APUSH AMSCO Topic 2.8 Study NotesAPUSH AMSCO Topic 2.8 Study Notes

A P U S H I S T O R Y · UNIT2

Comparisons in Period 2

AMSCO Topic 2.8

Learning Objective: Compare the effects of the development of colonial society in the various regions of North America.

Study notes built from the AMSCO text only. No outside sources are added.

Big Picture

Comparison is the reasoning skill emphasized for this period. Historians compare European colonial systems or different British colonies. On the AP exam a question can focus on a single factor such as migration, the North American environment, interaction with Native Americans, or British expectations.

Britain and the Colonies: What to Compare

To "explain the extent to which the British colonies were involved in political, cultural, and economic exchanges with Great Britain," you can show that colonists questioned British control from the start while asking for its support and copying much of its culture.

Economics: the British policy of mercantilism dictated what colonies could produce and with whom they could trade ("enumerated" goods). Compare colonists' desire for government help in driving out Native Americans with their view of mercantilism.

Religion: compare the influence of the Church of England with that of the Puritans, Quakers, and Catholics who started specific colonies. Three plausible arguments, from which you choose the best supported: colonial culture was more tolerant than British culture; colonists carried on the same religious conflicts as Britain; or colonists held similar ideas about toleration but circumstances led them to act more tolerantly. Comparing Colonial Regions

Characteristic New England Middle Atlantic Southern

Colonies New Hampshire, Massachusetts,

Rhode Island, Connecticut

New York, Pennsylvania, New

Jersey, Delaware

Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina,

South Carolina, Georgia

Population

groups

English English, German, Dutch English, Scotch-Irish, African

American

Religious groups Puritans, dissenters, Baptists Anglicans, Roman Catholics,

Quakers, Jews

Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Baptists

Commercial

centers

Boston, Providence New York, Philadelphia Charleston, Savannah

Exports Fish, lumber, ships Grain Tobacco, rice, indigo

Education Tax-supported schools Private religious schools Tutors and parents

Environment Rocky soils, long winters Rich soil, moderate climate Diverse soils and climate Representative

government

Town meetings Colonial assemblies Virginia House of Burgesses

Practice Comparison Questions (from AMSCO)

Explain the extent to which the 13 colonies developed differently during the 17th century (compare the people who settled them and the resources and support they had).

Explain the influence of British political, cultural, and economic views on the colonies (compare how the British and colonists viewed mercantilism, representative government, and religion).

Explain the extent to which conditions in the English colonies led to a unique system of slavery (compare the influence of economy, geography, and population on enslaving Africans).

Key Terms and Actors

Term / Actor What it is and why it matters

Comparison Reasoning skill: identify similarities and differences, then explain their significance. Mercantilism British policy of controlling colonial production and trade (enumerated goods). Church of England vs.

Puritans, Quakers, Catholics

Compare British-led religion with the dissenting and minority faiths that founded specific colonies.

Making This Essay-Ready

Thesis starter: Rather than listing regions, pick one factor (environment, settlers, religion, economy) and argue how it made regions differ. Then add one similarity, such as representative institutions in every region, for complexity.

Evidence bank: New England: Puritans, town meetings, subsistence farms, shipbuilding. Middle: grain, diversity, Quakers, Philadelphia and New York. South: tobacco, rice, indigo, plantations, slavery, House of Burgesses. AMSCO Topic 2.8 · Student-written study notes summarizing AMSCO