Course Content
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Lesson Plans
The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society ©2001
by Gary B. Nash and Julie Roy Jeffrey John B. Howe, Peter J. Frederick, Allen F. Davis, Allan M. Winkler
Focus Lesson 1
Chapter 1: "Three Worlds Meet"
Chapter 2: "Colonizing a Continent"
AP* Course Description
- Discovery and Settlement of the New World, 1492–1650
- Europe in the sixteenth century
- Spanish, English, and French exploration
- First English settlements
- Jamestown
- Plymouth
- Spanish and French settlements and long-term influence
- American Indians
- America and the British Empire, 1650–1754
- Chesapeake country
- Growth of New England
- Restoration colonies
Key Components
- Instructor's Guide:
Chapter 1, pp. 8–12
Chapter 2, pp. 13–16 - Study Guide, Vol. I to 1877:
Chapter 1, pp. 10–16
Chapter 2, pp. 17–25 - Test Bank:
Chapter 1, pp. 1–18
Chapter 2, pp. 19–36
Key Web Sites
Given the changing nature of the Internet, you may wish to preview these sites. Always check for updated links to U.S. history sites.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
- National Geographic - Salem Witch Hysteria (interactive feature)
- University of Virginia's William Penn site
- Colonial Williamsburg
- Canada's Virtual Museum of New France
Key Words and Terms
Chapter 1
- Treaty of Tordesillas
- Pizarro
- Spanish Armada
- matrilineal
- Protestant Reformation
- nation-states
- Cortes
- Vasco da Gama
- Coronado
- pre-Columbian era
- Renaissance
- Muslim
- Calvinism
Chapter 2
- Samuel de Champlain
- Lord Baltimore
- Anne Hutchinson
- Restoration
- Act of Toleration
- proprietors
- Society of Friends (Quakers)
- magistrates
- Puritans
- Powhatan
- Roger Williams
- Confederation of New England
- Popé's revolt
- indentured servant
- antinomianism
- work ethic
- Pilgrims
Suggested Pacing
In order to complete AP* United States History course coverage in time for the test in May, it may be necessary to combine chapters. Since only about 16 percent of the multiple-choice questions deal with the period before 1789, the most beneficial compacting may be in the early chapters. If possible, assign Chapter 1 as summer reading and teach it and Chapter 2 in the first week of school.
Test Strategy
As practice for the DBQ and for the visual-stimuli questions, it is imperative that students analyze information from different sources. Assist them by discussing the charts, graphs, and maps that are found in Chapters 1 and 2. Students should be reading—not just looking at—the many tables, graphs, photographs, and cartoons for information that they can then use in class discussions and essays. In addition to enriching their study of U.S. history, these visuals provide students with practice in analyzing graphics for the DBQ.
Key Concepts
These first two chapters lay out several major themes that had an impact on colonial development and much of the history of the United States:
- the clash of Native American, African, and European cultures
- the clash between Catholic Spain and Protestant England
- the tension between religious and economic motives of the English colonists who came to what would become the United States
- tension between religious idealism and violence
- the differences that developed among the five different regions that became the 13 British colonies (Chesapeake, New England, New York, the Carolinas, and Pennsylvania)
In its coverage and its attitude, the text is highly sensitive to the non-English and non-European participants in the development of the United States. Note that the AP* course outline deals with New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas under the heading of the Restoration colonies.
Summing Up Student Understanding
By the completion of Chapters 1 and 2, students should be able to begin evaluating, analyzing, and critically investigating and interpreting writings and images with at least a minimal level of sophistication. To aid in this development process, use the quotations for identification and interpretation included at the end of each chapter in the Study Guide. Students should consider the following in identifying the quotation, a skill they may be tested on the AP* U.S. history exam:
- type of source being quoted
- time frame of the source
- the position taken by the writer
- important points stated or implied in the source
- why the source may have been written
- who the author may be
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
You might also find these additional readings useful in developing students' background knowledge or for DBQ activities:
- American Issues: Vol. I to 1877, edited by Unger and Tomes—Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4
- The Power of Words: Vol. I to 1877, edited by Breen—Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4
- Constructing the American Past, Vol. I, edited by Gorn, Roberts, and Bilhartz—Chapters 1, 2, and 3
- American Experiences: Vol. I to 1877, edited by Roberts and Olson (secondary source readings)—Parts One and Two