Download AP U.S. History

AP U.S. History
Guided Reading Questions for Chapters 1-3
Boyer, Paul. American Nation. Pennsylvania Edition. New York: Holt,
Rinehart, and Winston, 2005. Print.
Chapter 1, The World by 1500 Prehistory-1500, pp. 2-29
1. Identify and explain some of the characteristics of the early Native American civilizations.
2. Why was there great diversity among the early Native American cultures?
3. In what ways did Native Americans cultures share traditions and knowledge?
4. How did the location of East and West African kingdoms prove to be important to their development as
trading centers?
5. How did developments in technology affect China growth?
6. How did trade contribute to the spread of culture and ideas in Asia and Africa before the beginning of the
sixteenth century?
7. Define the principal economic and political systems that developed in Europe during the Middle Ages.
8. What prevented Europe from joining the Asia-Africa trade system?
9. How was political and social life in Europe affected by the Crusades?
10. What caused the rise of the Spanish nation-state?
11. Explain the emergence of the Renaissance and its effect on Europe.
12. What role did religion play in the motivation to explore and colonize among Catholic European countries?
13. How did trading practices of Portugal affect Africa?
Chapter 2, Empires of the Americas 1492-1800, pp. 34-59
1. How did the encomienda system benefit the Spanish settlers? What effect did it have on the American
Indians?
2. What reforms did Bartolomé de Las Casas recommend for the treatment of the American Indians? Why did
they achieve such limited success?
3. What led to the Pueblo Revolt? What was its result?
4. How did the Spanish use missions, haciendas, and ranchos to administer their empire in the Americas?
5. What was the Protestant Reformation? How did it affect colonization in the New World?
6. Why was the English defeat of the Spanish Armada such a significant event? How did it affect European
settlement of North America?
7. Define the Columbian Exchange (pp. 62-63).
Chapter 3, The English Colonies 1620-1763, pp. 66-91
1. What role did religion and education play in Puritan society?
2. How did leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony react to those who threatened their authority or
challenged their beliefs? Provide specific examples.
3. How did the late development of towns in the Chesapeake affect the region’s development?
4. What was the motivation behind Bacon’s Rebellion? Why did so many farmers support it?
5. Explain the growth of slavery in the Carolinas.
6. Explain how the Navigation Acts were an application of mercantilism. How did the colonists and the
English government regard the Navigation Acts?
7. Explain how the Glorious Revolution and the Great Awakening led to changes in colonial society.
8. What caused the conflict between the French and English colonies in the North America?
9. How did the American Indians become involved in the French and Indian War?
10. What was the British strategy in the French and Indian War?