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🇺🇸 Free AP US History Study Guide

AP US History · All 9 Units

Master AP US History from first contact (1491) to the present day. Flashcards, cheat sheets, practice questions, podcasts, and visual reviews for every period — all completely free.

9 units covered
200+ practice questions
150+ flashcards
College Board aligned
100% free

Choose your unit

Each unit has 7 study resources — flashcards, cheat sheet, essential terms, podcast, practice questions, visual review, and SAQ practice.

Unit 1
1491–1607
Period 1: Contact & Colonization
Pre-Columbian Americas, European exploration, the Columbian Exchange, and early Spanish colonization.
📊 4–6% of exam
Start Unit 1 →
🏘️
Unit 2
1607–1754
Period 2: Colonial America
The 13 colonies, regional differences, the Atlantic slave trade, and the roots of colonial self-government.
📊 6–8% of exam
Start Unit 2 →
🎆
Unit 3
1754–1800
Period 3: Revolution & the New Nation
The American Revolution, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the early republic under Washington.
📊 10–17% of exam
Start Unit 3 →
🚂
Unit 4
1800–1848
Period 4: Expansion & Reform
Jacksonian democracy, market revolution, Manifest Destiny, and the great reform movements.
📊 10–17% of exam
Start Unit 4 →
⚔️
Unit 5
1844–1877
Period 5: Civil War & Reconstruction
Sectional crisis, the Civil War, emancipation, and the contested rebuilding of the nation.
📊 10–17% of exam
Start Unit 5 →
🏭
Unit 6
1865–1898
Period 6: The Gilded Age
Industrialization, big business, immigration, urbanization, and the closing of the frontier.
📊 10–17% of exam
Start Unit 6 →
🗽
Unit 7
1890–1945
Period 7: Progressive Era through WWII
Progressivism, WWI, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II.
📊 10–17% of exam
Start Unit 7 →
🕊️
Unit 8
1945–1980
Period 8: Cold War & Civil Rights
The Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Great Society, Vietnam, and the social upheaval of the 1960s.
📊 10–17% of exam
Start Unit 8 →
💻
Unit 9
1980–Present
Period 9: Contemporary America
The Reagan Revolution, the end of the Cold War, globalization, and 21st-century America.
📊 4–6% of exam
Start Unit 9 →

About AP US History

AP US History (APUSH) covers more than 500 years of American history — from the diverse civilizations of the pre-Columbian Americas in 1491 to the present day. The course traces the political, economic, social, and cultural developments that shaped the United States: colonization and contact, revolution and the founding, expansion and civil war, industrialization, world wars, the civil rights movement, and contemporary America.

The College Board organizes the content into 9 periods, each weighted differently on the exam. Periods 3 through 8 are the most heavily tested (10–17% each), while Periods 1, 2, and 9 are lighter (4–8% each). The exam itself includes multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions (SAQs), a document-based question (DBQ), and a long essay question (LEQ).

Every page on this site is aligned to the College Board's official AP US History curriculum and completely free. Use what works for your study style — flashcards if you're an active recall learner, the cheat sheet if you want a one-page overview, podcasts for studying on the go, or practice questions to test yourself before the exam.

What's included in each unit

Every unit has the same 7 study resources, designed for different learning styles.

🗂
Flashcards
Interactive cards per unit
🗺
Cheat Sheet
One-page visual summary
Essentials
Key terms and big ideas
🎙
Podcast
20–24 min audio review
🎨
Visual Review
Slide-by-slide walkthrough
📝
Practice MCQ
Exam-style questions
SAQ Practice
Short-answer practice

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