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AP US History Unit 2 Cheatsheet: Colonial Development, 1607-1754

AP US History Unit 2 Cheatsheet: Colonial Development, 1607-1754

Start with the first 3 sections of the Unit 2 one-page cheatsheet below. The full sheet is a PDF you can print.

European Colonization Goals & Methods

PowerPrimary GoalLabor & Settlement
SpanishExtract wealth; convert nativesSubjugation of Native Americans; enslaved & free Africans incorporated into colonial society
FrenchFur trade; diplomatic tiesFew Europeans; trade alliances & intermarriage with American Indians
DutchTrade networksFew Europeans; relied on trade & intermarriage
EnglishSocial mobility; economic gain; religious freedomLarge numbers of male & female migrants; settled on Native American land; separated from natives

Self-Government & Political Development

  • Distance & neglect: Britain's lax attention allowed colonies to create unusually democratic self-governing institutions for the era
  • New England model: Power based in participatory town meetings → elected colonial legislatures
  • Southern model: Elite planters exercised local authority & dominated elected assemblies
  • Significance: Local experience of self-government became foundation for resistance to imperial control later

Transatlantic Culture & Intellectual Exchange

  • Pluralism: Presence of different European religious & ethnic groups contributed to significant pluralism & intellectual exchange
  • First Great Awakening: Religious movement enhanced intellectual exchange & spread of ideas across colonies
  • Enlightenment ideas: European Enlightenment thought spread through colonies, influencing political & intellectual culture
  • Anglicization: Gradual development of autonomous political communities based on English models, strengthened by intercolonial commercial ties, transatlantic print culture, & Protestant evangelicalism

The rest of the Unit 2 sheet

6 more sections are on the one-page PDF:

  • The Four British Colonial Regions

  • Enslaved African Resistance & Culture

  • Growing Colonial Resistance to Imperial Control

  • Atlantic Trade Networks & Mercantilism

  • Slavery: Regional Variation & Racial System

  • American Indian Resistance & Accommodation

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AP US History Unit 2 Cheatsheet

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