Begin your journey through US history by exploring primary sources, essays, and videos, organized by time period. Take practice multiple-choice questions and learn strategies that will help you improve your score.
Image: World War II recruiting poster created by the US Office of War Information: Americans Will Always Fight for Liberty, Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1943 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC09520.37)
The Gilder Lehrman Institute and Marist University, with the generous support of the McCormick Family Foundation, are pleased to offer the Long Reach Society Scholarship.
Each year, scholarships will cover students’ tuition for $10,000 per year for four years (assuming continued eligibility), with scholarships reserved for both Pell-eligible students and students without financial need.
Deadline for fall 2026 applications is February 15.
The AP US History exam covers United States history from 1491 to the present, divided into nine time periods. The exam is scored on a scale from 1 to 5, with a score of 3 or higher often earning college credit (depending on the particular university). Sections of the test include
Prepare for the official AP US History exam with dozens of multiple-choice questions developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute.
On a North American continent controlled by American Indians, contact among the peoples of Europe, the Americas, and West Africa created a new world.
Europeans and American Indians maneuvered and fought for dominance, control, and security in North America, and distinctive colonial and native societies emerged.
British 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.
The new republic struggled to define and extend democratic ideals in the face of rapid economic, territorial, and demographic changes.
As 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.
The transformation of the United States from an agricultural to an increasingly industrialized and urbanized society brought about significant economic, political, diplomatic, social, environmental, and cultural changes.
An increasingly pluralistic United States faced profound domestic and global challenges, debated the proper degree of government activism, and sought to define its international role.
After World War II, the United States grappled with prosperity and unfamiliar international responsibilities while struggling to live up to its ideals.
As the United States 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.
Review the content featured in the nine AP test periods and practice multiple-choice quizzes and sample essay questions.
Examine the “why” and the “how” of American government through in-depth discussion of its history and workings.
The Gilder Lehrman History School is a free summer program for high school students, who are offered a series of live interactive courses with Gilder Lehrman master teachers