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Relax. The fact that you're even considering taking the AP U.S. History exam means you're smart, hard-working, and ambitious. All you need is to get up to speed on the exam's topics and themes and take a couple of practice tests to get comfortable with its question formats and time limits. That's where Wiley AP U.S. History comes in.
This user-friendly and completely reliable guide helps you get the most out of any AP U.S. History class and reviews all of the topics emphasized on the test. It also provides two full-length practice exams, complete with detailed answer explanations and scoring guides. This powerful prep guide helps you practice and perfect all of the skills you need to get your best possible score. And, as a special bonus, you'll also get a handy primer to help you prepare for the test-taking experience.
Supplemented with handy lists of test-taking tips and more, Wiley AP U.S. History helps you make exam day a very good day, indeed.
Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Exam and General Study Strategies 3
What’s on the Test 4
Political, Economic, and Social (PES) Questions 10
What the AP Grades Mean 12
Test Preparation 13
Chapter 2: Getting Mentally Prepared for the Big Test 17
Identifying the Way You Learn 18
Ways to Maximize Your Study Time 20
Strategies to Reduce Pretest Anxiety 21
Two Days before the Exam 23
Exam Day 24
Chapter 3: Strategies for the Multiple-Choice Section 27
Thinking Like the Test Writers 27
Time Management during the Test 37
Chapter 4: Scoring Well on Document-Based Questions (DBQs) 39
Using Documents Like a Historian 40
DBQ Scores 40
PAT: A Strategy for Answering Document-Based Questions 42
Sample Document-Based Question: The Reconstruction 43
Chapter 5: Writing AP-Quality Essays 51
How to Handle Timing 51
Selecting the Best Questions 52
Grading Criteria for Essay Questions 55
Converting Questions to PAT Answers 56
Part II: U.S. History from America’s Beginning to Now 62
Chapter 6: American Indians from 20,000 BCE to 1491 CE 65
The First Americans 66
Early American Indian Empires 67
American Indians in North America 70
Native Americans and the Spread of Infectious Diseases 71
Uneven Gift Exchange 72
Chapter 7: The New World: 1492–1690 73
Europeans Settle into the New World 74
The American Colonies 80
Early Challenges to the New Colonies 86
Chapter 8: The Road to the Revolution: 1691–1775 91
Population Expansion in the Colonies 92
Daily Life in the Colonies 94
American Arts 96
Changing Attitudes toward Religion 98
Early Politics 99
Making Money in Colonial America 100
Fighting across North America 101
Prelude to the Revolutionary War 104
Colonial History Essay Subjects 107
Chapter 9: From Revolution to Republic: 1776–1815 109
Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence 110
Early Battles between Britain and the Patriots 110
The American Revolution: An Overview 111
Designing A New Country 113
The Legal Foundation of a Nation 116
The Young Republic 120
John Adams 122
Thomas Jefferson and the 1800s 122
Events Leading to the War of 1812 124
The Era of Good Feelings 126
Chapter 10: The United States Grows Up, 1816–1845 127
Manifest Destiny 128
Kick-starting Political Action 129
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 131
The Monroe Doctrine (1823) 132
The Trail of Tears (1838) 133
Andrew Jackson’s Presidency 133
Modern Conveniences 135
Slavery Grows with Cotton 137
Education and the Arts 138
Transcendentalism and the Second Great Awakening 138
Chapter 11: From Sea to Shining Sea: 1846–1854 139
New Inventions 140
Strides in Transportation 141
Social Change 142
Expanded Roles for Women 145
Arts in Mid-19th Century America 146
The Economics of Slavery 147
Early Ethnic Group Issues 148
More Land for America 151
Sliding to Civil War 152
Chapter 12: The Fight over Slavery: 1855–1865 155
Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Shift in Public Opinion 156
From Words to Bullets in Bleeding Kansas 157
The Dred Scott Decision 158
Financial Collapse: The Panic of 1857 160
The Election of 1860: Widening the Divide 160
The Civil War Erupts 162
The Aftermath of the Civil War 165
Chapter 13: Reconstruction and the Move Westward, 1866–1880 167
Reconstruction 168
The Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant 172
Life in the Gilded Age 173
The Push Westward 177
Chapter 14: The U.S. Grows Up, 1881–1899 181
Social Change in the Gilded Age 182
Arts and Entertainment in the Late 19th Century 185
Presidents of the Period 186
Getting Down to Business 188
Hard Times and Labor Unions 190
Settling the West 192
Backing Paper Money with Precious Metals 193
American Imperialism 194
Chapter 15: America on the International Stage, Ready or Not: 1900–1919 197
The United States in Asia 198
Theodore Roosevelt 199
Exposing the Shortcomings of Society 202
William Howard Taft and Trust-Busting 205
Idealism with Woodrow Wilson 205
World War I 208
Chapter 16: The Jazz Age and the Great Depression: 1921–1939 215
U.S. versus Communism: The Early Years 216
The Return of the Klan 216
Immigration Act of 1924 217
The Jazz Age 218
Signs of Economic Trouble Ahead 223
Politics Leading to the Depression 224
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 225
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal 227
Demagogues of the Depression 231
Chapter 17: World War II: 1940–1945 233
The Brink of War 234
The Flames of War Grow Higher 236
Fighting to Win on the Home Front 238
The Fight in the Pacific 241
The Fight in Europe 242
The Atomic Bomb and the End of the Conflict 243
Chapter 18: Victory and Cold War: 1946–1960 245
Post-WWII America 246
Truman, the Unexpected President 248
The Beginning of the Cold War 249
Anti-Communism Hysteria 251
The Korean War 252
The Eisenhower Presidency 253
The Prosperous 1950s 254
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s 257
The Space Race 259
Castro in Cuba 259
The Election of John Kennedy 259
Chapter 19: Rock and Roll Living: 1961–1979 261
Kennedy: Progress and the Cold War 262
Trade Agreements 263
The United States as World Cop 264
The Supreme Court of the 1960s 265
The Assassination of JFK 266
The Height of the Civil Rights Movement 266
Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) 268
The Vietnam War 270
Richard Nixon 271
Gerald Ford 274
Jimmy Carter 275
Chapter 20: Leading in the Modern World: 1980–The Present 277
Ronald Reagan and Reaganomics 278
Communism Fades 280
George H.W. Bush 281
Modern Democracy with Bill Clinton 282
George W. Bush 284
The 21st Century 287
Part III: Review of Key Trends, Events, and Supreme Court Cases 291
Chapter 21: Key Events in U.S. History 293
1500–1675: Setting Up the Colonies 294
1675–1775: Building the Colonies 294
1776: Revolution 295
1780–1800: The Constitution 296
1800–1840: Democracy and Manifest Destiny 296
1820–1860: The Long Prequel to the Civil War 297
1860–1865: Civil War 297
1865–1900: The United States Grows Up 298
1900–1945: U.S. as World Power 299
1930 to Now: Guardian of the People 299
Chapter 22: Key Issues in U.S. History 301
U.S. Diversity 301
The American Identity 302
American Culture 302
Demographics 303
Economics 303
Women’s Rights 303
Racial Equality 304
Reform 304
U.S. Relations with the World 304
Spirituality 305
Chapter 23: Key Supreme Court Decisions 307
Marbury v. Madison (1803) 307
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) 308
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) 308
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) 308
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) 308
West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish (1937) 308
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) 308
Mapp v. Ohio (1962) 309
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) 309
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) 309
Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 309
Roe v. Wade (1973) 309
United States v. Nixon (1974) 310
Part IV: Practice Tests and Answer Sheets 311
Chapter 24: Practice Test 1 313
General Instructions 313
Section I: Multiple Choice 314
Section II: Free-Response Questions 331
Chapter 25: Answers to Practice Test 1 337
Section I: Multiple Choice 338
Section II: Free-Response Questions 342
Chapter 26: Practice Test 2 347
Section I: Multiple Choice 348
Section II: Free-Response Questions 362
Chapter 27: Answers to Practice Test 2 369
Section I: Multiple Choice 369
Section II: Free-Response Questions 372
Answer Sheet for Practice Test 1 377
Answer Sheet for Practice Test 2 379
Index 381
Overview
Relax. The fact that you're even considering taking the AP U.S. History exam means you're smart, hard-working, and ambitious. All you need is to get up to speed on the exam's topics and themes and take a couple of practice tests to get comfortable with its question formats and time limits. That's where Wiley AP U.S. History comes in.
This user-friendly and completely reliable guide helps you get the most out of ...