AP US History: Summer Assignment Chapter Questions

These questions cover chapters 1-3. You are to select 5 appropriate questions,that relate to each of the 3 chapters, and write a written response. You will have 15 questions answered when finished. Your answers should be:

  • neatly hand-written.
  • include significant details, not just a summary.
  • include important names, dates and locations etc.
  • written in complete sentences.
  1. Describe the economic and social impact of the discovery and conquest of the "New World" on Europe and Africa.
  1. Describe the impact of the arrival of Europeans on American soil in the 15th Century. (The Columbian Exchange)
  1. How was the Renaissance a catalyst for the Age of Discovery and Exploration?
  1. Contrast the strategic and economic motives of the French, the Spanish and the British in settling the "New World".
  1. Contrast the motives for establishing the colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth.
  1. Compare and contrast the difficulties faced by settlers in Jamestown and Plymouth.
  1. Discuss how gender demographics differed in Jamestown and Plymouth. Explain how that would affect those societies.
  1. Explain the importance of the Mayflower Compact and the House of Burgesses in the development of democracy in the "New World".
  1. Explain the Encomienda system and how it worked to the advantage of Spanish land holders.
  1. Contrast the treatment of Native American populations by the French, the Spanish and the British.
  1. Account for the staying power of the British settlements versus the French settlements in America.
  1. Compare and contrast Spain's exploration successes to that of England's in the 1500s and early,1600s. What changed after 1588 and why did the change occur?
  1. "The early years of Jamestown proved a nightmare for all concerned-except the buzzards." Give evidence supporting this statement from the textbook.
  1. Describe the relationship of the European colonists and the Native Americans. Why were the Natives disposed of by the Europeans?
  1. What role did tobacco play in the colonies? Explain in detail.
  1. Describe the characteristics of the early English settlements. Focus on the following:

Maryland

The Carolinas (both North and South)

Georgia

  1. Describe life in the Northern Colonies, looking at date of establishment, government style, reason for establishment, religious affiliation, etc. In your description include:

Plymouth

Massachusetts Bay Colony (“city on a hill")

Rhode Island

  1. Explain the changing relations between the English colonists and Indians.
  1. What was England's early view of the American colonies? What efforts were made to strengthen English control over the colonies in the seventeenth century? Why did they generally fail?
  1. Explain why;New York (New Netherland), Pennsylvania, and the other middle colonies became so ethnically, religiously, and politically diverse.
  1. Compare and contrast the middle colonies (New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania) to the New England Colonies (Massachusetts (including Maine), New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut). How and why did the two regions differ? How were they the “most American part of America?"