This document outlines the objectives and key concepts for a US History course covering the period up to 1865. It will introduce students to the societies and cultures of Western Europe, Native Americans, and West Africans in the 1400s. Students will learn about the reasons for European exploration and increasing conflicts between groups. They will compare the Spanish, French, Dutch, and English colonies and contrasts between New England and Chesapeake English colonies. Key themes like liberty, slavery, and European/Indian interactions will be examined.

1. History 1301
US History to 1865

2. Objectives
 Understand the key characteristics of Western
European, Native American and West African societies
during the 1400’s and be able to compare/contrast
them
 Understand why Europeans embarked on voyages of
exploration
 Understand why conflict started/increased between
and among the different people groups

3. Objectives
 Be able to compare/contrast the Spanish, French,
Dutch, and English colonies (in general)
 Be able to compare/contrast the English New England
colonies with the English Chesapeake colonies
 Be able to craft a narrative of how the various English
colonies were planted in America
 Understand how key themes such as concepts of
liberty, slavery, and the interaction of
Europeans/Indians had their roots in these early
colonial times

4. 1492
 Key date in American History
 Native American History started
thousands of years before this
date
 United States History has its root
at this point because you start
having a mix of European/Native
American/African peoples from
this point

5. Native American Culture Areas

6. Native Americans in 1400’s
 Diverse cultures, languages,
religions
 Hunter-gatherer bands to
settled villages and chiefdoms
 Complex civilizations in
Mexico and South America
 Not as technologically
advanced as Europe, Asia
 Go Vols!

7. Europe

8. Europe in 1400’s
 Diverse languages, cultures
 Christianity
 Not politically united

9. European Exploration-Why?
 Commerce (Desire for Trade Goods)
 Urbanization-rise of cities which fed
demand for goods
 Rise of Centralized States-now you
have states with enough resources to
explore
 Competition with other States
 Religion-spread Christianity
 Go Vols!

10. European Exploration
 Portugal started-African Exploration and route to
India (Vasco da Gama )
 Spain then started-Christopher Columbus
 Spain built huge empire in Americas
 Cortes and Aztecs
 Pizarro and Incas
 Conquistadores

11. Africa
 Berbers (North Africa)
 Swahili (East Africa)
 Sahara Desert
 Mali, Ghana, Songhay,
Benin, Zimbabwe
 West Africa (Guinea)
 Go Vols

12. Africa in the 1400’s
 Diverse languages, cultures, religions
 Hunter-gatherer bands to complex civilizations
 West African peoples and kingdoms key in early
American settlement

13. Columbian Exchange
 Exchange of cultures, goods, crops, animals, diseases
between Africa, America, Europe
 Measles, smallpox, syphilis, potatoes, horses, corn,
swine, etc., etc., etc.,
 Affected how people on all three continents lived
 Good and bad effects………….?

14. European Rivalry
 Major players in colonial game: Spain, England,
France, Netherlands (Dutch)
 Each started colonies with distinct traits
 What were these differences?
 How did they interact with Native Americans?
 Number of European immigrants?
 Commerce/trade/economy?
 Racial/ethnic makeup (for example, Spanish colonies
had greater numbers of mestizos than English colonies)

15. English Colonies
 All colonies were important but tend to focus on
English colonies the most because they were the “seed”
that grew into the United States
 So, what do you most need to know?
 Jamestown
 Pilgrims and Puritans—Go Vols!
 Differences between New England and Chesapeake:
economy, religion, rural versus town, immigration of
families versus singles, etc.
 Spread of English colonies: Pennsylvania, New York, etc.

16. Africans and the New World
 Slave trade already existed in West Africa
 Europeans got involved and vastly expanded the scope
of the trade
 New World plantations needed labor
 Brutal Atlantic crossing
 Most slaves went to South America/Caribbean
 English slavery
 Initially not much difference between slaves and
indentured labor
 As 1600’s progressed, racial attitudes hardened-slave
codes grow more strict

17. Okay, Big Ideas
 Key themes in American History can be traced to this
period:
 Diversity: mixture of religious, ethnic, racial groups
 Read and get understanding of growth of slave trade
 Early patterns in relations between Indians and Europeans
 Ideas of Liberty:
 Examples of religious toleration (Maryland, New York City,
Pennsylvania)
 Early institutions of representation (Puritan town meetings,
Virginia House of Burgesses, etc.)
 Go Vols!