APUSH AMSCO Topic 3.11 Developing an American IdentityAPUSH AMSCO Topic 3.11 Developing an American Identity

APUSH · PERIOD3 · 1754TO1800

Developing an American Identity

AMSCO Topic 3.11 Study Guide

Big idea. The Revolution did not just create a new government. It changed society, politics and culture, but regional differences (especially over slavery) stayed. Learning objective: explain the continuities and changes in American culture from 1754 to 1800.

The quote that anchors the topic

Crèvecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer (1782): "What then is the American, this new man?" He describes people of mixed European ancestry who leave old prejudices behind and take on new ones from the new government and mode of life. Use it for melting-pot identity and for a new American sense of self.

Social change

Change What happened Why it matters

Abolition of

aristocratic

titles

State constitutions and laws banned titles of nobility and

primogeniture (first-born inherits everything). Loyalist

estates were confiscated, subdivided and sold

Weakened colonial aristocracy,

spread land ownership

Separation of

church and

state

Most states refused financial support to any religion. The

Anglican (Episcopal) Church was disestablished in the

South. Only New Hampshire, Connecticut and

Massachusetts kept supporting the Congregational Church

through a religious tax, ended in the early 1830s

Religious freedom grows, but

not at the same pace

everywhere

Regional

variation

The word 'southerner' appeared in the 1780s. Slavery

declined in northern states but grew stronger in southern

states

Sectional identities harden.

Jefferson (1785): northerners

'serious and persevering',

southerners 'generous and

forthright'

Political change

Parties (Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, Topic 3.10) both reflected and shaped American identity.

Their roots were the Federalist versus Anti-Federalist debate over ratification, and they matured along regional lines and different views of federal power.

The Great Seal: 13 stars for the original states, olive branch for peace, arrows for readiness for war.

Cultural change

Person Contribution (these are the AMSCO key terms)

Charles Wilson Peale Opened what is recognized as the first art gallery (Philadelphia) Pierre-Charles L'Enfant Designed Washington, D.C. (1790s)

Gilbert Stuart Painted portraits of the nation's leaders

Charles Brockden Brown Explored American identity through novels

Other developments: newspapers expanded as a means of communication and political debate, the American Academy of Fine Arts held its first exhibition, and later came the first dictionary of American English and a book on American geography.

Continuity vs change (the core exam move)

Continuity (stayed the same) Change (new)

British language, law and traditions, religion still strong Republican ideas, no titles of nobility, no primogeniture

Regional differences from the colonial period Parties and national political institutions Slavery and inequality (women, Native Americans, enslaved

people)

Growing sense of a distinct American culture and

art

Test trap. Do not say the Revolution 'changed everything' or 'changed nothing'. AP rewards both a continuity and a change with specific evidence.

Practice

1. What was primogeniture and why did states abolish it?

2. Which three states kept state support for a church, and which church?

3. What happened to the Anglican Church after the Revolution?

4. What was Charles Wilson Peale known for?

5. Who designed Washington, D.C., and who painted the nation's leaders?

6. How did the Revolution affect slavery in different regions?

7. Crèvecoeur's quote best supports which idea about identity?

8. SAQ-style: give ONE continuity in American culture from 1754 to 1800 and ONE change. 9. What limitation of republican ideals should you mention in an LEQ about this period? 10. Why did newspapers matter for identity?

Answers

1. The first-born son's right to inherit the family property. It was a feudal practice that contradicted republican ideals of equality.

2. New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts, supporting the Congregational Church, ended in the early 1830s.

3. It became the Episcopal Church and was disestablished in the South, losing state support. 4. Opening what is recognized as the first art gallery, in Philadelphia.

5. L'Enfant designed it. Gilbert Stuart painted the leaders.

6. It declined in northern states but became stronger in the southern states.

7. A new American identity formed from a mixture of European peoples under new ideas and government.

8. Continuity: British religious traditions and regional differences. Change: no titles of nobility, new distinctively American art and literature.

9. Slavery, and the exclusion of women, Native Americans and enslaved people from full rights. 10. They spread political discussion and ideas across the nation and helped create shared national conversations.