Prepare for the Advanced Placement United States History exam with these practice multiple-choice questions based on primary sources in the Gilder Lehrman Collection and secondary sources from History Now, the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s online journal.
Badge Progress
Period 1: 1491–1607
4–6% Exam Weighting
Test your knowledge of how contact among Europeans, Native Americans, and West Africans created a new world on a continent controlled by American Indians.
Period 2: 1607–1754
6–8% Exam Weighting
Test your knowledge of how Europeans and American Indians competed for dominance in North America, leading to the emergence of distinctive colonial and native societies.
Period 3: 1754–1800
10–17% Exam Weighting
Test your knowledge of British efforts to reassert control over its colonies and how this led to the creation of a new American republic and debates over its identity.
Period 4: 1800–1848
10–17% Exam Weighting
Test your knowledge of how the new republic struggled to extend democratic ideals amid rapid changes in economy, territory, and population.
Period 5: 1848–1877
10–17% Exam Weighting
Test your knowledge of how regional tensions, particularly over slavery, led to a civil war that transformed American society as the nation expanded.
Period 6: 1865–1898
10–17% Exam Weighting
Test your knowledge of how the shift from an agricultural to an industrial society brought significant economic, political, and cultural changes.
Period 7: 1890–1945
10–17% Exam Weighting
Test your knowledge of how a pluralistic United States faced domestic and global challenges, debated government activism, and defined its international role.
Period 8: 1945–1980
10–17% Exam Weighting
Test your knowledge of how the US dealt with prosperity, new global responsibilities, and the struggle to uphold its ideals after World War II.
Period 9: 1980–Present
4–6% Exam Weighting
Test your knowledge of how the US faced ideological debates, redefined foreign policy, and adapted to globalization and technological change in the new century.