AP® United States History review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/us-history/units/3/3-1)
Unit 3 · Topic 3.1
3.1 Contextualizing Period 3
Period 3 runs from 1754, when fighting began in the French and Indian War, to 1800, when Thomas Jefferson was elected president. In under fifty years, Britain's loyal colonies broke away, won a war, tried one government, replaced it with the Constitution and began arguing over what the new nation should be.
Key terms
- contextualization
- salutary neglect
- westward expansion
- colonial assemblies
See it on a map: 1775: The colonies on the eve of revolution
The colonies in 1754
By 1754 the British mainland colonies held about 1.5 million people and were growing fast through births and immigration. Most colonists were proud British subjects who valued the 'rights of Englishmen'.
For decades Britain had followed salutary neglect, a policy of loosely enforcing trade laws and leaving the colonies mostly alone as long as they stayed profitable. The phrase comes from a 1775 speech by the British politician Edmund Burke. Under salutary neglect, colonial assemblies grew used to controlling local taxes and laws, often overpowering royal governors by controlling their salaries.
Colonists were also moving west. Land speculators, including wealthy Virginians, and backcountry farmers eyed the Ohio River Valley, which France and many Native nations claimed.
The wider world
Britain and France had fought three wars for empire since 1689. Their rivalry was global, stretching from North America to the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and India, and the next war would be the biggest yet.
Ideas were moving too. The Enlightenment spread arguments about natural rights and government by consent, and the First Great Awakening had taught many colonists to question established authority (2.7). Later in the period, the American Revolution itself helped inspire the French Revolution (1789) and the Haitian Revolution (1791).
Within the colonies, society was also shifting. The enslaved population was growing fast in the South, Scots-Irish and German migrants were filling the backcountry, and port cities were becoming centers of trade, print and political argument.
The arc of Period 3
- 1754–1763: Britain and its colonists defeat France in the Seven Years' War (3.2).
- 1763–1775: new British taxes and laws lead to colonial protest (3.3), built on Enlightenment ideas (3.4).
- 1775–1783: the American Revolution and independence (3.5), and the spread of revolutionary ideals (3.6).
- 1781–1789: the Articles of Confederation (3.7), then the Constitution (3.8, 3.9).
- 1789–1800: the new government under Washington and Adams, the first parties (3.10), a new national identity (3.11) and conflict in the West (3.12).
Using Period 3 context
Period 3 carries heavy weight on the exam (about 10–17 percent), and DBQ prompts can come from this era. For context on a Revolution prompt, the end of salutary neglect after 1763 is a strong starting point. For a prompt on the early republic, the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the fights over the Constitution make good context.
Remember that context must be specific and connected. 'Tensions were rising' is not enough; name the Proclamation of 1763 or the British war debt and explain how it shaped the topic.
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Context for a Revolution prompt
Write two or three sentences of contextualization for this prompt: Evaluate the extent to which the American Revolution was caused by economic grievances.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Look before 1763: what was the relationship between Britain and the colonies like?
- Step 2: Describe the turning point that set up the grievances: the Seven Years' War and its debt.
- Step 3: Link to the prompt.
Answer: Model context: For most of the early 1700s, Britain followed a policy of salutary neglect, loosely enforcing trade laws while colonial assemblies controlled local taxation. The Seven Years' War changed this relationship: Britain won vast new territory in 1763 but nearly doubled its national debt, and it decided the colonies should help pay for their own defense. This shift from neglect to tighter control set up the clash over taxes and trade that colonists described as a fight for their rights.
Common mistakes
- Starting the story of the Revolution in 1775. Its causes reach back to 1754–1763 and to decades of self-government before that.
- Thinking colonists wanted independence from the start of the protests in the 1760s. Most wanted their rights as British subjects restored.
- Forgetting that Period 3 ends in 1800, not 1789. The first decade under the Constitution is part of it.
On the exam
- DBQ prompts are drawn from the period 1754 to 1980, so Period 3 is fair game. Know the major turning points and their dates.
- Salutary neglect, the Seven Years' War and the Proclamation of 1763 are dependable context for Revolution prompts.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 3.1 Contextualizing Period 3. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
Before 1754, Britain's policy of "salutary neglect" toward its North American colonies most directly contributed to
Which development is best described as a turning point in the relationship between Britain and its North American colonies?
"And We do further declare it to be Our Royal Will and Pleasure, for the present as aforesaid, to reserve under our Sovereignty, Protection, and Dominion, for the use of the said Indians, all the Lands and Territories . . . lying to the Westward of the Sources of the Rivers which fall into the Sea from the West and North West as aforesaid. And We do hereby strictly forbid, on Pain of our Displeasure, all our loving Subjects from making any Purchases or Settlements whatever, or taking Possession of any of the Lands above reserved, without our especial leave and Licence for that Purpose first obtained."
Source: King George III of Great Britain, Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763.
Many colonists reacted to the proclamation with anger primarily because they
"That it is inseparably essential to the freedom of a people, and the undoubted right of Englishmen, that no taxes be imposed on them, but with their own consent, given personally, or by their representatives.
That the people of these colonies are not, and from their local circumstances cannot be, represented in the House of Commons in Great-Britain. . . .
That trial by jury is the inherent and invaluable right of every British subject in these colonies."
Source: Declaration of Rights and Grievances, adopted by delegates from nine colonies at the Stamp Act Congress in New York, October 1765.
The delegates' position was most strongly shaped by
0 of 4 answered