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AP courses

AP U.S. History

American history from 1491 to the present, read through the primary record and practiced in the exam's own forms.

12 units · 132 lessons · 1397 practice items · 115 videos

AP U.S. History opens in 1491, with the Native American societies of a diverse continent, the European push into the Atlantic, and the collision that followed: the Columbian exchange, Spanish conquest and colonial labor systems, and the first century of cultural contact. From there the course moves period by period through the full national story, from the British colonies and the Revolution through the early republic, expansion and the Civil War, industrialization, the world wars and the Cold War, down to the present. Every reading stands on its own, quoting and framing its primary sources and naming the real disagreements among historians as they arise.

The questions carry their evidence with them: a passage, map, chart, or image sits on the problem itself, the way the exam presents it. Skill practice deals randomized problems until each idea holds, and after a graded attempt the solution walks through the reasoning step by step. Writing starts immediately, with thesis, contextualization, and short-answer craft trained as graded, auto-checked exercises, and each unit closes with a writing workshop and a unit test drawn from its own question pool.

This course follows the College Board's published AP U.S. History framework.

Syllabus

Every published lesson in this course, by unit.

1Period 1: 1491-16079 lessons
  1. 11.1 Contextualizing period 1
  2. 21.2 Native American societies before European contact
  3. 31.3 European exploration in the Americas
  4. 41.4 Columbian Exchange, Spanish exploration, and conquest
  5. 51.5 Labor, slavery, and caste in the Spanish colonial system
  6. 61.6 Cultural interactions between Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans
  7. 71.7 Causation in period 1
  8. 8Unit 1 writing workshop
  9. 9Unit 1 test
2Period 2: 1607-175410 lessons
  1. 12.1 Contextualizing period 2
  2. 22.2 European colonization
  3. 32.3 The regions of British colonies
  4. 42.4 Transatlantic trade
  5. 52.5 Interactions between American Indians and Europeans
  6. 62.6 Slavery in the British colonies
  7. 72.7 Colonial society and culture
  8. 82.8 Comparison in period 2
  9. 9Unit 2 writing workshop
  10. 10Unit 2 test
3Period 3: 1754-180015 lessons
  1. 13.1 Contextualizing period 3
  2. 23.2 The Seven Years' War (the French and Indian War)
  3. 33.3 Taxation without representation
  4. 43.4 Philosophical foundations of the American Revolution
  5. 53.5 The American Revolution
  6. 63.6 The influence of revolutionary ideals
  7. 73.7 The Articles of Confederation
  8. 83.8 The Constitutional Convention and debates over ratification
  9. 93.9 The Constitution
  10. 103.10 Shaping a new republic
  11. 113.11 Developing an American identity
  12. 123.12 Movement in the early republic
  13. 133.13 Continuity and change in period 3
  14. 14Unit 3 writing workshop
  15. 15Unit 3 test
4Period 4: 1800-184816 lessons
  1. 14.1 Contextualizing period 4
  2. 24.2 The rise of political parties and the era of Jefferson
  3. 34.3 Politics and regional interests
  4. 44.4 America on the world stage
  5. 54.5 Market Revolution: industrialization
  6. 64.6 Market Revolution: society and culture
  7. 74.7 Expanding democracy
  8. 84.8 Jackson and federal power
  9. 94.9 The development of an American culture
  10. 104.10 The Second Great Awakening
  11. 114.11 An age of reform
  12. 124.12 African Americans in the early republic
  13. 134.13 The society of the South in the early republic
  14. 144.14 Causation in period 4
  15. 15Unit 4 writing workshop
  16. 16Unit 4 test
5Period 5: 1844-187714 lessons
  1. 15.1 Contextualizing period 5
  2. 25.2 Manifest destiny
  3. 35.3 The Mexican-American War
  4. 45.4 The Compromise of 1850
  5. 55.5 Sectional conflict: regional differences
  6. 65.6 Failure of compromise
  7. 75.7 Election of 1860 and secession
  8. 85.8 Military conflict in the Civil War
  9. 95.9 Government policies during the Civil War
  10. 105.10 Reconstruction
  11. 115.11 Failure of Reconstruction
  12. 125.12 Comparison in period 5
  13. 13Unit 5 writing workshop
  14. 14Unit 5 test
ExamSemester 1 final exam1 lesson
  1. 1Semester 1 final
6Period 6: 1865-189816 lessons
  1. 16.1 Contextualizing period 6
  2. 26.2 Westward expansion: economic development
  3. 36.3 Westward expansion: social and cultural development
  4. 46.4 The "New South"
  5. 56.5 Technological innovation
  6. 66.6 The rise of industrial capitalism
  7. 76.7 Labor in the Gilded Age
  8. 86.8 Immigration and migration in the Gilded Age
  9. 96.9 Responses to immigration in the Gilded Age
  10. 106.10 Development of the middle class
  11. 116.11 Reform in the Gilded Age
  12. 126.12 Controversies over the role of government in the Gilded Age
  13. 136.13 Politics in the Gilded Age
  14. 146.14 Continuity and change in period 6
  15. 15Unit 6 writing workshop
  16. 16Unit 6 test
7Period 7: 1890-194517 lessons
  1. 17.1 Contextualizing period 7
  2. 27.2 Imperialism: debates
  3. 37.3 The Spanish-American War
  4. 47.4 The Progressives
  5. 57.5 World War I: military and diplomacy
  6. 67.6 World War I: home front
  7. 77.7 1920s: innovations in communication and technology
  8. 87.8 1920s: cultural and political controversies
  9. 97.9 The Great Depression
  10. 107.10 The New Deal
  11. 117.11 Interwar foreign policy
  12. 127.12 World War II: mobilization
  13. 137.13 World War II: military
  14. 147.14 Postwar diplomacy
  15. 157.15 Comparison in period 7
  16. 16Unit 7 writing workshop
  17. 17Unit 7 test
8Period 8: 1945-198017 lessons
  1. 18.1 Contextualizing period 8
  2. 28.2 The Cold War from 1945 to 1980
  3. 38.3 The Red Scare
  4. 48.4 Economy after 1945
  5. 58.5 Culture after 1945
  6. 68.6 Early steps in the civil rights movement (1940s and 1950s)
  7. 78.7 America as a world power
  8. 88.8 The Vietnam War
  9. 98.9 The Great Society
  10. 108.10 The African American civil rights movement (1960s)
  11. 118.11 The civil rights movement expands
  12. 128.12 Youth culture of the 1960s
  13. 138.13 The environment and natural resources from 1968 to 1980
  14. 148.14 Society in transition
  15. 158.15 Continuity and change in period 8
  16. 16Unit 8 writing workshop
  17. 17Unit 8 test
9Period 9: 1980-present9 lessons
  1. 19.1 Contextualizing period 9
  2. 29.2 Reagan and conservatism
  3. 39.3 The end of the Cold War
  4. 49.4 A changing economy
  5. 59.5 Migration and immigration in the 1990s and 2000s
  6. 69.6 Challenges of the 21st century
  7. 79.7 Causation in period 9
  8. 8Unit 9 writing workshop
  9. 9Unit 9 test
10AP exam review7 lessons
  1. 1Text-based multiple choice strategy
  2. 2Visual, quantitative, and map multiple choice
  3. 3Secondary-source and paired-passage multiple choice
  4. 4Short-answer question clinic
  5. 5Document-based question full run
  6. 6Long essay question full run
  7. 7Chronology and themes across the periods
ExamSemester 2 final exam1 lesson
  1. 1Semester 2 final