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AP U.S. History Free Practice Question #1 “At the time the first Europeans arri...

Sep 11, 2023

AP U.S. History Free Practice Question #1 “At the time the first Europeans arrived, the Indians of the Great Plains between the Rocky Mountains and the forested areas bordering on the Mississippi lived partly by corn culture but mostly by the buffalo on foot with bow and arrow. Although Europeans regarded all Indians as nomads (a convenient excuse for denying them the land they occupied), only the Plains Indian really were nomadic. Even they did not become so until about A.D. 1550, when they began to break wild mustangs, offspring of European horses turned loose by the Spaniards.” —”The Oxford History of the American People” by Samuel Eliot Morison, Oxford University Press, New York City, 1965 The excerpt suggests that Europeans used the lifestyle of American Indian tribes to justify A. warfare and eradication of the native population B. the creation of an extensive trade network C. expansion into native lands D. the creation of the encomienda system

*AnswerChoice* C *AnswerChoice*

Key Concept

KC-1.2.II European overseas expansion resulted in the Columbian Exchange, a series of interactions and adaptations among societies across the Atlantic.

Explanation

The excerpt suggests that Europeans used the nomadic lifestyle of the Plains Indians as a justification for their expansion into native lands. The Europeans regarded all Indians as nomads, which they used as an excuse to deny them the land they occupied. This is a reflection of the larger pattern of European colonization and displacement of Native American populations during this period. The nomadic lifestyle of the Plains Indians, which was not adopted until around A.D. 1550, was used as a justification for European expansion into their lands. This is an example of the ways in which European colonizers often used cultural differences and misunderstandings to justify their actions.