The top 60 most often asked topics on APUSH national exam.
Information taken from:
Barron's AP US History
5 Steps to a 5: US History
Sparknotes Guide to AP US History
Out of Many, AP Edition (5th)
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| 2076301325 | *Puritan motive | - Purify the Roman Catholic Church - Build a "city on a hill" - provide a model for idealistic society - religious freedoms from England | 0 | |
| 2076301326 | *Motive of settling Virginia | - paid for by Virginia Company - wanted profit - mercantilism in England | 1 | |
| 2076301327 | *First Great Awakening (730s-1770s) | - Revitalization of religious piety - led by charismatic ministers in 1730 - made religion more emotional, less cerebral - "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" sermon by Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards | 2 | |
| 2076301328 | Deism | - 1700 religious revolution which moved away from religious doctrines - God is a distant entity - No Godly intervention in daily affairs | 3 | |
| 2076301329 | *Albany Congress, 1754 | - AKA: Conference of Albany - led by Benjamin Franklin - first meeting of all colonies to debate unification - Franklin's union plan, Albany Plan, rejected | 4 | |
| 2076301330 | *Legal rights of women | -no suffrage under practically every circumstance -couldn't own land in most cases -were subordinate to men as caretakers, mothers, and housekeepers - Meant to be moral teacher to husband and sons (this eventually led to their educational rights) | 5 | |
| 2076301331 | *Stamp Act, 1765 | - tax on paper used for various documents - included recreation like playing cards - sparked most uproar and opposition of any British tax | 6 | |
| 2076301332 | *Slavery in pre-independence times | - unregulated slave trade (no limits) - molasses, rum, slaves / Triangular Slave Trade (America, Europe, Africa) - slaves were responsible for majority of labor in southern economy - First Africans arrived in VA in 1619, replacing indentured servitude and the unsuccessful enslavement of Native Americans | 7 | |
| 2076301333 | *Indentured servants | - extraordinarily popular prior to massive influx of slaves - workers receive free ride to America and housing once there - in exchange for house/ride, they work unpaid for 5-10 years - most did not survive to finish out their contracts - opportunity for their own land and to fulfill the American Dream | 8 | |
| 2076301334 | *Proclamation of 1763 | - Closed off the frontier to colonial expansion. Presented as a measure to calm the fears of the Indians who felt that the colonists would drive them from their lands due to westward expansion - created a line through Appalachian mountains - colonists could not settle any further west - land from Appalachia to Mississippi was "Indian Reserve" - Colonists who ignored this and ventured past the designated border were often met with hostile Natives and killed | 9 | |
| 2076301335 | *Articles of Confederation, 1777 | - first written form of government for newly freed colonies - created a "firm league of friendship" between states - heavily favored state government, making federal government useless (no taxing, or federal laws without nullification) | 10 | |
| 2076301336 | *Bill of Rights | - 1st 10 amendments to the Constitution - protected individual liberties not specified in Constitution - gave states powers not specifically assigned to federal government - was wanted by the Antifederalists because they feared that by not having a Bill of Rights, Federalists would dominate | 11 | |
| 2076301337 | *Hamilton's economic plans | - national bank, 20% publicly 80% privately held - federal government repays all war debts in full - high tariffs to encourage American industry and discourage British/French/Spanish imports | 12 | |
| 2076301338 | *Shays' Rebellion 1786-1787 | - farmers revolt - many lost farms because couldn't pay debts in gold/silver - freed debtors prisons, burnt down city halls and courts - showed that the Articles of Confed. weren't working, leading to its end | 13 | |
| 2076301339 | *XYZ affair, 1797-1798 (Washignton's Presidency) | - France was upset by alliances with Britain and seized US ships - US tried to negotiate with France, French agents bribed US agents - French agents X, Y and Z wanted $250,000 and a $12M loan | 14 | |
| 2076301340 | *Marbury v. Madison, 1803 (Thomas Jefferson's Presidency) | - John Adams (1797-1801), a Federalist, feared that the Federalist party would become a minority and underrepresented in the US government when Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809), a Democratic-Republican, took over. So, to prevent this from occurring, he appointed several judgeships and other government positions to Federalists, up to midnight of his last day in office. - When Jefferson took office, some of Adam's papers of appointment had not been delivered. Johnson told his secretary, James Madison, to not deliver them. - Marbury, an Adams "midnight judge", wanted his position/paycheck - Madison, Thomas Jefferson's secretary said that Marbury's appointment was unconstitutional due to Adam's "scheme" - Chief Justice Marshall established Supreme Court power of judicial review | 15 | |
| 2076301341 | *Louisiana Purchase, 1803 | - Louisiana territory purchased by Jefferson from Napoleon from France for $15mil - not constitutional, but Jefferson wanted land and France needed $ due to a slave revolt in Haiti and impending war with Britain - Jefferson only intended on buying New Orleans for a western port for $20mil but was declined by Napoleon and offered the entire Louisiana Territory for $15mil - Determined it constitutional because by purchasing this territory, the US would be removing France's presence in the region and protected US trade, gave access to the New Orleans Port, and provided free passage on the Mississippi River | 16 | |
| 2076301342 | *Hartford Convention, 1814 (James Madison) | - group of Federalists meeting in opposition to War of 1812 - merchants saw large amount of trade with Britain stop - passed a resolution requiring a 2/3 vote in Congress for declaration of war in the future | 17 | |
| 2076301343 | *Eli Whitney | - invented cotton gin in 1793 - helps satisfy the massive demand for cotton/make slaves efficient - At this time, slavery was beginning to die out, but this invention was a major cause of the continuation of slavery - also invented interchangeable parts for rifle | 18 | |
| 2076301344 | *Henry Clay's "American System" | - Following the War of 1812, this a government sponsored program meant to harmonize and balance the nation's agriculture, commerce, and industry - 1. Tariff to protect and promote American industry - 2. National Bank to foster commerce - 3. Provide federal funding for internal improvements (roads, canals, etc) | 19 | |
| 2076301345 | *Monroe Doctrine, 1823 | - done to limit European influence on Western Hemisphere - said European countries must be "hands off" of America - became cornerstone of US isolationist foreign policy | 20 | |
| 2076301346 | *Andrew Jackson, 1829-37 | - Indian removal, supported westward expansion - loses VP Calhoun in Nullification Crisis with South Carolina - vetoed Congress more times than any other president, tried to eliminate United States Bank | 21 | |
| 2076301347 | *Trail of Tears, 1838 (Indian removal began to be emphasized by Andrew Jackson, Trail of Tears carried out by Martin van Buren) | - removal of Native Americans from Georgia into the west - showed President Jackson's support for state's rights - led to the death of thousands of innocent Native Americans (too grueling of a journey on foot) - Andrew Jackson stated that no matter how you felt towards the Natives (love, hate, or want to save), you should support Indian removal. Not only would it remove them from US territory and decrease tensions btw them and the states, it would isolate them away from American diseases and violence, thus decreasing the rate at which they were dying out | 22 | |
| 2076301348 | *Nullification/Calhoun/Tariff of Abominations, 1828 | - Protective tariff passed by Congress designed to protect industry in the northern states which were being driven out by of business by low priced imported goods (by taxing these goods, American good would become the cheapest and people would buy them instead of foreign products) - South Carolina, with Jackson's VP, Calhoun, tries to secede from US, Jackson sends military to stop them - Effects: 1. South had to pay higher prices on goods the region did not produce 2. Reducing the importation of British goods made it difficult for the British to pay for the cotton they imported from the South - Reaction in the south (primarily SC) led to the Nullification Crisis in late 1832 | 23 | |
| 2076301349 | *Transcendentalists | - an intellectual movement criticizing new US materialistic lifestyle - focus on nature, and finding meaning and self reliance - Also includes themes like self-trust, the oversoul, and going against social norms - primarily led by authors Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson | 24 | |
| 2076301350 | *Ralph Waldo Emerson | - transcendentalist leader who encouraged self reliance - published essays "Nature" (1836) "On Self Reliance" (1841) - Speech "The American Scholar" considered the Intellectual Declaration of Independence | 25 | |
| 2076301351 | *William Lloyd Garrison | - published "The Liberator" and abolitionist publication - leader of the movement for immediate, uncompensated abolition - said that blacks were equal, and entitled to freedom and equal rights | 26 | |
| 2076301352 | *Harriet Tubman | - escaped slave - started the Underground railroad, a system for escaping slaves - called the "Conductor", helped hundreds of slaves escape | 27 | |
| 2076301353 | *Dred Scott v. Sanford, 1857 | - Supreme Court case: slaves are not citizens - slaves are property, protected under the Constitution, therefore the Missouri Compromise of 1820 is unconstitutional - said since Scott was property, case shouldn't have even been brought to court because he was technically not allowed to sue | 28 | |
| 2076301354 | *Popular Sovereignty | - measure proposed by Sen. Lewis Cass on slavery in new territories - allowed residents of a territory to vote on yes/no for slavery - Congress didn't approve, but it became a bigger idea in 1850s | 29 | |
| 2076301355 | *Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854 | - legislation by Sen. Stephen Douglas on organizing territories - took the remaining, unorganized Louisiana Purchase land and split into Kansas and Nebraska territories (not states yet) - unpopular with North, as it allowed possibility of slavery, therefore completely repealing Missouri Compromise - As soon as this act was set in pace, it was already known that Nebraska would choose slavery, but Kansas was free game. Pro-slavery farmers from bordering Missouri flocked to Kansas territory trying to ensure it becoming a slave state. However, northerners despised the idea of admitting another slave state, and also flocked to Kansas. This tension between the opposing sides led to the establishment of two separate governments in the same territory. This then lead to the first violence seen, beginning the Civil War. This violent outbreak is known as Bleeding Kansas | 30 | |
| 2076301356 | *Douglas's Freeport Doctrine, 1858 | - statement by Stephen Douglas at 2nd Lincoln-Douglas debate - used by Lincoln to prove Douglas was a hypocrite - when asked whether he believed in popular sovereignty or Dred Scott decision, he compromised, favoring popular sovereignty | 31 | |
| 2076301357 | *Causes of Civil War | - Bleeding Kansas (first violence seen) - maintain the Union, under Lincoln - stop expansion of slavery - eventually, with Emancipation Proclamation, to end slavery - war lasted from 1861-1865 | 32 | |
| 2076301358 | *Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 | - decree by Lincoln that all slaves in Confederate states in rebellion were free - Effective January 1, 1863 - made North the moral side of the war - This decree by Lincoln basically changed the purpose of the Civil War from being a war to preserve the Union to one to end slavery, therefore eliminating an alliance between Great Britain and the South bc GB could not afford to support a slave nation | 33 | |
| 2076301359 | *Radical Reconstruction | - Johnson, Lincoln's VP, now president, proposes plan - Johnson almost thrown out of office for obstructing reconstruction - Eventually radical republicans used 2/3 majority to pass legislation and override vetoes for an effective reconstruction plan | 34 | |
| 2076301360 | *Compromise of 1877 | - 1876 Pres. election Samuel Tilden (D) vs. Rutherford Hayes (R) - Tilden wins popular vote, Rutherford supposedly wins electoral vote - no winner clear, compromise makes Hayes the President, but Republicans will end Reconstruction (deal was made that in order for Rutherford became President | 35 | |
| 2076301361 | Knights of Labor | - first major labor union to survive through economic turmoil - included all workers to join: skilled, unskilled, blacks, women - ended after wrongfully associated with Haymarket Square Bombing in Chicago, 1886 | 36 | |
| 2076301362 | Dawes Act | - 1887 legislation to assimilate stranded Native Americans - not wanted by the Native Americans, killed their tribal identity - eliminated by Indian Reorganization Act (1934) as it was discriminatory and hurtful for Native Americans | 37 | |
| 2076301363 | Social Gospel | - Protestant Christian movement around 1900 - applied Protestant Christian logic to social issues in US - tried to aid poverty, alcoholism, equality, and poor working conditions | 38 | |
| 2076301364 | Populists | - political party and movement led by disadvantaged farmers - William Jennings Bryan and "Cross of Gold" speech - fought for elimination of gold standard, unlimited silver coinage, graduated income tax, government regulation of major industry | 39 | |
| 2076301365 | Yellow Press | - started by William Randolph Heart's New York Journal stories - often highly exaggerated, encouraging impulsive American action - led US into Spanish American war with "Remember the Maine", firing up citizens | 40 | |
| 2076301366 | "New Immigration" | - immigration jumped in Gilded Age, post Civil War - mainly immigrants from South, East and Southeast Europe - result of poor European economic conditions | 41 | |
| 2076301367 | Open Door Policy | - European countries began claiming ports in China - US did not have a port, and China had huge economic opportunity - says China is open to trade with the United States | 42 | |
| 2076301368 | DuBois & Booker T. Washington | - W.E.B. DuBois wanted equality and full integration - Booker T. Washington pushed for blacks to find economic purpose - differed in that DuBois saw all as a equal, and Washington knew blacks were lesser at the time, and wanted them to fit it | 43 | |
| 2076301369 | Muckrakers | - term coined by T. Roosevelt for investigative journalism on business - showed political and social injustices in big business and politics - led by Sinclair Lewis, Mother Jones, Jacob Riis, and more | 44 | |
| 2076301370 | Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare | - U-boat campaign by Germany in relentlessly attacking Britain - led to the US involvement in WWI, along with Zimmerman Telegraph - sunk approximately 178 boats, and killed about 5000 in opposition Navy | 45 | |
| 2076301371 | Wilson's 14 Points | - 1918 plan by Wilson as a plan for restructuring post-WWI world - ideas rejected by European powers except for the League of Nations - plan included freedom of seas, removal of trade barriers, self-determination for Europeans, and international organization | 46 | |
| 2076301372 | Bonus Army | - 1932 organization of WWI veterans in Washington DC - result of Hoover's inaction during economic turmoil in US - WWI veterans demanded their bonuses be paid immediately, even though they were due in 1945 | 47 | |
| 2076301373 | 100 Day Congress, New Deal | - passed recovery legislation, more than ever in history - restricted more rights, and gave government more power than ever - GSA, NIRA, AAA, TVA, FERA, CCC, SEC all legislation passed in first 100 days of FDR presidency | 48 | |
| 2076301374 | Civilian Conservation Corps | - FDR agency created in first 100 days - provided/created outdoor work for 2.75M 18-24 year old men - projects included soil conservation, flood control, trail/road building, and forest projects | 49 | |
| 2076301375 | Cuban Missile Crisis | - 1962 event when US U2 spy planes saw Cuba was getting missiles - Missiles were from USSR, US ordered them to stop sending them - ended in 13 days after USSR stopped missiles in Cuba, and US stopped missiles in Turkey, and stopped Cuba interference | 50 | |
| 2076301376 | Brown v. Board of Education | - ordered immediate desegregation of schools and other public places - overturned "separate but equal" in Plessy v. Ferguson - major turning point in civil rights movement | 51 | |
| 2076301377 | Sputnik | - 1957 launching of Soviet sattelite into space - led to space race and education movement in US - government called for more and better technological and science education, from high school to graduate school | 52 | |
| 2076301378 | Sit-Ins | - form of civil disobedience by African Americans for civil rights - African Americans sat at white-only counters and areas - refused service or moving, when one group left, another would sit down, hurting business and making a point | 53 | |
| 2076301379 | Civil Rights Act of 1964 | - most meaningful legislation to end Jim Crow in the South - passed by LBJ to end discrimination by race or sex - guaranteed equal opportunity with employment, public education, public services and voting | 54 | |
| 2076301380 | Malcolm "X" | - leader of Nation of Islam, member from 1952-1964 - fought for black separatism, and supremacy for blacks and islam - assassinated by Nation of Islam after changing opinion on black separatism | 55 | |
| 2076301381 | Gulf of Tonkin incident | - said that American destroyers were attacked in Gulf of Tonkin - Congress passed Gulf of Tonkin resolution, escalating confict - unofficially started Vietnam War, allowed LBJ to have a "blank check" in doing whatever he wanted in Vietnam | 56 | |
| 2076301382 | Watergate, 1972-74 | - scandal regarding spying on Democrats led by Richard Nixon - 5 men were caught breaking in to Democratic HQ at DCCC - Nixon used executive privilege to not turn over evidence, supreme court made him, he deleted some, then resigned | 57 | |
| 2076301383 | Tet Offensive, 1968 | - Vietcong and N. Vietnamese offensive against US - began on Tet, lunar calendar new year, everyone was celebrating - 1600 dead US, 40000 dead Vietcong, and while US stopped the attack, it showed that Vietcong could organize large attacks | 58 | |
| 2076301384 | Camp David Accords, 1978 | - meeting of Middle East leaders organized by Carter - Egypt, Israel and US met at presidential retreat Camp David - after 13 days of meetings, the three had arranged a peace treaty, which worked, but tensions were still high | 59 | |
| 2077141956 | *Albany Plan of Union | - A proposal to create a unified government for the thirteen colonies - Suggested by Benjamin Franklin | 60 | |
| 2077174058 | *Bacon's Rebellion, 1676 | - Armed rebellion in Virginia - Settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley - Motivations for rebellion: + The colony's disorganized frontier political structure + Accumulating grievances | 61 | |
| 2077251779 | *First Continental Congress | - Met in Philadelphia - Meeting between delegates sent from every colony (with the exception of Georgia) - Core set of tasks carried out: + The King and Parliament must be made to understand the grievances of the colonies and that the body must do everything possible to communicate the same to the population of America, and to the rest of the world - Led to The Association | 62 | |
| 2077458397 | *The Association | - patterned after the Virginia Association and others that followed. This was a pact for nonimportation of English goods, to establish mechanisms throughout the colonies to enforce and regulate the resistance to Great Britain, and to keep the channels of communication open. It was to become effective on December 1, 1774 unless parliament should rescind the Intolerable Acts. | 63 |
