Political Parties

Washington's Neutrality & Farewell & John Adams Presidency

Period 3 Review: Heimler’s History

Period 4 (1800-1848)

Summary

As the new country took shape, economic differences between the regions began to emerge. The American System was created to connect the growing country as the federal government asserted its jurisdiction over the states. The role of the common man was redefined during the presidency of Andrew Jackson as Native Americans, tariffs, and the National Bank took center stage. Reform movements swept the nation affecting religion, schools, hospitals, prisons, the “peculiar” institution of slavery, and women’s rights while factories changed how America manufactured their goods.

Must Know Events & People

Federalist party
Democratic-Republican party
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
Judicial Review
Louisiana Purchase
American System
Missouri Compromise
Monroe Doctrine
Participatory democracy
The Democrats (Democratic party)
Andrew Jackson
The Whigs (Whig party)
Henry Clay
American Indian removal
Market revolution
Interchangeable parts
Textile machinery
Steam engines
Internal improvements
Canals
Railroads
Telegraph
Cult of Domesticity
Nativist movement
Second Great Awakening
Romantic beliefs on human perfectibility
Temperance movement
Women’s rights movement
Seneca Falls Convention
Utopian movements
Institution of slavery
Southern cotton production
Free African Americans
Anti Slavery movements
Abolitionist movements
Southern defense of slavery as a positive good

Topics Covered

Jefferson's Revolution of 1800

Louisiana & The Corps of Discovery

Second War for Independence

Politics & Regional Interests

America on the World Stage

Expanding Democracy: Jackson & Federal Power

Opposition to Jackson Strengthens

The Little Magician, Lone Star Rebellion, and Hard Cider

Immigration and Nativist Responses

Industrialization & Farming

Market Revolution & Transportation

The Second Great Awakening

An Age of Reform

The Development of an American Culture

The Society of the South in the Early Republic

African Americans in the Early Republic

Period 4 Review: Heimler’s History

Period 5 (1844-1877)

Summary

Manifest Destiny justified the settlement of western lands including Texas which sparked a war with Mexico. War and expansion further divided the nation as more states were created causing debate over the expansion of slavery. The differences in regions, economies, values and opinions set the stage for the upcoming Civil War. The differences among the major regions in the United States finally became too much. The most glaring conflict was the debate on slavery brought on by the war with Mexico, the expansion of new states out west and the growing abolitionist movement. By the 1850s events spiraled out of control causing the south to defend the “peculiar institution” and their belief in states’ rights. Sporadic violence and disagreements turned into a Civil War by April, 1861. The Confederate army put up a vicious fight under General Lee for four long years but in the end they succumbed to General Grant’s Union army. What started as a war to preserve the Union became something more when President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The Civil War ended the institution of slavery in the United States. Lincoln’s most difficult job was still ahead of him as he set out to reconstruct this nation following the war. He never got the chance, however, when he was assassinated right after the war. The burden of Reconstruction fell into the hands of an incapable president and a vindictive Republican congress. Freed slaves continued to struggle to start their own futures and even were granted the right to vote. The end of Reconstruction left southern blacks to fend for themselves and helped usher in an era of racial segregation and violence.

Must Know Events & People