AMSCO 2.8 Comparison in Period 2 (1607-1754) Notes

Overview

AMSCO Topic 2.8, "Comparisons in Period 2," wraps up Unit 2 (AMSCO p.75 - p.83) by asking you to compare the effects of colonial society's development across the regions of North America from 1607 to 1754. Instead of introducing new content, this chapter shows you how to use the comparison skill on everything from Topics 2.1-2.7: regional differences among the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies, the colonies' evolving relationship with Britain, and how to turn all of it into a historically defensible argument on the long essay question (LEQ).

How to Compare in Period 2 (1607-1754)

Comparison is the reasoning skill AMSCO highlights for this period. Historians compare European colonial systems to each other (Spanish vs. French vs. Dutch vs. British) and compare the British colonies to one another. On the AP exam, a question might zero in on any single factor, such as migration, the North American environment, interaction with Native Americans, or British expectations.

The chapter walks through one big example prompt: explain the extent to which the British colonies were involved in political, cultural, and economic exchanges with Great Britain. Here's the kind of evidence it suggests.

• Politically, colonists questioned British control from the very beginning while still asking for British support and mirroring much of British culture. They wanted the government's help driving away Native Americans even as they resented its trade rules.
• Economically, mercantilism dictated what the colonies could produce and with whom they could trade. "Enumerated" goods could only go where Britain allowed, so colonists couldn't use all of their available resources freely. That's specific economic evidence of a complicated relationship.
• Religiously, you can compare the influence of the British-led Church of England with the Puritans, Quakers, and Catholics who actively founded specific colonies.

On religion, AMSCO offers three plausible arguments and asks you to pick the one the evidence best supports:

1. Colonial culture was more tolerant of religious diversity than British culture.
2. Colonists carried on the same religious conflicts that existed in Great Britain.
3. Colonists held similar ideas about toleration as the British did, but circumstances led them to act more tolerantly.

That's the real lesson here. A good comparison essay doesn't just list similarities and differences. It weighs competing claims and commits to the one the evidence backs.

Comparing the Three Colonial Regions

The chapter's centerpiece is a region-by-region comparison chart. This table is gold for LEQ evidence, so know it cold. For the full backstory on each region, see the AMSCO 2.3 notes on the regions of the British colonies.

A few patterns worth noticing when you write comparisons:

• Environment drove economy. New England's rocky soil and long winters pushed people toward fishing, lumber, and shipbuilding; the Middle colonies' rich soil made them the grain producers; the South's climate supported cash crops like tobacco, rice, and indigo, which fueled plantation agriculture and reliance on enslaved labor (covered in the AMSCO 2.6 notes on slavery in the British colonies).
• Purpose of settlement shaped society. New England was founded primarily for religious freedom (Puritans in Massachusetts) with a strong emphasis on education. The Middle colonies drew settlers with economic opportunity, religious diversity, and tolerance (Quaker Pennsylvania especially). The South attracted settlers chasing profits in tobacco, building a hierarchical society with wealthy planters on top.
• Every region had representative institutions, but in different forms: town meetings in New England, colonial assemblies in the Middle colonies, and the Virginia House of Burgesses in the South.

Think as a Historian: Argumentation

Argumentation means using reasons and evidence effectively to make a point, and it starts with a claim, a statement that can be proved or disproved. A historian's claim has to be historically defensible: there must be specific, relevant facts, statistics, records, or accounts that support it.

AMSCO has you evaluate this claim: "The original thirteen colonies were based on republican ideals that persist in the United States to this day."

• Evidence for: colonial governments included elections. A historian could quote the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the first written constitution in American history.
• Evidence against: the colonies excluded most people from voting, including women, men who did not own property, indentured servants, and enslaved people. A historian could quote letters by indentured servants or women.
• Useful either way: voting records.

Also note the source distinction. Historians consult secondary sources (works by other historians) to help develop arguments, but only primary sources give you the actual words of people alive at the time.

Write as a Historian: The LEQ Process

Each stage of writing a long essay calls for a different historical thinking skill. AMSCO maps it out like this:

In short, a strong LEQ response does five things: a defensible thesis with a line of reasoning, broader historical context, at least two pieces of specific relevant evidence supporting the argument, historical reasoning (comparison, causation, or continuity/change) framing the argument, and a demonstration of complex understanding through sophisticated argumentation or effective use of evidence.

Practice prompts to try

• "Evaluate the relative importance of causes of population movement to colonial British America in the period from 1607 to 1754." (College Board, past APUSH LEQ)
• "Evaluate the extent to which ideas of self-government influenced American colonial reaction to British imperial authority in the period from 1754 to 1776." (College Board, past APUSH LEQ)
• "Explain the extent to which the 13 colonies developed differently during the 17th century." (AMSCO, p.76)

For the migration prompt, think in cause-effect pairs: economic opportunity (plantation economies, trade networks, landownership), religious freedom and dissent (Puritan Massachusetts, Catholic Maryland), indentured servitude as a path for the lower class, escape from rigid European class structures, land scarcity in Europe pushing people out, and political unrest driving migration for stability. The AMSCO 2.1 notes on European colonization cover these migration patterns in depth.

Primary Sources: Steps Toward Colonial Union

The chapter closes with documents tracing self-government and colonial cooperation from 1620 to 1754. These are perfect context and evidence for self-government essays.

• Mayflower Compact (1620). Pilgrims agreed to "combine ourselves together into a civil body politic" and make "just and equal laws... for the general good of the colony." Self-government by common consent, before they even landed.
• Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639). Residents of Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield joined "as one public state or commonwealth" with an "orderly and decent government." The first written constitution in American history.
• New England Confederation (1643). Massachusetts, New Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven formed a "firm and perpetual league of friendship" for offense and defense, sharing the costs of war and pledging aid if any member was invaded.
• William Penn's Plan of Union (1697). Penn proposed that the English colonies meet at least once every two years, with two deputies from each province forming a congress to settle disputes between provinces and plan for common safety.
• Albany Plan of Union (1754). Proposed a general government for all the colonies under a President-General appointed by the crown and a Grand Council chosen by colonial assemblies, with power to raise soldiers, build forts, and levy taxes.
• Ben Franklin, "The Problem of Colonial Union" (1754). Franklin argued colonial representation in Parliament would be acceptable if the colonies got a reasonable number of representatives and Britain repealed acts restraining colonial trade and manufacturing. He hoped union would make Britain and the colonies feel like "one community with one interest" and "lessen the danger of future separations."

Notice the arc: colonists practiced self-government locally for over a century, then experimented with intercolonial cooperation, long before independence was on anyone's mind. That's the continuity evidence behind the self-government LEQ.

Key Terms to Know

Practice and Next Steps

Topic 2.8 is the skills checkpoint for Unit 2, so the best practice is writing. Start with the matching course-topic guide on 2.8 Comparison in Period 2, then review the full set of APUSH AMSCO notes to fill any Unit 2 gaps.

• Try one of the practice prompts above and score your response with FRQ practice with instant scoring.
• Drill the regional comparison chart with guided multiple-choice practice.
• Look at real past prompts in the past exam questions bank to see how comparison questions are actually worded.

If transatlantic exchanges or colonial culture still feel shaky, loop back through the AMSCO 2.4 notes on transatlantic trade and the AMSCO 2.7 notes on colonial society and culture before moving to Unit 3.