AP United States History – AP Students

AP United States History

Learn all about the course and exam. Already enrolled? Join your class in My AP.

Learn all about the course and exam. Already enrolled? Join your class in My AP.

Study the cultural, economic, political, and social developments that have shaped the United States from c. 1491 to the present. You’ll analyze texts, visual sources, and other historical evidence and write essays expressing historical arguments.

Evaluating primary and secondary sources

Analyzing the claims, evidence, and reasoning you find in sources

Putting historical developments in context and making connections between them

Coming up with a claim or thesis and explaining and supporting it in writing

A two-semester introductory college course in U.S. history

None

Fri, May 5, 2023,
8 AM Local

This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP United States History Exam.

The course content outlined below is organized into commonly taught units of study that provide one possible sequence for the course. Your teacher may choose to organize the course content differently based on local priorities and preferences.

You’ll learn about Native American societies as well as how and why Europeans first explored, and then began to colonize, the Americas.

Topics may include:

4%–6% of score

You’ll study the colonies established in the New World by the Spanish, French, Dutch, and British.

Topics may include:

6%–8% of score

You’ll explore the events that led to the American Revolution and the formation of the United States and examine the early years of the republic.

Topics may include:

10%–17% of score

You’ll examine how the young nation developed politically, culturally, and economically in this period.

Topics may include:

10%–17% of score

You’ll learn how the nation expanded and you’ll explore the events that led to the secession of Southern states and the Civil War.

Topics may include:

10%–17% of score

You’ll examine the nation’s economic and demographic shifts in this period and their links to cultural and political changes.

Topics may include:

10%–17% of score

You’ll examine America’s changing society and culture and the causes and effects of the global wars and economic meltdown of this period.

Topics may include:

10%–17% of score

You’ll learn about the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States, the growth of various civil rights movements, and the economic, cultural, and political transformations of this period.

Topics may include:

10%–17% of score

You’ll learn about the advance of political conservatism, developments in science and technology, and demographic shifts that had major cultural and political consequences in this period.

Topics may include:

4%–6% of score

Find colleges that grant credit and/or placement for AP Exam scores in this and other AP courses.

AP Classroom Resources

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United States History Reading Study Skills

Review these tips to help you better understand and analyze the material you’ll read in this course.

United States History Writing Study Skills

Read these suggestions for writing a good essay, such as one you’d write as a response to a document-based question or other free-response question on the exam.

AP U.S. History Course and Exam Description

This is the core document for the course. It clearly lays out the course content and describes the exam and the AP Program in general.

AP United States History can lead to a wide range of careers and college majors