There are hundreds of topics covered in the AP® US History curriculum, and as a student taking the AP® US History exam, you must be familiar with all of them in order to do well on the exam. However, this does not mean you need an in depth knowledge of every single topic that will be covered. The best way to be sure that you know enough about a topic is to make sure you can define it, explain the historical context behind it, and explain why it is important. In this AP® US History crash course, we will go over that exact information for one of the many topics to be covered on the exam: Impressment.
Definition
Impressment is defined as the act of forcing men to enlist in military service.
Historical Context
Impressment was most notably used by England in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in order to grow the size of the Royal Navy, although the practice had existed for hundreds of years. The practice was legal under British law, as the navy had the right to forcibly enlist eligible men during times of war. The British began to use impressment on a larger scale in order to grow and maintain their ranks during the Napoleonic Wars. When the navy needed more men, press gangs were sent out to harbors to search ships for sailors eligible for service. Often, those ships carried Americans who were forced into service. Due to impressment, the Royal Navy increased from 10,000 to 140,000 men between the late 18th century and early 19th century.
Why is Impressment Important?
Impressment is important for a couple of reasons. The first and most important reason is that it was one of the main causes of the War of 1812. The practice of impressment caused a growth in tension between the British and the Americans, as the British forcibly enlisted thousands of American men into the Royal Navy from passing ships, and refused to recognize that Americans had renounced their British citizenship. Impressment is also important because it led to the Embargo Act of 1807, which stopped all foreign trade. The Embargo Act was later repealed due to its disastrous economic consequences, and was replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act, which allowed trade with all countries except Britain and France.
What You Should Know for the AP® US History Exam – Multiple Choice
The multiple-choice section of the AP® US History exam will ask you fact-based questions. For the multiple choice section, you should know that the British increased their use of impressment due to a need for men during the Napoleonic Wars, and that the need for men stemmed from both casualties and extremely high desertion rates. You should also know that Americans strongly disapproved of this practice, and that it led to the War of 1812 as well as the Embargo and Non-Intercourse Acts.
What You Should Know for the AP® US History Exam – Essays and Document-Based Questions
The written section of the AP® US History exam will ask you to connect events in history, and use those connections to form an argument for or against a given idea. For the written section of the exam, you should understand how impressment affected the events that followed it. You should know that impressment led to a rise in tensions between Americans and the British, and was one of the main causes of the War of 1812.
Using this crash course on impressment, and others on topics relevant to the AP® US History exam, you will build a bank of knowledge that will help you to succeed on the AP® US History exam.
By the way, you should check out Albert.io for your AP® US History review. We have hundreds of APUSH practice questions written just for you!
