AP United States History Course Review Guide

AP US History Exam Structure

Section ONE: MCQ and SAQ - Part A: Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) - Accounts for $40\%$ of the AP Exam. - Consists of $55$ Stimulus-Based Questions. - Time limit: $55$ Minutes. - Part B: Short Answer Question (SAQ) - Accounts for $20\%$ of the AP Exam. - Consists of THREE Questions: - Question ONE: Based on Secondary Source(s). - Question TWO: Based on Primary Source. - Question THREE: No Stimulus (Student Choice). - Question FOUR: No Stimulus (Student Choice). - Time limit: $40$ Minutes.
Section TWO: LEQ and DBQ - Part A: Document-Based Question (DBQ) - Accounts for $25\%$ of the AP Exam. - Consists of ONE DBQ. - Time limit: $60$ Minutes. - Part B: Long Essay Question (LEQ) - Accounts for $15\%$ of the AP Exam. - Consists of ONE LEQ based on Student Choice: - Option ONE: Covers Periods $1-3$ . - Option TWO: Covers Periods $4-6$ . - Option THREE: Covers Periods $7-9$ . - Time limit: $40$ Minutes.
Exam Date: May $8, 2026$ .

Period ONE (1491-1607): Pre-Columbian Americas and European Contact

Overview: Period ONE examines life in the Americas before European contact and how this contact transformed the cultures and traditions of Native societies. It accounts for $4-6\%$ of the AP Exam Curriculum.
Key Concept 1.1: Native populations migrated and settled across North America over time, developing complex societies by adapting to and transforming diverse environments.
Key Concept 1.2: Contact among Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans resulted in the Columbian Exchange and reshaped relationships on both sides of the Atlantic.
Pre-Columbian Civilizations: - Initial inhabitants arrived via the Bering Land Bridge. - South American Civilizations: Included the Maya, Aztecs, and Inca. - North American Regions: Societies were determined by geography (Plains, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, West). - Cahokia: Had a population size similar to that of London.
1492 - The Columbian Exchange: - Initiated by Christopher Columbus seeking a path to the Indies for Spain. - Exchange of Crops and Disease: - From Europe: Horses, domesticated livestock, diseases, coffee, and grain. - From New World: Potato, squash, pumpkin, maize (corn), tobacco, and quinine.
1512 - Encomienda System: - Native labor was granted to Spanish landowners in exchange for a promise to Christianize them. - Functioned similarly to slavery on large haciendas.
1520 - Disease Epidemics: - Smallpox began decimating Native populations, eventually killing close to $90\%$ of the population. - Natives lacked immunity due to isolation; Europeans had immunity explained by the \"Guns, Germs & Steel\" theory. Lack of Native labor led to the start of the slave trade.
1552 - Bartolome De las Casas and the Black Legend: - A friar who popularized the \"Black Legend,\" depicting Spanish cruelty (Natives as \"gentle lambs\" and Spaniards as \"wolves\"). - Contrasted by Sepulveda in the Valladolid Debate. - Contributed to the end of the Encomienda system after the Pueblo Revolt ( $1680$ ).

Period TWO (1607-1754): Colonial North America

Overview: Periods from the founding of Jamestown ( $1607$ ) to the start of the French and Indian War ( $1754$ ). It accounts for $6-8\%$ of the exam curriculum.
Key Concept 2.1: Different imperial goals led to various colonization patterns (Spanish, French, English) and competition for resources.
Key Concept 2.2: British colonies participated in exchanges with Great Britain, fostering both loyalty and resistance to British control.
1607 - Jamestown Established: - Founded by a joint-stock company to turn a profit. - Starving Time: Most settlers sought gold rather than farming; many died during the winter. - John Smith: Famous for saying, \"those who do not work do not eat.\" - John Rolfe: Introduced tobacco as a cash crop and married Pocahontas.
1609-1613 - Anglo-Powhatan War: - Conflict between Virginia settlers (led by de la Warr) and the Powhatan Confederacy. Peace was temporarily reached with Rolfe’s marriage to Pocahontas. The series of wars resulted in Native loss of land and autonomy.
1618 - Headright System: - Offered $50$ acres of land to anyone who sponsored the passage of an indentured servant. - Indentured servants were typically poor white males who served a fixed term.
1619 - Virginia House of Burgesses: - The first representative assembly in the colonies. Settlements elected two burgesses each. Power to make laws and levy taxes, subject to governor approval.
1620 - Plymouth and the Puritans: - Separatist Pilgrims seeking a \"city upon a hill\" (Winthrop). - Mayflower Compact: Agreement to follow laws and create a godly community. - Focused on family settlement, unlike the single-men settlements in the Chesapeake.
1632 - Maryland: - Established by Lord Baltimore as a haven for Catholics; offered religious toleration.
1635 - Roger Williams Exiled: - Banished from Massachusetts for supporting the separation of church and state and fair treatment of Natives. Formed Rhode Island.
1637 - Anne Hutchinson Banished: - Labeled a heretic for preaching, claiming direct communication with God, and holding meetings in her home. Later killed by Native Americans.
1639 - Fundamental Orders: - Connecticut's constitution, the first written constitution in America.
1643 - New England Confederation: - Established for collective security against Native Americans, French, and Dutch; a step toward colonial unity.
1651 - Navigation Laws and Mercantilism: - Mercantilism: Goal to enrich the mother country through extraction of resources and bullion. - Navigation Laws limited colonial trading partners but were loosely enforced (Salutary Neglect).
1676 - Bacon’s Rebellion: - Freed indentured servants led by Nathaniel Bacon rebelled against Governor Berkeley over lack of protection from Native Americans on the frontier. Led to the preference for slave labor over indentured servitude.
1686 - Dominion of New England: - Enforced by Sir Edmund Andros to increase British control. Hated by colonists and ended after the Glorious Revolution.
1730s-1740s - The Great Awakening: - Religious revival led by Jonathan Edwards (\"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God\") and George Whitfield. - Divided \"Old Lights\" and \"New Lights,\ - Encouraged challenging authority and free thought.
1733 - Zenger Trial: - John Peter Zenger acquitted of libel; established the precedent of freedom of the press in cases where statements are true.

Period THREE (1754-1800): Revolution and the New Republic

Overview: Transition from colonies to the United States. Accounts for $10-17\%$ of the exam.
Key Concept 3.1: British attempts to tighten control led to resistance and independence movements.
Key Concept 3.2: Revolution ideals inspired experiments with new government forms (Articles vs. Constitution).
Key Concept 3.3: Migration within North America intensified conflicts among peoples and nations.
1754 - Albany Congress and \"Join or Die\": - Published by Ben Franklin to promote colonial unity regarding defense and trade; proposed a unified government under a president-general.
1754-1763 - Seven Years War (French and Indian War): - Fought over the Ohio River Valley (Fort Duquesne). George Washington participated. - Treaty of Paris (1763): British displaced the French. Resulted in massive war debts and increased British control. - Pontiac’s Rebellion: Native response to British encroachment.
1763 - Proclamation of 1763: - Forbid settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to prevent Native conflicts; widely ignored by colonists.
Taxes and Acts: - 1764 Sugar Act: First law to raise tax revenue; indirect tax on foreign sugar. - 1765 Stamp Act: Mandated stamped paper for legal/commercial docs. Prompted the Stamp Act Congress ( $27$ delegates) and the cry \"No taxation without representation.\" British argued \"Virtual Representation.\" - 1766 Declaratory Act: Asserted British authority to tax the colonies. - 1767 Townshend Acts: Duties on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea (\"pluck feathers from colonial goose\").
Resistance and Escalation: - 1770 Boston Massacre: British troops killed five colonists, including Crispus Attucks; image popularized by Paul Revere. - 1774 Boston Tea Party: Bostonians dumped $342$ chests of tea into the harbor. - 1774 Intolerable Acts: Closed Boston harbor, restricted town meetings, enacted New Quartering Act, and passed the Quebec Act (extended Quebec boundaries southward). - 1774 First Continental Congress: Boycott organized through \"The Association.\"
The Revolutionary War: - 1775 - Lexington and Concord: \"Shot Heard Round the World.\" - 1776 - Common Sense: Thomas Paine used simple language and Enlightenment ideals (Republicanism) to argue for independence. - 1776 - Declaration of Independence: Authored by a committee at the Second Continental Congress. Asserted unalienable rights and listed grievances. - 1777 - Battle of Saratoga: Turning point; led to official French aid. Burgoyne surrendered to Horatio Gates. - 1781 - Battle of Yorktown: Cornwallis trapped by Washington and Rochambeau. Last decisive battle.
Founding a New Government: - 1777 Articles of Confederation: Weak central government; no power to tax or regulate trade. Unanimous consent needed for amendments. - 1787 Northwest Ordinance: Established method for admitting new states and outlawed slavery in the Old Northwest. - 1787 Shays’ Rebellion: Massachusetts farmers rebelled over debt/taxes; demonstrated the weakness of the Articles. - 1788 Ratification of the Constitution: Created three branches and the Great Compromise (Senate equal rep/House population rep). Included the $3/5$ Compromise for enslaved persons. - Hamilton’s Economic Plan: Funding at par, assuming state debts, duties, excise tax (whiskey), and a National Bank.
Presidencies of Washington and Adams: - 1794 Whiskey Rebellion: Washington led a militia to suppress the rebellion, establishing federal authority. - 1796 Washington’s Farewell Address: Warned against permanent alliances and political parties. - 1797 John Adams Presidency: Included the XYZ Affair (French bribe attempt) and Alien and Sedition Acts (targeted pro-Jeffersonian aliens and limited speech).

Period FOUR (1800-1848): Democracy and the Market Revolution

Overview: Focuses on democracy, national culture, and economic acceleration. Accounts for $10-17\%$ of the exam.
1800 - \"Revolution of 1800\": - Peaceful transfer of power from Federalists to Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson).
1803 - Marbury v. Madison: - Chief Justice John Marshall established Judicial Review.
1803 - Louisiana Purchase: - Purchased from France for $15$ million. Doubled US size; Jefferson used implied powers (loose interpretation) despite being a strict constructionist. Explored by Lewis and Clark.
War of 1812: - Caused by British impressment and the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair. Ended with the Treaty of Ghent (no territory change) and a wave of nationalism (Era of Good Feelings). - 1814 Hartford Convention: Federalist grievances; led to the party’s decline.
The Market Revolution: - High level of mechanization. Eli Whitney (Cotton Gin and Interchangeable Parts), Samuel Morse (Telegraph), Fulton (Steamboat), Singer and Howe (Sewing machine). - Cumberland Road: First federally funded road. - Erie Canal ( $1825$ ): \"Clinton's Big Ditch\"; connected Hudson River to Lake Erie.
Jacksonian Democracy (1829-1837): - Spoils System: Appointing loyalists to office. - Nullification Crisis: Calhoun proposed nullification of the Tariff of Abominations; Jackson responded with the Force Bill. - Bank War: Jackson vetoed the US Bank recharter, moving funds to \"pet banks,\" leading to the Panic of $1837$ . - Indian Removal: Ignored Worcester v. Georgia; led to the Trail of Tears.
Social and Religious Movements: - Second Great Awakening: Personal piety and moral reform (Temperance, Emancipation, Women's Rights). Leaders included Finney and Beecher. - Transcendentalism: Emerson (Nature/Non-conformity) and Thoreau (Civil Disobedience). - Abolitionism: William Lloyd Garrison founded The Liberator ( $1831$ ).

Period FIVE (1844-1877): Manifest Destiny, Civil War, and Reconstruction

Overview: Social and political effects of expansion and war. Accounts for $10-17\%$ of the exam.
Expansion and Manifest Destiny: - Manifest Destiny: Coined by John O’Sullivan ( $1845$ ); belief God intended Americans to expand westward. - Mexican-American War (1846-1848): Triggered by border disputes (Nueces vs. Rio Grande). Lincoln issued \"Spot Resolutions.\" Ended with Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (US paid $15$ million for California/Texas territory). - 1848 Seneca Falls Convention: Declaration of Sentiments for women's suffrage.
Escalation of Slavery Tensions: - Compromise of 1850: California free state, stronger Fugitive Slave Law, Popular Sovereignty in Utah/New Mexico. - 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act: Repealed Missouri Compromise; led to \"Bleeding Kansas\" and the Pottawatomie Massacre (John Brown). - 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford: Ruled Black people were not citizens and Congress could not prohibit slavery in territories. - 1860 Election: Lincoln (Republican) elected; South Carolina seceded immediately.
The Civil War (1861-1865): - Strengths: North (Infrastructure, population); South (Generals like Lee, defensive war). - 1863 Emancipation Proclamation: Freed slaves in rebelling states; changed war's moral character. - 1863 Gettysburg Address: Reasserted the goal of a \"new birth of freedom.\" - 1864 Sherman’s March to the Sea: Utilized total war (\"hard hand of war\") to break Confederate morale.
Reconstruction (1865-1877): - Freedman’s Bureau: Success in education but underfunded. - Amendments: $13th$ (Abolition), $14th$ (Citizenship/Equal Protection), $15th$ (Voting rights for men). - Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: Violating Tenure of Office Act; failed by ONE vote in the Senate. - Compromise of 1877: Ended Reconstruction (Bayonet Rule); led to the rise of Jim Crow and Sharecropping.

Period SIX (1865-1898): The Gilded Age

Overview: Rise of industrial capitalism and internal migration. Accounts for $10-17\%$ of the exam.
Industrialization: - Rockefeller: Standard Oil Trust; Horizontal integration. - Carnegie: Gospel of Wealth; Philanthropy as a responsibility of the rich. - Social Darwinism: \"Survival of the fittest\" applied to social classes.
Labor and Reform: - Labor Unions: Knights of Labor (all workers; declined after Haymarket); AFL (Samuel Gompers; skilled craft unions only). - Strikes: Railroad Strike ( $1877$ ), Homestead Steel Strike ( $1892$ ), Pullman Strike ( $1894$ ). - Hull House: Jane Addams' settlement house for immigrants.
Western Development: - Transcontinental Railroad ( $1869$ ): Irish/Chinese labor; killed buffalo; impacted Native Americans. - Dawes Severalty Act ( $1887$ ): Attempted to assimilate Natives by breaking up communal land ownership.
Politics and Society: - Chinese Exclusion Act ( $1882$ ): First major law restricting specific ethnic immigration. - Plessy v. Ferguson ( $1896$ ): Established \"separate but equal.\" - Populist Party: Demanded silver coinage and nationalization of railroads.

Period SEVEN (1890-1945): Global Conflict and Depression

Overview: Shift from imperialism to world wars and the New Deal. Accounts for $10-17\%$ of the exam.
Imperialism: - Spanish-American War (1898): USS Maine; resulted in acquisition of Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico. Rough Riders led by TR. - Roosevelt Corollary: US acting as international police power in Latin America.
Progressive Era: - Muckrakers: Upton Sinclair (The Jungle) led to Meat Inspection Act. - Fire: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory ( $1911$ ) sparked safety regulations.
WWI: - Causes of Entrance: Sinking of Lusitania ( $1915$ ) and Zimmerman Telegram ( $1917$ ). - Fourteen Points: Wilson's plan for peace, including the League of Nations. - Schenck v. US: \"Clear and present danger\" allows restriction of speech.
Interwar Period: - Great Depression: Caused by over-speculation and bank failures. - FDR’s New Deal: CCC (work relief), Social Security (reform), AAA (farm recovery), TVA (regional development).
WWII: - Pearl Harbor: Dec $7, 1941$ ; \"date which will live in infamy.\" - Home Front: Executive Order $9066$ (Japanese Internment); War Production Board. - Turning Points: Battle of Midway (Pacific) and D-Day (Normandy, France). - End: Truman used Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force unconditional surrender.

Periods EIGHT and NINE (1945-Present): Cold War to Modern Era

Overview: Cold War conflicts, Civil Rights, and modern conservatism.
Cold War Containment: - Truman Doctrine: Economic/military aid to Greece and Turkey to stop Communism. - Marshall Plan: Provided over $12$ billion in aid to Western Europe. - Korean War (1950-1953): Proxy war fought to a draw at the $38th$ parallel.
Civil Rights Movement: - 1954 Brown v. Board: Overturned Plessy. - 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott: Led by MLK. - 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act: Outlawed public discrimination and voting barriers. - Radicalization: Malcolm X and Black Panthers.
Great Society and Vietnam: - Lyndon Johnson: Medicare, Medicaid, War on Poverty. - Vietnam War: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave power to the president; Tet Offensive weakened public support; Pentagon Papers showed the \"Credibility Gap.\"
Modern Conservatism and the 21st Century: - Reaganomics: Supply-side economics; deregulation. - Star Wars (SDI): Space-based defense shield. - End of Cold War: Fall of the Berlin Wall ( $1989$ ); Collapse of USSR ( $1991$ ). - Modern Events: NAFTA, Clinton Impeachment, Election of $2000$ (Bush v. Gore), $9/11$ , and the PATRIOT Act.