AP U.S.

HISTORY
Study Guide Pack
Units 1–9

©M
 arco Learning, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this product.
AP® U.S. History Study Guide

Period 1: 1491-1607
OVERVIEW
This time period extends from 1491 to 1607 and counts
for 5% of recommended instructional content for an AP®
class. It does not appear on the DBQ question. There
are two key concepts for this time period.

KEY CONCEPT 1.1

As native populations migrated and settled across
the vast expanse of North America over time, they
developed distinct and increasingly complex societies
by adapting to and transforming their diverse
environments.

KEY CONCEPT 1.2

Contact among Europeans, Native Americans, and The legacy of Christopher Columbus is still being debated. Some see him as a noble explorer, while others blame him for the wrongs
Africans resulted in the Columbian Exchange and inflicted on the American Indian population. How do images like this shape his image?
significant social, cultural, and political changes on both
sides of the Atlantic Ocean. AP® U.S. History Period 1 focuses on what life was like in
the Americas before European contact and how contact
with Europeans forever altered the lives, cultures, and
TIMELINE customs of American Indian societies.
1491 Christopher Columbus claims the islands of
Hispaniola and Cuba for Spain. Previous to European contact, American Indian tribes across both North and
South America had complex societies with distinctive social structures, political
1512 Spain establishes the encomienda system.
organizations, and religious beliefs. Along the American northwest, American
1519 Hernan Cortes invades Mexico. Indians had a combination of permanent settlements and hunter-gather

lifestyles. In the Great Plains, tribes followed the herds of buffalo and lived a
1525 The first ship of slaves from Africa arrives in the nomadic lifestyle. In the American Southwest and modern-day Mexico, the
Americas. American Indians cultivated maize. Maize was a staple crop that allowed tribes
to develop a more sedentary lifestyle.

KEY TERMS Christopher Columbus and the other early European explorers in the New
World were motivated by a combination of economic and religious factors,
Maize sometimes described as “God, Gold, and Glory.” They were primarily looking
This was the main crop cultivated by American Indians. for raw materials, especially gold, to take back to their countries to enrich
their monarchs. This would bring them glory and prestige. They also felt
Christopher Columbus that they had an obligation to spread Christianity. This combination often
proved disastrous for native populations because American Indians were
An Italian explorer who stumbled upon the New World after
convincing the Spanish monarchs that he could sail across the often ensnared into the slave labor system, like Spain’s encomienda system,
Atlantic to India and forced to abandon their native religious practices. The American Indian
population was also decimated by diseases brought over by Europeans.
“God, Gold, Glory”
Early European explorers were motived by a desire to spread
Christianity, enrich themselves and their monarch, and gain
glory for discovering new lands.

Encomienda System
A forced labor system developed by the Spanish that required
American Indians

A trade system gradually emerged, called the Columbian Exchange, that

moved crops, animals, and even diseases from the Old World to the New
© Marco Learning, LLC. All Rights Reserved. AP® is a trademark World and vice versa. This system introduced American crops like potatoes,
registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated or tomatoes, and corn to Europe and European crops like wheat, rice, and grapes
connected with Marco Learning LLC nor does the College Board to the Americans. The Columbian Exchange also brought slaves to the New
approve, sponsor or endorse our products or website.
World to farm cash crops and mine for precious metals.
AP® U.S. History Study Guide

Period 2: 1607-1754
OVERVIEW
This time period extends from 1607 to 1754 and counts
for 10% of recommended instructional content for an AP®
class. There are two key concepts for this time period.

KEY CONCEPT 2.1

Europeans developed a variety of colonization and
migration patterns, influenced by different imperial
goals, cultures, and the varied North American
environments where they settled. They also competed
with each other and American Indians for resources.

KEY CONCEPT 2.2

The British colonies participated in political, social,
cultural, and economic exchanges with Great Britain This map shows French, British, and Spanish territorial claims in the New World. How are each county’s goals reflected in the territory
that encouraged both stronger bonds with Britain and they claimed?
resistance to Britain’s control.
AP® U.S. History Period 2 focuses on what life was like in
the Americas between the founding of Jamestown in 1607
AP® US History Period 2 focuses on what life was like
in the Americas between the founding of Jamestown in
and the start of the French and Indian War.
1607 and the start of the French and Indian War.
The European countries that settled the New World did so for very different
reasons. They were often in direct competition with one another because of
mercantilism.
TIMELINE
1607 The first English colony in the New World is The Spanish controlled the largest amount of territory in the New World. They
founded at Jamestown. were primarily looking for precious metals like gold and silver. The Spanish
used the encomienda system and slave labor to force American Indians to
1620 The Pilgrims sign the Mayflower Compact before
gather these materials.
settling at Plymouth Colony.

1637 Anne Hutchinson (1591–1643) is banished from The French and the Dutch took a very different approach to the population of
Massachusetts for organizing religious meetings the New World. They created alliances with Native Americans to develop trade
for women. networks.

1675 New England colonists engage in a brutal war of The English decided to send migrants to the New World to establish colonies.
attrition with the leader of the Wampanoag that Some colonists wanted to make money, while others were escaping religious
came to be known as “King Philip’s War.”
persecution. English colonies were very different from one another. Some
1692 Eighteen men and women are found guilty of colonies, especially in New England, were organized around farming
witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials. communities. Others, especially those in the south, were based around cash
crops and an export economy.
1744 The First Great Awakening begins with Jonathan
Edward’s fiery sermons.

“The wrath of God burns against them [sinners], their

KEY TERMS damnation don’t slumber, the pit is prepared, the fire
Mercantilism is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive
An economic system where countries tried to increase their them, the flames do now rage and glow.”
wealth through government control of all aspects of trade

Encomienda system —Jonathan Edwards

A forced labor system developed by the Spanish that required “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
American Indians to live on plantations and convert to
Christianity

Cash crops The French and Dutch gradually lost control of most of their American
Crops that could be gown in large quantities, harvested, and colonies, leading to British control of almost all of the territory along the
sold for a profit Atlantic coast. The British government tried to make its colonies into a cohesive
unit that would help boost the economy of Great Britain back home. Culturally,
First Great Awakening the colonies were united by movements like the First Great Awakening
A religious movement that promoted emotional, evangelical that sparked a sense of evangelical religiosity among the colonists. Many of
Protestantism, often through “fire and brimstone” sermons
the sermons of this time movement were “fire and brimstone” sermons that
and camp meetings
threatened disbelievers with an afterlife of suffering. Economically, things
© Marco Learning, LLC. All Rights Reserved. AP® is a trademark were not quite as united. The colonies, and the colonists, became increasingly
registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated or independent because the British government applied its economic regulations
connected with Marco Learning LLC nor does the College Board
in a haphazard fashion.
approve, sponsor or endorse our products or website.
AP® U.S. History Study Guide

Period 3: 1754–1800
OVERVIEW
This time period extends from 1754 to 1800 and counts for
12% of recommended instructional content for an AP® class.

KEY CONCEPT 3.1

British attempts to assert tighter control over its
North American colonies and the colonial resolve to
pursue self-government led to a colonial independence
movement and the Revolutionary War.

KEY CONCEPT 3.2

The American Revolution’s democratic and republican
ideals inspired new experiments with different forms of
government.
AP® U.S. History Period 3 focuses on how the colonies
KEY CONCEPT 3.3 shifted from independent communities to the United
Migration within North America and competition over States of America. It covers the period of time from the
resources, boundaries, and trade intensified conflicts beginning of the French and Indian War to the election of
among peoples and nations. 1800. The most important documents in American history
were produced during this time period.
TIMELINE
After the French and Indian War, the British government attempted
1763 The Proclamation of 1763 ordered colonists to gain more control over its colonies in the Americas. In particular, the
to stop migrating west of the Appalachian
Mountains.
British government wanted the colonists to stop moving westward into
French territory and to help repay some of the costs of the war. This was
1768 British troops arrive in Boston. standard practice for the British government. The colonists did not react
well. They led a string of protests against the prohibition against moving
1775 First battles of the American Revolution take place west (the Proclamation of 1763) as well as the new taxes (The Stamp Act,
at Lexington and Concord. The Townshend Acts, the Tea Acts...).The colonists argued that all of these
perfectly reasonable actions by the British government should not be tolerated
1776 Congress declared independence from Britain because the colonists were not represented in Parliament. “No Taxation
with the Declaration of Independence.
without Representation” quickly became the rallying cry for colonists who were
1780 Articles of Confederation were adopted. unhappy with British rule.

1781 The British surrender at Yorktown. The first government created for the new states was governed by the Articles
of Confederation. This document created a very weak federal government,
1788 The U.S. Constitution is officially sent to the states very strong states, and very little regulation about important things like
for ratification. currency, the military, and warfare.
1791 The Bill of Rights was adopted.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a

KEY TERMS more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic
French and Indian War Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote
A conflict between the French and the English over control of the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty
the Ohio River Valley
to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish
Articles of Confederation this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The first constitution of the United States; established a very
weak federal government
—Preamble to the U.S. Constitution
U.S. Constitution
The foundation of the U.S. federal government
The second try resulted in the U.S. Constitution. Under this document, the
Federalist Papers founding fathers developed a government with three branches—the executive,
A series of paper written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, the legislative, and the judicial branches. Even after the disastrous experience
and James Madison that advocated for a strong federal under the Articles of Confederation, some people were still hesitant to give
government
the federal government so much power. A group of people in favor of the
Bill of Rights Constitution got together to write the Federalist Papers to help get it ratified.
The first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution that The also attached the Bill of Rights to make sure that the rights of the people
guarantee different civil liberties were protected.

© Marco Learning, LLC. All Rights Reserved. AP® is a trademark Even after U.S. Constitution was ratified, there was still conflict over how
registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated or to manage the new nation. Americans continued to move west in French
connected with Marco Learning LLC nor does the College Board
territory, increasing tensions with both France and the American Indians.
approve, sponsor or endorse our products or website.
AP® U.S. History Study Guide

Period 4: 1800–1848
OVERVIEW
This time period extends from 1800 to 1848 and counts for
10% of recommended instructional content for an AP® class.

KEY CONCEPT 4.1

The United States began to develop a modern democracy
and celebrated a new national culture, while Americans
sought to define the nation’s democratic ideals and
change their society and institutions to match them.

KEY CONCEPT 4.2

Innovations in technology, agriculture, and commerce
powerfully accelerated the American economy,
precipitating profound changes to U.S. society and to
national and regional identities.
Albert Bierstadt, Rocky Mountain Landscape

KEY CONCEPT 4.3 The Hudson River School was one of the first truly American artistic movements. It focused on American
landscapes. What does the representation of the landscape in this image show about the American character?
The U.S. interest in increasing foreign trade and
expanding its national borders shaped the nation’s foreign AP® U.S. History Period 4 focuses on the time period from
policy and spurred government and private initiatives. the election of 1800 to the end of the Mexican-American
War in 1848. Period 4 is a primarily a period of gradual
TIMELINE change that lays the foundation for later periods.
1803 The federal government finalizes the Louisiana
Purchase. By this point in American history, the U.S. Constitution was firmly the law of
the land. However, the new country needed to figure out the limits of the
1807 Congress votes to end the international slave trade. Constitution and work to shape itself into a modern democracy. One of the
first steps was to establish the idea of judicial review as a way for the judicial
1812 The U.S. declares war against Britain. branch to check the power of the legislative and executive branches. The
American democracy also expanded its democratic participation to gradually
1820 The Missouri Compromise was the first federal
compromise to try to balance slave and free states.
include all [free] men.

1823 President James Monroe declared the Western Beginning in the early 1900s, Americans also began to think of themselves as
Hemisphere closed to European colonization in The Americans—not British, or colonists, or settlers in different communities. As
Monroe Doctrine. part of this movement, artists began to use distinctively American styles to
paint landscapes. Likewise, a distinctive American religious identity started to
1830 Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act to emerge in the Second Great Awakening.
relocate American Indians west of the Mississippi
River.
Economically, the United States began to change from an agricultural economy
1845 The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was to a manufacturing economy. There were several important inventions during
published. this time that helped the transition, including the invention of the telegraph
and textile machinery. Henry Clay’s American System ensured that goods and
1848 The first women’s rights convention was held in services could move quickly around the country. The North gradually became a
Seneca Falls, New York. major industrial center. The South maintained its agricultural character with
large plantations fueled by slave labor. While the division between North and
KEY TERMS South started with these economic differences, the two areas gradually came
to develop distinct cultural identities and worldviews.
Judicial Review
The ability of the Supreme Court to determine whether a law
Americans
is constitutional
continued to
Second Great Awakening expand westward.
A series of religious revivals in the early 1800s that focused on As a result of this,
personal religious experience Native Americans
were continually
American System displaced and
A plan proposed by Henry Clay that was intended to strengthen treated unfairly
the economy of the U.S. through a combination of tariffs, by the federal
national banks, and infrastructure
government. Many
Louisiana Territory were forcibly
A large portion of land that was purchased from France by the relocated onto
U.S. Federal government in 1803 for $15 million reservation lands
© Marco Learning, LLC. All Rights Reserved. AP® is a trademark in Oklahoma and
registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated or the American
connected with Marco Learning LLC nor does the College Board southwest. The federal government purchased the Louisiana Territory from
approve, sponsor or endorse our products or website. France in 1803 and doubled the size of the country overnight.
AP® U.S. History Study Guide

Period 5: 1844–1877
OVERVIEW
This time period extends from 1844 to 1877 and counts for
13% of recommended instructional content for an AP® class.

KEY CONCEPT 5.1

The United States became more connected with the
world, pursued an expansionist foreign policy in the
Western Hemisphere, and emerged as the destination
for many migrants from other countries.

KEY CONCEPT 5.2

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

KEY CONCEPT 5.3

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. John Gast, American Progress

The American history in the 19th century was dominated by a belief in Manifest Destiny. This depiction of the
TIMELINE “spirit of the frontier” was widely distributed. In it, the figure of Columbia leads settlers west and pushes Native
Americans out of the territory. What does it represent about how Americans saw westward expansion?

1850 The Compromise of 1850 admitted California to

the Union. Part of this compromise imposed the AP® U.S. History Period 5 focuses on the social and political
Fugitive Slave Law on northerners. effects of the antebellum period, the Civil War, and
1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Reconstruction.

1857 The Dred Scott decision ruled that slaves were not During this period, the United States also experienced a wave of immigration
considered citizens and did not have the right to from western European countries, especially Ireland and Germany. The
sue in federal courts. “Know Nothing Party” and other nativist groups used anti-immigrant rhetoric
to try to influence the power of these new immigrant groups.
1860 Abraham Lincoln elected president of the United
States. Almost immediately, South Carolina
American history in the middle of the nineteenth century was dominated
seceded from the Union.
by a push to expand the country from “sea to sea” under an ideology called
1863 President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Manifest Destiny. The discovery of gold in California in the late 1840s
Proclamation to free the slaves in the states caused hundreds of thousands of people to rush to the west coast.
currently in rebellion against the Union.
The expansion into new territories intensified the tension between free and
1867 Congress gained greater control over the South slave states in the Union. While the United States was able to maintain a
through the Reconstruction Acts of 1867.
rough balance for much of its history, by the 1850s, the balance was tipping
toward free states. Political tensions came to a head with the election of
1877 The Compromise of 1877 withdrew federal
troops from the South in exchange for electing a Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Lincoln came to power without a single Southern
Democratic leader to the president’s Cabinet. vote. Almost immediately after his election, the Southern states voted to
secede from the Union.
KEY TERMS
While slavery was a major issue dividing the North and the South, there were
Nativist also other factors that served to divide the two parts of the country. The
A native born person or group that opposes immigrants
North and the South had very different economic landscapes. They also had
different value systems and ideas about states’ rights.
Manifest Destiny
The belief that Americans were destined to spread the United
States from coast to coast Many of these tensions were still unresolved when the Civil War officially
came to a close. The period after the war was called “Reconstruction”
Abraham Lincoln because the goal was to “reconstruct,” or “rebuild,” the Union that had been
The 16th president of the United States who was determined broken by the war. The initial goal of Reconstruction was to guarantee
to preserve the Union at all costs; his election set in motion rights for African-Americans, a goal that came to fruition in the thirteenth,
the Civil War fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments. In 1877, however, Reconstruction
was abandoned. Almost all of social improvements made in the lives of
Reconstruction
African Americans were eliminated as Southern politicians began the process
The period after the Civil War during which Northern political
leaders imposed strict regulations and governance on the of reversing the federal guidelines implemented during Reconstruction.
South so that the South could rejoin the Union

© Marco Learning, LLC. All Rights Reserved. AP® is a trademark

registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated or
connected with Marco Learning LLC nor does the College Board
approve, sponsor or endorse our products or website.
AP® U.S. History Study Guide

Period 6: 1865–1898
AP® U.S. History Period 6 covers from the end of the Civil War
OVERVIEW to the Spanish American War of 1898. It focuses on issues in
the post-war United States that were not addressed in the
This time period extends from 1865 to 1898 and counts for
13% of recommended instructional content for an AP® class.
discussion of the Civil War and Reconstruction in Period 5.
During this period, the United
KEY CONCEPT 6.1 States experienced an economic
Technological advances, large-scale production boom known as the Second
methods, and the opening of new markets encouraged Industrial Revolution. Just like
the rise of industrial capitalism in the United States. in the First Industrial Revolution,
technological innovation and the
KEY CONCEPT 6.2 availability of cheap labor meant
that consumer goods could be
The migrations that accompanied industrialization
produced very quickly. Railroads,
transformed both urban and rural areas of the United
electricity, and skyscrapers all came
States and caused dramatic social and cultural change.
into fruition in the post war years.
KEY CONCEPT 6.3 While the rich got richer through their ownership of factories, the poor became
The Gilded Age produced new cultural and intellectual poorer. The business leaders, often called “Robber Barons” concentrated their
movements, public reform efforts, and political debates wealth at the expense of their workers. Workers soon began to organize into
over economic and social policies. unions to demand higher wages and better working conditions.

TIMELINE
1867 Secretary of State William Seward arranges for “The one moral, the one remedy for every evil, social,
the United States to purchase Alaska from the political, financial, and industrial, the one immediate
Russians.
vital need of the entire Republic, is the Pacific Railroad.”
1869 Transcontinental railroad completed.
—Rocky Mountain News, 1866
1872 Yellowstone National Park was established.

1876 The Battle of Little Bighorn. General Custer and

more than 200 of his soldiers die. Society in the United States was also getting more diverse. New immigrant
groups from southern and eastern Europe started to immigrate to the states
1882 The federal government enacted the Chinese in large numbers. This represented a change from the primarily western
Exclusion Act. European immigrants of the previous generation. Some of these immigrant
groups developed distinct ethnic enclaves, such as Chinatown in San Francisco.
1886 The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was
formed to organize skilled workers.
Americans also continued to push westward, this time using the
1892 Ellis Island opened. Transcontinental Railroad to more quickly travel to the frontier. The railroad,
and western expansion more generally, led to increased conflict with
1896 The Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson American Indians. The federal government frequently violated its treaties
implemented the idea of segregation and with American Indian populations. During this time period, the government
“separate, but equal” accommodations. also began forcibly relocating American Indians onto reservations.

KEY TERMS
Second Industrial Revolution
A movement toward manufacturing, especially in the North,
that transformed the United States from an agricultural
economy to an urban economy

Robber Barons
A term applied to business leaders who were considered
corrupt in some way

Union
A collective bargaining unit that helped urban dwellers and
factory workers improve their working conditions, pay, and
retirement

Reservations
An area of land, often with very poor agriculturally, where
This was a time of great social conflict. Mark Twain called this period of time
Native Americans were required to live
“The Gilded Age” because it looked good, but was less beautiful when examined
The Gilded Age closely. People began to apply Charles Darwin’s ideas of “survival of the fittest”
A term that describes how many aspects of this life appeared to humans in order to argue that the rich and the poor deserved their lots in life.
beautiful, but were flawed after closer inspection This approach hid, or “gilded,” the reality that many social group, such as women
© Marco Learning, LLC. All Rights Reserved. AP® is a trademark
and African-Americans, led very difficult lives. Reformers like Jane Addams
registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated or argued that women and immigrants should be supported in their lives. Andrew
connected with Marco Learning LLC nor does the College Board Carnegie supported a similar view by advocating for the “Gospel of Wealth.”
approve, sponsor or endorse our products or website.
AP® U.S. History Study Guide

Period 7: 1890–1945
AP® U.S. History Period 7 covers a pivotal time period in U.S.
OVERVIEW history that stretches from the lead up to World War I to
the end of World War II.
This time period extends from 1890 to 1945 and counts for
17% of recommended instructional content for an AP® class. During this period, the Second Industrial Revolution continued to affect the
fabric of U.S. society in deep and lasting ways. More people lived in the cities
KEY CONCEPT 7.1 than in the countryside for the first
Growth expanded opportunity, while economic time in U.S. history. Cities were
instability led to new efforts to reform U.S. society and overcrowded, dangerous, and
its economic system. politically corrupted. Progressives
tried to reform urban conditions
KEY CONCEPT 7.2 through a combination of social
measures and government action.
Innovations in communications and technology Most of these reformers were
contributed to the growth of mass culture, while women, but the individual causes
significant changes occurred in internal and supported by Progressives were
international migration patterns. incredibly varied. Some supported specific social issues such as prohibition,
while others advocated for immigration or women’s suffrage.
KEY CONCEPT 7.3
Participation in a series of global conflicts propelled The Progressive Era was helped by “muckraker” journalists who widely
the United States into a position of international power publicized the difficult conditions faced by immigrants, the urban poor, and the
while renewing domestic debates over the nation’s disenfranchised. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and Jacob Riis’s How the Other Half
proper role in the world. Lives are two of the strongest examples of this approach.

TIMELINE
1898 The United States annexes the Philippines, Puerto “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the
Rico, and Guam. American People.”
1917 The United States enters World War I.
1920 The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, —President Franklin Roosevelt, 1932
extending suffrage to women.
1929 The U.S. stock market crashed dramatically over a
period of five days. While addressing these social issues, the
1933 The Twenty-first Amendment was ratified,
United States was also struggling through
repealing Prohibition. the Great Depression. President Roosevelt
addressed the rising unemployment and social
1935 President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act.
upheavals by developing a limited welfare state
1941 Japanese planes attacked American naval bases at under his New Deal program. The New Deal
Pearl Harbor.
used government power to end the depression
1942 President Roosevelt signs Executive Order #9066 to through a combination of direct aid,
remove Japanese Americans to internment camps. employment aid, and infrastructure spending.
Large portions of the program were eventually overturned, although some—
KEY TERMS like Social Security—remain to this day.

Second Industrial Revolution AP® U.S. History Period 7 also includes the incredible changes in technology
A movement toward manufacturing, especially in the North, and society that took place in the early twentieth century. During this time
that transformed the United States from an agricultural period, mass entertainment like movies helped create a sense of shared
economy to an urban economy culture. Harlem Renaissance authors created a new, distinctly African
American movement. Sports such as baseball became part of the national
Progressive identity. Americans were becoming increasingly united through
A term applied to people who tried to implement social entertainment, literature, and media.
programs and increase government spending to address
social inequalities All of these changes in U.S. domestic policy and society took place against a
backdrop of increasing U.S. involvement in international affairs. Some parts
Great Depression of the U.S. population, called imperialists, felt that the United States should
A period of economic decline that severely affected U.S. lead the world through a combination of
society and politics
geographic spread, military strength, and
New Deal ideological adherence to the principles of
A wide ranging government approach that addressed the democracy. They were opposed by anti-
Great Depression through combination of government funded imperialists, who felt that countries should
infrastructure projects, social programs, and relief aid have the right of self-determination. By
the time Woodrow Wilson argued that the
Harlem Renaissance United States should enter World War II
An African American artistic movement in the 1920s that on humanitarian grounds the debate had
created art based on the lived experience of being African
American in the United States been going on for decades. The United
States retreated into relative isolation
© Marco Learning, LLC. All Rights Reserved. AP® is a trademark after that experience. They were only drawn into World War II after the Japanese
registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated or attack on Pearl Harbor. After the Allied victory in World War II, the United States
connected with Marco Learning LLC nor does the College Board rose to a position of international dominance.
approve, sponsor or endorse our products or website.
AP® U.S. History Study Guide

Period 8: 1945–1980
OVERVIEW
This time period extends from 1945 to 1980 and counts for
15% of recommended instructional content for an AP® class.

KEY CONCEPT 8.1

The United States responded to an uncertain and
unstable postwar world by asserting and working to
maintain a position of global leadership, with far-
reaching domestic and international consequences.

KEY CONCEPT 8.2

New movements for civil rights and liberal efforts to
expand the role of government generated a range of
political and cultural responses.

KEY CONCEPT 8.3

AP® U.S. History Period 8 covers a period called “post-war
Postwar economic and demographic changes had far- America” that spans from the end of World War II until the 1980s.
reaching consequences for American society, politics,
and culture. The period is overshadowed by the Cold War, which was a far-ranging conflict
between the capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union fought
TIMELINE through proxy wars, ideological campaigns, and diplomatic crises. While the
two nations engaged in hostilities through indirect means, they never engaged
1947 The president announces the Truman Doctrine to
in a “hot” war with direct military battles.
help contain the spread of communism.
1952 The United States conducts its first hydrogen The United States was deeply concerned that communism would spread out of
bomb test. the Soviet Union to other nations, including the United States itself. To prevent
the spread of communism to Western Europe, the United States funneled
1954 The Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of
Education desegregates public schools. money and services to war torn nations after World War II under the Marshall
Plan. Domestically, Senator Joseph McCarthy led a broad investigation of
1962 The Cold War almost turns “hot” in the Cuban communists and alleged communist sympathizers in the 1950s. Americans
Missile Crisis.
were divided over Senator McCarthy’s methods.
1964 President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights
Act of 1964.
1965 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads a freedom march “It is logical that the United States should do whatever it
from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama. is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic
1978 The Camp David Accords brokered peace between health in the world, without which there can be no
Egypt, Israel, and the United States. political stability and no assured peace.”

KEY TERMS —Secretary Of State George C. Marshall, 1947

Cold War
A period of diplomatic tension between the United States and
the Soviet Union that pitted capitalism against communism Americans became increasingly concerned about the power of the president to
commit the country to foreign military engagements, like the Vietnam War, as
Marshall Plan well as the power of the president to utilize the growing nuclear arsenal.
An expansive plan to provide economic and social aid to
Western Europe in order to prevent the spread of communism In the postwar period, civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. challenged racial discrimination through a potent combination of legal
Senator Joseph McCarthy challenges, non-violent protests, and awareness campaigns. As a result of
A senator from Wisconsin who led the campaign to uncover these protests, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in order to
communists and suspected communists in the United States
promote greater racial equality. The success of the African-American civil rights
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. movement led other groups, such as feminists, LGBT communities, Latinos,
An African American civil rights leader who advocated for American Indians, and Asian Americans, to also begin publicly agitating for
greater racial equality using nonviolent methods more rights under the law.
Activists also narrowed in on economic inequality and urban poverty. Lyndon
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Johnson’s Great Society was a wide ranging attempt to end discrimination,
A wide ranging piece of legislation that ended segregation and
banned employment discrimination eliminate poverty, and broadly right the injustices of U.S. society. Johnson’s
Great Society, as well as Supreme Court decisions expanding civil liberties, was
Great Society opposed by conservatives who felt that the country was in a period of moral
A program developed under President Lyndon Johnson that and cultural decline.
significantly expanded federally sponsored social programs
Despite this backdrop of international conflict and domestic unease, the
postwar period can generally be classified as a period of domestic growth.
© Marco Learning, LLC. All Rights Reserved. AP® is a trademark Mass culture, including television, helped to define cultural mores of the age.
registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated or These tools were used by evangelical Christian churches and organizations as
connected with Marco Learning LLC nor does the College Board
they began to play an increasingly powerful role in politics.
approve, sponsor or endorse our products or website.
AP® U.S. History Study Guide

Period 9: 1980–the present

OVERVIEW
This time period extends from 1980 to the present and
counts for 5% of recommended instructional content
for an AP® class. It does not appear on the DBQ.

KEY CONCEPT 9.1

A newly ascendant conservative movement achieved
several political and policy goals during the 1980s and
continued to strongly influence public discourse in the
following decades.

KEY CONCEPT 9.2

Moving into the 21st century, the nation experienced
significant technological, economic, and demographic
changes. AP® U.S. History Period 9 covers from 1980 to the present. It
focuses on the rise of the conservative movement beginning in
KEY CONCEPT 9.3 the 1980s, technological and economic changes, and the end of
The end of the Cold War and new challenges to U.S. the Cold War.
leadership forced the nation to redefine its foreign
policy and role in the world. The conservative movement from the 1980s to the present traces its origins
to the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. The Reagan administration
enacted significant tax cuts and deregulated many industries. Conservativism
TIMELINE at the federal level inspired similar efforts at local and state governments.
Governments at all levels began to reduce funding for social programs and limit
1981 IBM released the first personal computer. the scope of government authority.
1983 President Reagan announced the Strategic
At the same time that the Reagan administration was reducing domestic
Defense Initiative.
spending, it was pursuing an interventionist foreign policy. U.S. military spending
1989 The Berlin Wall was torn down, symbolizing the increased in the 1980s, and has continued to increase up the modern day, as
end of the Cold War.
the United States continues to assert a role in international affairs. Following
1991 The world wide web goes public. the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 most of U.S. foreign policy has
1991 The Soviet Union collapses after Mikhail focused on fighting terrorism around the world.
Gorbachev resigns.
1998 President Bill Clinton impeached by the U.S.
House of Representatives.
“There is one sign the Soviets can make that would
be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically
2001 Terrorists execute a series of attacks on the World
Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon, and the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary
Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity
2002 The United States launches “Operation Enduring for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek
Freedom” to root out al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev,
2003 The United States invades Iraq. open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
2011 The last U.S. troops leave Iraq.
—President Ronald Reagan, 1987

KEY TERMS
Cold War
A period of diplomatic tension between the United States and
the Soviet Union that pitted capitalism against communism

Ronald Reagan
The Reagan administration reduced government spending,
extended tax cuts, and cut many welfare and social spending
programs.

Terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

A coordinated series of terrorist attacks that remain the
deadliest terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. These attacks led to
wide ranging changes in almost all aspects of American life.

© Marco Learning, LLC. All Rights Reserved. AP® is a trademark

registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated or
connected with Marco Learning LLC nor does the College Board
approve, sponsor or endorse our products or website.
Beams of light shine from the site of the former World Trade Center towers in lower Manhattan, New York City, memorializing the
victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.