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FrançaisAP United States History
Nine units. 105 topics. 105 CED-verified lesson plans. Every lesson cites verbatim Learning Objectives and Key Concept codes from the College Board Course and Exam Description, with primary-source excerpts, AP-format practice questions, and four-block Standards Alignment for cross-framework use.
Browse the complete unit library
Each unit links to its own hub with the full lesson sequence, CED topic index, exam tips, and the printable study guide.
Period 1: Pre-Columbian Societies and Early Contact
Native American societies before European contact, European exploration, the Columbian Exchange, labor and slavery in early colonies, and the cultural collisions of the contact era.
Period 2: Colonial Settlement and the Atlantic World
English, Spanish, French, and Dutch colonization patterns, the transatlantic trade system, regional economies, religious movements, and the development of distinct colonial societies.
Period 3: Revolution, Constitution, and Early Republic
The Seven Years' War, the road to revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, Hamilton's economic plan, and the rise of political parties.
Period 4: The Early Republic and Jacksonian Era
Jeffersonian democracy, the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 1812, the Market Revolution, the Second Great Awakening, Jacksonian politics, and antebellum reform movements.
Period 5: Sectionalism, Civil War, and Reconstruction
Manifest Destiny and territorial expansion, the slavery debate, secession and the Civil War, Lincoln's wartime presidency, Reconstruction, and the end of Reconstruction's promises.
Period 6: The Gilded Age and Industrial Expansion
Industrialization, the rise of corporations and trusts, the labor movement, immigration and urbanization, the transformation of the West, Populism, and the new American imperialism.
Period 7: Progressivism, World Wars, and the Great Depression
The Progressive Era, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression and New Deal, World War II, the home front, and America's emergence as a global superpower.
Period 8: Postwar America and the Cold War
The Cold War abroad and at home, McCarthyism, the postwar economy and suburbanization, the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, the Great Society, and the social upheavals of the 1960s and 70s.
Period 9: Contemporary America and the 21st Century
The Reagan Revolution, the end of the Cold War, globalization, post-9/11 foreign policy, the Great Recession, demographic and cultural change, and the politics of polarization.
What students must practice on the exam
Developments and Processes
Identify and explain historical developments and processes. The foundational skill that every other skill builds on.
Sourcing and Situation
Analyze sourcing and situation of primary and secondary sources — author, audience, point of view, purpose, and historical context.
Claims and Evidence in Sources
Analyze arguments in primary and secondary sources, including the claim, the evidence used, and the limits of that evidence.
Contextualization
Analyze the context of historical events, developments, or processes — what came before, what was happening simultaneously, and what followed.
Making Connections
Use the three reasoning processes (Comparison, Causation, Continuity and Change Over Time) to connect events across periods and themes.
Argumentation
Develop an argument: thesis, supporting evidence, reasoning, and addressing counterarguments. The DBQ and LEQ both reward this skill heavily.
The full-rigor lesson template
- Sidebar verified-card — compact listing of the CED Topic, Suggested Skill, Theme codes, Learning Objective, and Key Concept codes.
- Verbatim Key Concept pullquote in the Key Concepts body, so the source language is right in front of the student.
- Primary-source excerpts paired with sourcing questions, drawn from the curated CountryReports primary-source library.
- Discussion questions, classroom activities, and vocabulary cards with KC citations.
- Four-block Standards Alignment with verbatim AP USH codes plus National Cross-Walks (NCSS, C3, CCSS Literacy), Discipline-Specific (NCHS U.S. History Standards), and Other Assessment Frameworks (AP Euro, AP World, IB History).
- AP-format practice set — multiple-choice and short-answer questions per lesson, plus DBQ and LEQ stems at unit-hub level, scored to the College Board rubric.
- Print stylesheet on every lesson so teachers can hand out a clean PDF without the site chrome.