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Contemplanda course syllabus

AP® U.S. History

A Contemplanda online course.

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

AP® U.S. History is a course in U.S. history from about 1491 to the present, studied in nine historical periods. The College Board's framework asks students to investigate the significant events, individuals, developments, and processes of those periods and to use the methods of historians: analyzing primary and secondary sources, developing historical arguments, making historical connections, and reasoning about comparison, causation, and continuity and change.

The College Board describes AP U.S. History as the equivalent of a two-semester introductory college course in U.S. history.

The College Board's AP U.S. History framework has nine units in a logical sequence often found in college courses and textbooks, and the AP Exam assesses all nine. The framework describes what colleges and universities expect students to know and be able to do to qualify for college credit or placement.

Course at a glance

Course title
AP U.S. History
Publisher
Contemplanda
Framework
Follows the College Board's published AP U.S. History framework
Structure
12 units over two semesters
Lessons
132 lessons
Credit
Not awarded by Contemplanda
Enrollment
Purchasing is not open yet
Course page
www.contemplanda.com/courses/ap-us-history

Credit and enrollment

Contemplanda does not award high school credit. A student who wants credit for the course should ask their own school whether it will accept it.

Under College Board rules, a course may carry the AP designation on a student's transcript only if it is authorized through the College Board's AP Course Audit.

Purchasing is not open yet. Questions about enrolling can go to info@contemplanda.com.

Students who are already enrolled sign in at direct.contemplanda.com.

How the course works

  • Each topic lesson combines written explanations, practice, and graded checks, and most lessons include graphs.
  • Practice comes one question at a time and continues until the student answers four in a row correctly. After a wrong answer, the practice keeps drawing questions.
  • Many questions have hints that open one step at a time. When a question has one, the next hint is offered after a wrong answer. An answer given after opening a hint counts in full toward the practice streak and the mastery levels, but the top level, mastered, also requires at least one graded question answered correctly without opening a hint.
  • Answers take many forms: items sorted into categories; items matched in pairs; events and developments put in order; paragraphs built from given sentences; sentences and paragraphs completed from given choices; tables filled in with values computed from given data; and multiple-choice answers.
  • Every topic lesson has a graded check whose questions are drawn for each student from a pool.
  • Every figure has a written text description.

Recommended preparation

The College Board sets no prerequisites for AP U.S. History. It expects students to be able to read a college-level textbook and to write grammatically correct, complete sentences.

Units and lessons

Every published lesson, by semester and unit.

Topic numbers are the College Board's: topic 3.10 is unit 3, topic 10.

Semester 1

College Board unit 1: Period 1: 1491–1607

Assessed on the AP Exam

The Americas from 1491 to 1607: the Native American societies that developed before European contact and the ways they adapted to their environments; the causes of European exploration and conquest; the Columbian Exchange and the growth of the Spanish Empire; labor, slavery, and caste in the Spanish colonial system; and the cultural interactions among Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans.

1
Period 1: 1491-1607
Topics 1.1 to 1.7
  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 testUnit test25 questions

College Board unit 2: Period 2: 1607–1754

Assessed on the AP Exam

North America from 1607 to 1754: the founding and growth of the European colonies; the regions of the British colonies and the environmental and other factors that shaped them; transatlantic trade; the changing relations between American Indians and Europeans; slavery in the British colonies; and colonial society and culture, compared across the regions of North America.

2
Period 2: 1607-1754
Topics 2.1 to 2.8
  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 testUnit test24 questions

College Board unit 3: Period 3: 1754–1800

Assessed on the AP Exam

The British colonies and the new United States from 1754 to 1800: the Seven Years' War (the French and Indian War); the British colonial policies that led to the Revolutionary War; the ideas behind the American Revolution, the reasons for the American victory, and the Revolution's effects on society; the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, and the debates over ratification; the Constitution; the shaping of the new republic; the development of an American identity; and migration within North America and the conflicts it caused.

3
Period 3: 1754-1800
Topics 3.1 to 3.13
  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 testUnit test25 questions

College Board unit 4: Period 4: 1800–1848

Assessed on the AP Exam

The United States from 1800 to 1848: the rise of political parties and the era of Jefferson; regional interests and debates over the role of the federal government; American foreign policy; the market revolution in industry, society, and culture; the expansion of participatory democracy; Jackson and federal power; a new national culture; the Second Great Awakening and the reform movements of the age; African Americans in the early republic; and the society of the South.

4
Period 4: 1800-1848
Topics 4.1 to 4.14
  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 testUnit test26 questions

College Board unit 5: Period 5: 1844–1877

Assessed on the AP Exam

The United States from 1844 to 1877: Manifest Destiny and westward expansion; the war with Mexico and its effects; the Compromise of 1850 and the sectional conflict over slavery; immigration and its effects on American culture; the failure of compromise, the election of 1860, and secession; the Civil War and government policies during the war; and Reconstruction and its failure.

5
Period 5: 1844-1877
Topics 5.1 to 5.12
  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 testUnit test27 questions
Exam

Semester 1 final exam

  1. Semester 1 final73 questions

Semester 2

College Board unit 6: Period 6: 1865–1898

Assessed on the AP Exam

The United States from 1865 to 1898: westward expansion and the economic, social, and cultural development of the West; the "New South"; technological innovation and the rise of industrial capitalism; labor, immigration, and migration in the Gilded Age and the responses to immigration; the development of the middle class; reform movements; and the controversies over the role of government and the politics of the Gilded Age.

6
Period 6: 1865-1898
Topics 6.1 to 6.14
  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 testUnit test26 questions

College Board unit 7: Period 7: 1890–1945

Assessed on the AP Exam

The United States from 1890 to 1945: the debates over imperialism and the war with Spain; the Progressives; the military and diplomatic history of World War I and the home front; the innovations in communication and technology and the cultural and political controversies of the 1920s; the Great Depression and the New Deal; interwar foreign policy; the mobilization for World War II and the military victory of the United States and its allies; and postwar diplomacy.

7
Period 7: 1890-1945
Topics 7.1 to 7.15
  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 testUnit test26 questions

College Board unit 8: Period 8: 1945–1980

Assessed on the AP Exam

The United States from 1945 to 1980: the Cold War and the Red Scare; the postwar economy and culture; the civil rights movements and their expansion; the United States as a world power and the Vietnam War; the Great Society; the youth culture of the 1960s; environmental policy and natural resources; and a society in transition.

8
Period 8: 1945-1980
Topics 8.1 to 8.15
  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 testUnit test26 questions

College Board unit 9: Period 9: 1980–Present

Assessed on the AP Exam

The United States from 1980 to the present: Reagan and conservatism; the end of the Cold War; a changing economy and the effects of technological change; migration and immigration in the 1990s and 2000s; and the domestic and international challenges of the 21st century.

9
Period 9: 1980-present
Topics 9.1 to 9.7
  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 testUnit test26 questions
Review

AP exam review

  1. Text-based multiple choice strategy
  2. Visual, quantitative, and map multiple choice
  3. Secondary-source and paired-passage multiple choice
  4. Short-answer question clinic
  5. Document-based question full run
  6. Long essay question full run
  7. Chronology and themes across the periods
Exam

Semester 2 final exam

  1. Semester 2 final73 questions

Historical thinking skills and reasoning processes

The College Board names six historical thinking skills for AP U.S. History, which it expects students to develop throughout the course and which form the basis of the tasks on the AP Exam.

1Developments and Processes

Identifying and explaining historical developments and processes.

1.A
Identify a historical concept, development, or process.
1.B
Explain a historical concept, development, or process.

2Sourcing and Situation

Analyzing the sourcing and situation of primary and secondary sources.

2.A
Identify a source's point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience.
2.B
Explain the point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience of a source.
2.C
Explain the significance of a source's point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience, including how these might limit the use(s) of a source.

3Claims and Evidence in Sources

Analyzing the arguments in primary and secondary sources.

3.A
Identify and describe a claim and/or argument in a text-based or non-text-based source.
3.B
Identify the evidence used in a source to support an argument.
3.C
Compare the arguments or main ideas of two sources.
3.D
Explain how claims or evidence support, modify, or refute a source's argument.

4Contextualization

Analyzing the context of historical events, developments, or processes.

4.A
Identify and describe a historical context for a specific historical development or process.
4.B
Explain how a specific historical development or process is situated within a broader historical context.

5Making Connections

Using the reasoning processes of comparison, causation, and continuity and change to analyze patterns and connections between and among historical developments and processes.

5.A
Identify patterns among or connections between historical developments and processes.
5.B
Explain how a historical development or process relates to another historical development or process.

6Argumentation

Developing an argument.

6.A
Make a historically defensible claim.
6.B
Support an argument using specific and relevant evidence.
6.C
Use historical reasoning to explain relationships among pieces of historical evidence.
6.D
Corroborate, qualify, or modify an argument using diverse and alternative evidence in order to develop a complex argument.

The College Board also names three reasoning processes, the ways of thinking that students apply when they use the historical thinking skills on the AP Exam.

1Comparison

1.i
Describe similarities and/or differences between different historical developments or processes.
1.ii
Explain relevant similarities and/or differences between specific historical developments and processes.
1.iii
Explain the relative historical significance of similarities and/or differences between different historical developments or processes.

2Causation

2.i
Describe causes and/or effects of a specific historical development or process.
2.ii
Explain the relationship between causes and effects of a specific historical development or process.
2.iii
Explain the difference between primary and secondary causes and between short- and long-term effects.
2.iv
Explain how a relevant context influenced a specific historical development or process.
2.v
Explain the relative historical significance of different causes and/or effects.

3Continuity and Change

3.i
Describe patterns of continuity and/or change over time.
3.ii
Explain patterns of continuity and/or change over time.
3.iii
Explain the relative historical significance of specific historical developments in relation to a larger pattern of continuity and/or change.

Eight themes run through the College Board's framework and connect developments across the units: American and national identity; work, exchange, and technology; geography and the environment; migration and settlement; politics and power; America in the world; American and regional culture; and social structures.

Assessment

Each topic lesson includes graded checks.

Each of the nine content units closes with a unit test.

Unit tests and semester exams are graded automatically, and all graded work counts toward the student's mastery record, which shows each skill as attempted, familiar, proficient, or mastered.

Contemplanda publishes no grade weighting for this course. A school that decides to grant credit for it also decides how the work counts toward a grade.

Academic integrity

Work in the course must be the student's own.

Answer keys for graded questions are never sent to the student's device.

The AP Exam

The AP U.S. History Exam assesses all nine units. It lasts 3 hours and 15 minutes and has two sections.

Section I, Part A: Multiple-choice questions

Questions
55
Time
55 minutes
Share of score
40%

Section I, Part B: Short-answer questions

Questions
3
Time
40 minutes
Share of score
20%

Section II, Question 1: Document-based question

Questions
1
Time
60 minutes
Share of score
25%

Section II, Question 2: Long essay question

Questions
1
Time
40 minutes
Share of score
15%

Students answer all three short-answer questions: the first includes secondary text sources, the second a primary text source, and the third a primary or secondary non-text source. The three questions cover historical developments and processes between 1491 and 2001, each focused on a different historical period. The document-based question presents seven documents on a topic drawn from historical developments or processes between 1754 and 1980, and its 60 minutes include a 15-minute reading period. The long essay question is required and covers about half of the chronological scope of the course.

The exam is fully digital: students answer the multiple-choice and the free-response questions in the College Board's digital testing app.

Scores are reported on a scale of 1 to 5.

This is the exam format in effect from the May 2027 exam, as set out in the College Board's course and exam description effective fall 2026.

The AP Exam is given in schools in May.

A student who takes the AP Exam at a school other than the one where they take the course, or who takes the exam without taking the course, gets a join code from the AP coordinator at the school where they will test and joins an exam-only section there.

Materials and technology

Where the course runs
In a web browser, through Contemplanda Direct
Textbook
None required. The course's own lessons are the text.
Course framework
apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-united-states-history

Published at www.contemplanda.com/courses/ap-us-history/syllabus

Units, lessons, and counts in this syllabus are generated from the published course.

Questions: info@contemplanda.com

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