AP U.S. History Students,
Welcome to AP U.S. History!
You must complete a summer assignment before attending your first day of class. Your summer
assignment is as follows:
Carefully read Chapters 1 and 2 in your America’s History textbook. You must take detailed notes on
these chapters, focusing on key facts and concepts. After taking notes, you should be able to answer
the following questions for each chapter:
Chapter 1
1. How did Native American peoples structure their societies? Why did each society develop different
economic, social and political systems?
2. What were the main characteristics of traditional European society?
3. How did the European Renaissance and Reformation affect the organization of American society?
4. Why did European nations pursue overseas exploration and colonization?
5. Why do historians describe the contact between the Europeans and Native Americans as the
“Columbian Exchange”?
6. How did the Spanish invasion of the New World affect the lives of peoples in the Americas, Europe
and Africa?
Chapter 2
After reading chapter 2 you should be able to answer:
1. What goals did the Spanish, French, Dutch, and English pursue in North America? How did these
ambitions lead to different settlement patterns?
2. How did the European settlements of North America affect Native American populations over time?
3. How and why did a system of forced labor based on the factors of class and race emerge in the
Chesapeake and Virginia colonies in the early seventeenth century?
4. What were the economic, religious, political and intellectual foundations of Puritan society in New
England?
5. How did colonial society in the Chesapeake region differ from that of New England?
6. How did the conflicts of the 1670’s affect social, economic, and political relations among colonists,
Indians and Africans in America?
There will be a reading and writing assessment within the first week of class, possibly including the
first day of class. It is imperative that you read and take notes over Chapters 1 and 2 before attending
class so that you can successfully complete the assessment.