STUDY GUIDE SERIES
AP U.S. History
UNIT 2
Period 2: Colonial
Society
1607 – 1754
WHAT’S INSIDE
✓ Complete topic coverage aligned to College Board CED
✓ Chesapeake vs. New England colony comparison tables
✓ Development of slavery and labor systems analysis
✓ Colonial governance and religious movements
✓ Essential timeline and key vocabulary
✓ Review questions with answer guidance
Aligned to the 2024–2026 AP U.S. History Course and Exam Description
, AP U.S. HISTORY | UNIT 2: PERIOD 2 (1607–1754) STUDY GUIDE SERIES
UNIT OVERVIEW
Period 2 spans from 1607 to 1754 and covers the establishment and growth of European colonies in North America.
This unit accounts for approximately 6–8% of the AP exam—nearly double Unit 1’s weight. The central question is:
how did different colonial regions develop distinct social, economic, and political identities? Understanding these
regional differences is essential because they directly set up the tensions that lead to revolution in Period 3.
🎯 EXAM WEIGHT & STRATEGY
This unit is 6–8% of the exam (~4–5 MC questions). It CAN appear as a short-answer question topic. The exam loves
comparison in this unit—especially Chesapeake vs. New England and the evolution of labor systems. Know the regional
differences cold. Also expect questions connecting colonial-era developments to later periods (e.g., how colonial self-
governance led to revolutionary ideology).
1 Founding the Colonies
English colonization began in earnest with Jamestown (1607) and expanded rapidly over the next century. Each
colony was founded for different reasons—economic profit, religious freedom, or strategic advantage—and these
founding motives shaped each region’s character for generations.
The Chesapeake Colonies: Virginia and Maryland
Virginia (Jamestown, 1607) was England’s first permanent settlement, founded by the Virginia Company as a joint-
stock venture seeking gold and a passage to Asia. The early years were catastrophic—disease, starvation, and
conflict with the Powhatan Confederacy killed most settlers. The colony only survived after John Rolfe introduced
tobacco as a cash crop in 1612, creating an economy built entirely on a single export. Tobacco’s labor demands drove
the need for workers, first through indentured servitude and eventually through enslaved African labor.
Maryland (1634) was founded by Lord Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert) as a proprietary colony and a refuge for English
Catholics facing persecution. The Act of Toleration (1649) granted religious freedom to all Christians—one of the
earliest such laws in the colonies. Despite its Catholic origins, Maryland quickly developed a tobacco-based economy
nearly identical to Virginia’s, including reliance on indentured servants and, later, enslaved labor.
The New England Colonies
Plymouth (1620) was founded by Separatist Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower. Before landing, they signed the
Mayflower Compact—a foundational document establishing self-governance by consent of the governed. This is
significant as an early example of social contract theory in practice.
Massachusetts Bay (1630) was a much larger venture, founded by Puritans under John Winthrop, who described it
as a “city upon a hill”—a model Christian community for the world to see. The Puritans did NOT seek religious
freedom in the modern sense; they sought to build a theocratic society where their specific beliefs dominated.
Dissenters like Roger Williams (founded Rhode Island, advocated separation of church and state) and Anne
Hutchinson (challenged Puritan clergy, banished for antinomianism) were expelled.
Connecticut (1636) was founded by Thomas Hooker and adopted the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut—
sometimes called the first written constitution in America, extending voting rights beyond church members. Rhode
Island (1636) became the most religiously tolerant colony, separating church and state entirely.
The Middle Colonies
New York (originally New Amsterdam, seized from the Dutch in 1664) and Pennsylvania (1681), founded by Quaker
William Penn as a “Holy Experiment” in religious tolerance and peaceful relations with Native Americans. The Middle
Colonies were the most ethnically and religiously diverse, with Dutch, German, Swedish, and English settlers
alongside Quakers, Lutherans, and Reformed Christians. Their economies were based on grain farming and trade,
earning them the nickname “breadbasket colonies.”
The Southern Colonies
Study Guide Series · AP U.S. History Page 2
AP U.S. History
UNIT 2
Period 2: Colonial
Society
1607 – 1754
WHAT’S INSIDE
✓ Complete topic coverage aligned to College Board CED
✓ Chesapeake vs. New England colony comparison tables
✓ Development of slavery and labor systems analysis
✓ Colonial governance and religious movements
✓ Essential timeline and key vocabulary
✓ Review questions with answer guidance
Aligned to the 2024–2026 AP U.S. History Course and Exam Description
, AP U.S. HISTORY | UNIT 2: PERIOD 2 (1607–1754) STUDY GUIDE SERIES
UNIT OVERVIEW
Period 2 spans from 1607 to 1754 and covers the establishment and growth of European colonies in North America.
This unit accounts for approximately 6–8% of the AP exam—nearly double Unit 1’s weight. The central question is:
how did different colonial regions develop distinct social, economic, and political identities? Understanding these
regional differences is essential because they directly set up the tensions that lead to revolution in Period 3.
🎯 EXAM WEIGHT & STRATEGY
This unit is 6–8% of the exam (~4–5 MC questions). It CAN appear as a short-answer question topic. The exam loves
comparison in this unit—especially Chesapeake vs. New England and the evolution of labor systems. Know the regional
differences cold. Also expect questions connecting colonial-era developments to later periods (e.g., how colonial self-
governance led to revolutionary ideology).
1 Founding the Colonies
English colonization began in earnest with Jamestown (1607) and expanded rapidly over the next century. Each
colony was founded for different reasons—economic profit, religious freedom, or strategic advantage—and these
founding motives shaped each region’s character for generations.
The Chesapeake Colonies: Virginia and Maryland
Virginia (Jamestown, 1607) was England’s first permanent settlement, founded by the Virginia Company as a joint-
stock venture seeking gold and a passage to Asia. The early years were catastrophic—disease, starvation, and
conflict with the Powhatan Confederacy killed most settlers. The colony only survived after John Rolfe introduced
tobacco as a cash crop in 1612, creating an economy built entirely on a single export. Tobacco’s labor demands drove
the need for workers, first through indentured servitude and eventually through enslaved African labor.
Maryland (1634) was founded by Lord Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert) as a proprietary colony and a refuge for English
Catholics facing persecution. The Act of Toleration (1649) granted religious freedom to all Christians—one of the
earliest such laws in the colonies. Despite its Catholic origins, Maryland quickly developed a tobacco-based economy
nearly identical to Virginia’s, including reliance on indentured servants and, later, enslaved labor.
The New England Colonies
Plymouth (1620) was founded by Separatist Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower. Before landing, they signed the
Mayflower Compact—a foundational document establishing self-governance by consent of the governed. This is
significant as an early example of social contract theory in practice.
Massachusetts Bay (1630) was a much larger venture, founded by Puritans under John Winthrop, who described it
as a “city upon a hill”—a model Christian community for the world to see. The Puritans did NOT seek religious
freedom in the modern sense; they sought to build a theocratic society where their specific beliefs dominated.
Dissenters like Roger Williams (founded Rhode Island, advocated separation of church and state) and Anne
Hutchinson (challenged Puritan clergy, banished for antinomianism) were expelled.
Connecticut (1636) was founded by Thomas Hooker and adopted the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut—
sometimes called the first written constitution in America, extending voting rights beyond church members. Rhode
Island (1636) became the most religiously tolerant colony, separating church and state entirely.
The Middle Colonies
New York (originally New Amsterdam, seized from the Dutch in 1664) and Pennsylvania (1681), founded by Quaker
William Penn as a “Holy Experiment” in religious tolerance and peaceful relations with Native Americans. The Middle
Colonies were the most ethnically and religiously diverse, with Dutch, German, Swedish, and English settlers
alongside Quakers, Lutherans, and Reformed Christians. Their economies were based on grain farming and trade,
earning them the nickname “breadbasket colonies.”
The Southern Colonies
Study Guide Series · AP U.S. History Page 2
