AP Exam Breakdown

Section 1Part A: 55 MC questions/55 minutes/40%Part B: 4 Short Answer questions/50 minutes/20%Section 2Part A: 1 DBQ/55 minutes/ 25%Part B: 1 Long Essay(chose from a pair)/35 minutes/15%

The DBQ or Long Essay will not come from the time period before 1607 or after 1980 and at least one of them will ask you to examine long-term developments that span historical time periods.

AP Exam Breakdown

Date Range Approximate % of Test1491 – 1607 5%1607 – 1754 45%1754 – 18001800 – 18481844 – 18771865 – 1898 45%1890 – 19451945 – 19801980 – Present 5%

1491 – 1607

On a North American continent controlled by Americana Indians, contact among the people of Europe, the Americas and West Africa created a new world.1. Before the arrival of Europeans, native populations in N.

America developed a wide variety of social, political and economic structures based in part on interactions with the environment and each other.

2. European overseas expansion resulted in the Columbian Exchange, a series of interactions and adaptations among societies across the Atlantic.

3. Contacts among American Indians, Africans and Europeans challenged the worldviews of each group.

1607 - 1754

Europeans and American Indians maneuvered and fought for dominance, control and security in N. America, and distinctive colonial and native societies emerged.1. Differences in imperial goals, cultures and the N. American

environments that different empires confronted led Europeans to develop diverse patterns of colonization.

2. European colonization efforts in N. America stimulated intercultural contact and intensified conflict between the various groups of colonizers and native peoples.

3. The increasing political, economic and cultural exchanges with the “Atlantic world” had a profound impact on the development of colonial societies in N. America.

1754 - 1800British imperial attempts to reassert control over its colonies and the colonial reaction to these attempts produced a new American republic, along with struggles over the new nation’s social, political and economic identity.1. Britain’s victory over France in the imperial struggle for N. America led

to new conflicts among the British government, the N. American colonists and the American Indians, culminating in the creation of a new nation, the U.S.

2. In the late 18th century, new experiments with democratic ideas and republican forms of government, as well as other new religious, economic and cultural ideas, challenged traditional imperial systems across the Atlantic World.

3. Migration within N. America, cooperative interaction and competition for resources raised questions about boundaries and policies, intensified conflicts among peoples and nations and led to contests over the creation of a multiethnic, multiracial national identity.

1800 - 1848The new republic struggled to define and extend democratic ideals in the face of rapid economic, territorial and demographic changes.1. The U.S. developed the world’s first modern mass democracy

and celebrated a new national culture, while Americans sought to define the nation’s democratic ideals and to reform its institutions to match them.

2. Developments in technology, agriculture and commerce precipitated profound changes in U.S. settlement patterns, regional identities, gender and family relations, political power and distribution of consumer goods.

3. U.S. interest in increasing foreign trade, expanding its national borders and isolating itself from European conflicts shaped the nation’s foreign policy and spurred government and private initiatives.

1844 - 1877As the nation expanded and its population grew, regional tensions, especially over slavery, led to a civil war – the course and aftermath of which transformed American society.1. The U.S. became more connected with the world as it

pursued an expansionist foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere and emerged as the destination for many migrants from other countries.

2. Intensified by expansion and deepening regional divisions, debates over slavery and other economic, cultural and political issues led the nation into civil war.

3. The Union victory in the Civil War and the contested Reconstruction of the South settled the issues of slavery and secession, but left unresolved many questions about the power of the federal government and citizenship rights.

1865 - 1898The transformation of the U.S. from an agricultural to an increasingly industrialized and urban society brought about significant economic, political, diplomatic, social, environment and cultural changes.1. The rise of big business in the U.S. encouraged massive

migrations and urbanization, sparked government and popular efforts to reshape the U.S. economy and environment and renewed debates over U.S. national identity.

2. The emergence of an industrial culture in the U.S. led to both greater opportunities for, and restrictions on, immigrants, minorities and women.

3. The “Gilded Age” witnessed new cultural and intellectual movements in tandem with political debates over economic and social policies.

1890 - 1945An increasingly pluralistic U.S. faced profound domestic and global challenges, debated the proper degree of government activism and sought to define its international role.1. Governmental, political and social organizations struggled to

address the effects of large-scale industrialization, economic uncertainty and related social changes such as urbanization and mass migration.

2. A revolution in communications and transportation technology helped to create a new mass culture and spread “modern” values and ideas, even as cultural conflicts between groups increased under the pressure of migration, world wars and economic distress.

3. Global conflicts over resources, territories and ideologies renewed debates over the nation’s values and its role in the world while simultaneously propelling the U.S. into a dominant international military, political, cultural and economic position.

1945 - 1980After WWII, the U.S. grappled with prosperity and unfamiliar international responsibilities while struggling to live up to its ideals.1. The U.S. responded to an uncertain and unstable postwar world

by asserting and attempting to defend a position of global leadership, with far-reaching domestic and international consequences.

2. Liberalism, based on anticommunism abroad and a firm belief in the efficacy of governmental and especially federal power to achieve social goals at home, reached its apex in the mid-1960’s and generated a variety of political and cultural responses.

3. Postwar economic, demographic and technological changes had a far-reaching impact on American society, politics and the environment.

1980 - PresentAs the U.S. transitioned to a new century filled with challenges and possibilities, it experienced renewed ideological and cultural debates, sought to redefine its foreign policy and adapted to economic globalization and revolutionary changes in science and technology.1. A new conservatism grew to prominence in U.S. culture and

politics, defending traditional social values and rejecting liberal views about the role of government.

2. The Reagan administration pursued a reinvigorated anti-communist interventionist foreign policy that set the tone for later administrations.

3. Moving into the 21st century, the national continued to experience challenges stemming from social, economic and demographic changes.

U.S. History by Era1. Early America (up to 1631): Native American origins and cultures,

early exploration2. Colonial Period (1630 – 1763): King Phillip’s War (Native Americans),

Bacon’s Rebellion, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony, French and Indian War

3. Revolutionary America (1763 – 1783): Stamp Act, Boston Massacre, Sons of Liberty, Boston Tea Party, 1st and 2nd Continental Congress, Paine’s Common Sense, American Revolution, Revolutionary War, Treaty of Paris

4. The Young Republic (1783 – 1815): Articles of Confederation (Critical Period), Shay’s Rebellion, Constitutional Convention, Federalists, Anti-Federalists/Democratic-Republicans, Samuel Slater, Whiskey Rebellion, Alien and Sedition Acts, Revolution of 1800, Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, War of 1812, Treaty of Ghent, Battle of New Orleans

U.S. History by Era

5. Expansion, Political Reforms and Turmoil (1815 – 1860): Antebellum Period, Era of Good Feelings, First Industrial Revolution, Missouri Compromise, Monroe Doctrine, Era of the Common Man, 2nd Great Awakening, Antebellum Reform Movement, Ideal Societies, Mexican-American War, Gold Rush, Compromise of 1850, Dred Scott decision, Lincoln-Douglas Debates

U.S. History by Era

6. Sectional Controversy, War and Reconstruction (1830 – 1876): Slavery debate, Underground Railroad, 13th/14th/15th Amendments, Radical Republicans, Reconstruction, Compromise of 1877, Little Big Horn

7. Gilded Age (1871 – 1900): Railroad Era, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Immigration, Industrialization, Labor Movement, Sherman Antitrust Act, Westward Expansion/Closing of the Frontier/Frederick Jackson Turner, Populist Movement, Wounded Knee, Spanish American War, Yellow Journalism

U.S. History by Era

8. Progressive Era (1880 – 1920): Populism, Jim Crow, Progressive Party/Bull Moose Party, Muckrakers, 16th/17th/18th/19th Amendments

9. War, Prosperity and Depression (1914 – 1933): Big Stick Diplomacy, Dollar Diplomacy, Moral Diplomacy, Panama Canal, WWI, Treaty of Versailles/League of Nations, Roaring 20’s/Jazz Age, Scopes Trial, Harding Scandals, Stock Market Crash/Black Tuesday

U.S. History by Era

10. New Deal and WWII (1933 – 1945): FDR, 100 Days, New Deal Programs, Hitler, Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, WWII, Truman, Atom Bomb11. Cold War (1945 – 1980): Marshall Plan, Truman Doctrine, Berlin Airlift, Korean War, McCarthyism, Korean War, Ike, Brown v. Board of Education, Civil Rights Movement, Space Race, Bay of Pigs/Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War, Counterculture Revolution, Nixon/Watergate, OPEC embargo, Carter/Iran Hostage Crisis, Reagan, Rise of Conservatism12. End of the Century (1980 – 2000): Iran-Contra Affair, fall of Berlin Wall/collapse of USSR, 1st Gulf War, Clinton Impeachment, Bush/Gore Election13. New Millenium (2001 - ) 9/11, War on Terror, Economic downturn, election of Barak Obama, illegal immigration issues, Crimea

U.S. Political Parties

1. Federalists/Democratic Republicans (1979 – 1828): J. Adams (F), T. Jefferson (D/R), J. Madison (D/R), J. Monroe (D/R), J.Q. Adams (D/R) (Era of Good Feelings)

2. Democrats/Whigs (1829 – 1860): A. Jackson (D), M. Van Buren (D), W. H. Harrison (W), J. Tyler (W), J. Polk (D), Z. Taylor (W), M. Fillmore (W), F. Pierce (D), J. Buchanan (D)

3. Democrats/Republicans (1861 – Present) A. Lincoln (R)

Third Parties

1. Progressive Party/Bull Moose Party (1912) – Teddy Roosevelt – helped Woodrow Wilson get elected

2. States Rights Party (Dixiecrats) (1948) – Strom Thurman – almost kept Truman from getting elected

3. American Independent Party (1968)– George Wallace – Nixon won

4. Reform Party (1992) – Ross Perot – helped Bill Clinton win

5. Green Party (2000) – Ralph Nader – helped George W. Bush win